Do You Ever Read While Walking?
This morning, when my brother and I went to get a coffee, we passed a woman casually reading her book while walking down the street. Of course, many people look at phones during walks, but recently I’ve been spotting women reading books instead. Curious, I struck up a conversation with her; turns out, her name’s Stephanie, and she’s a teacher in Brooklyn. Here’s what she told me…
Where are you heading right now?
I’m running errands, then going to the library.
Do you regularly read while walking?
It actually started many years ago. Right after college, I was living in Brooklyn and working in Manhattan, and to save money I’d walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Reading was just something to do on my walk. I also get antsy just sitting with a book in my apartment.
Do you ever bump into things?
I’m not a perfect person, so now and again I’ll walk into a stray branch. But for the most part, I walk the same route, so I’m very used to it. People on their phones often almost bump into me, as opposed to the other way around!
What book are you reading?
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. The narrator is an academic who’s researching a poem that was read aloud at a dinner party in 2014. He dives deep into trying to track down the unpublished poem and understand the context of the dinner party. Halfway through the novel, the perspective changes to the poet’s wife, and you learn what really happened.
What other books have you loved?
Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung Han, a multi-generational book with elements of fantasy mixed in with history. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan. The novel itself is deeply tragic, but I saw her speak at a festival a couple years ago, and she was hilarious. I also loved The Wedding People!
Do you walk like this in the winter, too?
The cold makes it harder, but I wear two pairs of gloves, and my aunt gave me rechargeable hand warmers for Christmas.
I noticed it’s a library book.
I live in a studio apartment, so I can’t store a big supply of books. I go to my neighborhood branch and constantly put titles on hold.
Have you always loved reading?
Yes, and I studied linguistics. I now teach ESL at a high school for students who are immigrants. I was born and raised here, but my parents are immigrants, so I understand some of the challenges. And I always encourage everyone to read as much as possible.
Thank you so much, Stephanie!
P.S. How do you get out of a reading slump, and what nonfiction books do you love?
Comments
104 commentsI think one should pay attention while walking. And, that doesn’t mean paying attention to a book. Sounds incredibly dangerous.
The way I would trip on something and fall onto my face, I cannot even… I will stick with audiobooks for my walk. I just checked out the What We Can Know audiobook from my library, so thanks for the recommendation. I love libraries!
I had a conversation about reading while walking earlier this week! I haven’t done it in ages, but I did it as a kid all the time.
I love reading regardless of the surroundings. Even when walking – although in a busy environment it not quite a good idea. I once tried avoiding some passers by and ended up hugging a lamppost 🤣
Okay I am officially inspired! I am an avid walker AND reader. I have never been a been audiobook person, I just can’t do it!! I love podcasts, but I always miss reading real words while walking. I’m going to have to try this!!
Really sweet. I don’t know, maybe I’ll try it out! I love to read, but I love it comfortable,too – with my cup of tea, cushions, … Or outside, what I really love is to take a book into the park or forest, when I can manage. For me, nothing better than a sunny moment sitting under trees with a book.
yes! I’ve been reading while walking since I was 5 years old in my small hometown on a California Channel Island – I was great at it then (probably more about everyone around me looking out/keeping me safe) and am tits at it still, in the small community I live in here in Big Sur, CA. I have great peripheral vision!
I walk and read, sure, but also crochet, knit, and even spin yarn on a spindle! My dog would get a lot fewer walks if I couldn’t multitask!
What a nice post. I cannot read while walking, but I do so in the bus and train, and I listen to audiobooks when walking/cooking. My country doesn’t have audiobooks in Spotify but I listen to a short stories podcast and library audiobooks.
Oh the nostalgia! When I was in my early 20s, I always read my paper book on the Metro, and I didn’t let my stop interrupt the story. So yes, I read while walking and once literally walked into a light post. It’s decades later and I always have an audio book in progress to keep me company on my walks. It’s safer but I miss that feeling of just being that wonderful weirdo walking down the street with my nose in my book, just a moment away from disaster. (And when I say weirdo, I mean wonderful self-actualized badass).
