# People who like to read and read everyday **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994 "2005-02-14T13:50:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/61 "2005-02-15T18:44:08Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > I read only when I am in the presence of words arranged in rows. _snort_ Can I borrow this line? cause it’s oh so true. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/62 "2005-02-15T18:52:52Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > Did anyone else get in trouble in school for reading? Not only did I get in trouble in school for reading; I got in trouble in school for reading during “Reading”. Having blown through the (small) local library’s selection of juveniles prior to fourth grade, I started in on the adult section. One day in class, while the teacher was reading aloud from The White Mountains, I was reading Jay Anson’s 666 (schlocky horror novel of The Exorcist variety.) She caught sight of the title and I was promptly sent to the principal’s office to have the book confiscated. _sigh_ A year later, I got in the same trouble for reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover (which I mostly didn’t understand.) I also got in trouble, or at least chastized, for reading: [ul] [li]A Clockwork Orange[/li][li]Catch-22 (which I’m currently rereading)[/li][li]Wifey[/li][li]The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn[/li][li]1984[/li][/ul] and it so forth. Mostly I just got in trouble for reading, period, when I shouldn’t be (during lecture), or when teachers _thought_ I shouldn’t be (pep rally, blah), but too often it was for the content of the book, which (for the most part) the teacher had never read. The scene in _Donnie Darko_, where Kitty Farmer responds to a question about whether she knows who Graham Greene is by saying, “I think we’ve all seen Bonanza!”–farking _priceless_! I’d love the film for that alone, even if it makes no bloody sense. “I’ll tell you what he said. He asked me to forcibly insert the Life Line exercise card into my anus.” Man, oh man…I wish I’d had that kind of opportunity in school. 😃 Stranger ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/63 "2005-02-15T19:12:26Z")
I also read a lot, which sort of confounds my husband and friends. Like a couple of other people in this thread, I make my living as a writer, so a lot of people I know figure that I wouldn’t want to read if I’m off the clock because writing often entails more reading than actual writing. Still, I wouldn’t give up my off-the-clock reading for the world. I read anything. At the moment I’ve got a romance novel I read while brushing my teeth, a finance book I read in bed, a couple of health magazines and local business newspapers I read in the morning before I get to work or in the evening when I’m relaxing, plus the stuff I read all day (mostly news and business Web sites) and the stuff I read on trips (usually stuff I’ve been meaning to read but get distracted from reading by other material). There was a time when I was trying to force-feed myself the classics. I figured that it would expand my horizons and teach me more reading appreciation, which was true to some extent. But mostly, I found myself not looking forward to reading anymore, so I simply started reading those classics that touched on things I was interested in, plus anything else that looked remotely interesting, and sold or donated those books that were making me not want to read anymore. If you’re interested in business, by all means read business books. I’ve heard that “Eats Shoots and Leaves” and “Who Moved My Cheese?” are excellent management books, though I’ve never read them myself. They have the added bonus of being fairly short, so they’re good for those with shorter attention spans. For what it’s worth, I’m currently reading Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” Kottler & Armstrong’s “Principles of Marketing,” “Rich Dad Poor Dad” (which I’m starting to suspect is largely crap with some common sense thrown in), and a nice bodice-ripping historical romance by Lisa Kleypas. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/64 "2005-02-15T20:44:05Z")
Actually, **overlyverbose** , _Eats Shoots and Leaves_ is a book about punctuation. A fascinating one. I read it in just a few sittings, and really enjoyed her dry humor. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/65 "2005-02-15T21:05:13Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > If you don’t have books in your car, you’re not a bookworm. 😉 How about if I have a PDA with various e-documents stored on it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/66 "2005-02-15T21:37:45Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Actually, **overlyverbose** , _Eats Shoots and Leaves_ is a book about punctuation. A fascinating one. I read it in just a few sittings, and really enjoyed her dry humor. Thanks for the correction. I’ve always seen it in the business section of the bookstore, so I guess I incorrectly assumed it must be about management. D’oh! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/67 "2005-02-15T21:47:33Z")
[Soooo… Read any good books lately?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=298269) ---
**Author:** ![Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichini_Sanshigo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/68 "2005-02-15T22:11:31Z")
man, after reading through this thread I feel so inadequate. When I was in grade school and high school I was every bit as manic about reading as you guys. Then I got to college, and all sorts of other things got in the way of reading time, including this newfangled thingumbob called the _Internet_. Post-college, tarted reading a lot again, then I started grad school. The only stuff I read now are text book, manuals, and peer-reviewed journal studies. I still find time to fit in some reading outside of The Straightdope and online slash. I don’t think I’ll ever be back to pre-college (non-school/career related) reading levels ever again. _Sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/69 "2005-02-15T22:24:50Z")
> [@Ichini Sanshigo](#): > > I still find time to fit in some reading outside of The Straightdope and online slash. I don’t think I’ll ever be back to pre-college (non-school/career related) reading levels ever again. > > _Sigh_ Actually, embarassingly enough, that’s me too. I’m not reading books but I am still reading a lot of online slash as well as the Japanese study (how appropriate that I’m responding to a poster named **Ichini Sanshigo** ). And I also read an awful lot of news sites. Huh, I bet if I calculate the online word count I read daily, my reading pace really _hasn’t_ dropped off… ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/70 "2005-02-16T00:50:04Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > [Soooo… Read any good books lately?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=298269) I’m not game to click on that link. As it is, I won’t live long enough to read all the books on my To Read list and I just know I’d be adding to it. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/71 "2005-02-16T02:01:02Z")
Someone put _Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World_, and _The Female Eunuch_ on our seventh grade reading shelf. I think I read _The Chrysalids_ then, too. Aagh. Probably I could sue them for exposing me to child-unfriendly literature. I love books. And \*_Tris_, I’m stealing that line, too. ---
**Author:** ![Suse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Suse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suse)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2005, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994/72 "2005-02-16T12:12:44Z")
I have two paperback books in my purse right now, and a third I take along just in case the first two don’t hold my interest. (Although I just posted to the [Anybody Quit Reading Books?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302636) thread about my current difficulty in reading.) I can’t wait to get back to reading 2-3 books a week; I need to read like I need air. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-like-to-read-and-read-everyday/289994.md?page=3)