My mom was enough of a reader herself that I wasn't often told to put a book down, but she didn't want me reading at the table even if I was eating alone for fear of spillage, and once I turned 6 or 7 she wouldn't let me bring non-Bible books into church anymore (it was too small a church to have children's church, so I had to stay through the sermon). I think this was supposed to make me start listening to sermons, but what I actually did was read the parts of the Bible that struck me as strange and interesting, namely all the ceremonial law bits of the Torah, Song of Solomon, and Revelation.

On road trips, I was supposed to "look outside" instead of reading all the time.

The great tragedy of my childhood was that due to my terrible propensity for car sickness I was unable to read in the car. Instead I (sat between my brothers to keep them from fighting and) drew pictures of olden time families and made up stories about them in my head. so...maybe not a tragedy at all!

I don't remember ever being told to put down a book but I know we weren't supposed to read at the dinner table. Any other place & time was a-okay. (except church but none of us would have attempted that)

I come from a great family of readers, thank the goodness. All 4 grandparents, all my aunts and uncles, my parents and my brothers -- all big readers. One of the features of family events in my mother's big family is passing around the latest books.

My mom forbade me from reading in the stands while my brother was playing his freshman football games, so I was forced to watch the game. I learned football in sheer self-defense from being bored out of my mind, so I have to give Mom props for that, because I've loved football ever since.

The only times Mom would yell at me for reading was when I would be sitting on the floor, supposedly dusting the living room furniture, and was reading instead. I'd usually be quick enough to toss the book under the end table when I heard her approaching and pull out the dustcloth, but sometimes she was just too fast for me.

This reminds me of what my SIL told me about the time she had sent my 4th-grade niece up to get something from her room, and when she didn't reappear 15 minutes later, she went up to see what the hold-up was. Sure enough, Courtney was reading in her bedroom. When Cynthia yelled at her for not doing what she was supposed to do, Courtney just gave her this pathetic look and said, "But, Mom, I came in to get that thing, but the book was just sitting here on my bed--I had to read it!!"

All of us readers probably got the "put the book down" speech, I'd bet.

You know, I don't think I ever did. I think my mom would have liked me to have more friends, but I was never told not to read.

I spent a lot of my childhood being told "you always have your nose in a book" ... and forced to put the book down. I also remember not being allowed to read in the car, even on long drives, because I MIGHT get carsick. humph

The great tragedy of my childhood was that due to my terrible propensity for car sickness I was unable to read in the car.

My sistah! Such a tragedy.

Hell, my parents were ecstatic that neither my sister nor I would get carsick, and strongly encouraged us to read in the car, since it kept us from whining "Are we there yet?" too often. They'd end up telling us to put the books away only when it got too dark to read.

My sistah! Such a tragedy.

seriously! And what made it worse was my mom flaunting her non-carsickness getting ways and reading non-stop (except when she'd take infrequent turns driving) alll the way from DE to TX and back. She also can drink coffee at all hours and it doesn't affect her sleep (I can't have any after about 3 pm) and she's way nicer than me. Those are the ways in which my mom is better than me! Oh and she's tiny! DAMN YOU MOM!

I went to a reading and signing by the author of "Ruined by a Book" and was surprised that (1) she didn't know where the quote came from and (2) she wasn't familiar with children - especially girls - being told to put a book down.

Hee! My mom was the one who would get car/seasick, and would tend to turn slightly green (she's gotten better as she's aged). I remember taking the ferry over to Mackinac Island and my sister and I hanging over the railing, watching the water crash up on the boat, while my mom sat on the bench turning colors.