People who don't read books.

batistuta9

Biedronka wrote: »

By the way, in Irish schools when you learn english or literature, do you have a list of books that you have to read? How many and what kind?
Did you enjoy reading them?
When I was at school we had to read many and some of them were really not interesting and I wouldnt even call them good literature, so maybe this puts people of reading.

when i was at secondary school which i think your talking about we read 'to kill a mockingbird', 'goodnight mister tom' and the play script for 'the field' not the actual book. That's the only one's i remember and i can't remember what years we done them i think they all were before the junior cert but these were done during english class we weren't given a list of books to read in our spare time or anything like that

conorhal wrote: »

It's not the people that ‘don't read’ (even though I think such people end up having a rather narrow world view), but rather it's the people that seem to actually wear the fact that they ‘don't read' as a badge of honor that bother me.
I remember having a conversation with a girl and making a point during the discussion that we were having by referencing a book that I'd been reading at the time. She then came out with the statement, "oh, I haven't read a book since my leaving cert forced me to". I was genuinely shocked by the pride she seemed to take in that fact, and it seems to me that there is a cohort out there that seem to revel in being genuinely ignorant.

There's a good few people with that kind of attitude, on facebook were you can list your favourite quotes, films, books etc. under books some people write 'whats a book'

MrMojoRisin

Shattered Dreamer wrote: »

I studied Law in college & as a result I've done alot of reading in my time but honestly nowadays I don't read much at all! Reading became associated with hard work to me so reading a book isn't how I like to relax.

I know what you mean, but I would recommend that you pick a public figure (not necessarily a 'celeb' :rolleyes:) of interest to you and read a book on them. It feels like less of a chore when you're just reading about the exploits people got up to during their life.

MrMojoRisin

batistuta9 wrote: »

There's a good few people with that kind of attitude, on facebook were you can list your favourite quotes, films, books etc. under books some people write 'whats a book'

Are you serious? Jesus, that's stupid.

conorhal

The King of Moo wrote: »

From fiction:

You can learn about the beauty and power and effective use of language.

You can learn to greatly improve your imagination which is a necessity for a huge number of jobs.

You can learn lots of historical and geographical facts from many fictional works.

For starters.

Not to mention the fact that there is, in my opinion, often more truth spoken in a single work of fiction then you might find in a thousand history books. Try reading 'Animal Farm' for example and see if it's not just as instructive about human nature and early 20th century history then many a weighty tome written about Stalinism.

batistuta9

MrMojoRisin wrote: »

Are you serious? Jesus, that's stupid.

Yeah seriously and another common enough one would be 'i don't read' and i'd say most people who write that are writing it implying that reading isn't cool not that they just don't like doing it

Camarillo Brillo

Crazy Horse 6 wrote: »

I don't enjoy reading at all just seems like a waste of time. Thankfully both my girls love books and they literally have to be pulled away from them for dinner time etc.. that would be my wifes influence on them she's addicted to books.

Why are you thankfull that your girls love doing something you consider to be a waste of time?

ottostreet

About the whole fiction vs. non fiction thing,

I'm reading a book at the moment called 'True History of the Kelly Gang'

Wiki Link

It's an account of the life of Ned Kelly in Australia, told in the first person. Obviously this is fiction, but the stories he relays are fact. There is a blurring of the lines in that while the stories are true, the manner in which they are told is not. However, as a result of reading this book, I have looked up the actual facts behind the man, where battles took place, pictures of his homestead, his ancestry, and the same for some of the other characters in the book.

In a way, by reading a work of 'fiction', I have learned a great deal of fact!

Mr. Rager

I read books occasionally, but I'm more into reading newspapers and online resources etc. Not to mention tv, music and gaming.

Dudess

I don't understand how a person could outright dismiss fiction/novels without reading any...

Sooopie

I'd be lost without books - I find them a great way to relax.

Nothing quite like a rainy day, sat on your sofa with a good book & a treat!

mconigol

Captain Graphite wrote: »

My Dad's a pretty smart guy but he claims he has never read a book in his life (except for when he had to for school.) Like he reads newspapers and stuff but never reads fiction. He thinks it's a waste of time. The only book I've ever seen him read is a Haynes car manual.

