Yup, I can't believe it myself. More walking readers. It's gotta be some sort of growing political movement or something.
And this time it's a twofer! The first guy is a chap I have discussed before, and I don't usually do repeats, but this one's rather special, I would say. When I'm power walking I usually see this fellow reading a magazine or a paperback book. But I guess he was a good boy this Christmas, 'cuz Santa got him a Kindle! First time I've ever seen anyone in the city walking and reading a Kindle, I tell ya. So I'm guessing those things work well in cold temperatures, 'cuz it was mighty chilly the day I saw him!
The next walking reader I saw, well...this gets kinda interesting. You see, I power walk pretty much along the same route every day, because there's a limited amount of cars in this neighbourhood, and well, it's a mighty perty neighbourhood to boot. Now please don't be thinking that I'm some sort of stalker or anything, but after seeing the power walking guy over and over on my travels, I happened to notice what house he actually lived in, 'cuz I saw him walking along with his book, and I guess he was finished his walk, so he went into one of the nice houses. Well, the other day this lady came out of the same house, and she was holding a book, and then yup, you guessed it, she started to walk and read at the same time, too! Husband and wife walking readers! How cool is that? Would be even cooler if they walked and read together. Anyway, she wore almost all black, she looked, well, a tad grumpy, and she just happened to be reading the book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World.
I hope she gets something out of the book, but I dunno – I'm a firm believer of everywhere you walk, there you are.
Love your blog and cartoons! Worst walking and reading book for me is Journey to the Center of the Earth; the characters spend so much time running from stuff, I start panting to catch up. Worst music to listen to while walking: Ride of the Valkyrie.
Posted by: Man Martin | January 17, 2011 at 02:43 PM
I worked with a word processor once who would read while she walked. During lunch hour, she would walk around the Financial District of San Francisco reading and walking and stepping off curbs without looking up. But I suspect she wanted to be considered eccentric.
Posted by: OmbudsBen | January 23, 2011 at 07:08 PM
I must confess, I am a reader and walker. There is something about getting the blood flowing to your brain that makes the book so much better. But the main reason I do it is because I don't have time to separately walk and read...I have to multitask!
Posted by: Lisa@ButteryBooks | January 25, 2011 at 05:06 PM
That is very interesting. I have only ever seen someone read and walk once. They ended up falling down when someone pushed passed them. I think that some people might want to read while they walk to have something to do while they are walking. If you go for a walk you generally do not have much to do. Some people fill that boredom with a video game or taking pictures, but I guess others read books which makes perfectly logical sense. I would not read while I walk, but then again I am not a huge reader either. I am also kind of slow when it comes to reading (about a page a minute). I might listen to an audio book though (if I had one) which honestly makes more sense to me in a safety perspective than having the actual book out blocking yoour view of where you are going.
Posted by: Phillies fan | February 10, 2011 at 04:10 PM