Reading A Book In A Pub. Weird?

strobe

Ok so, a couple of weeks ago I popped into a pub I was passing on my way home from town and had my usual pint and a few whiskey n ices and sat there and read the novel I'm currently into. I've been doing this for years, since I was old enough to get served in bars.

I was there for about an hour and a half and on my way out I ran into someone I know. They asked who I was with but I just told them I just came in to read my book and have a few drinks, and that it was something I always do. He thought it was gas in anyway. Then when I got home I just got thinking that I never actually recall seeing a single other person sitting on their own reading a book in a pub. Lots of people reading the paper but never a novel that I remember.

So is it an unusal thing to do? Does anyone else here do it?

Abrasax

It's quite a novel thing to be doing.

Lux23

I do it but I have found that people normally come over and chat to you. I would do it in a Cafe but its nearly impossible to find a comfy seat in a Cafe in Dublin. Most are set up so you will want to leave after drinking your coffee.

easyeason3

I would never, ever do that at home but in a random place that I'm not known then yeah I wouldn't mind.

But I'd have to be having lunch or dinner. There's a real air of desperation off a woman if she goes into a pub alone to have a drink...reading material or not it smacks of being a loser.

KevinVonSpiel

What ya reading for?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvs2g5Nj0NI

AnonoBoy

easyeason3 wrote: »

I would never, ever do that at home but in a random place that I'm not known then yeah I wouldn't mind.

But I'd have to be having lunch or dinner. There's a real air of desperation off a woman if she goes into a pub alone to have a drink...reading material or not it smakcs of being a loser.

You worry too much about what other people think of you.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Well people read newspapers in pubs all the time. A novel is just different content.

I would find it odd if you were reading a book in a busy pub on a Saturday night. It would be out of place, but normally? No, it's fine

easyeason3

AnonoBoy wrote: »

You worry too much about what other people think of you.

Maybe.

But do you not think it's really scummy if you see a woman in a pub on her own nursing a drink?

Lux23

easyeason3 wrote: »

I would never, ever do that at home but in a random place that I'm not known then yeah I wouldn't mind.

But I'd have to be having lunch or dinner. There's a real air of desperation off a woman if she goes into a pub alone to have a drink...reading material or not it smacks of being a loser.

Should it be Easy in Easons?

landsleaving

I do it all the time, don't see why it would be a problem, it's nice and quiet in a pub, relaxing place to read.

seamus

easyeason3 wrote: »

But do you not think it's really scummy if you see a woman in a pub on her own nursing a drink?

....no?

Maybe you live in a different country where it's frowned upon for a woman to be out on her own?

I've never done it - the opportunity to have a sneaky pint during the day rarely presents itself - but I wouldn't think it was odd in the slightest. If I had an hour or two to kill and nowhere to go, the first thing I'd do is probably grab a paper and nip into a quiet pub.

i71jskz5xu42pb

What were you reading, the Joy of Sex? You have to expect some strange looks.


I wouldn't consider it strange and I'm pretty sure I've seen people in Dublin reading in pubs. Not my cup of tea though, my house is much more comfortable than any pub and the beer is a lot cheaper.

Lux23

Darwin Numerous Topaz wrote: »

I wouldn't consider it strange and I'm pretty sure I've seen people in Dublin reading in pubs. Not my cup of tea though, my house is much more comfortable than any pub and the beer is a lot cheaper.

Sometimes its nice to be on your own but surronded by people. I think its peaceful like going to church for some people.

AnonoBoy

easyeason3 wrote: »

But do you not think it's really scummy if you see a woman in a pub on her own nursing a drink?

No.

ejmaztec

People do weird things in pubs:eek:, and reading a book isn't one of them.

happyfriday

No I don't think it's unusual, I've seen quite a few people do it and I myself have done it, sitting in front of a fire and a glass of red wine. And OH MY GOODNESS I'm a women so I must be desperate!! :rolleyes:

IvyTheTerrible

happyfriday wrote: »

No I don't think it's unusual, I've seen quite a few people do it and I myself have done it, sitting in front of a fire and a glass of red wine. And OH MY GOODNESS I'm a women so I must be desperate!! :rolleyes:

I do it too. It can be really relaxing.

