Can You Read In a Moving Car + 2 More Questions for Readers

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:

1. Can you read in a moving car? What about trains, planes, and other forms of transportation?
2. Can you read in short bursts, or do you always wait for a decent block of uninterrupted time?
3. Do you need for things to be quiet to read?