This week’s Book Blogger Hop question: Do you feel comfortable enough approaching a stranger when you see he/she is reading a book to ask what they are reading?
Definitely not! I can cheerfully chat away to the anonymous strangers of the internet (and all you regular readers too!) but I’m not one to go stroll up to strangers in the real world. If I see someone reading, I’ll usually try to angle around to (discreetly!) see the book title. I might conceivably comment if the title turns out to be a book I like…but to be honest, the whole situation just doesn’t come up much! It’s rare to see someone reading in public (I’m not on public transit enough, perhaps) and in the vastness of book titles, it’s rare to see one I recognize.
I also feel like someone with a book out is sending, at the least, a subtle “do not disturb” signal. I have never forgotten the day I was eating lunch in my office building’s communal kitchen, book in hand, trying to savor my thirty-minutes of quiet…and someone from another office would not take the hint and kept on trying to engage in conversation…
I think whether you can read in peace in a public space goes back to the introvert/extrovert question. An introvert would more likely understand the subtle cue that reading a book means “do not disturb” while an extrovert might think you are just passing the time until someone comes along to engage you in conversation. That’s my take, anyway!
That’s a great insight on introverts vs. extraverts…my “interrupter” probably thought she was saving me from eating alone!
It’s a good question. It depends – I do travel on public transport – and I read in order to avoid some of the ‘stranger’ situations! This morning I sat next to somebody also reading (and also I find that people who read frequently sit next to other readers) – she was definitely reading Game of Thrones! I took a peak and didn’t need to ask. Pretty much, I wouldn’t interrupt somebody, except on the odd occasions due to something unusual.
Lynn 😀
Ha, I love that the readers cluster together! Makes sense to me. 🙂
I ‘like’ your post but not your interruptor, of course! At least with the real world, unlike the virtual, you have visual cues to see if readers are happy for you to visit their personal space: open stance, allowing you to catch their eye and so on. Online blogging though by its nature implies interaction, though at least you have time to finish your chapter before responding.
It’s much harder to “interrupt” in the virtual world–people can generally take a message or read a comment when it’s convenient for them, making it feel much easier to make that interaction without worrying about bothering someone.