Could you date someone who doesn't read?

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Kdorsla1
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Re: Could you date someone who doesn't read?

Post by Kdorsla1 »

I have been in a relationship with a man who does not read for almost ten years. I am still able to tell him about a book or characters if I really love them. It's one of the things I do when he is enjoying hobbies I cannot participate in. Recently he has started to express an interest in finding a book to read, and it is incredibly exciting to me.
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I-Need-a-life
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Post by I-Need-a-life »

Is this a trick question? (>.<). Honestly I think as long as he doesn't push his ideas onto me then I shouldn't push my ideals onto him, so I could careless if he reads or not because it doesn't affect me. However, if he's narrowminded about the books I read, I'll honestly drag him to the library. Ahahaha ;P
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Miss_Jane2014
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Post by Miss_Jane2014 »

I don't have a problem if they don't care to read, so long as they don't prevent me from doing so. I find that we still have a lot of things to talk about even if they don't read like I do. I would draw the line with someone who not only didn't read, but they were completely ignorant.
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Jinx94
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Post by Jinx94 »

I think it would be a painful relationship. If you are constantly absorbing knowledge and expanding your mind and this person just isn't interested it would end up with you feeling like you're talking to a wall.. You can't discuss the things you like about a specific book or author. You can't recommend a book that you think they would enjoy and they would never understand the overwhelming urge you have to go to the book store and buy that new King book that was just published.

Also they wouldn't understand how you could sit and read a book for hours on end. Maybe its possible for some but that person would really have to understand your love of books!
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kybunnies
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Post by kybunnies »

Jinx94 wrote:Also they wouldn't understand how you could sit and read a book for hours on end. Maybe its possible for some but that person would really have to understand your love of books!
I am married to someone who does not read (17 years) and he understands my love of books and never has tried to stop me. He use to think it was fun to go and try to be me print books. He knew my favorite genres and usually remembered which books I have read by the cover.

Me being a reader and him not being one never played into our relationship.
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rainbowgirl98
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Post by rainbowgirl98 »

Dating someone who doesn't read is quite annoying, as I have had a past relationship with a guy whose reading interest was non-existent. Knowing myself, and how often I read and re-read, and research, and generally love to learn new things through words, I could definitely never make the mistake of being in any type of ship' without that other person enjoying all of the perks of opening a book and getting lost in a whole new world.
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AlyssaJones
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Post by AlyssaJones »

If a person absolutely hates reading even the newspapers or topics on the Internet, I don't think I could date them. I would want someone who at least doesn't mind reading every now and than.
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Magaleto
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Post by Magaleto »

My husband doesn't read... sans the sports section of the newspaper. It's difficult to get him to see why I would rather read than watch TV, and he often makes jokes about my "book boyfriends", but it truly isn't the crux in our relationship. I can see how that would be a topic of interest in someone you are dating, but for myself, it had nothing to do with how or why we are together. I shouldn't think that separate interests would dissuade someone from getting into a relationship with another.
It's a bit of an arbitrary question- much, to me, like asking if you'd get into a relationship with a person that doesn't exercise, or doesn't like football...
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442454
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Post by 442454 »

Yes.... as long as they don't mind me reading as much as I do!
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Gustavsson
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Post by Gustavsson »

I don't think I'd mind dating someone who didn't read. Reading is part of my life, but it's not everything I am. However, my dream date would both read and, almost more importantly, write. I would like to date someone who was extremely imaginative and liked writing stories as much as me.
Most importantly, I couldn't date someone who didn't think. If they didn't like philosophical ponderings, debating random subjects and musing over stories, I don't think I could deal with it.
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PRIYA1994
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Post by PRIYA1994 »

No... Its pretty hard to understand how some people don't read anything.... Even in my friends group, I am close to people who read.. May not be an voracious reader but at least reading a few books is compulsory.. I don't think I can connect to people who don't read...
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ALynnPowers
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Post by ALynnPowers »

My boyfriend's friend bought him some actual novels (not manga) and he has been getting super into reading lately. It makes me so happy that he's actually reading real books, even if I can't read them (because they're in Japanese) and discuss them with him. At least now he knows how relaxed and refreshed I feel after reading, because he is experiencing the same thing now.
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peabody-63
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Post by peabody-63 »

As long as they are still able to exercise their mind and continue to ask questions of the world then I would be ok with dating a non-reader. The most important thing to me is that a person questions everything and has the ability to discern the difference between active and passive inquiry.
Hummingbird74
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Post by Hummingbird74 »

Yes, and I do. I read three to four hours a day. My partner is not a reader at all. So he will sit beside me for a bit then get board and finds something to do. We spend lots of time together and he knows that I need my book time.
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THWilliams82
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Post by THWilliams82 »

Luckily my wife and I both love reading. The challenging part is when you have read an awesome book and want to talk to someone about it and she's still in the middle of reading it or it's on her 'to-read' list.
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