I got an xteink e reader (like a tiny kindle) and put all my library books on it. It’s smaller than a phone so good for walking with.
I was so inspired by this post today that i took a walk around my neighborhood reading as the sun went down. I occasionally paused to notice the world hovering on the cusp of autumn. Reading R. F. Kuang’s Babel and loving it.
I never see anyone else doing this, but I do it all the time during my commutes, when walking a couple blocks to and from the train or bus. I even read while walking up four flights of stairs to my office! As a mother, I gotta squeeze in those out-of-the-house quiet reading moments when I can!
Reading while walking was always sorta my thing!! These days, I listen to audiobooks almost all the time while doing anything. Sometimes I also read library books on my phone via the Libby app.
I’ve started seeing this more too – but with guys! I wish I weren’t so clumsy because I wouldn’t mind being able to read a book while walking (not that different from looking at your phone while walking, which so many people do) – feels like it would be fun to get lost in another world while moving through your own. Like a little meditation within the meditation of putting one foot in front of the other.
Love this! When I was in grad school, I was living with my parents and had a lot of novels that were required reading. They live in a small town where there isn’t a lot of traffic. I’d safely walk on the street down to my old elementary school and back while reading. I found that it made me read so much faster and absorb what I was reading better too!
On a treadmill maybe but not on the street. I also don’t like to look at my phone while walking. Looking at the world while walking is meditative to me. I don’t want any distractions.
Yes, thank you for this.
looking at the world while walking is HIGHLY underrated : )
To each her own! I like noticing what’s around me as I walk around the city—interesting architecture, quirky flower boxes, beautiful trees, and a great variety of people, as well as signage.
I started doing this one summer in college during the time of flip phones. The trek between my student worker job and my apartment was lengthy but a straight shot, which made it easy. And just this week my 4 year old started doing the same thing on our walk back from the library. Wow, how it warmed my heart.
I read and walk all the time! It had been a total game changer for my literary life! I used to think I was weirdo for this – and embraced my weirdness fully – but this post has made me feel so seen! I live on a dirt road in Vermont and rarely encounter other people and only a few cars, so safety hasn’t been an issue. My bigger problem is keeping up the habit once the bitter cold sets in! I need some super heavy duty gloves with touch screen sensing for my kindle because turning pages is a no go in the winter. The summer is so lovely for reading and walking because I can walk super early and the temperatures are pleasant for physical books and my kindle. Happy reading!
Joanna, I’m so curious how you strike up conversations with strangers when you think you might write a post about it. Do you just start chatting and bring up the blog later? Do you have a card you give people? Do people ever say no?
I was wondering too!
This is a great question! And could be part of a bigger post on how CoJ articles come together, too. Would love a peek behind the scenes!
This is so lame but I used to read while walking all the time but due to recent trends, now I feel a little embarrassed to in case it’s giving performative. Kind of like the idea of taking a book to a bar. 😭 I don’t think twice when other people do it but as the wise Jemima Kirke advised, I’m thinking about myself too much.
We (broadly) really have to stop jumping on internet bandwagons. Reading isn’t performative. There aren’t books for boys or girls – there are just books.
Wait, now taking a book to a bar is performative??! What in the fresh hell?
I’m such a klutz that just thinking about this makes me so nervous! I would definitely trip over an uneven sidewalk… But I do love that part of living in NYC – so many interesting people going about their days on the city’s sidewalks and trains. <3
What a lovely feature! I can’t read a book or even look at my phone for more than a couple seconds while walking, so I’ve resorted to audiobooks. Spotify premium has a TON of audiobooks and I listen while doing chores at night, walking the dog, and walking to work. I’m listening to The Correspondent right now and its great in audiobook format. I’ve also started carrying around a book more in my purse so that I can read it while waiting for things instead of staring at my phone. I’m no longer on social media, so my phone truly doesn’t hold my attention much any more anyway. Curious how others with young kids fit in reading, I miss the feeling of being “well read” and am trying to do better!