I don't understand his attitude towards books myself but I don't bother arguing with him over the merits of literature.

Blisterman wrote: »

Funny enough, I had this conversation with my brother the other day. He thinks it's strange that I only read non-fiction books.
I said that once I know everything that really happened, then I'll start reading made up things.

Only ever buy non-fiction. I'll read fiction if somebody gives me one as a present or something but that's about it.

There's probably some benefits to fiction but I think there's far too much interesting stuff that has happened in the real world to spend time reading about some detective somebody dreamed up etc...

Snakeblood

Dudess wrote: »

I don't understand how a person could outright dismiss fiction/novels without reading any...

If books were any good, they'd be movies. :mad:

Logical Fallacy

Dudess wrote: »

I don't understand how a person could outright dismiss fiction/novels without reading any...

Never mind that some of the people considered the greatest writers of all time are revered for their fiction.

I think a lot of people can't see beyond the idea of a "story" to the fact that many works of fiction are complex and involving explorations of the human condition.

BASHIR

I love reading all sorts of books, my problem is though if I find one I love i'l get feck all sleep because I can't put it down.

Snakeblood

I got a kindle, and it makes a huge difference to book intake. Excpt I have about 1500 books I got from my brother on it, so I spent about the first 5-6 months cataloging and correcting the author and title etc. of the books. But once I realised that was an ungodly waste of time, I really got back into reading a large amount awfully quickly.

Dudess

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

Dudess wrote: »

I don't understand how a person could outright dismiss fiction/novels without reading any...

Never mind that some of the people considered the greatest writers of all time are revered for their fiction.

I think a lot of people can't see beyond the idea of a "story" to the fact that many works of fiction are complex and involving explorations of the human condition.

Yeah, surely it depends on the individual book...

Aglomerado

I read voraciously. I've always got a couple of books on the go, but I come from a family of non-readers, so I try not to judge. Sometimes meeting a non-reader can be funny though...

I couldn't help laughing a few months ago when I did a table quiz in a local pub, and I joined a group of friends-of-friends to make a team. I'm good on general knowledge so when I gave answers for the questions one of my team mates, with an expression like this -> :eek: asked me "So, do you, like, read BOOKS and stuff?"

Another one asked me did I watch the Discovery channel instead of Living.... :pac: I died a little inside at that one...

They were good on sports, celebs and soaps though, so between us all we came second. A good night.

ScumLord

The King of Moo wrote: »

1. You don't only have to read fantasy .
And a good imagination can help you make a better table, for example. Fixing a computer doesn't require too much imagination, but designing one does, especially if you're innovating. In fact a good imagination is a must in any job that requires invention, innovation or creativity.

I'd be of the opinion that imagination is a skill just like maths is a skill that you learn. If your using your imagination for flights of fancy without grounding it in reality's then your developing your imagination in a particular direction that may not be beneficial when applied to say an engineering project.

MrMojoRisin wrote: »

That's fine seeing as it's her life and her choices are her own business, except I do wonder if the lack of reading has affected her spelling and grammar.

Reading fiction my improve you vocabulary but I don't think it can really help with spelling and your own written grammar. When reading a book your in your own imagination. The exact words and spellings can often be overlooked if your engrossed in the storey. Although that might be just dyslexic me.

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

A lot of great novels are set in historical times, or give a more personal glimpse into the lives of people in those times.

But they're still biased and their intention is to tell a particular persons storey. If you really wanted a fair description of the time you'd have to read all accounts and remove peoples bias from the equation.

old hippy

paddyandy wrote: »

... don't forget Sleep.

Or insomnia

Snakeblood

ScumLord wrote: »

I'd be of the opinion that imagination is a skill just like maths is a skill that you learn. If your using your imagination for flights of fancy without grounding it in reality's then your developing your imagination in a particular direction that may not be beneficial when applied to say an engineering project.

No one is saying you have to read only fiction though. Factual stuff is good too. It's not either or.

ScumLord wrote: »

Reading fiction my improve you vocabulary but I don't think it can really help with spelling and your own written grammar. When reading a book your in your own imagination. The exact words and spellings can often be overlooked if your engrossed in the storey. Although that might be just dyslexic me.

