Harrison Scott Key writes about relationships with people who read books you can’t stand. He says, “In a pluralist culture, I suppose your Amazon Wish List is as much a cultural signifier as anything else. I somehow managed to marry a woman who not only reads books that I loathe, but who reads books that I find hard categorizing as ‘books.'”
I’m fairly easy-going about this, but then I haven’t been tested on this much. I don’t really read books anyway. I just read about them. . . .
What really shocks and horrifies me is not so much marrying someone who reads books you don’t like…my hubby and I have that covered. I’m not much for military history. (though I do read Jeff Shaara) He won’t read The Lord of the Rings. (what was I thinking?!!! ;-p )
But what is incomprehensible to me is a reader marrying a non-reader. My big brother and I were excitedly comparing our list of books received for Christmas one year and his wife (who is otherwise quite nice, by the way) said “You two and your books….I just don’t get it” And I almost blurted out “Why did he marry you????” But I didn’t, thank God. So my brother is still speaking to me. (whew!)
Would I be forgiven for saying, ‘don’t judge a lover by her cover’?
oh, i can’t believe you said that . . . heh, heh, heh
There’s not just the issue of a non-reader putting up with a reader, but also putting up with his books… Books, in my experience, tend to take over all available shelf space and then the piano. 🙂
As books darn well should!!
Well…maybe not the piano. Unless it’s music books. And do NOT put books – mine or not- on my djembe!
(my husband thinks my djembe is an oddly shaped end table. I’m a’gonna hurt him!)
Your djembe, is it key tuned or rope tuned? (I had to look that up.)
I have the book incompatibility problem with almost all my friends–there’s only so much chick lit a girl can read before her brain shrinks to the size of a lima bean. (Though I will say it’s quite handy for a brain that is over-full already.) But that doesn’t keep us from having a great time at our book club. In fact, it enhances it if we don’t all have the same opinion.