I must be desperate too then... :rolleyes:

Dravokivich

I wouldn't think it was odd, sitting there with a nice pint of Guinness... looking at some words... I've done it before...

easyeason3

happyfriday wrote: »

No I don't think it's unusual, I've seen quite a few people do it and I myself have done it, sitting in front of a fire and a glass of red wine. And OH MY GOODNESS I'm a women so I must be desperate!! :rolleyes:

Ah now....I'm sure you're a nice person even if you are desperate

I go to a pub to be social & have a chat with people, not to have a few drinks on my own with a book or a paper, I can do that at home if I feel like it.

mawk

Lux23 wrote: »

Sometimes its nice to be on your own but surronded by people. I think its peaceful like going to church for some people.

I wholly agree. I also read books in pubs when I have the chance. its nice to get in after the lunch crowd and get a comfortable corner and a pint.

I dont know if many people here read the escapistmagazine.com but they ran an interesting article on what lux just said, but in the context of online rpgs. ive never so much as touched world of warcraft personally but according to the article its really common for people to play solo, but in view of real people even though they wouldn't intentionally interact with them. apparently there is a real psychological aspect to doing , for lack of a better word atm, antisocial things but where you're still surrounded by society.

Gang of Gin

Lux23 wrote: »

I do it but I have found that people normally come over and chat to you. I would do it in a Cafe but its nearly impossible to find a comfy seat in a Cafe in Dublin. Most are set up so you will want to leave after drinking your coffee.

Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Genial. People come over and chat to you? Strange. I thought they only do that when it's roughly midnight and there's a few onboard. No one would really do that in the day time I would've thought.

Sounds like a great idea. I'd love to try it sometime soon.

Gang of Gin

easyeason3 wrote: »

it smacks of being a loser.

Steady on. No need to be that harsh about it. Desperate or not, should the person be, it doesn't equate with being a loser.

mojesius

I've never read a book alone in a pub in Dublin, but I will when I'm on holidays or when I lived abroad. Funny that, maybe I should start trying it here. It is extremely relaxing.

Biggins

Seen a few people do it besides myself.
It depends on the type of bar your in. A mad busy pop music bar might not suit but but a more relaxed bar or beer garden can be quite pleasant at times. For de-stressing alone I can recommend it.
Puts your mind in another place for a while.

AnonoBoy

easyeason3 wrote: »

I go to a pub to be social & have a chat with people, not to have a few drinks on my own with a book or a paper, I can do that at home if I feel like it.

I can be social and have a chat with people at home too.

By the way - what do you mean by 'desperate'? And why do you apply it only to a woman alone in a pub reading a book?

neil_18_

Not weird at all. I think a problem is that not as many people read books anymore so they don't understand that you want to sit somewhere comfortable with a drink and read.

They can mind their own business anyway.

Lux23

Gang of Gin wrote: »

Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Genial. People come over and chat to you? Strange. I thought they only do that when it's roughly midnight and there's a few onboard. No one would really do that in the day time I would've thought.

Its Ms Genial and I have rather big breasts...

ejmaztec

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I can be social and have a chat with people at home too.

By the way - what do you mean by 'desperate'? And why do you apply it only to a woman alone in a pub reading a book?

A woman so desperate that she's trying to get picked up by an alcoholic librarian who drops in for a skinful on his way home from work.

AnonoBoy

ejmaztec wrote: »

A woman so desperate that she's trying to get picked up by an alcoholic librarian who drops in for a skinful on his way home from work.

Oh right well in that case I agree.

easyeason3

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I can be social and have a chat with people at home too.

By the way - what do you mean by 'desperate'? And why do you apply it only to a woman alone in a pub reading a book?

