# Why would you NOT bring something to read?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 13, 2006, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287 "2006-07-13T03:24:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/61 "2006-07-14T01:42:45Z")
I doubt that most folks here are referring to those who didn’t bring a book or perhaps just wanted to ponder the 4 color rule for maps or whatever whilst they wait to be examined. I know my beef is with people who do not read, who are not intellectually curious (odd that they can usually spout chapter and verse either about the latest doings in Hollywood OR Bible verses…and sometimes both!). As I mentioned, the home I visited in UK had not one book in it, until I gave them a coffee table book of Chicago. You would have thought it was an ancient artifact with magical powers, from the way they all looked AT it, but did not open it. Odd, to say the least. The folks are work dont’ read, either–ever that I can figure out. But they look at the pics in Us or People a lot. To each his own, but why speak to me as if I were the freak of nature? Why constantly interrupt me–on my break–to query why I read so much? It is the whole Americans don’t trust an intellectual (to our grear discredit and harm) attitude–the last thing I ever want to do is spend time with a good ole boy or gal who has no “time” to read or interest. That equates to boring, and even stupid, to my mind. Yeah, I know about Gardiner’s 7 types of intelligence and all–I don’t say that everyone must read above all else: no one here is saying that. If I understand the premise, it is that some reading, on regular basis, helps to make one a well rounded individual, capable of grasping complex thoughts and issues of the day. ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/62 "2006-07-14T01:47:26Z")
I generally keep a book in the car and a book in my purse, as well as the latest issue of Reader’s Digest just for shits and giggles. I’m constantly having to wait in line and it’s just flat-out annoying. If for some reason I forgot my book, instead of bitching I usually wind up reading signs or something. I know the signs in my doctors’ office better than the person who ordered them. My boyfriend doesn’t like to read, unless it’s one of the rare books that he considers worth it. He’s never been very good at reading - it’s not a laziness thing, he’s just not reading=inclined. He can do complex mathematics in his head and draw like you wouldn’t believe, but reading is almost beyond him. Writing, too. He just doesn’t get it. My sister is good at reading, but claims she doesn’t like to. See, in my opinion, my boyfriend’s situation is a lot more excusable. My sister is just a moron. ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![Carnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carnick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnick)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/63 "2006-07-14T02:02:03Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] He shrugged. “There’s always someone around to read stuff to me.” He then proceeded to go on a rant which had the tone of something well-rehearsed, and was delivered in a manner which plainly revealed that he thought himself hysterically funny. [/QUOTE] Sounds like he had some kind of vision/reading problem and was just insecure about it. ---
**Author:** ![bagkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/64 "2006-07-14T02:18:42Z")
_Mostly in response to having met a large number of people who pride themselves in never having read a book that was required during their schooling:_ As a wee bagkitty in a Catholic Junior High school in Calgary (mid 1970s) I was the lone book lover amongst my cohort. When in eighth grade an edict came down from on high (jointly issued by the Chaplain and the Principal) – on the pain of expulsion, no students were to bring copies of the dreaded purple book (The Exorcist) or the even more dreaded pink book (The Happy Hooker) into the school. For two months after the edict came down, every time classes changed and students were in the hallway, you could see little flashes of purple and/or pink as the dreaded books were rapidly passed from hand to hand. The solution is simple. Make it an offence for people to have certain books and even those who would otherwise run away from the chance of reading them will want a copy. This memory makes it very difficult for me to get upset when whatever sect or group tries to have a book banned… I am convinced they are turning readers onto it, even if they are reluctant readers. And no-one was actually expelled, although a few detentions were handed out. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/65 "2006-07-14T02:57:49Z")
[QUOTE=gabriela] I bring paper and pen. I’m writing my own book. [/QUOTE] That’s what I do if I’m waiting some place where it’s possible to write, like a dr. waiting room. My goal this last book was to finish the first draft in three months, so I didn’t have the luxury of days off. Last visit, about three weeks ago, I got at least one page done in the waiting room, and a page and a half written while sitting in the examining room waiting on her (I made my goal, btw. The book’s finished; just need to edit it after giving it a rest.) Next Thursday I’m having a minor surgery. I won’t bother trying to write, and I’ll either bring magazines or something very lighthearted to read, like a romance novel or the next Janet Evanovich book. If it requires more than half my brain to comprehend, I have too much trouble reading in those situations. I’m pretty sure the last time I was in the ER, I didn’t bring a book. I really _was_ thinking, “God damn, this hurts like hell. I hope they give me some pain medicine soon. And hey, I haven’t eaten dinner; I’m hungry.” (broken wrist) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/66 "2006-07-14T03:27:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Sounds like he had some kind of vision/reading problem and was just insecure about it. He’d rather be considered ignorant than near-sighted? ---
