Your spouse/significant other's reading habits

[Ronny]

Try a book about video games maybe. Is there one? I believe there's a book out there for everyone.

That's a good idea, you could get a book about video games or one about the same theme as his favorite games. Or if you are any good at a certain game you could bet on the game, if you win he must read this book. We do this at my house to decide many things, he who fails at Celebrity Deathmatch must do the dishes

 

[Geenh]

Haha! I like that strategy! I may have to employ that in my home.

 

[curiouswonder]

If you're serious about trying the game thing, you might look into Tad Williams' Otherland series. they are pretty intriguing books about life inside a virtual / video game world. Long, but they move along pretty well.
Just a thought.

As to Mrs. curiouswonder, she reads a book or two a year. She was never really taught how to read very well and so it has always been a struggle not worth fighting for her. She does pick out one or two that I recommend and gets through them over the course of the year.
I do most of my reading after the rest of the house has gone to bed, so no stress there. Except for the volume of books that occupy every room of the house. I cleared out about 350 over the weekend and was much celebrated. I hope she remembers this when I buy the next 350.
J

 

[cajunmama]

Hubby reads significantly less than I do but he owns significantly more books... Our tastes are very different. He's mostly into religious writings and conspiracy theories, whereas I read many genres of fiction and a few types of non-fiction. I give him books as gifts when the occasions arise, but he still doesn't read much. Sometimes he gets annoyed at how much I'll read. We have a compromise. In the evenings, after all the kiddies are in bed, he'll watch tv and I'll read a book, together in bed.

 

[mehastings]

My boyfriend doesn't read much. He has a book of short stories that he's been working on for months now. I wish he would read more, but I'm OK that he doesn't. He does read a lot of firefighting and EMS related magazines.

My reading, however, adds a tiny bit of stress to our relationship. I guess I spend too much money on books. Plus, I'd rather camp out on the couch with a book than participate in household chores like laundry, dishes and yardwork. The fact that there are books piled everywhere doesn't help either.

 

[Ronny]

If you're serious about trying the game thing, you might look into Tad Williams' Otherland series. they are pretty intriguing books about life inside a virtual / video game world. Long, but they move along pretty well.
Just a thought.

Very good suggestion, this was a series my husband and I both really liked and read together.

 

[Kookamoor]

If you're serious about trying the game thing, you might look into Tad Williams' Otherland series. they are pretty intriguing books about life inside a virtual / video game world. Long, but they move along pretty well.
Just a thought.

Thanks for the recommendation! I might try it (and leave it in the bathroom ) If he doesn't like it I think I might!!

 

[Jemima Aslana]

I had a significant other till this summer. He didn't read a lot, well he read D&D books with the usual fervour of the D&D geek, but novels? Not a whole lot there, in the 1½ years we've been together I know only of him finishing 4 novels. Spending too much time in World of Warcraft can do that to a person, I suppose.

 

[clueless]

I don't think my husband has ever read a book that was not required reading. I did tried to read to him - he fell asleep.

 

[abecedarian]

I don't think my husband has ever read a book that was not required reading. I did tried to read to him - he fell asleep.

Just because he fell asleep, don't assume he didn't enjoy your reading to him. Try a different type of book, a collection of short stories maybe. Even the anecdotes from Reader's Digest might be fun. The point is to get him to associate reading with pleasure. And think about hobbies and interests of his that you might be able to find books about at the library. Then pick the most interesting ones you can(ie lots of pictures and up to date info) to leave in the bathroom or where he might sit down to put up his feet to rest. Thumb through them yourself so you can point out something cool you just have to show him. Even if he never becomes an avid reader, he'd enjoy the care and attention to his interests.

 

[clueless]

The books I tried were Three Men in a Boat and, thinking that it might be too old fashioned for him, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I gave up after that.

 

[Jemima Aslana]

Three Men in a Boat is hilarious hehe. My mum got me to read it a long time ago when I was a mere child, I should probably read it again now that I a somewhat greater understanding of things

 

[Sell Sword]

Mrs. Sell Sword is all about audiobooks, although she does still leaf thru novels as well. She just makes a point of not reading anything I like

 

[7hm]

Reading puts a strain on my relationship with my fiancee.

Several reasons for the added strain - the cost, the sheer number of books, and the fact it's time away from her. Plus the fact I take a book to walk down the stairs, and another to eat supper, and anothe to watch TV, and never put any of them back on the bookshelf, but rather in their proper locations, such as the bathroom and the kitchen table.

I see glimpses that she might be a reader, such as when I bought her a series of teenage girl books... the travelling pants or something (we're both young although not that young, and english is her second language). Or when she read the Harry Potter series. But what with school, and work, and time spent on each other, reading can easily be shifted to the wayside if you can't prioritize it like I do.

 

[direstraits]

My wife reads, but in spells. When she finds a good book she doesn't let go (until it's finished or until it bores her). But our tastes are different - though I do read the stuff she reads, she doesn't read mine. In fact, it's strange - I have a knack of choosing books she'd enjoy reading, though I may not have read them myself (I get to read them after she's finished with them).

But the good thing is, we can both spend a lot of time in the bookstore.

ds