I learned a lot about spelling and grammar from reading P.G. Wodehouse books as a kid. You learn what makes a good tight sentence. You can probably learn how to make a tight sentence from factual books, but novels are where the artistry of language comes into its own.

ScumLord wrote: »

But they're still biased and their intention is to tell a particular persons storey. If you really wanted a fair description of the time you'd have to read all accounts and remove peoples bias from the equation.

You'll never remove all bias from the equation though. It's impossible. There's no such thing as a truly reliable account, and even piecing together from several, your own bias will influence what you take to be true and what you take to be false.

smash

flutterflye wrote: »

I have ADD.. mild dyslexia... something's wrong with my sight... depression

:eek: Are you nicknamed lucky?

jenizzle

I don't read any books. My house didn't have any, the only bit of reading that was done in my house was the Sunday paper by my Da and we never asked for them either. I can count the number of books I've read outside of education on one hand.

I'm actually quite sad about it. I feel like I have no imagination and I'm missing out but if I started now I wouldn't know where to start. I got the Kindle app on my tablet and started a book on that but I got distracted by Breaking Bad and now I'd have to start from scratch which is frustrating.

BrensBenz

In terms of human evolution, popular reading is a fairly recent development. We survived for tens of thousands of years without reading the latest chic-lit and we will survive when it has long turned to compost.
Personally, I have a hang-up about “the best”. As a kid, I read lots of stuff. Then I read Dickens and thought “that’s it” - nothing can beat that.” Since then, a few authors have stood out (e.g. Steinbeck; Flann O’Brian, etc.) but, for me, the vast majority don’t come anyway near that standard. I can’t help but go into compare / contrast mode and then resort to text books describing how to do useful stuff!
I can’t read Shakespeare! Some might say I’m a philistine but the generations of educators and professional students telling me how great Shakespeare is – and failing my exams if I dare to disagree – only bring out the rebel in me.
I would staunchly resist being beaten up by the reading police because I don’t have the latest whodunnit or (shudder) boy meets girl in my bumbag or Kindle. And do you really think that the literacy levels of our children will be raised simply by reading the latest tripe?
A very wise man once asked me how to get a pig upstairs. “You point him towards the stairs and pull him away from it”. If you want kids to read, show them where the books are and tell them not to open them.

ash23

A guy I dated once arrived to the house and I'd been reading. He said "Oh you read?" the same way one might say "Oh, you're were watching kiddie porn?" :eek:
Needless to say that relationship ended pretty quickly.

My sister is very very proud of the fact that she has never ever read a whole book. Even in school.

I think people who don't read are missing out but it's their call.

I've wasted entire days buried in a good book.

MiseryCat

I sometimes like to read a book in my spare time mostly Fantasy Books and if the story is really good I read it more enjoying it,My sister has a huge Locker full of books and I often borrowed hers(Trilogy sets),I feel it gives you more focus and improve your spelling skill,I like my magazines/paper and I have nothing against anyone who doesn't like reading books .

Kasabian

Reading is over-rated as confirmed to me in this forum.

Kasabian

ash23 wrote: »

A guy I dated once arrived to the house and I'd been reading. He said "Oh you read?" the same way one might say "Oh, you're were watching kiddie porn?" :eek:
Needless to say that relationship ended pretty quickly.

My sister is very very proud of the fact that she has never ever read a whole book. Even in school.

I think people who don't read are missing out but it's their call.

Get your sis and the ex together.

Kanoe

I only read occasionally and mostly out of boredom, especially if it's just fiction. I prefer books about stuff.

flutterflye

smash wrote: »

:eek: Are you nicknamed lucky?

Ha!
There's an awful lot more than that wrong with me than that!
Mentally and physically - I am one big giant mess (well a little one maybe seeing as I'm only 5'2!)
So tis far from lucky I feel!
But you can call me lucky if you want to.

Back on topic.
Like someone already said, I do find that people who don't read tend to have very limited conversation topics, which does get a bit tedious.
As I previously said, I wouldn't judge anyone for it, but I do think that they would be more interesting if they read every now and again.
Maybe they don't want to be interesting though.
And I guess that is just my subjective perception of what interesting is anyway.

