Apparently, I still haven’t exhausted my supply of questions about how other people read!
In the last few months we’ve discussed whether you have to stop at the end of a chapter, when to DNF a book (this post got a lot of comments; it’s a FASCINATING topic), and all sorts of other reading habits.
Today I have three more questions, starting with one that has plagued me for my entire reading life…
CAN YOU READ IN A MOVING CAR?
I cannot.
I get hopelessly carsick. I find it hard to turn around and talk to someone in the backseat, look down at my phone, or do basically anything that doesn’t involve keeping my head facing straight ahead while looking out the windshield.
Reading in a moving car is an absolute no-go.
As a reader, this has always seemed like a colossal missed opportunity. Think of all that reading time left on the proverbial table!!
My mother, much to my father’s dismay, can sit in the backseat and read for hours.
(To clarify, by “dismay,” I mostly mean intense jealousy. My dad gets carsick sitting in the passenger seat, so he most certainly isn’t reading his way through a road trip either.)
I have listened to audiobooks in the car, which partially solves the problem. Most memorably, I listened to The Correspondent last year—highly recommend on audio—and also Heartwood, which I loved (and was excellent on audio).
But audiobooks aren’t my preferred way to consume most books. And if I’m driving a long distance, it typically means the whole family is in the car. The kids would much rather listen to music and/or talk than spend five hours listening to an audiobook.
Interestingly, my motion sickness seems to be very vehicle-specific.
While I can’t read in a car, I can read on trains and planes. Every once in a while I’ll start to feel a tiny bit queasy and need to give it a rest, but for the most part I’m fine.
This is one reason my book consumption was relatively high while we were in Europe. I took my Kobo just about everywhere that involved a commute and fit in a surprising amount of reading on trains, planes, buses, and subways. You name it—if there was time to fill, I was likely reading.
Can you read in a moving car? Does it make you sick? What about buses, trains, planes, etc?
CAN YOU READ IN SHORT BURSTS?
I’m increasingly convinced that the ability to read for five or ten minutes at a time is something of a superpower. (I feel the same way about people who can take efficient catnaps. I WANT THAT SUPERPOWER.)
While I can read in short bursts, I find it infinitely more satisfying when I have a nice long stretch of uninterrupted time. (Maybe this is why I am such a big fan of books of essays since they can be consumed in bite-sized chunks.)
Sometimes I think I subconsciously resist picking up a book if I know I don’t have much time. What’s the point of reading for five minutes?
But…five minutes is five minutes! And over the course of a week, all those little scraps of reading time can turn into a surprisingly significant chunk of a book.
This is another benefit of having an e-reader; I can easily toss it into my purse on the go and a few minutes here and another few minutes there start to add up.
Are you happy to read for five or ten minutes at a time, or do you need a decent block of time before it’s worth starting?
DO YOU NEED QUIET TO READ?
Clearly, I don’t need complete silence since I can read on trains and planes.
In some ways, I think steady background noise is easier for me to tune out than individual conversations. The general hum of people talking doesn’t bother me nearly as much as being able to clearly hear—and understand—one specific conversation happening nearby.
And, of course, it depends on the book.
If I’m reading something light and engaging, I can handle a lot more distraction. If I’m trying to follow a complicated plot with a whole bunch of characters or reading dense nonfiction, things get trickier.
What about you? Can you read with the television on? Music playing? People talking around you? Or do you need peace and quiet before you can concentrate?
Your turn! Answer one question or tackle all three:
- Can you read in a moving car? What about trains, planes, and other forms of transportation?
- Can you read in short bursts, or do you always wait for a decent block of uninterrupted time?
- Do you need for things to be quiet to read?
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I think I can read anywhere and anything, as long as its engaging.
OK, maybe not serious study material. But I’ll give it a good try!
My mom was actually happy with my ability to read in moving cars, as I read to my siblings who couldn’t read (too young or also car sick). I guess I was an early version of an audio book!
Ha! I love that YOU were the “audio” book.
Strangely enough, though my Mom could read in a moving vehicle and used to read to me a lot when I was a kid, I don’t ever remember her reading out loud to me when we were in the car for long stretches of time. I never thought of it until now, but what a missed opportunity. Maybe she enjoyed NOT having to read out loud and just never let on it was a possibility on purpose to preserve her quiet reading time 🙂
I can read a little on a tablet or phone in a car. But I get carsick if i try to read for long. So I can Google a question and read the answer, scan a page of a book, and that’s it. I will play solitaire or little word games instead. A plane is easier. But I have not grown out of motion sickness like I hoped to.
