Doest thou deplore non-readers?

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

And were they honest they wouldn't need to look up factoids but just walk over and say:
"It plainly amazes how you can keep track on that.
I'd have strangled myself already by just trying to produce a plain piece of cloth bare of any patterns."

Hehe, when I am knitting on a bus, on a potholey route, a pair of socks (with 5 double pointed needles), people often do comment how impressed they are that a) I can knit socks without a pattern in hand, and b) anyone can knit with "that many" needles

But you're right. People don't have to come up with brilliant factoids. Often just something like, "That's pretty!" or "My mom taught me to knit, but I didn't really keep up with it, that looks cool!" can be pleasantly received and a good conversation starter. I often would find out that the commenter has cool hobbies of their own (woodturning on a lathe, pottery, weaving, etc), so it gets people to know each other a bit better.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

It's easy to say all this now, but back then I was pretty much asking to get laughed at. Not that it stopped me. The answer to the question "So, will anyone mind if I knit?" often determined my accepting or declining of invitations anywhere

Nowadays I read about people who take their knitting into pubs and it's not all that unusual , even sexy. Trends come and go. We have people like The Yarn Harlot blazing trails and bringing the cool back into knitting.

ETA: and now e-readers have made it a LOT easier to knit and read at the same time. no need to "hold a book open".

About 15-20 years ago, one of my friends was trying to quit smoking but had difficulty when she was out with other smokers because she didn't have anything to do with her hands. So she started taking knitting with her and was able to finally quit smoking with the aid of knitting.

She also produced a raft of smoky knitwear for her friends!

[foghat]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

Nowadays I read about people who take their knitting into pubs and it's not all that unusual , even sexy. Trends come and go. We have people like The Yarn Harlot blazing trails and bringing the cool back into knitting..

My wife was on a course about 6 months ago. During the break a 25ish year old male pulled out his knitting and had at it.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

She also produced a raft of smoky knitwear for her friends!

Hey, good stuff! I met someone who also used knitting to quit smoking. It's win win, get healthier, make neat accessories!

[Billi]

From a one-night-stand to knitting.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

Hey, good stuff! I met someone who also used knitting to quit smoking. It's win win, get healthier, make neat accessories!

Crossword puzzles helped me quit smoking.

[foghat]

Originally Posted by Billi

From a one-night-stand to knitting.

You are witnessing the the power of the Internets.

[voracious71]

Originally Posted by Joy736

I have absolutely nothing against non-readers. On the other hand, I get easily irritated by readers, meaning those "I'm better than you, because I read old difficult boring books and you read that easy modern best-selling stuff or nothing at all" type of readers.

Agree 100%. Snobbery is a huge turn off for me.

[Catlady]

Well, I just read through all 13 pages of this thread, and I don't think anyone stated the obvious: A lack of bookshelves and gadgets does not automatically mean the guy didn't read. He might have borrowed books from the library. He might have bought books and not kept them after reading. He might have read magazines. He might have had books and bookcases in another room, or stored in boxes. Why the automatic assumption that he was a nonreader?

[Belfaborac]

I don't deplore non-readers, only those who proudly proclaim that "I haven't read a book since I left school and I don't see the point in reading!" (or words to that effect). Of whom I've met a depressingly large number.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Well, I just read through all 13 pages of this thread, and I don't think anyone stated the obvious: A lack of bookshelves and gadgets does not automatically mean the guy didn't read. He might have borrowed books from the library. He might have bought books and not kept them after reading. He might have read magazines. He might have had books and bookcases in another room, or stored in boxes. Why the automatic assumption that he was a nonreader?

He was.
After I explained what a Kindle is, his response was; "Oh, I don't read".

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

He was.
After I explained what a Kindle is, his response was; "Oh, I don't read".

+1 for honesty? i wonder if he reads newspapers and magazines, though...

i know people who don't go much for traditional novels/fiction, but enjoy reading newspapers, magazines and books like reader's digest

[Kumabjorn]

The whole idea about going home with a man 20 years my senior was my assumption that he would be more sophisticated, into intellectual pursuits, and perhaps not so hurried in dispensing corporal fluids as the normal crowd of 30+ers I encounter. Only the first point held true. Perhaps the pool of eligible bachelor's where I live is simply insufficient.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

The whole idea about going home with a man 20 years my senior was my assumption that he would be more sophisticated, into intellectual pursuits, and perhaps not so hurried in dispensing corporal fluids as the normal crowd of 30+ers I encounter. Only the first point held true. Perhaps the pool of eligible bachelor's where I live is simply insufficient.

You're looking in the wrong places

[Kumabjorn]

Closest zoo is in a different country.
He does look daper though, even gives the impression of being a good listener. Quite the contrast to those that talk incessantly about themselves. Children of the curling parents, a bane for procreation.