I worked in a pub a few years ago. Usually the women that did come in alone for a drink, during the day or at night, were a bit dodge. Quite a few of them needed professional help. I applied it to women because I am one!

I'm all for equality & everything but at the back of it all I'm old fashioned enough even though I'm a young woman.
It's just not something I would do so that's why I'd find it strange.

Lux23

ejmaztec wrote: »

A woman so desperate that she's trying to get picked up by an alcoholic librarian who drops in for a skinful on his way home from work.

If I was that desperate I wouldn't go into a pub with a book in the middle of the day on my own. I would get tanked and go to Coppers or some kip at 1 in the morning and go looking for someone just as desperate. It doesn't make sense to say a woman sitting in a pub with a book is desperate.

i71jskz5xu42pb

Lux23 wrote: »

If I was that desperate I wouldn't go into a pub with a book in the middle of the day on my own. I would get tanked and go to Copper or some kip at like 1in the morning and go looking for someone just as desperate. It doesn't make sense to say a woman sitting in a pub with a book is desperate.

Whoa there missy, are you trying to say that anybody that's in Coppers at 1am in the morning is desperate? Lots of people go there for the lively ambience, the tunes and an occasional drink.
So I'm told.

Lux23

Darwin Numerous Topaz wrote: »

Whoa there missy, are you trying to say that anybody that's in Coppers at 1am in the morning is desperate? Lots of people go there for the lively ambience, the tunes and an occasional drink.
So I'm told.

I go there to read the grafitti about yore ma on the toliet door.

Gang of Gin

Lux23 wrote: »

Its Ms Genial and I have rather big breasts...

Oh dear, that's the second time I've done that Luxy!! You'll have to forgive me...

AnonoBoy

easyeason3 wrote: »

I worked in a pub a few years ago. Usually the women that did come in alone for a drink, during the day or at night, were a bit dodge

Maybe you just worked in a dodgy pub.

easyeason3 wrote: »

I'm all for equality & everything but at the back of it all I'm old fashioned enough even though I'm a young woman.

Translation: I say I'm all for equality and everything but I'm not really.

It's just not something I would do so that's why I'd find it strange.

There's lots of things I wouldn't do myself that other people do but I don't consider them strange, desperate or scummy. (Except if the person doing it is in fact a scummy desperate stranger)

OutlawPete

I read the Racing Post in pubs when alone.

I see many women drinking / eating alone, sometimes they have a book or magazine, usually they are texting or something.

I don't think I have ever presumed anything about that in itself.

Or guys doing similar for that matter.

easyeason3

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Maybe you just worked in a dodgy pub.




Translation: I say I'm all for equality and everything but I'm not really.



There's lots of things I wouldn't do myself that other people do but I don't consider them strange, desperate or scummy.

Well then you're a better person than I am!

Bring back the snug I say

norrie rugger

easyeason3 wrote: »

Maybe.

But do you not think it's really scummy if you see a woman in a pub on her own nursing a drink?

No

Degag

I work in a pub and plenty of people do it but normally in the early evening. One guy did it one night when the place was packed with music blaring, couldn't understand why!

norrie rugger

strobe wrote: »

Ok so, a couple of weeks ago I popped into a pub I was passing on my way home from town and had my usual pint and a few whiskey n ices and sat there and read the novel I'm currently into. I've been doing this for years, since I was old enough to get served in bars.

I was there for about an hour and a half and on my way out I ran into someone I know. They asked who I was with but I just told them I just came in to read my book and have a few drinks, and that it was something I always do. He thought it was gas in anyway. Then when I got home I just got thinking that I never actually recall seeing a single other person sitting on their own reading a book in a pub. Lots of people reading the paper but never a novel that I remember.

So is it an unusal thing to do? Does anyone else here do it?

Better than reading the back of the beer-mat

nibtrix

I love going for a quiet pint on my own, i always read a book while I'm in there. I use an ereader though and I have had one or two people come up to me asking why I'm surfing the internet on my own in the pub.

easyeason3 wrote: »

But do you not think it's really scummy if you see a woman in a pub on her own nursing a drink?

