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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!
I definitely get absorbed!
ReplyDeleteSounds like we all have similar answers :) Happy Thursday!
ReplyDeleteI should be able to have time to read, but lately too much watching TV can just slow down the reading.
ReplyDeleteI 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?
ReplyDeleteI agree!!! Seems like most of us have similar answers too. :) Happy BTT!
ReplyDeletei 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
ReplyDeleteI don't read in public as much as I used to, but in the house? Every possible minute! Thanks for playing.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a favourite saying of my mother's: 'Great minds think alike'! It seems we all like reading in public.
ReplyDeleteJulia: 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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?
ReplyDeleteI do not like being bored either. Ugh! I sometimes read while waiting in the line at the post office.
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