How does /lit/ feel about reading in public?

Never!

>>9482885
Nobody's going to see how big my book is if I'm sitting alone at home

I'm never in public

>>9482895
this

>>9482885

i wish i could buy a pussy from a library as easy as i can buy a book, because i would gladly open up both in a public place specifically on a trolley

I spend three hours a day in the subway and it's a great oppurtunity to read. Whenver my stress level is high I can't seem to find the patience to read at home and I'll do 100% of my reading during the commute. Reading in cafes etc. is good too because the distractions are minimal, although I'm a little embarrassed to read there because it seems show-off-y. When walking around with a book I'll deliberately carry it with the cover facing inwards so that nobody thinks I'm some hipster showing off his new book™ accessory

Why do you all treat reading as if it's some secret club you need to hide? The majority of people read. With that said, I prefer reading books without covers on them so that no one can see what I'm reading because I'd get a little embarrassed about certain titles.

>>9482978
Yes, but they read in quiet and familiars places !

>>9482978
>The majority of people read
Fun world you live in.

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>>9482885
Love it. Feel superior to every single pleb on their phone

I dont mind cuz i read ebooks my G

>>9482885
"But when you read, go into your room, close the door and read to yourself."

>>9482885
I don't like it because I'm paranoid someone will sneak up on me and try to harm me or something. I only feel this way when I'm distracted in public but not really when I'm on my phone.

Well I read on the bus or at the doctors office. Usually I read in my room but there is no worry or stigma to it. In fact having a book in hand was a conversation starter that helped me get my grillfriend

Lately I've been reading on my commutes and I gotta agree with this guy >>9483206

I don't do it specifically for that reason, but it's a nice little ego boost. I find its an approachable activity, where I might still get treated to a conversation, whereas if I'm plugged into something on a computer or my phone I probably appear much more guarded and closed off from other people. On a number of occasions on the train someone will chat me up about what I'm reading, or I'll sometimes prod someone about their book--its neat.

>>9482885
It's fine, but if you're reading something like The Critique of Pure Reason or Hegel in a bus then it's vanity.

Bump uglies

>>9482885
no issue with this, can't do it myself though - never seem to be able to focus properly.

>>9483046
The majority of people those on this board will encounter. I'm not concerned with uneducated sub-saharans.

>>9483360
ask them specifically whe they (you) don't know what book it is or only if it is something you have read?

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>>9482951
Are you me?

It's the ultimate pleb filter

>>9483046
Not him, but you should see my patrician private town beach in the summer. Rows and rows of quiet reading adults and some groups of moms (doctors wives) chatting quietly in a semi circle.

>>9482951

This. Reading at home is shit unless you have a dedicated reading space.

>>9482885
Hate it

I want to be comfortable
I want to enunciate words
I want to recite sentences and apply my own perceived rhythm apart from syllabic stresses

>>9483991
country?

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>>9484048

>>9482951
I'm borderline obsessed with the holding the cover inward thing...I usually splay my hand out over the back to cover up any clues there as well.

I'm far too paranoid and too easily distracted to read in public. Every little noise breaks my concentration and anything moving in my peripheral draws my attention.

>>9483206
that happens to me too.

And when I am with my violoncello in the train and a hippie with an ugly guitar sees me and feels like a cockroach I think that I am some kind of god.

>>9482885
For pathetic tryhard plebs. I don't even read at my apartment unless all my roommates are gone

>>9484163
damn so to u reading is like wacking off, interesting

>>9482885
patrician as fuck

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>>9482951
>reading a book is now considered showing off
I weep for the future.

>>9482885
I got 1 hour plus on subway, so it's a valuable time. Nonetheless, I either read something on my phone or get a small book, since reading books in the subway is not a common culture in my country.

>>9482885
I read pdf's on my phone because I'm poor. Nevertheless reading on the subway is absolutely relaxing both before and after work.

>>9482951
Damn that's too close for comfort. I'm also on public transit a lot and I see the same people almost every day, I am super self concious so sometimes I dont read on purpose if I see the same people again and again.

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>>9484244
blame movies and tv for fetishizing the "artsy, intellectual" persona

>>9483396
Why?

>>9484295
>I am super self concious so sometimes I dont read on purpose if I see the same people again and again.

u just dont want them to know ur still reading the same boook lol

>>9484244
why not the present?

>>9482951
this, i also have a (bad) habit of folding the spine so no one can see the cover whilst i'm reading.

>>9484334
if u have to ax ur a pseud

>>9482885
If I have to commute, I'd rather read while doing so than looking out of the window to be honest.

>>9482885
I can never focus on a book when I'm reading it anywhere other than a quiet secluded area.