**Author:** ![Carnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carnick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnick)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/67 "2006-07-14T04:39:27Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] He’d rather be considered ignorant than near-sighted? [/QUOTE] There are a host of learning disabilities that can make it difficult for otherwise intelligent people to process written words. I knew one such person in junior high. He was a really bright kid but had a pretty significant reading problem. When tasked with a potentially embarassing situation such as reading something in public his standard response would be “No thanks, I don’t like to read, hehe.” It was a choice between that and “I can’t read that, I have a learning disability.” I really can’t blame him. The fact that **Lissa** said that the person in her story was saying something that sounded rehearsed makes me believe he was probably in a similar situation as my friend. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/68 "2006-07-14T04:52:05Z")
[QUOTE=Carnick] The fact that **Lissa** said that the person in her story was saying something that sounded rehearsed makes me believe he was probably in a similar situation as my friend. [/QUOTE] Could be, but it sounded more to me like it was a routine he did for his friends which had always gotten him laughs. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/69 "2006-07-14T06:21:22Z")
After I made my last post and left for work, I remembered an “episode” of one of those stupid dance shows on MTV many many years ago. It was one of those shows that just showed professional dancers shaking their booties to the latest hits. I was working graveyard at the time, and this was about the only thing worth watching on TV when I got home from work. Anyway, they were doing a thing for a few weeks where the dancers were on “spring break”, which simply meant they were dancing outdoors around a swimming pool, instead of in the studio. They did this little skit where one of the male dancers was kicking back, sunbathing. One of the female dancers walked over, wearing her skimply little bikini, to “flirt” with him. “Hey, Biff,” she said, “what do you like to do for fun?” “Oh, I like to waterski,” replied Biff, “skydive, bungee jump, go whitewater rafting, read books …” “Read books?” exclaimed the young woman, with an incredulous look on her face, before walking away, shaking her head. I remember being extremely irritated with that skit. What a message to send to the kids, eh? “Chicks won’t like you if you read!” I also find myself wondering how much aversion to reading is caused by those wretched book reports they make you write in school. God I hated writing book reports, and I loved to read! Writing a book report took all the fun out of reading that book. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that book reports caused people who were “I can take it or leave it” when it came to reading to slide firmly over to the “leave it” end of the spectrum. ---
**Author:** ![blackhobyah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blackhobyah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blackhobyah)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/70 "2006-07-14T10:51:08Z")
[QUOTE=Jeff Lichtman] Some of the people in emergency rooms may have had to go there because of an **emergency**. Perhaps things were urgent enough that they didn’t have time to grab a mystery novel on the way out the door. [/QUOTE] A while ago I was in emergency, I’d actually been admitted and was waiting to go up for surgery and I was so desperate for something to read I begged a couple of magazines from one of the nurses. I wished I’d had the forethought to grab a book to take with me in the ambulance. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/71 "2006-07-14T12:16:09Z")
[QUOTE=Cheez\_Whia] If that’s the same one that tried to kill you, I’m sure he \*is \* mentally unbalanced! :eek: [/QUOTE] Well, yeah, but when I think back on it, that constant video-game golfing should have tipped me off that he was a psycho. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/72 "2006-07-14T12:24:19Z")
I always carry with me a book, knitting and lipbalm. ( Dear god, I cannot go anywhere without my lipbalm, that in itself is a good amusement.) What I don’t understand are people who get on long flights with nothing to do and don’t seem to sleep either. How.Can.They.Do.That? I’m more prepared than Batman for long flights and I could rent out books and magazines for about 3 rows around me. ( Provided people liked romance novels and rather odd magazines.) I look forward to waits at the doctor’s offices and tire changing places because I have my stuff and am ready. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/73 "2006-07-14T20:27:19Z")
[QUOTE=Lynn Bodoni] Cross stitch, by the way, travels very nicely in a large zipseal bag. [/QUOTE] By the by, just a suggetion on this note…I have one of [these](http://cgi.ebay.com/DMC-StitchBow-Floss-Organizing-Storage-Binder-Inserts_W0QQitemZ270006575746QQihZ017QQcategoryZ75567QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting) to carry my cross-stitch around in, and I _love_ it. It has a large zippered compartment that you can keep your patterns/graphs, hoops, and projects in, a small compartment comprised of a piece of felt with a plastic flap that covers it to keep your needles in, some stitch-bow page inserts if you use those, a medium zippered compartment I keep my threads strung on those long cards with holes punched down the side, and another small zippered compartment I keep a small pair of scissors in. It even has shoulder straps, so you can carry it like any other tote bag. The whole thing zips shut around the edges of the 3-ring binder, and it also has a pocket o the front I keep the pictures from my kits in. This thing is a must for any cross-stitcher who likes to take their work with them, imo. I use it around the house, even, cause my 3 cats are always _intensely_ interested in my projects, and the plastic ziplocs I used to use weren’t much of a deterrent to them. _chuckles_ (sorry for the e-bay link, I couldn’t find another link that had a enlargeable picture so you could see the thing clearly. If it’s still up for 9.99, that’s a great price, by the way…I paid almost 20 bucks for mine at Michael’s, but it was still totally worth it. The model name, if the ebay link doesn’t work by the time you look at this is listed at the DMC site as StitchBow™ Needlework Travel Bag Art U1287/A. The DMC site didn’t have a larger picture you could see clearly, sadly.) ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/74 "2006-07-14T22:07:52Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] I doubt that most folks here are referring to those who didn’t bring a book or perhaps just wanted to ponder the 4 color rule for maps or whatever whilst they wait to be examined. I know my beef is with people who do not read, who are not intellectually curious (odd that they can usually spout chapter and verse either about the latest doings in Hollywood OR Bible verses…and sometimes both!). As I mentioned, the home I visited in UK had not one book in it, until I gave them a coffee table book of Chicago. You would have thought it was an ancient artifact with magical powers, from the way they all looked AT it, but did not open it. Odd, to say the least. [/QUOTE] Well, that’s great and all, but there are a bunch of posts in here that _do_ specifically mention “those who didn’t bring a book” (isn’t that basically the title of the OP, too?). > [@](#): > > I know exactly what you mean, I see these people staring off into space in a waiting room like Puddy from Seinfeld and I wonder what is going on in their heads. > [@](#): > > Taking reading material is sort of pointless when you are waiting umpteen hours in the Ophthalmology Clinic. > > > [@](#): > > > > My wife has had umpteen eye operations for detached retinas since December, and she manages it. > [@](#): > > But what really gets me are those who start cross country air travel with nothing to read and nothing to do. They just stare into space. Makes me wonder how many functional brain cells they got. I’m saying this as a reader myself, but some of these posts just reek of arrogance. Yes, the people who sneer at you for reading are rude. But the people who just don’t like to read? Many posters seem to be sneering right at them. I love reading, but sometimes _I’m just not in the mood_. So instead, yes, sometimes I’ll sit and be “Puddy-like” but I’m actually either daydreaming, planning something, or figuring something out. Up until recently, my boyfriend didn’t really like to read at all. With some of the attitudes expressed here, I’d expect people to think he was a right moron. Even though he graduated with honors (BS in Computer Science) in 4 years while also working full time, had a job waiting for him upon graduation (and found a better job less than 3 months later)\* because of his skills and experience, and is damn good with mathematics and problem solving. But he didn’t like to read, therefore he didn’t have too many functional brain cells. Many of you also don’t like sports. How is it any different for someone to come in and say, “I can’t _believe_ you don’t like sports! I love (insert sport here) because of the strategy involved in (blahblahblah) and planning how to (blahblahblah!)”? In fact, many times the readers-who-are-not-sports-fans (IME, obviously) will roll their eyes at all this and say that it’s not REALLY the strategy and skill that the sports fans like, but the violence/possibility of a car crash/what have you. Just as rude, IMO. - which is _far_ better than I, his egghead girlfriend, have managed to find, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/75 "2006-07-15T00:37:11Z")
Just as many posted about bringing knitting, Nintendo, Sudoku etc. The OP said something to occupy your mind while waiting. There are times I just want to be alone with my thoughts–but usually a woman travelling alone and without occupation is seen as either an opportunity for older folks to talk or for men to chat up. No thanks–I’ll just use my book as entertainment and a leave me alone, please, signal. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287/76 "2006-07-15T04:59:28Z")
- Taking reading material is sort of pointless when you are waiting umpteen hours in the Ophthalmology Clinic. You might be ok for the first bit, but after they have dilated yer’ pupils… Why not? Cantcha read with those nifty disposable dark glasses they give ya? \* No! Because when they ultra-dilate your eyes, you can’t focus on print easily, and everything’s so damned bright, you’re squinting, and it’s really, really hard to read. Trust me on this one. It’s one of the main aggravations when I go to the hospital in Vancouver for an eye exam. It’s a hell of a wait at the best of times (couple of hours, never mind when your appointment is scheduled) and as soon as you arrive at the clinic, they dilate you. Then the boredom really begins, and I can’t listen to music/radio as it would be rude to my driver/companion – husband. Regarding the portability of books: that’s why I dig the paperbacks at the library. Easier to stuff in a purse. If I’m out and about, I also try to have a printout of something I’m working on (writing) and a pen, and I can edit, expand, or continue it while I’m waiting. And there are times, too, when I just people-watch and veg, sittin’ n’ thinkin’, my book or writing still inside my bag. Now, if you get me in the _bathroom_ without a book… there’s panic! I’ll read the instructions on my night-time moisturizer, if need be. But I’d prefer something a little more engaging. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-not-bring-something-to-read/364287.md?page=3)