When you carry a book with you, do you hold it title-out or title-in? I don't like for people to think I'm peacocking, so I usually try to hide the cover of the book, especially if it's recognizable 20th century literature. I might let someone see that I'm holding Hardy or Johnson, if I need to hold it up to read it comfortably, but I wouldn't be caught dead showing off Joyce on a crowded subway.
(reading in public general)
>tfw it's comfortable to lean way the fuck forward, with elbows on my knees, when reading on a bench or a subway seat, but I probably look like a manchild getting way too immersed in a Lord of the Rings novel and/or having trouble reading the words
>tfw you almost bump into someone because reading and walking at the same time is hard
>tfw autism
Holy shit have we really come to this?
>>7357327
I'm self-conscious and autistic too so I worry about coming off as pretentious. I either leave books in my backpack or cover the title while walking.
>>7357333
I figured we might be able to discuss this without sounding retarded
actual literature threads are disasters
>>7357327 dont walk and read, thats just idiotic.
I don't usually hold the book out in my hands instead I put it inside my bag until I'm seated on the bus, that's when ill read it.
What genre does lord of the rings fall into?
>>7357344
>dont walk and read
>dont have a book on-hand except when you're somewhere boring like the bus
wow you just hate the literary lifestyle or what
>>7357360 in public*. That's what the thread is about.
When walking on the street I don't have my books on hand, I just put them in my bag... That's not hard to get, is it?
>>7357327
I take public transportation alot, and I always read. I keep seeing the same people day in and day out, and I wonder what they think of me. but overall I enjoy reading in public and dont care how I carry the books.
this thread belongs in r9k, not lit
>>7357344
Why not walk and read? It's the same as listening to music while walking.
>>7357422
This must be a bait, anyway:
You can hear songs and walk with little to no disturbance in your movements.
In order to read you need to lost sight of the streets and crowd you are moving into.
>>7357431
I walk and read when I'm passing through an area with relatively few or no people.
>>7357431
>he doesn't read whilst walking
>>7357327
No way. I'm far too self concious. I can't even bring books into the office, so I just read at home. I don't have pleb taste but I don't want people to think I'm just showing off.
>>7357327
I only make a habit of carrying the economist or the new york review of books when I go out to lunch alone. I always carry cover-in for the same reason.
>not ostentatiously displaying your patrish taste in public
>>7357410
well I have a backpack so it's annoying to be putting them in and taking them out. if I see a nice bench I like being able to sit down and read for five minutes without worrying about opening up my bag/etc
if you have some other kind of bag, that's fine, but not everyone does
cover out. not a pussy
>>7357327
I think about it sometimes, but usually I just don't care. I usually hold it tucked against my ribs anyway, so nobody can really see it either way. Sometimes I'm worried people will think I'm stupid for reading the books I read, but I force myself not to care because fuck them. Then I get into the book and forget about it.
The point is, don't care about it.
>>7357327
I don't have an answer to your question, but this thread made me realise I need to reassess some of my life choices, so thank you
>>7357327
>reading while walking
>>7357327
I feel slightly smug reading hard books,sorry /lit/, so I'm fine with people seeing the cover. I don't assume anyone is actually looking at them though, although sometimes I'll see girls acting weird around me.
>>7357422
I did that with a newspaper down a long main-street once. Got a lot of looks but I finished most of the main stories.
Whenever I am on a subway I bring out my copy of Infinite Jest and take a quick glance around me before pretending to read it while shifting the position I am holding the book in a strategic manner to provide the nearest females with the best view of the cover on a level correlating with their attractiveness. So far I've hooked with 5 different girls after they approached me about the book in about 2 years of doing it.
>tfw I'm not even joking
>>7358711
yeah hard covers make me feel pretty smug too, especially if they're gilt tooled
but it's sort of odd to call them "hard books"
>>7358725
>reading 2666
>girl asks me what I'm reading
>trill the Rs and soften the tilde while pronouncing Bolaño's name
>she gives me her number
Well I tend to use my Tablet to read, but I have to admit that if I am in certain places such as school I use a book as using a phone carries a certain stigma and prejudices.
>>7357327
I usually don't care, but I was reading Nieztche today so in, because I didn't want people thinking I was some edgy atheist fag.
>>7359459 yeah.. People just gives me weird glances.. But I also got some guys acting differently then they act around the other girls. Like they stare, maybe try to flirt but I'm so oblivious lol this happens when I read in public.. Maybe they like it? I could use that to my advantage desu
>>7359489
>in a modern poetry class, ~20 students
>in class discussions there are five or so students who will go out of their way to make tenuous connections to Nietzsche at any opportunity
>>7357327
i dont like reading with really bad posture so i usually hold my book up to chest/throat level, title-out
reading while walking is retarded because u can do neither well simultaneously. keep ur eyes on where ur walking faggot, nobody wants to bump into your autist assor mine
>>7359617 marry me
>>7359617
holding a book up high is fine, if it's a small book
how am I supposed to read a big 1000 page hardcover without straining my weak arms
>>7358713
i would regularly read the evening standard as i walked home, but i really was just skimming through it, reading maybe 1 or 2 articles fully.
i did it with books when i was in school but it's really hard to concentrate on the book properly so i dont do that anymore. i devote time to reading rather than trying to cram it in everywhere.
>>7359699
>how am I supposed to read a big 1000 page hardcover without straining my weak arms
DYEL?
Do you think literature is a joke?
You better start working out.
There's a cafe near my house that I love to read at. I've been to other cities where reading at cafes is really common, but I always seem to be the only one doing it. Everyone else is on their laptops or something.
I like the white noise of the crowd. When I'm alone or nearly alone, the slightest sound is distracting. But in public I can just block it all out. The only thing that bothers me at the cafe is the music they play sometimes. There's a part of my brain that can't help but pay attention to music.
Usually don't care, but reading Lolita I always kept the cover in.
>>7357327
>When you carry a book with you, do you hold it title-out or title-in?
Title-in usually, for the same reasons
>tfw you almost bump into someone because reading and walking at the same time is hard
Only do this in line at the DMV
>>7357448
>whilst
Do you retards hear yourselves?
>>7360025
>I'm American! xD
>>7359977
Based. Exactly this. Cafes are the perfect middle ground between being alone/isolated and being social. You can start a conversation whenever you feel like it, but are never obligated.
>reading 'Queer' by Burroughs
>catching bus through rough part of town
>hide cover
>>7357431
Instead of looking down at your book, hold it up closer to eye level so that you can see oncoming people in its periphery.
