I often see people waiting in doctors' offices for a long time without reading or doing anything else. It would drive me mad.

Yeah. It was really annoying to spend hours in a waiting room with my eyes dilated so I couldn't read.

I'm usually planning something or rehashing a conversation or wandering off in my own little world.

That makes sense, as does Liese's just being. And it's not like I never look out the window. I mean, there's this one stretch of my commute with water and, on a good day, mountains, that doesn't stop being spectacular just because I've seen it before. I'm just so addicted to reading--I get twitchy if I don't have a book or two readily at hand. Plus, and I know this is lame, I'm in a race with myself to see how many books I'll finish this year! I'm on pace to beat last year's total of 120 easily (thanks to now being a bus rather than a car commuter), but I want to see if I can hit 150.

The downside of being a bus commuter is I'm much less informed about what's going on in the world now that I don't get 30-45 minutes of Morning Edition/All Things Considered each way.

I often see people waiting in doctors' offices for a long time without reading or doing anything else. It would drive me mad.

This is how I feel about lying on the beach.

When I go to the eye doctor, they'll dilate your eyes and then stick you in a nice dim room ... with stacks and stacks of reading material. um ... NO.

Happy Birthday, Erika!

and meara - soon you'll be able to vote for a Congressional representative who actually, you know, represents you!

I used to not be able to read on the bus at all. Lately I have found that if I sit in a sideways seat the nausea doesn't bother me nearly as much. I do have to look up from time to time and sometimes if I get engrossed in my book I forget and then I do still get sick.

What kills me is when I'm getting my hair done (which takes hours and hours) and I can't read because I can't keep my glasses on. Except that I've gotten to the point where I can actually nap in the chair while she's doing my hair.

Lately I have found that if I sit in a sideways seat the nausea doesn't bother me nearly as much.

This is weird, because I only get sick if I sit in a sideways seat! Or on one particular very curvy bus route. I do have to make sure I look up and out the front window every once and awhile, though. I can't imagine not doing something, because my bus commute ranges from 40 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes.

I am one of the only people who read on most of my buses, and other people tend to read the bible. It is kind of weird

The beach is magical! You don't need anything to do there. The ocean is enough of a reason.

However, you yank the body of water and I can barely sit still long enough to read. I need even more shit to be happening. Conversation, sporting event, something. I'd rather go inside and read out of the bright light, etc.

At the beach I'm usually in the water. Books don't work well there.

Hee, of course, living where I do probably figures into the equation. On our commute we drive past gorgeous snow-capped mountains, broad open canyons filled with color, through towering ponderosa pine forests, past sparkling lakes, along vast desertscapes with rock formations and dust devils. A bald eagle swept in front of our car during yesterday's commute.