the elevators in my office building are so slow that i can get in a page and a half to two pages. people have been stuck in our elevators from 20 minutes to 2 hours. i’d be the person sitting in the corner reading while stuck.
i’m the person in line reading while waiting for service.
very, very, rarely without something to read. i always have a backup book just in case i finish a book before i expect to.
Yeah, I said I had books stashed in my car “just in case.”
Put your eyebrow :dubious: back down. 
Honestly, I bet there’s four or five in the back of the car (it’s a station wagon), and I’ve already read a couple of them. The “just in case” bit is in case I do go out without a book and find myself somewhere waiting. I hate just sitting with nothing to do, and that way I can easily grab a book. I pick both my kids up from school each day, and have to wait in a carpool line. I usually have my current book with me, but sometimes I forget it.
The last time I went on a big group backpacking trip (several years ago) someone buzzed me for having not just one but two books (one was a Dawkins book–maybe The Blind Watchmaker and the other was some fiction), wondering when I was going to have time to read these during our five day hike.
Well, somebody got sick on Day 2, it rained the afternoon of Day 3 and most of Day 4, and we turned back and returned to the original trailhead on Day 5. I ended up getting through both books with time to spare and sit around bored-like. The others got fed up, though, with playing gin and hearts and just moaned about how boring it was, so I didn’t get off too bad.
Still, now when I go anywhere, I bring 1 book/2 days, minimum. The last time my bag was confiscated for the sake of national security and airline incompetence, I immediately went to the airport bookstore and bought a book (The Life of Pi) which barely covered the overnight trip.
I think I have tracks in my retina. I get the delirium tremors when my habit is withheld. I do not understand how people make it through air travel without something to read. And, I dunno, a newspaper just doesn’t satisfy, any more than light beer would satiate a drunk.
And yeah, I keep one or more books in the car, just in case…well, you know. Just in case.
I’m a sicko.
Stranger
It looks like I’m coming off snarky when that wasn’t my intent and I apologize. I would much rather have a book and hate not having one when I’m forced to sit and wait somewhere but, when in the situation, I just sit there and think about what errands I need to run or whatever else comes to mind.
Don’t mind me. I’m probably just getting defensive at my comparitive inadequacy as I’m used to being the bookworm and threads like this disorient me. 
If you don’t have books in your car, you’re not a bookworm.
I’ll even read books online if I’m desperate, and to me, that’s lower than low. That’s like creme de menthe if I’m addicted to tequila.
I don’t *have *a car – If I did, I’d not be in this wheelchair right now – but when I did, I generally had one with me although it was always whatever book I happened to be reading at the moment. Never a seperate book just for the car.
Hell, when I didn’t have the internet for a month or so last year, I spent most of my time outside work at Border’s in Salem.
Scott Adams.
My rules of life:
(1) Always have at least one book with you.
(2) Be willing to put the book away if there are things around you to see & do or people to interact with.
It was the second of these two rules that took me the longest to learn.
Does anyone else keep a list of books to read? I add to it at the sdmb, and when I see an author come across well on a documentary, that sort of thing.
Great to meet you, MsPrufrock! The bookstore is by no means a way to make a living. It’s my writing that pays the bills. The bookstore is a way for me to meet and interact with other people who love books.
The only problem with owning a bookstore is the dilemma that it creates. What should I read next? The book I want to read or the book I ought to read because it’s by a friend of mine, or because it’s a bestseller, or because it was recommended by a good customer, or because I got an ARC (advance reading copy), or because…
Every week I see another dozen books that I really want to (or ought to) read. Is that a problem? Well, whenever I’m reading, I’m not writing. And whenever I’m not writing, I’m not making any money. Humph. I still manage to read a couple of books a week, and skim many more.
Well, in this society you really do need to learn to read up to a certain level of proficiency… but beyond that, you don’t have to read. The truth is, it’s not a hobby for everyone.
The husband, for instance, doesn’t read for enjoyment. He reads purely for information. This sometimes confuses people, who think he’s a poor reader. He’s not - he reads at an advanced college level. He just doesn’t enjoy reading, it’s a tool he uses when he needs to and that’s it. For entertainment he much prefers video and music. And that’s cool.
These days, with the increasing popularity of books on tape and videos, those who absorb information better through hearing it actually have a lot more choices.
I read regularly in part because I ride a commuter train to work and thus have 30-40 minutes to fill morning and evening. Some of my fellow commuters on the same train listen to books instead of read them. People who commute by car probably should be listening to books on tape rather than attempting to read and drive at the same time. Really, what’s the difference in the end? It’s the information that’s important, not how you absorb it.
I keep a list, yes.
I have a list of books to either buy new or older books to keep an eye out for at the used book store, mostly gathered from the “Whatcha’ Reading?” threads here.
Mental list. About twenty books long, usually.
My husband thinks watching me pack for an overnight trip somewhere is very funny. He doesn’t think five or six books are necessary if you’re only away for 24 hours. But what if I run out? I need the book I’m reading, a light non-fiction, something heavier that I’ve been planning to read, an old favourite, and an extra. It doesn’t sound irrational to me.
Did anyone else get in trouble in school for reading?
I started one like that in Cafe Society awhile ago. It sunk. We should revive it. Hmm.
raises hand Me! And at home, and everywhere else.
Go for it. I’ll put up my list.
I pretty much use my Amazon.com wish list for this.
I read only when I am in the presence of words arranged in rows.
As far as books to read to be ready to go into the business world, I recommend The Prudent Investor, by Warren Buffet, A Book of Five Rings, by Miamoto Mushashi, and The Art of War, by Sun Tsu.
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” ~ Sun-tzu ~
Me, too. <sigh> there is not enough time in the world for all the books I want to read…
You know, I used to be like that. I read two or three books a week from as far as I can remember. I worked at a bookstore and was on heaven and I currently have six bookcases that are full plus around 12 boxes of unpacked books. But about 3 or 4 years ago I got really obsessed with learning Japanese and that’s all I do know. In my car, I keep a couple of casual Japanese texts to study and when I fly I pack up my text books and dictionaries and really look forward to uninterrupted time to study. I’ll occasionally pick up a book that looks interesting but, other than Pratchett, I usually get bored, stop reading, and go back to the Japanese. It’s bizarre to me how fast I went from reading hundreds of books a year to maybe reading five…