How do normal people do it, then?

[deird_lj]

I am getting rather sick of a certain comment.

It keeps happening, every day, while I'm in the kitchen at work, waiting for my tea to brew, or standing in the lift, waiting to reach my floor, or sitting at my desk, waiting for my computer to turn on*.


Inevitably, I'll have someone look over and say:
"Must be a good book."

...because I'm reading a book. While doing something else. *gasps*


Seriously, how do normal people read books? Do they pick up the book, carry it (still closed) over to a chair, sit down, open the book, read it in an engrossed fashion, and then close it, stand up, and resume their lives?

I don't. I carry a book in one hand. It's a simple way to relieve boredom while, for instance, waiting for tea to brew. Or while stuck in a lift with people I don't know.


How is this worth commenting on?




* (Ten minutes to start! That's just not right.)

Comments

[menomegirl.livejournal.com]

Do they pick up the book, carry it (still closed) over to a chair, sit down, open the book, read it in an engrossed fashion, and then close it, stand up, and resume their lives?

Yeah, that's pretty much what I do.

[deird1]

I'm in awe. I can't sit still and also focus on what I'm reading.
Plus, I'd end up sitting there for as long as it took to finish the thing, instead of remembering to actually do stuff in between chapters...

*awes at you*

[menomegirl.livejournal.com]

I'd end up sitting there for as long as it took to finish the thing, instead of remembering to actually do stuff in between chapters...

LOL! I've become so engrossed in what I'm reading that I have done exactly that. Not just with books, but with fanfic too.

But for the most part, I'll read a chapter or two, then set whatever I'm reading aside for later when I have time.

[draconin.livejournal.com]

I'm constantly horrified by how little most people read. I go through up to three books a week, more if I have time, yet it seems from talking to people at parties (and getting stared at) that most people are lucky to finish two or three a year.

To me the most precious gift that any parent can give to their children is to teach them to love learning and be passionate about reading.

[deird1]

You'd like my family. We're all big readers.


(I generally think of myself as being the "reader" of the family - mainly because "Put the book down!" became a standard refrain for a few years there due to my habit of absentmindedly doing household chores one-handed and taking twice as long - but my brother-in-law reminded me the other day that my sister reads in the loo, and will frequently be running around the house going "I need to go to the toilet! Quick! I need a book!")

[draconin.livejournal.com]

Hah! I get strange comments sometimes from visitors to my house because I have... well basically a library in the loo. *g* Shelves and a collection of about fifty or sixty books that are the sort that you can pick up, read a page, and leave until next time. eg. Mythbusters, Footrot Flats, Asterisk, Darwin Awards. (old house = large loo)

Mind you, most people have generally worked out that I'm a reader from the fact that one whole room in my house is books from floor to ceiling! 95% SF & Fantasy.

[jen-nsync-landl.livejournal.com]

* (Ten minutes to start! That's just not right.)

Ah, yes, I have one of those, too. Drives me crazy. My sympathies. Reading sounds like a fine way to pass the time to me.

[kitty-poker1.livejournal.com]

How is this worth commenting on?

Pass. My e-reader is attached like an umblical cord. I have fic and favourite books on there, and it's both soothing and exciting.

[aisalynn.livejournal.com]

I pretty much read both ways. If I have nothing else that needs done I'll lounge around reading, but once I do need to get up and do something, I usually take the book with me. I always got in trouble for reading at the kitchen table during dinner as a kid, and my mother always got annoyed with me because I'd bring a book to read during our family movie night as well. *shrugs* She just didn't understand: books are better than movies!

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Seriously, how do normal people read books? Do they pick up the book, carry it (still closed) over to a chair, sit down, open the book, read it in an engrossed fashion, and then close it, stand up, and resume their lives?


Yes, I mostly sit down and/or lie down on the bed and read. And when I've read enough, I get up and do something else.

[ohwaluvusbab.livejournal.com]

I too walk round reading a book in concurrence with other acts. I get bored very, very easily...

