I had to take dh's car to the dealer for a recall fix and a couple of routine things this morning. When we traded cars yesterday, I put three books in his car: the one that I was reading plus the next two I think that I'd like to read from my massive TBR. When I brought things in from the car last night, I left the two yet-to-be-read books and brought in the other (to read in bed last night, of course). Worried that I might forget my current read today but comforted myself that I'd have two others to choose from while I waited.
I remembered my current read, so I had three books in the waiting room. Told the service guy that I'd like them to be slow enough to give me time to finish my book -- say, couple of hours. No, he promised it wouldn't take nearly that long. Drat.
When I sat down in the waiting room, there was only an older gentleman there and the TV was blasting. He was reading the newspaper and I asked him if he'd mind if I turned the TV down. No, he wouldn't mind at all. We couldn't find the remote, so I tried turning it off. Got the picture to turn off but not the sound. Found a control on the speakers and turned it town there . . . and proceeded to read.
During my stay, three young women (I'd guess early to mid twenties) came in (separately). Not a one of them had a book. Or anything. They just sat and waited. Now, I'm all for a meditative time but I kind of wondered what was going on in their brains. Were all three day dreaming? What do people do when waiting but not reading, talking or watching TV (I'd be visiting with someone)?
An employee came through, noticed the TV was off (well, from what he could tell LOL) and asked if we'd (they'd) like the TV on. Their shrugs were pretty ambivalent. I explained that in trying to turn down the TV, I didn't know what I'd done. He got us set up with the volume not intrusively loud.
But what was amazing to me was these women weren't reading, were only half-heartedly watching TV, weren't talking on their phones (thank goodness), didn't have earbuds in. It was just so odd to me. I assume that they're not readers or I'd have suggested they get some books on their phones (assuming they each had one).
Do y'all notice when you're surrounded like that by non-readers? In a place that you think of as a great reading place? (I was actually glad that I had to go b/c I was looking forward to some guilt-free, uninterrupted reading time LOL.)
I'm curious in Fort Worth 
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It has happened that I've ended up waiting without a book
in which case I sit and wait while in my head I'm thinking about my
favourite books, reliving bits in my head and probably looking like
someone sitting and waiting
What can I say? I'm comfortable with me and what goes on in my head
Of course it doesn't happen often
Hugs
Sadhbh
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Yeah, I actually don't mind just waiting
b/c there's so much in my head that, like you, I can think about books, re-reading in my head as it were. Somehow I don't think these women were readers, though, and I wondered what they were thinking about. They didn't look stressed or anything. They didn't even look at the newspaper or the magazines . . . I guess I kind of wondered what non-readers do while they have to wait?
P
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If you don't have a book...
then you're sitting there trying to not make eye contact.
Angel
"I can fix a bad page, but I can't fix a blank one." Nora Roberts
www.angelinabarbin.blogspot.com
Actually if I don't have a book, and someone beside me/
across from me does, I'm sitting trying to read over their
shoulder/upside down, and wishing they'd read faster because I read a
page in the time it takes them to read a paragraph
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Angel said,
"If you don't have a book . . . then you're sitting there trying to not make eye contact."
Well, Angel's trying not to make eye contact with me b/c I'll have conversations with anyone I can get to talk to me.
Joking aside, you know, they weren't making eye contact. And as the middle-aged married mother, I wasn't being shy about commenting on Regis and Kelly and so on once the TV was back on. Poor things were probably glad when I left and they could go back to not interacting LOL.
Penn
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I'm ROTFLOL here because Penni and I have actually met
in the real world, and I've never dared ask her what she thought of
me (I'm convinced I SO do NOT want to know) when I went to "visit" her
and managed to read a book during every visit LOL
Y'all do know I'm a readaholic, right?
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I am with Penni, first I
I am with Penni, first I have a book and second I am totally into talking to people I don't know. I don't know why, but if I am waiting with someone else, I am like Penni and often make comments about things to people. Just can't stop myself.
Cady
TBR--The Born Readers
I'm a wreader
I know what you mean about looking forward to 'guilt-free' reading time. I volunteer to bring the van in, take the kids to their lessons, dentist lessons, etc just so I can have an excuse to read.
