On reading and conversational interruptions

I mentioned in yesterday's brief post that I sometimes like to be someplace public when I'm reading so that I can take a brief break and chat with other people if I feel like that.  As I wrote this, I immediately thought of a certain image -- the one I've included in this blog post -- that occasionally circulates around Facebook.

It's true that many avid readers -- including myself on numerous occasions -- don't like to bet disturbed when we're reading.  As avid readers, we get completely engrossed in our stories and like to stay there.  Interrupting us just because you want to talk is disruptive, intrusive, and very much a violation of our boundaries.

I can't speak for other readers (so do any of the following with them at your own peril), but I personally don't mind if someone briefly says hi or asks me what I'm reading.  I'll glance up and answer the other person's question.  I might even give a brief synopsis of the book's plot (or subject matter, if it's non-fiction).  After that, I usually go back to my reading.  (The only exception being if the person is a cute guy and I feel more interested in chatting him up than finishing my story.)

And here's the thing -- and this much I'm willing to bet fifty bucks is universal to most avid readers -- once my eyes return to my book, I am finished with the conversation.  If someone tries to continue the conversation after that point, they've overstayed their welcome in my space.  I will let them know in what will hopefully be a cool yet civil tone that I'd really like to get back to my reading uninterrupted, if they don't mind.  And let's be clear, the "if they don't mind" part is polite convention.  I don't actually care whether they mind.  At that point, the can get hurt all they want.  They can even get angry.  I'm all for letting people feel whatever they want.  But if they interrupt me again, as Granny Aching (first mentioned in "The Wee Free Men")  might say, There will be a reckoning.

The safer bet is normally to only approach a reader when they have taken a break, when they take their eyes from the pages (or their e-reader) and look around.  I will note that when I'm reading in public and am open to conversation, I look up a lot, mainly to help communicate the message that I'm not so engrossed in my reading at the moment that I'd be hostile to a brief conversational break.

But then, I may be an odd duck in that respect.  A lot of times, when I go to someplace like a coffee shop, I read to pass the time and to keep myself from going nuts from having nothing to do.  I'm not the kind of person that starts random conversations with strangers (though I've gotten somewhat better about it), so if I don't already know someone where I am, I fall back to reading (or playing on my smart phone).  In those situations, I do consider myself approachable by others rather than being in "let me read in peace" mode, and I try to communicate that through how I behave and otherwise represent myself.

I want to find a casual reading place.

Yesterday, I went to a coffee shop and read a couple chapters of "Frey."  I sat on one of the comfy sofas that the proprietors thoughtfully placed about the shop.  I enjoyed my time there and my reading, but part of me really wanted to be outdoors reading.  The coffee shop had outdoor seating, mind you.  However, their outdoor seating has absolutely no shade, and the sun was shining down blistering heat yesterday.  When my choices are between turning into a lobster and accepting indoor seating instead, well, I don't need to sit outside....

However, it occurs to me that I'd really like to find my ideal public reading spot, a spot that has the following characteristics:

• Is outdoors
• Is shaded
• Is sufficiently public and frequented that if I decide to take a break from my reading, I can also engage in conversation

Of course, someplace with comfortable outside seating would also be plus.

Returning to the reading adventures

The past few days, I've been making a conscious effort to make time for reading.  Reading is one of those pastimes that I love, but often forget about.  In many ways, I suppose it's because to me, reading runs somewhat contrary to the major objective I'm focusing on right now, which is getting out, being sociable, and meeting more people.  By its very nature, the act of reading is a solitary practice.  I mean, sure, you can join book discussion groups (if you can find such groups that enjoy reading the books you enjoy) and socialize that way.  I don't do that, though.  I'm not sure I want to do that, either.  So when I look at my choice to read or go out, I consider what I'm trying to do with my life right now and feel going out makes more sense.

No bed-side table is complete
without a few of these.

Of course, there's plenty of other alone time, time I normally spend watching stuff of Netflix or pulling something out of my DVD collection.  I do that a lot because to me, it's mindless entertainment.  When I read, I engage much more of my brain.  I try to pull myself into the word of Frey (to use my current reading material as an example), see what's going on, feel what she's going through, and so on.  Watching movies and television, I can let the images on the screen do all that work for me.  It's a much more passive pastime.  Plus, to my mind at least, it seems easier on my eyes, which spend way too much time looking at strange words at work anyway.

But I've come to realize that I also don't get as much enjoyment out of watching movies and television as I do reading precisely because it's so passive.  Reading actually exercises my brain, gives it something to latch on to and explore.  It keeps my brain active and in shape, in a way.  And I think I've been noticing a certain amount of brain-rot due to the lack of stimulation in my life recently.  (Eros forbid that any other part of my body starts rotting from lack of recent stimulation!  So I've decided to make a disciplined habit of converting some of my "braindead viewing time" into reading time.  I figure even if I have to take a fifteen minute power nap first in order to feel like I can muster the mental energy to read, I'll do it.  And who knows, maybe it'll actually help me build more mental energy in the future so I'll be more ready to read.

In some ways, I think I've already found that.  Between the reading and walking (something else I'm trying to do more of), I've felt increasingly energized and alert over the past couple days.