Reading. In. Public.
Do you do it? Why or why not?
No, not THAT kind of R.I.P.
Do I do it? Do I ever! Tomorrow, for instance, I will read: on the platform waiting for the train; on the train; in the classroom before the lecture starts; during the mid-lecture break; in the City Botanic Gardens between lectures; before my second lecture; mid-second lecture; on the platform; on the train. Even ten spare minutes is enough for me to dig out a book; I never leave home without one. And I have to admit ... I have even read a book in the queue at the supermarket checkout!
Why? Because I see no reason not to, and good reason to do so. I cannot stand being bored; a legacy I guess from my primary school days when I was bored senseless for years. I can spend three quarters of an hour staring out the train window if I have a lot to think about, but I prefer to read. It’s a nice, portable means of filling in what would otherwise be dead time; and by reading in public I can guarantee that even on Fridays, when I have three classes and only one hour off in nine, I will still have plenty of time to read. Getting absorbed in a book is also a great way to tune out noisy fellow commuters!
12 comments:
I definitely get absorbed!
Sounds like we all have similar answers :) Happy Thursday!
I should be able to have time to read, but lately too much watching TV can just slow down the reading.
I too read in public, the only time I could while waiting for somone else go on to their appointments. Or waiting in the line :)
Hello! I always read in public. In fact, I always wonder what the people without a book are thinking about when they're staring off into space. Are they wishing they had a book, too?
I agree!!! Seems like most of us have similar answers too. :) Happy BTT!
i do reading in public quite shamelessly. i flaunt it whenever possible! though the 'you're such a bookworm!' comments are getting a little old... =P
I don't read in public as much as I used to, but in the house? Every possible minute! Thanks for playing.
This reminds me of a favourite saying of my mother's: 'Great minds think alike'! It seems we all like reading in public.
Julia: I find it's more that reading slows down tv watching! But I am getting better at paying simultaneous attention to page and screen and somehow absorbing the contents of both.
Tara: Good question! Unless I've got a lot to think about, I couldn't stand a train trip without something to read.
Deb: Every possible minute . . . I take that rather literally! Even one of Channel 10's 60-second ad breaks is enough for me to get my book (if I'm not reading it already).
I agree wholeheartedly. Whenever I go somewhere like the pool or sit in line waiting for my child or in a doctor's office, I wonder how on earth anyone can stand not having a book to fill the time.
I read all the time when I have a few free moments, too. But doesn't it get irritating when you're really into a book and keep getting interrupted by "real" life?
Yes!!
I do not like being bored either. Ugh! I sometimes read while waiting in the line at the post office.
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