To think being a reader doesn't make you better or smarter?

[OnceaReaderNeveraReader]

Never been a reader. I have tried many times in my life and have enjoyed the odd book here and there but have never managed to actually become a regular reader and don't miss books ever. I was talking about this with some colleagues the other day and one of them made me feel a bit bad about this as if reading is a sign of better intellectual ability and superiority.
I am uni educated and enjoy a variety of other cultural hobbies such as art, theatre and dance but I just cannot understand what is so special about books!
How does one become a reader later in life and is it really that bad if I don't enjoy it?

I know so many mothers including myself who went through this. I think it's just a case of persevering. I still don't read anywhere near as much as I used to and I don't feel as deeply engaged in what I read but I'm definitely getting there. I found audiobooks really helped for a while although it had to be non-fiction as I did used to zone out a lot. And putting the phone the hell away.

Not a single person who knows me would describe me as introverted. Not one. My hobbies are mainly social activities and am usually the last one to leave a party. But I love reading too.

I'm an editorial professional too and I'm a huge reader for fun.
Almost everyone I've ever met in and around the publishing world is a voracious reader (not just editorial but people who work in sales, marketing, design, production etc too). I mean, no one is going to make their fortune working in publishing, so it stands to reason IMO that if you go into it it's got to be in large part because you love books.

Having said that, every now and then I get given a book to proofread that's supposedly been copy-edited already, and it looks as if the copy-editor has never read a book in their life and doesn't have any real understanding of the English language or of what a book is meant to be like (grammar, spelling and syntax all over the place, half-sentences that trail off or are non sequiturs, etc etc). Maybe this is the work of editors who don't read for fun or feel very engaged with books and reading.

Of course we shouldn't get rid of teachers, but even subjects like maths assume you can read enough to work on questions like, "Jane has 4 apples and John has 6 apples. If they each give half their apples to Julie, how many apples will Julie have?" You have to be able to read what the English is saying before you can do the arithmetic.

When people used to say they were self-educated this is what they meant- that they had read a lot. It has it's limitations , but you can educate yourself this way.
It will not replace teachers however, at least 50% of the point of school is the child minding element, how would parents work if their children educated themselves by reading?

"Always disappointed by film adaptations. So much detail is lost, characters don’t look like they did in your head, storylines are completely altered at times!"

Yes, but I find that if a few years have passed since I read the book I can cope with these 'changes' better. It's not a good idea to see the film after having recently read the book.

Yes of course, what you're saying is that reading is a gateway skill, or an enabling skill, to gain access to higher levels of education.

But op did already say that she is educated to degree level. She CAN read, but just doesn't do it for pleasure.

I think it's a pity, personally, because she's missing out on a world knowledge and enjoyment. But equally you could argue that it's possible to get those things from other media - theatre, concerts, tv, etc.

"General comprehension skills are massively declining. You only have to look at an internet comment section to see people are missing the point of a lot of content they are viewing online. "

That doesn't prove that comprehension skills are declining. It may have been worse a few decades ago.

Interesting article.
I think the prejudice about romance novels is still visible today, although mainly towards women reading it rather than men.
"Young men and ladies might identify with the characters so strongly, they would become obsessed with the promise of love and seek out better relationships rather than just learn to settle for whomever was available. "

I think maybe the Merry Joker put that in there to highlight the book snobbery that would inevitably follow.
The Da Vinci Code is a good read and millions of people obviously think so.

"I much prefer the films as they cut out most of the extraneous detail that I skip through in the books. "

It depends. One of the Pride and Prejudice films cut one of the Bingley sisters out. That was a bit of a loss. On the other hand, the Thomas Hardy book I read in school had been very helpfully marked by one of the previous users of the book so that I could skip all the really boring descriptions of fields and the like.

"Really?
We'll just get rid of teachers then shall we and let everyone learn by reading!"

To be fair, there are many courses that are primarily reading and only limited teaching time.

Fiction editor here. Love reading, just wish I had more time to actually do it! I've been a bookworm since I first learned to read.

Tbf I did more or less stop reading for pleasure (apart from magazines) during much of my uni degree, but that was because I had literature modules for each of the 2 languages I was studying (and another one in my first year when I was studying English too!) and reading novels temporarily became a bit of a busman's holiday. Weirdly, being an editor now doesn't tend to have that effect - I think it's because I'm mostly working in different genres from the ones I tend to read in. Wish I could stop mentally copyediting books I'm supposed to be reading for relaxation, though. 😂

Weirdly, being an editor now doesn't tend to have that effect - I think it's because I'm mostly working in different genres from the ones I tend to read in. Me too, luckily! Well, fiction-wise anyway; I do sometimes work on the sort of non-fiction I like to read myself, but it doesn't seem to put me off.

Wish I could stop mentally copyediting books I'm supposed to be reading for relaxation, though I know I regularly find myself puffing and ranting at glaring errors.

Totally know the feeling! It's crazy the number of typos/spelling fails I've spotted in published books, often from major publishers.

Why do you think this happens? I want kids but I hate the idea I might not be able to enjoy reading anymore...

Book club? Or reading to your children? My mother read me a lot of more mature kids' books (eg. Watership Down) from a young age, as well as Dickens & Austen, and younger stuff. Ofc a lot goes over your head at that age but young kids still can appreciate an engaging story.

I hope you can regain your love of reading, and write if you want to.

Why do you think you got this cynical voice in your head after having kids?

'OK sure' can be meant positively or negatively depending on context. In the context of the previous comments I would also have taken it as a negative in place of 'whatever' (possibly accompanied by an eyeroll)

It's mum guilt. It's very weird but very real. You know, rationally that you are allowed half an hour to yourself to read. But you feel guilty for taking it.

It's a battle most mum's fight but you can win it. Taking time for yourself does in fact help you be a better mum. You just have to remind yourself of it regularly.

Thank you. That PP did seem very defensive of her highly intelligent husband. Wonder why.

I think reading widely gives people a perspective, knowledge and vocabulary that it is difficult to obtain otherwise. It's easy to tell people who have disappeared up their own algorithims.

Oh, I never felt that guilt. I figure its good for my children to see me taking time to read so definitely not something to feel guilty about (that's what I think about it now, when my children were younger I didn't even think about it, I just wanted to read and they didn't need my undivided attention all the time. I loved reading while breastfeeding especially, and would sometimes read outloud)

My career, thinking of new ways of doing things, risk assesing, problem solving.

I do that for work too. But it's work. Reading is more for relaxation, winding down, fun.