Hi, Liz! I bet you are reading to your kids loads. When my kids were younger (a couple of years ago:) I was kind of having this ongoing identity crisis about not finding time to read. “I used to be a reader! What am I even now? (Sob!)” But then I gave myself permission to count all of the wonderful literature I was enjoying with my kids (Winnie the Pooh, The Wind in the Willows, The James Herriot Treasury, The Railway Children, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and on and on) for myself too. Pick great books to read with your kids that you can enjoy too and then everything counts. <3 Soon your kids will be voracious readers and you will all be snuggled together reading your own books, (or you’ll just keep reading aloud together because everyone will miss that sweet feeling!)
I read before bed and read on the couch while my 3 year old plays.
I have a 2-year-old. After I get him to bed, I just read instead of watch TV. I find TV pretty boring in general, so it’s an easy swap. I mean, I certainly still have my moments of binging every episode of 30 Rock for several weeks. I’m human. But overall, I just use whatever downtime I have. I read about 20-30 books a year.
I read while cooking dinner! Love the walking book interview!
My neighbor just told me that she reads on her kindle app on her phone when she’s walking to the train, but in the winter when she’s wearing big mittens she uses her nose to turn the pages, lol
I love this. So wholesome.
This is fun! I’d love to be able to read while walking but I am always trying to stay alert, even when listening to music/podcasts/audiobooks. Have been followed by creepers too many times to count, and sadly that – among other things- makes me stay hyper aware of my surroundings.
I don’t read while walking, but someone in my neighborhood does regularly. A neighbor told me he has a bingo card of sorts with the various characters we see walking. One is Reader Walker, another is Shorts Guy (we’ve never seen him in pants, regardless of the temperature). Cat Baby is a large cat lucky enough to be taken on walks with his family in a screen covered stroller. I wondered if another neighbor has a similar bingo card and what my character would be? I’m thinking Dog Serenade because I often sing silly songs to my dog when we’re on a walk and I think no one is around to hear.
hahahah this is SO funny, Caitlin!!
Honestly, to read I need to sit down, once I tried reading while walking but it didn’t go well, then I tried audiobooks and it went even worse. To read I use my private garden, I have my chair where I read calmly and can enjoy the moment much better!
She seems so just so lovely!
I read many novels as a child while walking the mile home from grade school and high school, alone. I’m not sure how I managed it while also holding a rubberized book bag (remember those in the ’60s and ’70s?) or a stack of schoolbooks in my arms, too, but I know that’s how I read Anne of Green Gables and many other paperbacks. It helped pass the time and I never ran into anything or tripped. I still do it occasionally—usually when I’ve found something good at our Little Free Library and can’t wait to get it home.
Just as Anne herself would!
I have no discipline when it comes to reading so the only time I can read is once I’m in bed at the end of the day, when my eyes will reliably get too heavy to continue within only a few pages. Otherwise, I know from long experience that I must give up the entire day from that point forward until the book is either finished, or it is night and I can no longer keep my eyes open. I also love so much that you stopped a random interesting person and profiled her here !!! Thank you so much, Stephanie, for allowing it!
When my youngest was a baby he went through a period of only napping in the pram AND only if it was moving, I could listen to audiobooks and podcasts, sure, but I realised I never had any time to sit down and read a book now naptime was mobile. I kept optimistically borrowing titles from the library and then having to give them back untouched. One day while lapping the park I suddenly realised I could walk the perimeter slowly round and round and read. So simple, so life-changing! I finally managed to finish a couple of books in that season. People smile at you so much more for walking and reading a book than they do for walking and scrolling your phone lol.
She seems like the coolest! I think it would make me nauseous to read and walk though. If I’m really into a book, I’ll carry it around my house while I’m doing other things, but I don’t think I can walk and read.
