In a development that has surprised me greatly, I’ve recently started including a decent amount of exercise in my weekly schedule. I’m enjoying it much more then I expected to (it seems I have a weakness for group dance!), and find myself actually looking forward to my gym trips.
But there’s only so much time in the week, and there are plenty of other things I want to do with that time. And those things aren’t ‘watch bad daytime tv’, ‘listen to dance music’ or ‘compile a mental list of different types of effort-grunt’. I want to read! And you know what? I can, and do!
Most of the machines at the gym have a handy little ledge on the control panel, conveniently situated at eye level, and just the right size to rest a kindle on. This is where the kindle is really coming into its own. I don’t have to worry about trying to prop the pages open, or hold a paper book with sweaty hands. I can read the kindle without holding it, alter the text size so I can find the right balance of ‘readable from a distance’ and ‘don’t have to turn the page too often’. If my current read isn’t very gym-friendly, I can switch to something else (I find light reads work best). And it means that I’m virtuously doing exercise, while making sure I don’t lose out on too much precious reading time!
I’ve not seen anyone else at the gym with a kindle, but people do take magazines, and once I saw a girl with a paperback, so I’m obviously not alone in combining reading and running (well, more accurately walking/shuffling/panting/collapsing in heap).
So, in honour of World Book Day – where’s the strangest place you read? The oddest thing you multitask it with?
10 comments
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March 1, 2012 at 5:27 pm
Nicole Brock
I read at the gym, too, but use audiobooks. I’ve found that audiobooks allow me to multi-task with other tedious physical labor like doing dishes, cleaning house, etc. I also listen while driving the five hours to my hometown to visit family, though I suppose that’s not so strange!
March 1, 2012 at 5:36 pm
bethan
That’s a great point – sounds like audiobooks are even more convenient than a kindle! I’ve never really got into audiobooks – any recommendations for really good ones, to start me off?
March 1, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Francesca Redman (@deadlylibrarian)
I don’t read anywhere exciting, barely read anything thats not directly related to study at the moment!
I quite often have to read through a cat, cause apparently a newspaper is the be all and end all of comfort!
March 1, 2012 at 5:38 pm
bethan
Oh yes, it’s always much harder to find time for leisure reading when you’re studying – and maybe taking an expensive library textbook to the gym wouldn’t be such a good idea! I’m impressed with your cat/newspaper juggling skills, though – I find it hard enough to handle a broadsheet without any extra impediments!
March 7, 2012 at 2:39 pm
theatregrad
I used to be surrounded by students in the university gym at Oxford with textbooks and print outs of intense looking journal articles! I don’t think I would be able to do that sort of reading whilst using a cross trainer. Perhaps Kindle use at the gym will become increasingly popular though.
March 7, 2012 at 3:07 pm
bethan
oh gosh, I couldn’t read anything at the gym that required real thought! That’s proper dedication.
March 26, 2012 at 1:16 pm
Claire Lucas
Hi Bethan – I too have used audiobooks at the gym for years – at first using an old-fashioned cassette tape walkman, and more recently on my i-Pod. I agree that light reads are best for the gym, and have enjoyed several Erica James novels. I also got through the first two Stieg Larsson books using this medium. I’ve seen people reading books and magazines propped up on the machines; I can do this on the exercise bike, but find it hard on the cross trainer – all that bobbing up and down made me feel a bit sick!
March 26, 2012 at 5:32 pm
bethan
It’s good to know I’m not the only one! Makes me think that some of the people who look like they’re listening to music are probably listening to audiobooks – a bit less conspicuous than a paperback! Well done getting through the Stieg Larsson books in the gym – you must have racked up a fair few miles
November 28, 2012 at 4:31 pm
mininglibrarian
I use the “text-to-speech” function on my Kindle to turn whatever I’m reading normally into an audiobook when it’s time to do things like the washing up or getting dressed on a morning. It’s a bit computer generated and has issues with certain words, but for the bonus of being able to keep reading the same book, it’s worth it!
It’s under the Aa key if you want to try it out…
November 29, 2012 at 12:11 pm
bethan
That’s a really good idea! I’d never thought of trying the text-to-speech. I’ll give it a go and see how I like it