The people who objected were not illiterates but reading, novels especially, meant you had gone somewhere into another world where nobody knew what you were up to, even though you were in plain sight. To have your nose always in a book was not too far from witchcraft or secret rituals, & so was especially undesirable in a girl
I thought that something of the sort persisted in the country when twice I was identified as ‘The lady who always reads on the bus.’ But I found that this was mainly because an awful lot of people simply cannot do it – it makes them travel sick. Once I was consulted for tips on how to do it, but since it was something I just could naturally do, I was unable to help
I understand a bit better now though. Especially on winter evenings when the combination of aging eyesight, poor lighting & a new generation of buses whose suspension conveys the impression that the wheels are square, makes reading uncomfortable, and yes, occasionally nausea inducing
It is possible though that the notion persists, that tv, dvds and computers are preferable because you can see, share, the same thing they are seeing
She loves you better than me; You
With your nose in a book
UA Fanthorpe: Sounds & Silences