I do have time at home, but since I don't go out to work anymore, I feel I should be either cleaning or writing and since I HATE cleaning.... (writer/reader=wreader)
Before the self-serve check-outs came to our local supermarket, I used to stand in line reading...I guess I still due in other stores, banks, etc.
And yes, since being introduced to the joys of audiobooks, I'm never with those as well.
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www.newsfromthepews.blogspot.com
I can't imagine...
not having a book, or even several books on hand. I'd have to read something... surely there was a magazine handy??? If not, I'd be pacing! How do they just WAIT????
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can't just sit
If I don't have something to read, and there is nothing to read, I start making lists of things that need to be done. but to just sit...not in my nature. I do like to talk tough, so I am not adverse to holding a converstaion or two while I wait...but pople don't seem to be a schatty in public as in earlier years...
ever searching...getting there one step at a time lulu
Waiting and reading
Now that I need reading glasses (only) to read (or see my computer at work), if my appointment is in the afternoon, I will give my eyes a needed break and just relax and wait. For morning appointment or if i expect to wait a long time, I will bring a book or the newspaper and my glasses!
Tammy
Waiting
I hate anyone interrupting my reading (unless its a magazine). I figure dentists and mechanics etc don't deserve my growls and scowls so I use these times to work out plot problems with my wip - or to start thinking about the next book I mean to write... or the next book... or... hold on, I think that's called daydreaming.
The Loner's Guarded Heart - Harlequin Romance April 08
http://www.michelle-douglas.com
If I'm waiting and not reading...
I'm thinking about what needs to be done that day/week, or past conversations (what was actually said and what I could have said), or people watching, or "daydreaming" (making up nonsense stories in my head).
What I am absolutely NOT doing, is talking to the other people.
Jo
So timely
I left my book at home today accidentally. I had two on my desk at work but I'd read them both. So I had to ride the bus home with no book. The horror!
I thought I might nap a little but the bus was too crowded.
I spent the time piecing together characters from the people around me. I take a bus from the local university to my neighborhood so there were plenty of choices!
I hardly ever just sit but when I do, there's always a book going through my brain.
Neat topic!
Ellen
Ellen's Blog --- Ellen's Website
The Boyfriend's Back Superromance May '09
His Secret Past Superromance May '08
no book..no magazine...no TV...no notebook...or knitting
Utter misery....I have to do something.
Laughter is an instant vacation- Milton Berle
I'm rarely ever without a
I'm rarely ever without a book when i leave the house, unless i know for certain i won't be able to read where i'm going. Even then, i often will bring one anyway and leave it in the truck, just in case i get delayed on the way home, i'd hate to not have something to read
I really can't sit and do nothing. I've got to be reading, or looking at a magazine, or if i can't do that, occupying my brain by thinking about things i need/want to get done etc., or if i can, i have no problem trying to strike up a conversation with someone who looks decent and approachable to me.
I too have often wondered what people who don't read think about when their sitting there waiting, and wonder if their feeling bored, they quite often look like they are, and I feel a bit of loss for them that they didn't bring a book to read.
Kathy D
Maybe they are sleeping with
Maybe they are sleeping with their eyes open. I've heard that this is possible.
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
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When I go to the auto dealer
I make sure that I carry a book and sometimes people will talk about books and who they like or dislike. I have seen some who just sit there and it would drive me crazy to do that. If I do not have a book then I at least read the newspaper or a magazine.
Elaine
I always carry a book
Hubby thinks it is strange that I will take a book along when we go to other people's houses.......usually I leave it in the car.....it is for the times when he says "As long as we are in town, I want to stop and talk to Larry" his friend , so I will sit in the car and read while he is in the shop talking.........I also take one when I go across town to pick him up from work........as he leaves me sitting in the car for 1/2 an hour while talking to the guys in the shop about something that needs fixing.
I do strike up conversations with strangers if they look like they are willing to talk.....if they act like they would rather be left along, I open my book back up....