Definitely not. However, while nursing a pint alone in a pub last wednesday I did see a woman on her own drinking a pitcher of beer. That I felt was slightly weird!

AnonoBoy

easyeason3 wrote: »

Well then you're a better person than I am!

A better woman than you too? On the weekends at least.

Degag wrote: »

I work in a pub and plenty of people do it but normally in the early evening. One guy did it one night when the place was packed with music blaring, couldn't understand why!

Ah I wouldn't do it at night in a packed place. That's not relaxing, it'd be like going to a nightclub and trying to read, pointless.

Coriolanus

Lux23 wrote: »

I do it but I have found that people normally come over and chat to you. I would do it in a Cafe but its nearly impossible to find a comfy seat in a Cafe in Dublin. Most are set up so you will want to leave after drinking your coffee.

3fe has great big cushy couches/alcoves.

Anyway, yeah, I always feel a bit odd reading a book. But a magazine or newspaper doesn't get nearly as many wierd looks?

law86

I love the ambience of a nice quiet pub. It's a little luxury sitting on your own reading in nice surroundings, some of the older pubs feel like they were made for exactly that. I would feel a bit out of place doing it after about eight in the evening. Same for dining alone - lunch, do it all the time, dinner, would feel odd. Also, when I see other women reading alone, I think they look self-assured, not desperate -unless they are licking the dregs off the table.

Beetlebum

I love sitting in an old mans pub drinking a Guinness and reading my book.
It's so relaxing.

I also love sitting in a nice beer garden on a sunny day sipping a cold beer reading my book.

I'm a girl and fail to see how this is 'scummy'?

easyeason maybe you should try it sometime before you judeg other people (women in particular) so harshly!!

Tut tut...and you a woman yourself..

norrie rugger

law86 wrote: »

I love the ambience of a nice quiet pub. It's a little luxury sitting on your own reading in nice surroundings, some of the older pubs feel like they were made for exactly that. I would feel a bit out of place doing it after about eight in the evening. Same for dining alone - lunch, do it all the time, dinner, would feel odd. Also, when I see other women reading alone, I think they look self-assured, not desperate -unless they are licking the dregs off the table.

I imagine a lot of older pubs were built with just that in mind

Elliemental

If you were sitting at home completely alone and getting falling down drunk, then possibly, that is weird. But a quiet drink in a social environment and reading a book is actually quite enjoyable.

Biggins

nibtrix wrote: »

I love going for a quiet pint on my own, i always read a book while I'm in there. I use an ereader though and I have had one or two people come up to me asking why I'm surfing the internet on my own in the pub.

Wife and I have Sony eReaders too.
Read from them all the time in places. Each of us has found separately its one of the most relaxing ways to spend some down time.
A good book on one hand, a drink in the other and relaxed inside or out in the sunshine, chilling... heaven.

Its a pity some don't "get" that. Their loss.

colsku

strobe wrote: »

Ok so, a couple of weeks ago I popped into a pub I was passing on my way home from town and had my usual pint and a few whiskey n ices and sat there and read the novel I'm currently into. I've been doing this for years, since I was old enough to get served in bars.

I was there for about an hour and a half and on my way out I ran into someone I know. They asked who I was with but I just told them I just came in to read my book and have a few drinks, and that it was something I always do. He thought it was gas in anyway. Then when I got home I just got thinking that I never actually recall seeing a single other person sitting on their own reading a book in a pub. Lots of people reading the paper but never a novel that I remember.

So is it an unusal thing to do? Does anyone else here do it?

I am actually in a bar by myself now reading boards.ie on my mobile. There's a lad sitting opposite me reading a book at another table. Bizarre that I see this thread... Nothing wrong with it i say...

eightyfish

It's not at all weird to do that in a pub.

It would be weird to do it in a library.