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I usually carry a book in my bag to read whenever there is a spare minute. S2c always carries one to read on the bus and so on.

[spikereader.livejournal.com]

If I weren't sitting on the sofa reading LJ I'd be in the kitchen overseeing the cooking of the children's dinner with a book in my hand. I've been known to walk along the street while reading, always have a book at the table if I'm on my own to eat, read while I'm watching TV ....

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

Seriously, how do normal people read books?

They don't. I think that's pretty much the answer.

Years ago my then-girlfriend's brother, who was a pensions salesman, visited my house and said that he could instantly judge my level of education and probable social status simply by the fact that I had bookshelves. (Making that kind of snap assessment was, of course, a profesional skill for him; he needed to know which of his company's products's I'd be most likely to want to buy!)

I've actually found that these days - since the Internet, basically - I read fewer books cover-to-cover but I still have a lot lying around to dip into in the sort of moments you list; waiting for a kettle to boil, waiting for the loading screen on a computer game to reach 100%, waiting for my iron to reach proper ironing temperature. :-)

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

I do...somewhat less of this than you. Mostly cause I'm a horrid multitasker - like I can't really listen to music and do something else at the same time, even - and prefer to either sit and read or go do something else. Which makes me the freak in today's society, actually. :)

I know my dad reads walking to the subway stop and things like that, some of which I've been known to do, but I really like just spacing out and such during the 'little moments.'

But then I can't really fall asleep without reading for an hour or so first - it's just what I've always done.

[gillo]

I have the same problem. Apparently always having something to read with me counts as "retreating into reading". My take is that reading is almost as necessary as breathing and about as remarkable.

Many years ago I was in hospital for a minor procedure, and in a small shared ward. An elderly lady tottered over to my bed at one point and said "Is that a book you're reading? I've got one of those." There was no possible response!

[me-llamo-nic.livejournal.com]

Seriously, how do normal people read books? Do they pick up the book, carry it (still closed) over to a chair, sit down, open the book, read it in an engrossed fashion, and then close it, stand up, and resume their lives?

I'm not exactly the poster boy for normal, but that's how I read books. UNLESS it actually is a really good book, in which case I've got it in one hand pretty much everywhere.

[next_to_normal]

Do they pick up the book, carry it (still closed) over to a chair, sit down, open the book, read it in an engrossed fashion, and then close it, stand up, and resume their lives?

Er, yes, pretty much. With some variation - I carry my book to the bus stop, get on the bus, open the book, read it until I get to the train station, close it, get off the bus, get on the train, open the book, read it until I get to my stop, close it, get off the train and go to work. Then reverse that for the commute home.

I also sometimes read while eating meals, and sometimes I will just sit down to read with no deadline in mind.

In general, I find it very annoying to read in brief snippets, like a few minutes on an elevator or while waiting for tea to brew. I'd much rather read for a long stretch of time and be fully engrossed than be pulled in and out of the narrative every 2 minutes, or trying to read when other things demand my attention. I'm a brilliant multi-tasker at most things, but book-reading is not one of them.

[libco.livejournal.com]

If I try to wander around with a book-I walk into things

[klme.livejournal.com]

My (actually Deird's and my) grandmother used to read a book propped up on her bike handlebars while she rode to school. I assume that's where Deird gets this from :)

[ozwiccagal.livejournal.com]

well i have to read my books sitting down - i often do this on the way to and from anywhere i go - coz p.t takes ages to go anywhere :)

[immer-am-lesen.livejournal.com]

I can't focus on the pages while walking, too afraid of walking into things. Also, writing goes wobbly. :-p

I'm afraid I'd be one of those people who comments at you...unless it's a reeeeeally long elevator-ride, not enough time to get a book out and read enough for it to be worth it.
I like reading when I have time set aside. No multi-tasking. :-)

[naatz.livejournal.com]

Do they pick up the book, carry it (still closed) over to a chair, sit down, open the book, read it in an engrossed fashion, and then close it, stand up, and resume their lives?

Yeps. Otherwise I might forget to get out of that lift. ;)

|Meduza|