>>9484322
Hollywood and television is fucking brain cancer

>>9482885
Is this the /lit/ version of the: what does /tv/ feel about going to the movies alone, thread?

>>9484422
well i for one, can't read alone, i need at least one other person peering over my back reading at the same time as me, otherwise i feel like i'm getting weird looks on the tube.

>>9484438
As someone who always stands on the tube, don't worry bro, I got you. I always check out what people are reading. Also I read their text messages, and look at whatever pictures they're looking at.

>>9484244
That guy is a faggot, but NYC subways are not for showing off. Every single New Yorker turns into an autistic introvert the second you step on them, and reading helps that.

>>9484322
If you think that any show except for Gilmore Girls have tried to get their adult audience to read more, you are delusional

>>9484349
lol yeah that's part of it

>>9484472
>If you think that any show except for Gilmore Girls have tried to get their adult audience to read more, you are delusional
Don't be dense, that isn't what I mean.

Why would you even think about it? Sometimes I read in public transportation or in waiting rooms. What's the problem?

I'm learning Latin and read that all Romans read out loud, so I have adopted this practice when reading Latin. It's pretty embarrassing doing this in public, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Cafes are my favorite place to read.

>>9484484
autism

>>9484485
I do this with gay erotica. Cafes are my favorite places too.

>>9484447
Keked. I do the exact same thing when I take a bus and have to stand.

>>9483360
Yeah, I know this feel. It's pretty cool when someone takes interest in what you read on the train, especially if they've read it before. They're genuinely interested, they wouldn't bother you while you were reading otherwise, so it's only fair to share with them what it's about/what you think/etc.

>>9482951
> book cover inwards

Oh shit, I thought I was the only one. I want to read in public but I don't want to be "that guy" who acts like showing off by fake-reading in public to appear intelligent, so I never show what the book cover is, so people don't think I'm just posing comfortably with a copy of The Divine Comedy or Crime & Punishment.

>>9484422
unless if you're an americuck where guns can be sold to retarded white kids with edgy parent issues who wants to shoot up at the next screening of guardians of the shitshow 2: electric suck a dick, then what's wrong with going to the cinemas alone? better when the cinema is near empty in the morning screenings so there's not interruption from people on their phones.

>>9484495
why do so many people go back and read old text message conversations they've had? Multiple occasions I've read along with someone as they've gone back months just re-reading shit they've messaged back and forth with whoever.

>>9484447
Lmao holy shit are you me

I love reading people's texts when they're on the train, what the fuck do they think they're doing when it's that packed

>>9484545
I have no problem with it, I go fairly frequently to the little theatre that's not 5 minutes walk from my place. But of course it's /tv/ and they're all perpetual socially awkward teenagers (even the ones in their mid-30s) so going alone to them is the sign of a "loser" with no friends. And god forbid anyone see you outside alone, so just stay inside and occasionally talk to your mother about the shitposting you do on a regular basis. /tv/ is the worst.

>>9482885
>showing off by fake-reading
Are there really people who fake read in public? I do sometimes read in public, but most often on an ereader now because it's lighter to carry and you don't end up being all the pages out of shape.

>>9482885
I do it in public transport. Unlike you I am not autistic and don't care what other random people in the bus think about me.

>>9484545
At least they don't make you take a shower at the cinema because your B-O is that bad

>>9484525
i had this last month, i was reading The Sellout by Paul Beatty on the train and some black activist started discussing racism with me and how i should read Uncle Tom's Cabin.

>>9484557
wew

>>9484590
you should tell him to read Notes From A Native Son then lol

>>9482978
>The majority of people read

If you count checking facebook posts and liking instagram gym photos as "reading" then sure but I personally don't see anybody reading actual books in public anymore, it's very rare.

I watched some guy trying to read a book while out for a walk fall flat on his face the other week. What is the thought process behind someone who does this? The guy had to cross roads and shit and he looked like he was barely paying attention to traffic. Baffling.

As for the question, public transport in London, at least when I'm using it, is usually far too cramped for me to be able to fully concentrate on a book. I'll usually just have my headphones in. That said, outdoor reading is nice, in the park or the beach or if I'm in a coffee shop. Places where it's generally quiet I feel like I can get really stuck into something.

>>9484545
It's just a loser thing to do, like going to a restaurant or a sporting event alone. It bascially means you couldn't find anyone (or didn't have anyone) to go with.

>>9482978
>The majority of people read.
nah, most people play candy crush or similar games in public until they get home where they binge the latest hot topic american sitcom on netflix for 7 hours then they go to sleep.