I can read short or long, quiet or noisy. Once I’m really interested in a book, the world recedes from my attention. So I have to be careful when I’m reading and doing something else ( baking, waiting to pick up a kid from school, etc).
It can be so hard to put a good book down!!! The struggle is real 🙂
I have no issues reading in a car. If it’s a suuuper windy mountainous road, I won’t read, but that’s more a precaution. When I was growing up, I read nearly every time I got in the car with my family. When I got my license, I realized I didn’t know how to get many places because I had usually been looking down while being driven! Oops.
I prefer longer stretches but can read in short bursts. However, sometimes when I do this I find it very difficult to get into the book. I’ve definitely DNFed books that I probably would’ve finished if I didn’t try to read a few pages at a time.
That’s so interesting about the directional challenges from spending so much time reading. A worthwhile tradeoff in my opinion!
Nausea is one of the worst feelings. I’m sorry you get car sick if you read! I am fortunate to not have to deal with that- I can read without any problems in a moving vehicle. That was a lifesaver when I was younger and we took a 15 hour drive from Vermont to Illinois to visit family!
I tend to mostly read fiction, and gravitate towards books with engrossing plots, so I really get pulled in and lose track of anything else I’m supposed to be doing. No 5 minute reading sessions here!!
That’s a long road trip! I can see why it was a big relief to be able to read.
It can be so hard (almost impossible) to put a good book down. I can feel almost a physical pain when I’m pulled away from something I’m engrossed in reading.
My husband is a guy who gets carsick BUT he prefers to drive anyway, so it all works out.
I can read on my Kobo, but I can’t look at my phone in a moving car. I can read on planes and trains, thankfully, because I don’t really like to do anything else. I can read in short bursts too, often I will read while eating lunch, which takes like ten minutes. I also will read if I’m waiting for an appointment. I generally can block out noise, but if I’m tired and there’s a ton of competing noises (the TV, people talking, someone playing something on their phone) then I find it hard to concentrate, unless the book is an “easy read” like the 3 romances I read last week!
Fun topic, Elisabeth!
I LOVE reading while I eat (don’t do it every day, by any stretch), though I tend to keep reading after I finish my meal…
When the kids were little, I used to read picture books to them almost every time they ate. I’d finish eating and then grab a stack of books. Again, we’d often end up staying at the table reading long beyond the point of finishing our food!
Heh-heh, I tend to keep eating after I finish my book!
Road trips are made for reading! And I love that pic of Wimpy Kid reading at the thrift store. ❤️
He has quite a collection of that series and except for one book that I bought new as a Christmas present, they’ve all be sourced from thrift stores!
I learned to read at age 4. Let’s just say that there were a number of unfortunate incidents in our family car until my parents figured out this issue. Today, I still can’t read books in the car without feeling sick, but I can read a few blog or Facebook posts. I prefer long reading stretches using my IPad or a physical book. But before bed, I read a physical book with short chapter for a few minutes to break the blue light connection. It seems to work. Right now, I am reading Hum if You Don’t Know the Words, a novel set in South Africa during apartheid. Highly recommend.
Thanks for the book recommendation!
I don’t know if I ever threw up from being car sick from reading, but I know that when I did try to read, I would stop once I felt queasy, but the damage was done and I’d feel nauseous for AGES after that 🙁
Reading in the car is a no-go for me, but a train or a plane is fine. Short bursts FTW! Most of my reading is right before bed. I don’t time myself, but I’d guess anywhere between 5 to 30 minutes is typical. Background noise (such as on a plane or train) is A-OK, someone talking loudly makes reading a “no way”.
I love reading right before bed, but I think I might need to rethink it a bit because I have been blowing beyond my bedtime almost every night and it is NOT GOOD.
I am so glad I can read on a plane. In general, movies hold no appeal for me, and I basically read the entire time I’m on a flight. It’s what I MOST look forward to about air travel. All that uninterrupted reading time (now that the kids are old enough to manage their needs).
I can read anywhere – cars, busses, trains, planes, whatever. I regularly read in the same room where the television is blaring. I maybe prefer to read in quiet, but it’s not necessary.
