Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

I've just seen a lovely thing that is not as common anymore

166 replies

ilovemynails · 17/06/2026 11:03

We have been on holiday to Tenerife. At the airport coming home there was a British family.
Mum, Dad and 3 children who looked between 10 and 14 and each one was reading a proper book.
No phones or tablets in sight.

OP posts:
Hollyhobbi · 19/06/2026 15:56

Ninjabeastfeast · 18/06/2026 23:50

For goodness’ sake.

First time in Italy last year on a weekend break, taxi driver was watching a football match on his iPad while driving!!

ElegantDresses · 20/06/2026 20:45

Bookaholicwithwine · 18/06/2026 22:57

That’s so sad you think that . My kid loves reading his books .

It was a joke. We all love reading too. So don't worry about me.

CynthiaL · 20/06/2026 20:46

ilovemynails · 17/06/2026 11:03

We have been on holiday to Tenerife. At the airport coming home there was a British family.
Mum, Dad and 3 children who looked between 10 and 14 and each one was reading a proper book.
No phones or tablets in sight.

That is nice and your right, very uncommon.

WheretheFishesareFrightening · 20/06/2026 20:47

Thebinisrightthere · 17/06/2026 11:29

None of these. 2 paperbacks don't weigh much ot take up much room, and can cost hardly anything if like me you get them from the charity shop or library

2 paperbacks don’t take much, but I can easily read 8 on a week’s beach holiday. 8 paperbacks are bulky and weighty enough to make a difference.

Bookaholicwithwine · 20/06/2026 20:47

ElegantDresses · 20/06/2026 20:45

It was a joke. We all love reading too. So don't worry about me.

Ok I didn’t anyway :)

Thebinisrightthere · 20/06/2026 21:52

WheretheFishesareFrightening · 20/06/2026 20:47

2 paperbacks don’t take much, but I can easily read 8 on a week’s beach holiday. 8 paperbacks are bulky and weighty enough to make a difference.

I get that. I'd probably only read 1 book per week but I also take puzzle books too

Thebinisrightthere · 20/06/2026 21:54

Hollyhobbi · 19/06/2026 15:56

First time in Italy last year on a weekend break, taxi driver was watching a football match on his iPad while driving!!

My dd had to commute by Uber motorbike while working abroad. The driver was watching TikTok!

LauRRen144 · 20/06/2026 22:20

didntlikeanyofthesuggestions · 17/06/2026 11:05

They probably couldn't afford a tablet or phone after paying the fine to take their kids out of school in term time.

😂😂😂 so true. But it is lovely all the same!

FastFood · 20/06/2026 22:21

I don't get the performance of reading 20 books in a week, is it a speed competition? I like to take my time to read every sentence, take a break to build a mental picture.
If I read a history book, I will try to immerse myself in the era, thinking about how it sounded, smelled, looked like.

Last year, I got into reading mountaineering books, I needed to know about the mountain layout, about the gear etc...
Now I'm able to picture the Traverse on the K2, I have experienced loneliness, despair and the madness of altitude sickness, just by reading.

I find the whole "look at me I read so fast" narrative very weird and tedious and definitely not a flex.
It's a book, not a bad Netflix series.

ToThePoint2026 · 20/06/2026 22:34

If I could only do 2 books in a week then I would take them but I'm a proper book worm and my kindle is my life saver as I can read up to 10 in a week. Quite often much cheaper than charity shops in my area at 99p aswell

AlcoholicAntibiotic · 20/06/2026 22:34

FastFood · 20/06/2026 22:21

I don't get the performance of reading 20 books in a week, is it a speed competition? I like to take my time to read every sentence, take a break to build a mental picture.
If I read a history book, I will try to immerse myself in the era, thinking about how it sounded, smelled, looked like.

Last year, I got into reading mountaineering books, I needed to know about the mountain layout, about the gear etc...
Now I'm able to picture the Traverse on the K2, I have experienced loneliness, despair and the madness of altitude sickness, just by reading.

I find the whole "look at me I read so fast" narrative very weird and tedious and definitely not a flex.
It's a book, not a bad Netflix series.

People read at different speeds. It’s not any more complicated than that.

I’d be bored rigid if I had to stick to how you read, but it clearly works for you.

Awhimoway · 20/06/2026 23:18

I read 40 books a week and have a personal kindle portal everywhere I go. Bet you don't feel so superior now OP, because I've just won at internet reading.

Iarthar · 21/06/2026 01:02

FastFood · 20/06/2026 22:21

I don't get the performance of reading 20 books in a week, is it a speed competition? I like to take my time to read every sentence, take a break to build a mental picture.
If I read a history book, I will try to immerse myself in the era, thinking about how it sounded, smelled, looked like.