I can’t help but plug the kindle here! It would be SO much easier to walk with a lightweight kindle in one hand, and you can still check out books from the library and send to it – it’s what I always do! Such a space saver too. Also….this is a great time for audiobooks, and allows you to keep your head up and paying attention to your surroundings!
I do this all the time – on lunch break, at my kids’ sports practices! I will say the Kindle is ideal for this!
SHE’S LOVELY.
Another vote here for mystery brother returning ! I know you said he’s private but is he open to changing his mind ? We can be kind I promise :)
i don’t have the habit of reading while walking BUT i ocasionally do it when i go to the supermarket by the house if i’m reading something i cannot put down. because the sidewalk is huge and there aren’t many people passing by, it’s easy to do it without risking bumping into something or someone :) i always leave the house with my book though, it’s an addiction :)
I do this ALL the time and all three of my kids can also read and walk at the same time.
I love to read anytime and anywhere. When I was six my family moved into a new, brick, one story house with an unfinished basement. I liked to roller skate in big circles while reading. My favorite book that year was Green Eggs and Ham. After a couple years the basement was tiled and a ping pong table was installed. I always missed the skating.
My oldest reads while roller blading in our cul-de-sac, ha!
Stop teasing us with your gorgeous brother and tell us his status! single, married, happily coupled???
Haha he’s so private I don’t really say much about him online! I wish I could talk about him all the time, he’s so much fun :) Xoxo
I respect this so highly, Joanna.
I know this is meant in jest, but there’s a reason this person values his privacy, and we aren’t entitled to his relationship status. We really need to stop asking this of Joanna and her family (you’re not the only one who has been asking – I mean this a broad comment)
Oh, I feel so seen by this post! I have been a reader-walker my entire life, starting from the age of about 6. My mum used to walk us to our local library every Saturday morning and on the casual stroll home (about 20 mins,) I would finish a book before arriving at our front door. I am also rather clumsy, so I did gather a large collection of scraps and bruises over the years but that feels like a small price to pay, for the joy of a potter with a thrilling chapter.
I used to do this when I read Game of Thrones for the first time, about 15 years ago. I was so engrossed on my daily commute and miss this feeling. These days I mostly bike around but my son is very often reading comics while walking.
Just came to say I love spontaenous posts like that! And the recurring themes, researched Posts… it’s a great mix :)
Awww this makes me happy! Thank you! Xoxo
I am one of the many klutzes who would definitely maim myself if I read while walking! I love to read but I spend my time thinking and enjoying being outside when I am out walking! To each their own, but one does need to be conscious of one’s environment and other people. People ambling along while on their phones in airports for example are just not being mindful of the fact that many of their fellow travellers are trying to navigate with very real time constraints.
Cautionary tale/validation of everyone who mentioned hazards and injuries! I am a librarian who, a few years ago, discovered the great joy of reading during a stretch of my walk to work that has minimal car traffic. When the weather was dry, I read plays, essays, mysteries, and YA, always factoring in weight as I planned what to bring. The quality of my reading felt different while I was walking, and I relished finding one more crust of book time in the day. I once made the mistake of mentioning this new habit to my mother, and then for a while resorted to lying to her, telling her I’d given up something I realized was needlessly risky. The sudden end of my golden age came about when I tumbled downhill and sideways while reading a book [that was, incidentally not at all worthy of its role in the story]. I had plenty of reading time on the couch over the next six weeks of not being able to bear any weight on my fractured foot! And plenty of time to come to terms with becoming an audiobook-only walker. BE CAREFUL, PEOPLE!!!
While I don’t walk and read (too dangerous for me!) I do read a lot, and always have a book with me, just in case. A few years ago I had to serve on a grand jury and had a nice time planning what I was going to read while sitting around waiting, all non-fiction. I’m an introvert w/issues so prefered to read vs interacting w/others. Apparently my reading habit was confusing to the other jurors, how made some odd comments, including “why are you reading that? Do you enjoy it or are you just bored?” !?! Anyway, I wonder what some people think when they see someone walking and reading, absorbed in a book….so funny how some people just don’t get it!