I 100% read whenever I can, even if it’s just three minutes while I’m waiting for the tea to steep. I will stop in the middle of a sentence if I have to. It is almost compulsive and even when I have A LOT going on to fill my time, I will read every day. k
I don’t consider any of these superpowers. They’re just how I fit it in! I also listen to audiobooks pretty regularly when I’m walking the dog, doing chores, cooking, working out, and driving. There will be no “wasted time” from reading in my life!
I know what you mean about reading feeling like a compulsion. It’s never something I have to try to add into my days (well, aside from a few stages in parenting when I had NOTHING left in my tank)… I just always read!
Well, I think you are a reading champ, Engie, whether or not it’s a superpower 🙂
As a kid I got carsick easily, particularly on mountain roads. Eventually I was able to read in the car (not in the mountains), and my dad used to fuss at us for missing scenery because we had our noses in books (mostly me—can’t remember if my sisters read as much).
Now I can actually knit on the worst mountain road ever, which just boggles my mind. We drive that road every single week in the summer and have for 40 years, so maybe it is something one can become accustomed to.
I don’t try to read in a moving car these days, but maybe it’s time to reattempt it??? Though since looking down in any capacity still seems challenging for me, I’m doubting it’s improved…
Nope! I’ve never been able to read in a car, which has made me very sad my whole life. I can read on any other vehicle though, which is kind of weird- I mean isn’t a bus just a big car? And I used to read all the time when I lived in New York and took the subway everywhere.
I do not need silence to read! I can get absorbed in my book pretty easily, even if people are talking or the TV is on. But, I don’t read in short spurts. I mean, I can- but it just doesn’t feel very satisfying to me. So if I have a spare five minutes, it’s very doubtful I’ll think to pick up my book.
Right?? I can read on busses just fine. Though, I do wonder if a bus was twisting and turning a lot, how I’d fare? Things like planes, trains and buses tend to be going in straighter lines and I suspect that has something to do with it?
I’ve been consciously trying to get better about picking up my book for short stints. I find it easier to manage that with nonfiction than fiction for sure.
Such a fun topic! I don’t love reading in the car, and it does make me a bit nauseous. Honestly, I usually fall asleep! I sleep SO WELL in a car! I wish someone could drive me around all night – then maybe I’d actually get enough sleep! I also usually fall asleep on an airplane. I don’t know about a train or bus, but I have a guess that I’d sleep on them as well.
Michelle, I live in INTENSE jealousy of people who can sleep in cars and planes. I so rarely sleep in either. Once again, I consider this a gift/superpower.
It’s crazy to me how some people, regardless of the time of day and even their baseline “tiredness” go right to sleep when they get in a car.
SUCH FUN QUESTIONS!
– hard no to reading in car – will be carsick in 1 minute! like you, the train/plane is generally fine unless there’s tons of turbulence.
– i can read in short bursts but I don’t very often! Really, this is making me think I should try it more.
– i do not need quiet at all, BUT music (esp music I like that I would sing along to) makes it hard for me to focus. my kids screaming – not a problem. loud construction – not a problem. quiet taylor swift tunes in the background? problem!
YES!!!!! I cannot listen to music (aside from classical) because I will automatically start singing along and get/remain utterly distracted.
For many many years (>30) I believed that I could not read in the car because I would feel very ill and the feeling would last long after I stopped reading. In recent years, I discovered that if I held my book up while looking straight ahead in the car (instead of looking down), seeing the scenery go by in my peripheral vision was enough to NOT MAKE ME FEEL SICK. This has been a very happy discovery and I can now read to myself or my kids easily in the car with no penalty.
I can read for very short bursts and I don’t mind. But it takes a long time to finish a book that way so I prefer to read for at least 10 minutes at a time. But music and reading do not combine well for me.
Jen! Maybe this is the little tweak I’ve been needing all these years???
So many spin-off topics on the subject of reading, haha!
I don’t get carsick and LOVE to read in the car. I used to read as a young child in the backseat at night, holding the book up to be illuminated by the headlights of the car behind us. (It didn’t bother me at the time but I do wonder if the eye strain from reading in very low light contributed to my nearsightedness!)
I usually only pull out a physical book if I know I’ll have a relatively longer period of time to read. If it’s a short period of time, I’m more likely to use the kindle app on my phone. I have no idea why… I guess it depends somewhat on the content of the book as well, and in how engrossed in it I am. There definitely are books that I will snatch any opportunity of time to read!
