Do you get frustrated with the non-readers in your life?

[radiantquest]

It drives me insane. Me, my mother, my MIL and SIL are all readers. We trade books and talk about them and love it. I want DH to read. Not that I think he needs to read like he isn''t smart or something, but I want him to experience finishing a great book. I have asked what interests him to try to find a book for him to read. When DaVinci Code was popular he said that he would read it, but didn''t. He listens to Howard Stern on the radio

. So one of the personalities came out with a book and I got that for him, like a year ago. He still has not finished it.

I tried to explain that once he read a book that really got to him he would be hooked. He can''t wrap his mind around me sitting there reading.

I guess this is a double question then.

Do the non-readers bug you? and
What was the book that got you hooked on reading?

 

[decodelighted]

People are different. My DH is a huge, huge, huge reader. I, a former all-state book review champ and professional writer, am not. Turns out I have a short attention span and gravitate to commercial-length writing & promos & quips & jokes & sketches. I don't even like full-length MOVIES most of the time. I wouldn't worry about people leading less satisfying lives without the dramatic catharsis of finishing a good book. Just as there are people who feed off of the energy of other people, there are those who are depleted by being around other people ... there are book readers and there are short story folks. Movies lovers & those who'd prefer to watch two hours of trailers. (All the best parts are in those anyhoo).

ETA: Do you think if you watched a really great baseball championship game you'd be "hooked"? I wouldn't assume your fella is gonna become an enthusiastic reader if he ever just found the right book. Ya think you'd become gay if you met the "right woman"?

 

[radiantquest]

I never thought of it that way. Actually kind of funny once you point it out. I don''t care to ever watch baseball even though I was forced to watch some great games. Don''t think I will be gay either.

In my defense I was forced to watch this fighting show last night called Strike Force. I am totally hooked!

Thanks.

 

[somethingshiny]

The Little Red Hen is what hooked me. I was 4. It was the first book I read and I read it often!

DH is not an avid reader. I tried getting him to understand the thrill of going anywhere, doing anything, being anyone, but alas, he just wants to sit on the couch and watch the race as himself.

It used to bother me that he wouldn''t really enjoy a great historical account or an epic novel, but I''ll never enjoy batting averages or Cup points.

 

[vespergirl]

Yes, I have the same problem as you. Reading is my favorite hobby, and DH doesn''t care for it. Actually, he reads a lot of non-fiction (he is an MBA so he''ll read something like a book by Warren Buffett) but he won''t ever read fiction. I''ve tried getting him some fiction books I think he would like (The Fountainhead, Pillars of the Earth, Life of Pi) but he starts and never finishes.

When we were on vacation in Anguilla, he got sick one day and asked me to pick him up a book. I got him the Kite Runner, and he laid there and read the whole thing in a day, and loved it. I couldn''t believe it! I guess he needs to have absolutely nothing else to do, and a compelling story. By the way, that is the only fiction book I''ve seen him complete in the 5 years that we''ve been together

I think it bothers me because I would love to be able to discuss literature with him - as it is, the only thing that we have in common is eating

 

[packrat]

I don''t know many non readers. My bff is probably the only one I know who doesn''t read much. She likes to read, she just doesn''t very often.

The first book I ever read was Drip Drip Drop, when I was in Kindergarten. I read it to my mom about 1000 times. Mom always made a huge deal about reading, and my whole life has always had her nose in a book.

My brother was never a reader, until one day years ago, he happened to see the cover of a book I was reading. It was a Dragonlance book, and the picture was of Tanis and a woman, and Tanis was really muscular. My brother was just starting to get into weightlifting and bodybuilding, so he read it. Now he has all the Dragonlance books, and also Forgotten Realms-he knows more about the series than I do!

 

[HollyS]

As my tagline quote clearly says, I cannot live without books. I don''t understand the inner workings of a non-reader. We would have no common ground. All my closest friends, my sisters, and my DH are readers. We''re just wired that way. Non-readers must have different brain activities than readers. A whole different way of processing information, perhaps.

Nah. I was just being kind. They''re weird.

 

[Haven]

I''m an avid reader, DH is not. He reads some science magazines, and a lot of textbooks and research about biomechanics, but he does not read for pleasure.

It doesn''t bother me at all. For me, I most enjoy reading as an extremely private and individual activity. I often find discussions about literature or books with adults to be irritating or dissatisfying in some way.

Now, I''m an English teacher and a reading specialist, so maybe I just get my fill of talking about books in my professional life. But even before I became an educator, I found book clubs and such to be a bit intolerable.

As far as wanting DH to have that intense pleasure one derives from reading a good book, I believe that some people are not inclined to have that experience with books at all. Instead, they find it in some other activity, and that''s fine with me.

My poor DH is stuck living a life surrounded by hundreds of books in our home, yet I won''t let him keep any of his skeletons out in the house, even though studying the body is *his* most passionate interest, as reading is mine.

Books aren''t scary. Skeletons are.

 

[kas baby]

I usually get frustraed with the readers in my life. I get a lot of "why are you reading that?

you should read this instead!

" as if I don''t know how to pick out a book that is good for me to read.


I have never gotten frustrated with any non-readers I know except my sister, but thats only because she poo-poos it calling it stupid "why would I ever want to waste my time reading a stupid book... I''d rather wait for the movie"

that bothered me for a while, but I''ve since gotten over it. I realize that''s her own opinion and i don''t have to take it personally. Besides, I get the satisfaction of knowing that the book was way better

 

[dragonfly411]

SO doesn''t read. He doesn''t understand how I read or why I want to read. It drives me BONKERS. He cannot grasp why I would want a library in my home......

 

[musey]

I'm a non-reader. I love the idea of reading for pleasure, but I just can't get into it - can't find the time, and if I do, can't find the motivation or attention span.

If I do read, it's primarily science articles and scripts... not novels. I don't know if people get frustrated with me, but I doubt it, as most of the people I know are not avid readers.

I think I might be able to get into nonfiction, but I haven't made it a priority yet. I have my eye on this one, though. This one too.

Everyone's different.

 

[zoebartlett]

Yeah, I''ve actually gotten annoyed with my husband for not being a reader. I know, that''s not nice, but I just don''t get it. My family loves to read, and it''s a fairly common thing to all hang out in the living room and do our own thing (usually reading). My husband thinks this is funny and a bit anti-social. For some reason, he thinks reading should be done alone and if there are other people in the room, it''s rude to read in front of them. It''s kind of funny, on Christmas, after we open our presents, we usually read whatever new book (or manual for a new gadget, etc) we''ve gotten. My husband just looks around the room for something else to do since we''re all busy. I''ve found that I have actually praised my husband in the past for buying a book and reading it. I might have spoken too soon though since he''s only read the first 50 pages in months.

 

[zoebartlett]

I had another thought. My husband would MUCH rather watch a movie, TV show, or DVD instead of read. Maybe he feels that the TV is more interactive or something -- I don't know. I can't say that I actually prefer reading to watching something -- I like both equally.

ETA: I can't remember the book that got me hooked on reading, but I grew up reading Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, Paula Danziger, Cynthia Voight, Lois Lowry, Lois Duncan, among others. I tend to stick to the same authors since I know I'll like their work.