Lisa
Oh I just don't leave the
Oh I just don't leave the house without a book. You just never know when you will have to sit and wait on something. Getting an oil change isn't bothersome when you can read a few chapters of a book you just can't put down! I use to be able to read during down time at work, but I've been so busy the last few months that I haven't been able to read at work so I definately welcome any excuse to pop out my book! (Sometimes I truly think maybe my fiance gets embarrassed by it or something... hmmm)
We might not have it all together but together we have it all. Suchacutie316
Always have a couple
Always have a couple of books with me. They just make me feel so good even if I know I don't have much chance to read, just in case. I also have my personal CD/MP3 player when I shop. I listen to a book while at the grocery store or even browsing the bookstore. So no idle time for me when I could be reading.
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when not to have a book
We have talked about when we have books but when are those times that you really cannot have a book nearby? I don't bring a book to work with me...there are so many other things that I should be doing that I don't want to even take a chance of procrastinating, or if I am going to someplace that i am not to happy about, I won't bring a book because it would be a choice of reading and being rude, or not reading and being bored so I know what i would opt for...hence I leave the book in the car or at home...
ever searching...getting there one step at a time lulu
To look at me in a waiting
To look at me in a waiting room, you'd think I'm a nonreader, too, but my TBR pile is several boxes high. Sadly, I'm also a poor planner. I always forget to throw a book in my purse. If I do have one, I've probably already finished reading it. TV and magazines aren't that appealing, so I sit and people watch. I come up with ideas for my next story. I might jot down some notes, and people would think I was updating my "To Do" list, but I'm actually writing about a torrid love affair with the doctor or mechanic. Sit there and play the "what if" game about other people. It's also nice to just have quiet time doing absolutely nothing and with nobody demanding of me. I downloaded the Harlequin podcasts so I can listen to them on my cell phone/MP3 player while waiting, but I forget to throw my headset into my purse, too.
Oh, Micki, and LuLu,
I usually have a box of books in my car. Sometimes I clean it out and the box comes in to be updated or whatever and then I don't get it back in the car and I end up somewhere bookless but rarely. The other day I was taking dh's car in and I don't keep books in his car, although it has occurred to me that I should. Heaven knows I have a big enough TBR for two small boxes of books to be in the car.
LuLu,
Church is an obvious one. The orchestra (I usually go by myself) is another BUT I take an electronic book for while I wait before the performance and during intermission. So that's kind of cheating. Visiting with people, no, I don't have a book. But waiting? Waiting is for reading . . .
Penn
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Books and waiting
My husband loves to go to buffets for dinner. I can not eat nearly as much as he can...so I read while he goes back to refill his plate! Sort of crass...but he knows its me, and loves me anyway!
By the above comment I'm sure you can figure out I go nowhere without my book. I don't always end up reading it, because if I can strike up a conversation I will. I'm a talker by nature...what can I say!
The dealership where I take my car has free internet access so I have noticed people with their laptops, books, magazines, or staring aimlessly at whatever drivel is on the TV.
To be bookless is a horror I can't imagine!
(the other day I finished my book and still had time to kill. I didn't want to read the spare one I had, so I went to the bookstore and found a comfy chair and read one of their books until it was time to meet my friends for dinner. Then went home and dug the title out of my TBR so I could continue reading it.)
Sandi
The Born Readers
Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
Maybe they're writing books
Maybe they're writing books in their heads!
Or maybe not.
At least, maybe they're re-writing the ending to the last movie they saw so that they end up with the guy. You've got to respect that, right? I love doing that.
The worst is a waiting room where the communal TV is tuned into something wretchedly boring. Silence is sooo much better.
I don't know maybe they
I don't know, Penn, maybe they were on drugs or something. LOL Whatever the case, they probably don't like to read. You wouldn't believe how many people I know who don't read at all - including a lot of family. And I get the sneaky suspicion that they think I'm the boring one....
Kate, If I'm caught out without a book, that happens rarely by the way, then I do the next best thing. I write in my head - basically telling myself a story - just like you mentioned! Actually I've had a few really good brainstorms this way for whatever story I'm currently working on. Hey, listening to the voices in your head is a GOOD thing sometimes!
Kate's back! For a bit, anyway.