For better or for worse, I’m very good at tuning out my surroundings but if there’s noise, it’s easier for me to concentrate if it’s more of the white noise variety (TV playing or people talking in the other room). If someone is sitting right next to me watching a show or playing a podcast out loud, that’s harder to ignore. Music doesn’t typically bother me at all, even if it has lyrics.
I agree that I’m more inclined to go to my Kobo (e-reader) for short stints!!! In general, I’ve been reading a lot more books on my Kobo and think that has increased my reading rate significantly. There is a slightly lower barrier to all sorts of things (it’s light, so I can easily toss it in my purse when I go places, for starters).
Lyrical music PULLS ME IN!
I used to be able to read anywhere as a kid, but now as an adult I’m 100% in the motion sickness camp.
Fun fact tho – Apple brought out motion cues for the iPhone. When it detects you’re in a car it puts dots around the edges of the screen that move. It helps your eyes adjust to the motion and stops making you feel sick, and crazily enough it actually works!
WHAT??? I have never heard of this feature. That sounds utterly bizarre, and crazy enough to work.
I can, for the most part, read in a car as long as the driver is not aggressive… if we are changing lanes and jerking all over the place, reading or even looking at my phone will make me nauseated. Phil is an excellent driver so I do read in the car when we drive up to my parent’s lake home.
I also read in short bursts. I nearly exclusively read books on my kindle, which syncs with the kindle ap on my phone. So if I have some downtime, I will open the kindle ap and read for a bit.
I prefer a quiet environment for reading, but I can block noise out pretty easily. That’s a skill I developed after years of working on a trading desk where I could reach out my arms and touch the person next to me, that’s how close we sat, and we have no walls around us, it was a completely open-air environment. I am very good at sort of subconsciously blocking out noise/what others are saying. It’s a necessarily skill in that kind of environment!
For some reason it really surprises me you can block out noise easily! But it makes so much sense that it’s a critical skill in your line of work. I wish I was able to do that effectively. (I ADORE noise cancelling headphones and white noise.)
I am JEALOUS of the syncing. If I read a book on my Libby app on the phone, my progress doesn’t push to my Kobo. That said, I don’t really like reading on my phone, so I don’t do it very often. I get the feeling Kindle’s are superior in terms of function but they’re not compatible with Canadian library systems (which seems SO bizarre to me).
I have no issues reading in the car, but I need it to be quiet. My husband’s hearing isn’t great, and he loves listening to podcasts while driving, so there is little time for book reading while he’s in the car with me. HA! Usually I put on my noise-canceling headphones, and I can STILL hear his podcast, just a little less intense. Marriage—it’s so much fun, right?
I actually can’t sit down and read a book for a long time; even at bedtime, I’m only good for maybe 30 minutes. So, apparently my superpower is short bursts of reading. Same with a nap- and a fifteen-minute cat nap can save my sanity!
That is… a very loud podcast if it’s going through noise-cancelling!
I love short naps, but tend to nap too long. I’ll set an alarm and then the joy of being warm and cozy gets the better of me and I hit snooze.
I WISH I could put books down at night. I’m working on it, because it’s becoming a problem as I blow through my self-assigned bedtime (10:30) basically every single night. And sometimes by over an hour. THE SHAME, Suz. I’m an adult and should not be struggling with this so much.
Elisabeth! Did you know they make glasses to help people who can’t read in the car? They have the silliest look to them, but apparently they really work! I do not get car sick, thankfully, so I can read in the car easily. I’m very thankful for that!
I typically read in short bursts – I do that more often than long, uninterrupted blocks of time. And I don’t need complete silence to read! It’s nice when that happens but I love this time of year because I can put on a football game and read with the game as background noise!
I did not know this!!!! Of course they do…! I am going to look into that.
I cannot read in the car. I get travel sickness on everything that moves. Trains are not as bad though but I never read a book, I could probably read a text. In the plane I always take travel sickness tablets which make me too drowsy to read.
I can read when it’s noisy though. My family always make fun of me because when I’m reading I can completely shut out the world around me.
Wow. I am so thankful I don’t get motion sick on trains and planes. But I do appreciate the upside of the fact you feel drowsy; maybe you are able to use that transit time to rest?