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Original poster

Do you know people who never read?

69 replies

pippinandtog · 10/07/2016 20:01

Do you know some people who never read a book?
My mum is 76 and has never read a book in her life.
Would you feel that your life was incomplete if you could not indulge your love of reading?
I can't conceive of a life without books.

OP posts:
MaQueen · 17/07/2016 17:59

Yes, my MIL...hasn't read a book since leaving school, and she's now 73.

It blows my mind...reading is like breathing to me. I've read 3 books this week, alone.

Chewbecca · 17/07/2016 18:04

I think loads of people don't read books, I would say a majority to be honest.

I read quite a lot but only on the train journey to/from work & on holiday, I do wonder if I stopped commuting if I'd find another slot for it.

Postchildrenpregranny · 19/07/2016 08:12

Have always read a lot. In a good week 3 or 4 novels There's very little I wont read but I no longer feel obliged to finish something I'm not enjoying ..But I watch very little TV Maybe 5 or 6 hours a week in winter. Hardly any in summer Can't remember last time I put it on .I do look at TV guides but at the moment nothing appeals .I love theatre and cinema though .
I do think reading can improve your vocabulary and it lets me 'experience'things second hand that I wouldn't in real life
DH will read a good political biography or history or travel book but never reads novels .
Both DDs love to read though have such busy lives they rarely manage it these days

MiddleAgeMiddleEngland · 25/07/2016 20:08

We are a reading family, we all read a lot. However, there are plenty of other good uses of time, I wouldn't judge if someone didn't read although I would find it a bit incomprehensible.

MerricatsHouse · 28/07/2016 10:26

Like some previous posters, I've got to read, it's like breathing to me. I lost my concentration when pregnant and struggled to get through books for months and was really bothered by it. After having a kid me and the DH ditched 4 out of 7 nights of TV just so I could use the time for reading.

But I know lots of people who don't read - most of my family and in-laws don't. My father is a constant reader, my mother and MIL enjoy reading but don't seem to make the time for it, but the rest of my family don't ever pick up a book and wouldn't know where to start if they wanted to. It's a bit patronising but I do feel sad about it, they are missing out on so much Sad

mb182 · 31/07/2016 03:55

My son once asked me, if I was offered a million pounds but taking it meant I could never read another book in my whole life, would I take the money. I can't imagine a life without books so I'd pass on the money. He thought I was mad - or lying - but there has never been a day since I learned to read that I haven't been reading something. Am I mad?

FayaMAMA · 31/07/2016 03:58

I once dated a guy for two years who used to pretend to read.... Hmm

The only book he had ever finished in his life was The Hobbit. Needless to say that once I found out the relationship didn't last much longer

tumbletumble · 31/07/2016 04:18

Reading is a huge part of my life and when I first met DH I found it strange that he doesn't read much. He occasionally reads a book for pleasure (often non fiction rather than a novel), but rarely. He'll usually take a book on holiday but it may well remain closed. His parents aren't readers either and have very few books in their home - one small shelf of mainly decorative books (compared to my parents who own loads of books, are members of a book club etc) so I guess that's why - he didn't get into the early habit of reading as a child.

However, he's a very intelligent, well-rounded person, so since being with him I've adjusted my previously held beliefs about how important reading is. He enjoys hearing about what I'm reading, so it's not a barrier between us.

annandale · 31/07/2016 05:07

My first husband didn't read a huge amount when we were together, though he read a lot of science fiction as a teenager and young adult. He was much more intelligent than me, perhaps because he lived in the world as it was, not half in a book all the time. It was hard as he thought reading was selfish - which it is- but at that time I read like breathing. It was always a conflict between us. Dh reads but only proper novels and has introduced me to a lot of depressing authors. The sort of shit I read he would never bother with.