>>9484611
This

I was in the train a while ago with my friend when I spotted a blue haired 18ish yr old girl reading- I shit you not- artemis fowl. So I whisper this to my friend and we snicker about it until she started shooting us glances and we stopped.
The moral of the story is that if you're reading in public you'd better read something good(?).

>>9484548
They're bored anon

Two weeks ago I was waiting for a ride at an airport after coming back from Dublin. I was sitting on a bench and reading my book when a black guy, who'd been sitting at the other end of the bench with his friend, came up to me holding out his hand. He didn't say anything when he approached, he just shoved his hand out toward me

I said, "Can I help you?" and he gave me an irritated look before asking to look at the book I was reading. I said okay and handed it to him, and he started reading the back cover. He spent a really long time reading it and then handed it back to me and asked, "Why are you reading that?"

It wasn't like an offensive book or anything, it was just an anthology of Irish mythology I'd bought on my trip. I told him it was entertaining and he scowled at me. Then he asked me again: "Why are you reading that?" He seemed genuinely confused as to why anybody would read a book, let alone read in public.

>>9484640
Those blacks sure sound scary

>>9484644
No, they were they skinny bug-faced type of black people, not the gorilla kind

>>9484640
What the fuck.

I'd just simply say "I'm just interested in it, that's all. I didn't know much about it before" and if he kept asking I would probably be repeating myself. What did you say the second time he asked?

>>9484655
I said, "I think my ride's here," and moved to a bench in another area

>>9484495
>>9484447
>>9484495
Same desu

It makes me feel like such a nosy prick but I just can't resist

If its a girl reading I'll go over and say what are you reading and we'll chat and eventually she won't sleep with me

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>>9482885
I never read fiction and philosophy in public, since I know I would spoil the experience to myself.

I can read manuals, history books, biographies, basically anything that is based on information rather than contemplation and independent thinking, without having the impression of wating my time.

>>9484548
It makes them seem busy and occupied. A lot of people just dont want to be bothered or seem like they are texting so as to not look lonely. I've noticed this mostly by females, gusy just play some dumb game or instagram, girls mostly instagram, text, and read old texts. Co-workers have told me how they pretend they are texting and even talking so guys leave them alone.

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>>9482951
>When walking around with a book I'll deliberately carry it with the cover facing inwards so that nobody thinks I'm some hipster showing off his new book™ accessory

W-what the fuck? Are you me? Or is it that autistic self-worrying 4chan people that do this?

>>9484599
>What is the thought process behind someone who does this?

Maybe he watched too much anime.

>>9482951
>three hours a day in the subway
How's your lung cancer

>>9482951
You guys have got to get what the japanese use, brown paper sleeve so no one can see the cover at all

>>9484640
Maybe he thought you were a white supremacist for reading mythology.

>>9484754
Why, what ex-soviet shithole do you live in?

>>9483349
>>9483349
I'm gonna beat you up irl faggot

>>9484640
That's funny, I'm a black guy and I saw someone reading on a bench at the airport the other day. I told him how cool it was to see someone reading instead of playing games on their phone, but I didn't want to be a douche and bother him or ask him what he was reading. He said, "Oh, like you're doing now?" I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and went to get a drink at the duty free shop, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying. The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter. When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.

internet fucked with my attention span so it's a lot easier for me to read in public. reading at home sometimes feels like its just another thing i have to do. don't care if i come off ostentatious or whatever

>>9484833
You met Pynchon irl, great fortune anon

>>9484753
he was wearing shorts, so you might be right

>>9484833
did you meet flylo/mathew mc conaughey/thomas pynchon???? btw they're all the same person

>>9483836
Usually if I try to chat them up it's something I have already read, or something I've heard mentioned and have considered reading.

>>9483396
lmao, I was actually reading a commentary on Hegel on the bus earlier today. the book is only 200 pages, but I still took the necessary precautions to make sure nobody knew it read "Hegel" on the front

>>9485323
My dude, I can assure you nobody on thatbus knows or cares who Bagel is. And even if they knew, they wouldnt bat an eye.

>>9482885
dude if you live in NYC literally everyone reads on their commutes

>>9484601
Or it means they aren't a pathetic insecure faggot who needs other people to validate themselves and keep them from blowing their brains out when faced with alone time. You've seriously never wanted to somewhere by yourself? How dull is your mental exchanges where you can't occupy yourself?

>>9484731
>history books don't require contemplation and independent thinking


you're reading it for the wrong reasons anon

>>9482951
Whenever I take a book with me in public, I always bring a notebook with me. Good to have for jotting thoughts or notes on whatever you're reading. But mainly, I tote it along so I can use it to cover the book I'm holding.