I like to read books while walking my dog, because she is a super slow walker and likes to stop to sniff everything. It’s win-win for my dog and me. She gets to take her time on our walks without being rushed and I get precious time to read which is hard to find.
I love this!
Since I’m not coordinated or brave enough to read while walking, I listen to audiobooks instead! Libby has been a great way to get audiobooks through the public library. I now listen while doing everything—walking, cooking, washing dishes, running errands, whatever. It’s helped me get through my TBR list and lots of interesting books, and also really reduced my Netflix-watching.
I love everything about this, all the way down to how comfortable and joyful Stephanie seems with being photographed. Plus a book recommendation! I’m reading Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor because none of my holds were ready and it called to me. You guys, it is so so so beautiful. I’m learning so much about art and seeing and presence. Whether you’re going to sit, listen or take it for a stroll, I recommend it.
I walk around my house reading a book all the time. While reading, I’ll make or pour coffee, stir eggs, vacuum, put on lotion, pretty much whatever. I’ve never given it much thought, and in fact, never considered using a bookmark to pause and do what’s needed! There are simply too many books to be read in this lil’ lifetime.
When I read I really do like to get lost in the story and so I prefer being somewhere seated or listen to an audiobook when walking. But, I’m not opposed to it, so long as it is the right place (a safe and quiet side street or loop around the park and the right book (not too heavy or huge).
I frequently read while walking around a track.
When my daughter was 16 she babysat our 8 year old neighbor every wednesday. They were entirely kindred spirits and would go to the library and then to a coffee shop, where they would drink hot chocolate and read their stack of books. On the way home, the little one would put my daughter’s hand on her head and say, “Can you steer me please, so I can keep reading?” My daughter’s comment to me, “I’ve never heard a more relatable request!”
Just commenting to say that I loved that Ian McEwan novel!!
same! what great storytelling! I read it in January this year and it has stuck with me – I keep thinking about this question of what lasts, how memory functions both in short term and very very long term ways. It was both gripping and thought provoking. If only every book were this excellent!
My son used to read chapter books every morning while walking to school. I would hold he loop on his backpack to help him stay on the sidewalk and avoid any branches!
This visual is adorable :)
I’m a children’s librarian who has worked with two adult librarians who walked to/from work while reading. I prefer an audiobook for walking. Walking is great for the brain whether you’re reading or not!
My daughter does this! And then I make her put her book away. Let’s chat! Let’s look at the trees! Let’s not bump into something! Maybe I should let her?
I have great, close to heart memories reading everywhere we went. I can still almost picture standing in line at the grocery store reading my book, and getting totally absorbed and just yes wandering and maybe bumping things. But I knew then and now know however it worked, I was also very present to life even while lost in a book. As an adult, language is the love of my life and I am grateful to be a healer (with words) and poet though I work in healthcare for the “job-job.” I have great deep people friends but books are my oldest companions and loves, my first and longest joy, That’s my take as a former child book reader walker!
I did this as a kid–including in the hallways of my junior high school…
I used to do this a LOT, starting in elementary school and through university. My brother, also an avid reader, was reading on his way home from high school and was actually (gently) hit by a car at a crosswalk. He was OK but got a mild concussion. So… make sure you are not too absorbed, readers.
I can’t really read while walking (too clumsy), but I do like to keep a book in my bag, so I can pull it out if I need to wait in a particularly long line or have a few spare moments or something. Helps keep me off my phone for sure! In fact, I often leave my phone at home on accident, but I rarely leave home without my book.
I actively freak out a little if I realize I’ve left the house without a book or at least a hefty magazine!
I know Stephanie and to see her on CoJ feels like she’s famous. Haha. Love it. A neighbour of mine growing up would constantly walk while getting through all the reading he needed to do for his PhD. He didn’t seem to keep up the habit after he finished.