Last year, I got into reading mountaineering books, I needed to know about the mountain layout, about the gear etc...
Now I'm able to picture the Traverse on the K2, I have experienced loneliness, despair and the madness of altitude sickness, just by reading.

I find the whole "look at me I read so fast" narrative very weird and tedious and definitely not a flex.
It's a book, not a bad Netflix series.

There’s no need to feel threatened! People are simply explaining why they can’t just pack two paperbacks to take on holiday and why a Kindle is great for travelling even if that’s not how you usually read. And I don’t think anyone reading on a Kindle and/or fast is going to miss out on the emotions of claiming K2!

Though I wouldn’t want to read anything that relied on maps/ illustrations/ diagrams on Kindle.

WheretheFishesareFrightening · 21/06/2026 08:31

FastFood · 20/06/2026 22:21

I don't get the performance of reading 20 books in a week, is it a speed competition? I like to take my time to read every sentence, take a break to build a mental picture.
If I read a history book, I will try to immerse myself in the era, thinking about how it sounded, smelled, looked like.

Last year, I got into reading mountaineering books, I needed to know about the mountain layout, about the gear etc...
Now I'm able to picture the Traverse on the K2, I have experienced loneliness, despair and the madness of altitude sickness, just by reading.

I find the whole "look at me I read so fast" narrative very weird and tedious and definitely not a flex.
It's a book, not a bad Netflix series.

It’s not a boast, it’s just how fast I read. I also can’t imagine images in my head so I can’t spend time building a mental picture. And I do read every sentence and absorb the story.. just quickly.

On holiday, reading one book a day could be a place of one book every 8 hours (or more!). That’s not fast reading at all.

And I’m often reading for fun, not learning. I don’t need to learn about mountaineering kit reading, say, a thriller.

NooNakedJacuzziness · 21/06/2026 08:42

I hate when people read on Kindles round the pool on holiday. I can’t hide behind my sunglasses and judge their choices 😈

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 21/06/2026 08:43

Iwanttobeafraser · 17/06/2026 11:25

Would you be as impressed if you saw me with my DC with each of us reading on our phone, tablet or kindle?
I wouldn't dream of taking paper books travelling with me - too heavy, too bulky, too expensive.

I get mine for a pound or less from charity shops. And they are no heavier or bulkier than a kindle or a tablet.

LovingTelescopes · 21/06/2026 08:47

Iarthar · 17/06/2026 11:31

But if I were going on holiday for a week, I would need at least twenty hefty paperbacks, as a fast reader. Certainly they're cheap, but not light, which is why I have a Kindle for travelling.

You read 1000 books a year! I thought I was a fast reader at 150 books a year but you should be in the Guinness Book of Records!

luckylavender · 21/06/2026 08:48

Thebinisrightthere · 17/06/2026 11:29

None of these. 2 paperbacks don't weigh much ot take up much room, and can cost hardly anything if like me you get them from the charity shop or library

I’m a fan of books but have a kindle for holidays. I usually read a book a day which is heavy.

MacDot · 21/06/2026 08:52

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 21/06/2026 08:43

I get mine for a pound or less from charity shops. And they are no heavier or bulkier than a kindle or a tablet.

Really? This is my kindle against the smallest book I currently have from the library. There’s quite a difference and that’s just one book!

I've just seen a lovely thing that is not as common anymore
I've just seen a lovely thing that is not as common anymore
LilacDrift · 21/06/2026 08:52

I read books on my phone.

Bjorkdidit · 21/06/2026 08:54

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 21/06/2026 08:43

I get mine for a pound or less from charity shops. And they are no heavier or bulkier than a kindle or a tablet.

All but the thinnest paperbacks are thicker than a kindle, which can hold hundreds of books.

I wouldn't go on holiday without at least 4 books and I don't consider travelling to and browsing charity shops on the off chance they have books I want to read to be a good be use of my time. My Kindle is one of the few items I would replace the same day if something happened to it. I probably wouldn't even bother looking for a deal, which is almost unheard of for me.

frozendaisy · 21/06/2026 08:58

I don’t enjoy reading on kindles

frozendaisy · 21/06/2026 08:59

And don’t go on holidays where a book a day, packing aside, is possible

LilacDrift · 21/06/2026 09:00

If you saw me on public transport with my head in my phone I'm probably reading a chic lit book about a rugged moody bloke and a wild haired pretty women falling in love in Cornwall. I'm not even scrolling MN.

frozendaisy · 21/06/2026 09:00

H has a kindle and would let the side down of seeing us all reading together on an airport

so yes seeing a whole family reading physical books is increasingly rare
but less rare than everyone reading