Life's been throwing things hard at Kate lately but if she's here maybe things are slowing down enough that she can write us a new book to read!
Ah, Amanda, the non-readers just don't know what they're missing.
It was funny but a couple of days after this post, I took my own car in to have the tires rotated and there was a woman reading a Love Inspired (should have talked to her and gotten her to join the challenge) and other people. The people waiting at the tire place just looked more engaged in life, even the majority who were just sitting and waiting. I think the body language was pretty different in the first waiting room from the second . . .
Penn
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This just happened to me.
I had a doctor's appointment on Monday (cholesterol dropped 61 points thankyouverymuch). I sat in the waiting area with my ebook and did my best to block out the world. I never mind the wait. There was a lady who walked in a few minutes after me who sat down on the other side of the room. I couldn't help but notice that she sat and did nothing! The tv was on but she wasn't watching it. She left the magazines untouched and she didn't have anyone talking with her or a phone or headphones. Like you I am all for meditative moments but a doctor's office, in my opinion, is not that place.
So the nurse takes me back. Explains that it's gonna be a bit of a wait, the doc is in with a patient and he has another one to see before he sees me. She offers me a magazine. I say with a huge smile on my face. "No, I'm good. I've got a book, a bottle of water and I don't have to be at work until noon. Tell him to take his time." She just gave me a curious look before she shut the door.
Everyone is different I suppose.
That's funny, Jillyan....
The nurse must've been one of those darned non-readers!
I always have a book with
I always have a book with me. Just in case. I don't buy a purse unless I know it can fit my stuff and a book. I have gotten some strange looks while purse shopping lol.
TBR--The Born Readers. Visit the 100,000 challenge blog of my team! See you there!
I can't stand not having a
I can't stand not having a book to read! I have a back-up book in my drawer at work if I have forgotten my current read at home.
There's a gal I work with who will sit in the lunch room and eat. Just eat. She doesn't talk to anyone, she doesn't read (in fact, she gave me all her Nora Roberts books), she just sits there staring off into space as she eats. That is complete boredom in my book! I could never do that!
~Kristen
"You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be--
I had a mother who read to me."
--Strickland Gillilan
http://lateinlifemommy.blogspot.com/
It amazes me too.
I was in the hospital today for day surgery and, of course, I had a book. There were lots of patients and their family members there and I only saw 2 other people with a book. For me, getting lost in a book takes away some of the stress and nervousness. Plus, I had about 2 hours of guilt-free reading while I was in recovery.
~ ElleJay - Team member of Novel Obsession
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the pleasure is having lots to do and not doing it!
I always have my book....
and a back up....plus a note book and a pen.
I hate being caught with nothing to do.
I dont like being at a restaurant, waiting room or anywhere, alone and get stuck staring at people or listening to other peoples conversations.
Terri
Got Books?
Placement makes a difference sometimes
Depending on where in a book I am and how steamy it is is why I don't read in public often. I know no one knows what exactly I am reading but I feel uncomfortable if it is a very hot scene. Even if I do read them in public having to make sure my facial expression doesn't give things away takes away from the enjoyment of that scene. I may have to read it again in private anyway just to get the full effect for the overall picture of the book.
***************************************************************************************
Use the talents you have, for the woods would by silent if no birds sang except the best. (from a flip inspiration book-'Thoughts for my daughter')
Blake....
"Even if I do read them in public having to make sure my facial expression doesn't give things away takes away from the enjoyment of that scene."
I'm ROTFL over that one, Blake. I can just envision myself sitting in a waiting room of people and seeing someone else read one of 'those books' with a sort of melting-oh-my-gosh-here's-the-juicy-sexy-part-look on their face! I love that mental picture!
And, no doubt, you're right. I wouldn't want anyone to see that look on my face either! I usually avoid reading the Blazes or even some of the HP's in public because of that. I stick with HR's or SSE's or something a little 'sweeter' like that. 
I'm too busy reading to worry about the expression on my face
or the other people who might be wasting time watching me
Penni- what kind of expressions did I have on my face when you watched me reading?
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Sadhbh....
You're too funny!
I like your pic by the way.