Quote:
Originally Posted by BookCat
So the character who reads in public and hates to be spoken to or approached by other people while reading could perhaps find somewhere with no other people in it in order to read undisturbed.
For the record, I quite like speaking to people on the bus, though I travel in taxis now and chat to the driver, I sometimes get cheaper fares that way. If I sit in a tea shop, I quite like it when there are no free tables and I double up with someone who begins a conversation. And I'm the type of person who has conversations with corner-shop keepers when they're not busy. If I saw someone reading, I'm sorry to say that I would be really tempted to engage them in conversation, but I'm quick to take a hint - a few grunts and I would shut up.
"Miserable old sod," I'd think to myself while tucking in to a cream cake.
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So... long (or even short) commutes to and from work, any destination really, that has you stuck on buses or trains or planes means I shouldn't expect to be able to read in peace? It might be the only time in the day I can manage to read because of work, family, etc. I have no way to say my thoughts politely about that so I won't.
I don't mind being interrupted while reading to answer a few questions or whatever, but I do want to go back to my reading and not spend the next 2 hours chatting to a stranger stuck in a seat next to him with no escape. I'm not antisocial at all, and as said, I never mind being interrupted for something quick here and there, I'll even initiate conversations. But
never when I see a person preoccupied with anything else, including reading a book.