Reading While Walking May or May Not End in Disaster

Edmund Leighton, “Sweet Solitude”, 1919, via Wikimedia

“Lions at zoos often pace along the sides of their enclosures. They walk the same paths over and over and over again, so many times that they wear deep furrows into the ground. Sometimes they walk those routes because they are anxious. Other times they walk to keep an eye on their territories. And in other cases, they walk because they simply have the energy for it.

I am those pacing lions. But unlike them, I do my prowling with book in hand.

From a very young age, I developed a habit of moving while I read. Mind you, I enjoyed lounging in contorted positions with a book as much as the next person, but I was always happiest when combining reading with some type of motion. Unfortunately this had some unforeseen consequences. 

As a child, my favorite place to pace was my bedroom. I devoured hundreds of books while walking a strange diagonal path. To my mother’s horror, my steps carved a deep rut in the carpet. Zookeepers may have been able to grow grass where the lions had worn it away, but salvaging my carpet was a longer and more expensive process.

Even though I’ve grown quite a bit older since those days, I still like to move while I read. In an attempt to save the carpet in my apartment (and to avoid too many judging eyes), I’ve developed some dos and don’ts for reading while walking.”

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Head to Book Riot to check out the dos and don’ts that I’ve discovered for reading while walking.