One evening this summer I, a middle aged woman, was walking through the quiet streets of my neighbourhood reading a library book. I looked up to avoid an oncoming walker and met the eyes of another middle aged woman, looking up from her library book so as not to run into me. We both grinned and instinctively tapped our books together in a sort of literary cheers, and walked on in our opposite directions without saying a word.
What a great meet cute! You guys should be besties!
Ha! So funny and great.
I love this, Anna. Happy reading! xoxo
Perfect.
I don’t do this as an adult but I REALLY SHOULD because I did this constantly as a child. My wonderful mom would just put a hand on my shoulder and steer me along, guiding me through parking lots and grocery store aisles and airport concourses and obstacles everywhere, as I completely concentrated on my book. It runs in the family: my mom once started to panic when she realized my sister was really late coming home from school–but when she left the house to check the 2-block route to the elementary school, she immediately saw my sister, walking verrrrrrry slowly down the sidewalk, nose buried in a book. And now I’m raising two little bookworms myself!
So, this is a great way to promote books and reading, doing it so publicly (as on buses and trains). However … I think walking should just be walking, for safety, as a courtesy, and to just to be in the moment and notice what’s around, you never know what you’ll see. And …what is so terrible about, just, waiting to read or use a phone (no matter how interesting)? And is walking so tedious that one must have a distraction? Anyway, sorry, and feel free to educate me on this! :)
I think the key distinction here is that no one has to jump out of the way :)
I used to do this all the time and never walked into anyone, if that helps. And always looked before crossing the street. You still have peripheral vision and at least you can hear (unlike the earbud crowd). Waiting to read? No. A good book will not wait.
My worry is that if people are saying “I’ve never bumped into anyone”- is that because the people around you are taking the care of you that you should be taking of yourself?
thx Karen, Jo, and Deb. thx @Kylee for your perspective. You said you “used to do this all the time” – so why did you stop (if you don’t mind sharing)? This morning I remembered that back in 1990, a guy told me he sometimes walked down much of St. Catherine’s St (Montreal) while reading, which is truly a skill, lol. Is it easier to give ones full attention to a book and to one’s environment when younger, I wonder? And when it comes down to it, I’d rather see a book in someone’s hand than a phone (especially when so much is at stake). Still stand by my original comment though (perhaps I have issues to work thru, but anyway).
lol, when I said “so much is at stake”, I meant reading, books, libraries, literacy, etc. in these perilous times, in case not clear.
I kinda agree Mel D! I was slightly surprised at all the comments in favor of this!
Yep, Heather, we’re in the minority, for sure. :) But it is nice to know we’re not alone. I keep coming back to this post b/c i think it’s wild how many people are into it (and of course to see who is not- tho i’m probably done now lol). Deb, you make a very good point. :) Have a great weekend, all.
At my advanced age of 52, I am no longer giving ground on sidewalks, particularly to men. If a group of men is walking toward me, I will stop and force them to go around me. If someone is walking straight at me looking down at their phone, I will not swerve to accommodate them – I will wait until they notice me and alter their path. That being said, though, if I see someone walking toward me reading an actual book, I will practically step into the street so they don’t have to look up and lose their place. Readers have to stick together.
You are a saint among mortals!
Stephanie, it’s like we’re twins! I’m also a teacher in Brooklyn, Asian immigrant parents (South Asian) and love my library! I often do most of my reading on the train while commuting, so if I’m not done with my chapter by the time I reach my stop, I will walk and read until I’m done with the chapter.
An ex-coworker used to live near me and I’d see her out walking and reading her Kindle all. the. time! I was amazed at her abiltiy to be so absorbed by her book that she wouldn’t, for example, see or hear me waving/saying hi, but she never bumped into anything. And she walked so fast! Very cool skill.
I was walking in my Brooklyn neighborhood while reading a book and a guy yelled, “Watch where you’re walking.” It cracked me up. I was imagining all the times we would have to yell that if we yelled at the phone walkers. It would be constant!