Edit: Ah crap - that was my 1000th post. Wish I'd made it more interesting

Mindkiller

The internet has ****ed me up attention-span wise. I have a couple of books that I'm trying to read but it takes me a good 50 pages or so before I actually feel compelled to read more. Those initial few chapters are a slog.

Kanoe

My daughter's English teacher thinks she's a gifted student and passed a remark at the last P/T meetings, she assumed she reads a lot of books which is puzzling because she hates them but as she said herself she's been gaming since she was old enough to hold a controller and they are her stories. It's how she learned to read.

--Kaiser--

Mindkiller wrote: »

The internet has ****ed me up attention-span wise. I have a couple of books that I'm trying to read but it takes me a good 50 pages or so before I actually feel compelled to read more. Those initial few chapters are a slog.

Maybe you're not reading the right books. Some books I literally can't put down.
I was at a friends house recently and I picked up a copy of 'The Catcher in the Rye' (Hadn't read it since the LC). I ended up cooking breakfast with one hand because I couldn't stop reading it. A similar situation when I picked up a copy of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' at my brothers house.

Kasabian

Kanoe wrote: »

My daughter's English teacher thinks she's a gifted student and passed a remark at the last P/T meetings, she assumed she reads a lot of books which is puzzling because she hates them but as she said herself she's been gaming since she was old enough to hold a controller and they are her stories. It's how she learned to read.

I spent time reading with my kid, how times have changed.

Techno parents

flutterflye

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Maybe you're not reading the right books. Some books I literally can't put down.
I was at a friends house recently and I picked up a copy of 'The Catcher in the Rye' (Hadn't read it since the LC). I ended up cooking breakfast with one hand because I couldn't stop reading it. A similar situation when I picked up a copy of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' at my brothers house.

I hated Catcher in the Rye with a fiery passion. And I didn't even do it in school.
Fear and Loathing's good though.

Dudess

jenizzle wrote: »

I don't read any books. My house didn't have any, the only bit of reading that was done in my house was the Sunday paper by my Da and we never asked for them either. I can count the number of books I've read outside of education on one hand.

I'm actually quite sad about it. I feel like I have no imagination and I'm missing out but if I started now I wouldn't know where to start. I got the Kindle app on my tablet and started a book on that but I got distracted by Breaking Bad and now I'd have to start from scratch which is frustrating.

Kanoe

Kasabian wrote: »

I spent time reading with my kid, how times have changed.

Techno parents

she's about as old as most people posting here, consoles have been around a good while now y'know

Snakeblood

flutterflye wrote: »

I hated Catcher in the Rye with a fiery passion. And I didn't even do it in school.
Fear and Loathing's good though.

I didn't much care for Catcher either. I thought Holden needed a smack in the mouth.

The Great Shark Hunt is a great collection of HST's good period (60's to 70's)

mattjack

flutterflye wrote: »

Ha!
There's an awful lot more than that wrong with me than that!
Mentally and physically - I am one big giant mess (well a little one maybe seeing as I'm only 5'2!)
So tis far from lucky I feel!
But you can call me lucky if you want to.

Back on topic.
Like someone already said, I do find that people who don't read tend to have very limited conversation topics, which does get a bit tedious.
As I previously said, I wouldn't judge anyone for it, but I do think that they would be more interesting if they read every now and again.
Maybe they don't want to be interesting though.
And I guess that is just my subjective perception of what interesting is anyway.

Edit: Ah crap - that was my 1000th post. Wish I'd made it more interesting

happy 1000th...the tickets to Disneyland are in the post

--Kaiser--

flutterflye wrote: »

I hated Catcher in the Rye with a fiery passion. And I didn't even do it in school.
Fear and Loathing's good though.

Let me guess, you're female?
Girls nearly always hate this book, guys tend to love it.
Similar to the way guys hate all those Austen/Bronte books

Mindkiller

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Maybe you're not reading the right books. Some books I literally can't put down.
I was at a friends house recently and I picked up a copy of 'The Catcher in the Rye' (Hadn't read it since the LC). I ended up cooking breakfast with one hand because I couldn't stop reading it. A similar situation when I picked up a copy of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' at my brothers house.

