Escapists Uncensored with Courtney

Escapists Uncensored

Escapists UncensoredMy rant this week is all about reading too much.

Disclaimer: You need to know that I read all the time and I’m a very fast reader. I can usually start and finish a book in the same day. And when I’m on what I like to call a “reading binge” I can read up to 6 books a day.

This whole thing came about because of the the conversation I had with my dad this weekend. The conversation when something like this.

“So Courtney, what did you do today?”

“Nothing really. Why?”

“Well with it being a Saturday I thought you might do something fun.”

“I did. I read 3 books today.”

[Dad chuckles]

“What? Reading is fun!”

“I’m going to tell this story at work tomorrow. When I asked my daughter if she did anything fun on Saturday she said ‘I read 3 books’. And that was her idea of fun.”

This whole conversation got me thinking. And I know that my dad wasn’t being  mean-spirited. He loves that I read. He’s the one who started me reading in the first place. But I’ve had variations of this conversation hundreds and hundreds of times since I started high school. And not everyone has meant it in a good way like my dad.

For some reason when people ask me what I did yesterday evening, over the weekend, over the holiday or summer vacation and I say, “I read” they give me a look like I’m a freak. Not everyone and not all the time but yes the majority of the time I get the “freak” look. Or at least the “Why in the world would you do that?” look.

I love to read. I read all the time. I actually think that my day is ruined if I don’t read at least 30 minutes. So here’s the thing, when people look at me weird because I like to read, I never quite understand why. Maybe they think I read too much? But really what is too much?

My definition of too much is when I read so much I don’t do anything else that I need to do. The moment I read to the detriment of my job, my family or my puppies then I’ve read too much. And yes, I have almost gotten to that point. I’ll even to admit going past that point in high school (really it was Algebra II and I don’t think I’ve ever needed anything I learned or did not learn in that class).

And another thing about “too much”. It changes depending on the time of year, my workload, my family or friend drama, and my puppies. So my “too much” in Winter is a lot less books than in the summer when I read at least one book a day. And family or friend drama means that I read more just so I’m not so stressed out. Plus “too much” is going to be different from person to person. I get that.

But here’s my really big deal with people getting snotty when I tell them I read all weekend. Why does it matter to them? The answer: it doesn’t. There is nothing wrong with me spending my weekend reading if I want to. It doesn’t effect them at all. It doesn’t hurt them.

So why do they act like I’ve done something wrong? Is it to make me feel like I’ve done something wrong? Is it to see if I’ll be embarrassed? Is it to make themselves feel better because they don’t read? I honestly don’t know but the only thing that happens when they react badly when I say I spend the night/weekend/holiday reading is that I get mad. And I do have other interests. I have 3 dogs who I play with everyday and I like to swim in the summer and do arts and crafty stuff when I can. I also love to shop and go to flea markets. I cook and spend a lot of time getting lesson plans ready. But yes, when I define myself I usually put reader at the top of the list.

So I’ll wrap this up with a few questions. How much do you normally read? How much is too much? Do you think there can be too much reading?

About Courtney 33 Articles
I teach Special Education and have three demented dogs. Between my students all day and my dogs all night my stress relief is reading. It is the only thing that keeps me from going crazy. Or should I say from going crazier? I read anything but I prefer fantasy, sci-fi and steampunk. I also love urban fantasy and historical romances. If it has dragons and magic, vampires and werewolves, crazy machines and corsets or aliens and spaceships then I’m happy. Mix in a Scotland laird or two every once in a while and I’m ecstatic!

5 Comments

  1. I completely get where you are coming from. Sometimes people get so involved with themselves that they can’t fathom that someone will take the time to read a book or two or three. This was especially true when I went to Disneyland. I have the habit of always carrying a book with me and when I was getting my bag checked the employee said “Who brings a book to Disneyland?”. It could have been rhetorical but I answered anyways. I said “Me. I have too have something to do while I wait all that time to get on a ride”. I got my stuff and left. I also did pull out my book and started reading in the line and I got those looks too.

    For me, I would have to say that the only time that reading can be too much is when you do nothing else besides that. If you can speed read and read 2 books in a day then go for it.

  2. Honestly, read as much as you want to! As long as you aren’t hurting anyone, and you are doing your job as an employee, spouse or parent, it doesn’t matter what other’s think.

    Me personally, I don’t read enough. Life gets in the way, I get distracted and I actually forget to read for a day or two. I then go into a reading binge and don’t look up until the book is finished. If I was a fast reader, this would make my life so much easier, haha.

  3. I read alot too, not quite 6 books in a day (That’s amazing) but atm I have uni during the week and I work at the weekend, so I can’t read as much as I’d like (that’s what summer is for! lol). There can never be too much reading…ok, so maybe I’ll entertain the possibility that maybe reading all day, every day is not entirely healthy, but you just have to have the balance between other things. I think people don’t read enough nowerdays and that’s why they’re so shocked. I am training my nephew to be a fellow bookworm and he is doing well! He’s reading books in 1 day- day 1/2.

    I get the same looks and I’m 21, a student and rarely drink which causes people to look at me kinda like this 0_0 which is kinda the same look I get when I tell people I would honestly rather stay at home with a good book than go to some party. It’s just personally more enjoyable to me and I don’t care anymore if people make this kind of face 0_o at me.

  4. I’ve gotten this reaction my whole life also. I typically read a book every day or two, although I’m currently in the middle of Steve Jobs’ biography and its taking me all week to read it.

    I used to be apologetic about it because I read for more than anyone else I knew. Thanks to the Internet, though, and book bloggers, I no longer feel like a freak, nor do I feel bad about how much I read. Instead, I’m proud of it for the first time in my life, and I don’t feel the need to hide it anymore.

  5. This is so me… I would rather take a weekend and curl up with a stack of books than do anything else. And I constantly get made fun of for it. I’m a grown woman, I think at this point in my life I can determine my enjoyable activities. I like to read. Last year, I read 187 books and people (the bf, my mom) love to pull that fact out at parties to amaze and astonish everyone else. So what? I know plenty of people who read even more than me. You choose what you want to do. I choose to read. Claps for you for being unapologetic about your reading. If only we could convert the others…

Comments are closed.