>>9482951
>I'll deliberately carry it with the cover facing inwards so that nobody thinks I'm some hipster showing off his new book™ accessory
I always have the urge to this, but I try to distract myself from this urge, and act like a normal person. It's pretty tough.

>>9486218
Same, it also makes people think I'm "studying" instead of pleasure reading, which they accept much easier.

>>9484548
Other people do this too? I thought I was the only one.

>>9484548
For a long time I used to go back months reading text conversations I had with my ex-girlfriend. She broke up with me and I took it hard. I would go back as far as I could to see if I could pinpoint exactly where things took a turn. To see if I had overlooked it. In the process I would catch myself smiling when I read the lovey-dovey stuff we'd send each other, and could slowly feel the smile fade as I would get closer to the texts of us fighting, arguing, or just plain leaving each other on "seen". For a long time I'd do this whenever I had the time: at home. school, during work, on my break, before I'd sleep, when I woke, in the shitter, whenever. And it hurt the same every single time. I would open the texts and hope to one day see the "texting bubbles' one day pop up, and she'd just ask me how I was doing. I would tell her I was okay.

>>9486471
That's why I don't read on public transport, because I actively enjoy listening to other peoples conversations.

>>9484062
New Ipswich here

>>9482885
no one cares and even if they did why do you care

>>9486786
I care.
To look cool.

>>9482885
draws too much attention to me because I don't look like shit and as such get negative attention

doesn't happen when I bring my kindle though
so I just bring my kindle out instead

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>>9486141
I always approach them analytically, meaning that I don't need to be in a certain mood to read them. Also you should notice that in this contemplation would not refer to the book itself (in which a beautiful prose should be a efficient and clear one), instead it would refer to the historic facts in themselves.
It's a way different process than, let's say, trying to read Dostoevskij on a crowded bus: that would be a heresy, in my opinion.

>tfw commute is only 10 minutes long, nowhere near long enough to get invested
For all its convenience that does annoy me a fair amount.

>>9482951
>Keep book in backpack
>Always put it back in and out so the cover is hard to see
>Open it as fast as possible

>Getting close to being able to read novels in Japanese.
I will be able to read actual books in Japanese, that's literally going to scare people in public.

>>9486985
I have 3 transfers each about 10 min, I spend more time stand reading and not paying attention to the line moving that sitting and reading.

Plus I only get a seat on one of the transfers. It's a weird thing to complain about a convenient route but I agree with you.

>>9484731
Kek you don't know how to read history then, you faggot

test

Years ago I was in community college and taking a psychology class. An older black guy sat next to me, he had an African accent and always dressed real nice. Anyways, one day I am waiting for class to start and reading Christopher Hitchens' memoir, and he sees what I am reading and smiles and asks sort of condescendingly, "You like Christopher Hitchen?" I say yes and he doesn't say anything until a minute later when he says Christopher Hitchens is a racist. I asked him why and he just told me to read closely.

I don't like Hitchens anymore but I still have no clue as to what that guy was talking about.

>>9484525
>They're genuinely interested, they wouldn't bother you while you were reading otherwise

Your male privilege is showing.

>>9487048
Googling it, it looks agenda driven by people told to think it. I've never read any though so I can't say for sure.

Jesus Christ you all are a bunch of insecure faggots. No one is looking at you or your little book. No the world doesn't revolve around you and people don't give you a second thought. Read whatever you want no one cares

>>9487153
I know, reading in public? Seriously? I wonder where these people live when reading isn't a common site. Nobody gives a fuck, goddamn these people are insecure

>>9487153
If I am looking at and judging other people's books/interests then I can only assume others are as shitty as me.

>>9487153
>buttflustered flyover detected

faggot.

>>9487037
Read this >>9486889

>>9486889
Sometimes history books are written in small sections of a page or two or less. One idea at a time, great for bus rides.

>>9487183
And who cares? What makes your opinion matter to that person and vice versa

>>9487188
What? I would feel it'd the complete opposite, I'm sure it's less common to see people reading in public in the Midwest than the coastal states. I live in the bay area and see it multiple times a day, nobody gives a fuck

>>9482885
It is an act of poetry itself

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>>9482925
you don't buy books in libraries.

>>9482885
fine, as long as people don't sit next to me and stay out of my peripheral vision lol

>>9482885
Nothing. It's a non-issue to me. I cannot even muster up an opinion about this.

But if you're talking about how 'I' feel about reading in public 'myself' it's still not a big deal to me. I'll read because I want to.

>>9483340
>But when you read, go into your room, close the door and read to yourself.
The number of people on /lit/ who will miss this reference is a travesty.

>>9483991
That sounds like hell. How am I supposed to feel superior if the whole town is patrician?

>>9484492
Underrated