I've read Catcher in the Rye. My cousin recommended it to me and was all like 'Read this book man! You'll look at the world a different way!' (Well, he didn't say that but he seemed to think it would be a life changing experience for me:rolleyes:)

Anyway, nope. Didn't like it.

Kasabian

Kanoe wrote: »

she's about as old as most people posting here, consoles have been around a good while now y'know

I wasn't being disparaging, I never had any interested in gaming

flutterflye

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Let me guess, you're female?
Girls nearly always hate this book, guys tend to love it.
Similar to the way guys hate all those Austen/Bronte books

Yup, guilty as charged.
Ah now, how can anyone hate the Austen/Bronte books???!!!

The King of Moo

jenizzle wrote: »

I don't read any books. My house didn't have any, the only bit of reading that was done in my house was the Sunday paper by my Da and we never asked for them either. I can count the number of books I've read outside of education on one hand.

I'm actually quite sad about it. I feel like I have no imagination and I'm missing out but if I started now I wouldn't know where to start. I got the Kindle app on my tablet and started a book on that but I got distracted by Breaking Bad and now I'd have to start from scratch which is frustrating.

It can seem overwhelming. I'd say one way to start is to look at the bestseller lists, or what's most prominently placed in the fiction section of a bookshop. Obviously that way you're only going to skim the surface, but it'll be a start, and it could lead down avenues towards books you love, and you'd still come across some classics.

Another approach may be to gravitate towards books similar in genre or subject to films or tv you like, or even novels that have been adapted into films you've liked, or other novels by those authors.

Kasabian

I like to read books that I believe will challenge my principals and beliefs, I am currently reading two books, Dawkin's to see if he can push me from agnostic to atheist.

Also I really need to know if Wally exists.

pickarooney

CITR is an absolutely terrible book.

--Kaiser--

flutterflye wrote: »

Yup, guilty as charged.
Ah now, how can anyone hate the Austen/Bronte books???!!!

Never read 'em. A friend described them as 'Mills and Boon for the 19th century'

Kanoe

Kasabian wrote: »

I wasn't being disparaging, I never had any interested in gaming

no I know, there's a lot to be said for the gaming culture in terms of literacy among kids nowdays. I'm sure I did tell her bedtime stories too but she has no interest in books. On the odd occasion that she would buy one (memoirs of a geisha and the first twilight books when they came out) she would get bored after a few chapters and just leave it to gather dust on a shelf. I do try and encourage her to read but she seems to do just fine without them.

Snakeblood

The King of Moo wrote: »

It can seem overwhelming. I'd say one way to start is to look at the bestseller lists, or what's most prominently placed in the fiction section of a bookshop. Obviously that way you're only going to skim the surface, but it'll be a start, and it could lead down avenues towards books you love, and you'd still come across some classics.

Another approach may be to gravitate towards books similar in genre or subject to films or tv you like, or even novels that have been adapted into films you've liked, or other novels by those authors.

I'd got with 'Movie I liked is also a book'. You aren't at sea with the plot etc, but if the book is good, it's generally different enough from the movie to make it interesting anyway. You can learn valuable things about Edward's chiseled abs and alabaster skin.

Logical Fallacy

BrensBenz wrote: »

I can’t read Shakespeare! Some might say I’m a philistine but the generations of educators and professional students telling me how great Shakespeare is – and failing my exams if I dare to disagree – only bring out the rebel in me.

Exams are not based on your expressed opinion, but on your ability to find merit for it and back it up based on the subject of discussion.

I'm failing to see how you would fail and exam for simply not liking Shakespeare. I majored in English Literature and i was never asked did i like something, it was nearly always an exploration of themes and subtext that were the focus.

In short, either you lecturer was a total dick or you were missing the point.

With regard to Catcher in the Rye, i never liked it. Read it when i was about 12, read it again in school and tried it once more in college and just felt "meh" about the whole thing. Probably driven by my absolute dislike of Holden Caulfield. I'm not a major fan of self inflicted loaner/self proclaimed martyr dichotomy though.

token56

A large portion of my day is spent reading scientific literature so reading some books when I get home to relax is not what I want to do. I'd read newspapers etc but just dont have the desire to read full books.