BlondishBear · 09/08/2016 00:49

My dad doesn't read much where as the rest of the family go through books like nobody's business. He once tried reading this travelers autobiography 'cause he went to school with the author. My dad read to about half way through where the guy falls down a hole into an underground cave, and as far as my dad knows he is still down there because he never finished the book.

BadToTheBone · 09/08/2016 01:16

Been with dh nearly 18 years and I've only known he read one book, an autobiography of his sporting hero. He assures me he's read another, an autobiography of his favourite singer.

I read several a month. Dd takes after me, ds takes after dh.

GrumpyMcGrumpFace · 09/08/2016 10:58

Yes I do... takes all sorts.

But I don't judge people for not reading (I do totally judge people for what they read, though!! Grin)

My mum doesn't have a music collection, doesn't play any instruments, never seems to have a compulsion to listen to a certain piece of music. I find that really, really odd too - how are we even related?! But then, I never want to sew anything...

GandolfBold · 09/08/2016 13:42

DH buys a new John Grisham every year to read on holiday and thats it - never reads another book for the whole year.

NeverNic · 09/08/2016 23:39

Like many here my DH and Dad barely read anything for enjoyment. My Dad does read papers and the occasional magazine, but hasnt read a fiction book in my lifetime. My oh reads only on holiday, though hasn't taken a book on holiday since having children (and would never finish it anyway). My husband's family are not book readers. They have nonfiction, coffee table type books and look things up

Patterkiller · 09/08/2016 23:54

DH has never read a book although I suspect he has dyslexia so just became frustrated when young

Three years ago I persuaded him to try audable books and he loves it. He still hasn't read a book but can understand getting absorbed in a good story.

hookiewookie29 · 14/08/2016 19:31

My DH rarely reads We've been on holiday for 2 weeks and I read 4 books. He's happy to just people watch.
DD is 13 and is not interested in reading at all. I've bought all types of books, from all types of authors, hoping to catch her interest but after 3 pages, she's bored. It does sadden me, because books open up whole new worlds, and I'd rather her read than play on her phone, but she's just not interested.

alltouchedout · 14/08/2016 19:39

DH hardly ever reads books. Once in a while he gets the urge but it's not strange for a year to pass without him reading one. Whereas there hasn't been a single day since I was 4 that I haven't spent at East a few minutes reading. If DH never read a book I'm not sure if I could love him (am not sure if that's a joke).

Chocfish72 · 18/08/2016 03:57

My mum is an avid reader, and my sister and I (were taught) to be as well. We were both bookworms and praised for being so. its only since meeting DH who is from a non-reading family and having children that I've questioned this. It's such a barrier - trying to talk to someone who always has a book in front of their face, and makes it clear they'd rather be left alone to read. I don't know, I'm not as positive about being a bookworm these days. My BIL has read maybe 3 books in his life, all rock star autobiographies. Yet he's a pleasant, intelligent guy who has other hobbies.

CharminglyGawky · 18/08/2016 11:35

My DH and my Dad don't really read, both obviously can and do read but dad would rather watch/listen to sport. Or read a paper, or do the crossword. DH reads graphic novels sometimes (I've read a few as well and some have bloody good writing in them) and has read about 2 actual books in the last 5 years, both were gifts from me!

I used to read pretty much all the time. Sadly it was studying English at uni that spoilt it for me, it became a chore not the relaxing escape it always had been. Now I feel like I hardly ever read but have probably read about 5 books this year so I do but it's sporadic. I am a very very quick reader though as a kid I would read a book a day during the holidays depending on length. A normal smallish paperback sized book would rarely last me more than 2 days at a push and that is only if we were busy during the day so I could only read at bedtime.

One of my uncles can to stay for a few days once and I was curled up in a chair reading one morning and he asked me what subject I was reading for, he seemed utterly amazed that I was choosing to read a book that had nothing to do with school!

I don't get book snobbishness, I read for the escapism and stories, I've read loads of the classics but I've also explored the self published stuff on amazon... Both can be brilliant and both can be terrible often it's just personal taste.

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