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My entire department eats lunch together on our floor since we still have to answer the phones. We have a table we pull out to eat and chat. After being here for about a year and half no one talks to me at lunch (there are5 of us including myself). So I read on my kindle app or nook app, is that rude of me? Should I sit quietly and attempt to break into the conversation even if I get glares?

It is not rude of you to read at lunch. If no one wants to talk then you have to to entertain yourself. I wonder why they dont talk, I would ask them if I were you, especially since you have been there for a year and it is only five of you. I get along with my coworkers we talk all night about everything under the sun.

They talk to each other just not me. I'm the person that site in the corner error cubicle everyone forgets about. No one is around my age they talk of grandkids or kids and if I try to interject with the bf's kids I get glared at.

Doesn't sound like a very comfortable place to work.
But possibly your co-workers think you prefer to read and that is why they don't include you. Why not try leaving the book for a day and see if anything changes - maybe someone will remark that you are without your book & you could use the opportunity to explain that while you like to read sometimes you might just like a bit of a chat. Asking a question or asking for advice is usually a good way to get a conversation going, I'd suggest maybe directing the question to the person closest to you and then once you break the ice with one person it will be easier to take in the whold group.
Or you could do something like maybe bring a few buns or an apple tart to the table and share it out. The majority of people will respond positively to a generous gesture. Good Luck with it.

Fran wrote:Doesn't sound like a very comfortable place to work.
But possibly your co-workers think you prefer to read and that is why they don't include you. Why not try leaving the book for a day and see if anything changes - maybe someone will remark that you are without your book & you could use the opportunity to explain that while you like to read sometimes you might just like a bit of a chat. Asking a question or asking for advice is usually a good way to get a conversation going, I'd suggest maybe directing the question to the person closest to you and then once you break the ice with one person it will be easier to take in the whold group.
Or you could do something like maybe bring a few buns or an apple tart to the table and share it out. The majority of people will respond positively to a generous gesture. Good Luck with it.

I just recently started reading on my phone. I have tried asking questions or interjecting a story but again it's always met with being ignored or a slight comment then moved on. I actually don't feel like a part of the team

It really isn't rude at all. I would be sitting with my group of friends in high school getting completely ignored, so I would just pull out my book and start reading. No one noticed that I wasn't in the conversation, so as long as no one is trying to get your attention and you end up ignoring them, I don't see any problem with reading at lunch.

literarycat, I apologize for your rude coworkers! I'm not so sociable , so that environment is right up my alley. I would gladly have my face in a book. I hope that doesn't offend you. Anyway, keep reading because someone will use it as an ice breaker one day.

its definitely not rude. i do the same thing! its a great thing to do since there very little you can do on a lunch break thats not repetitive or boring. It sounds like your coworkers are rude/dont like you to be honest. If i were you i wouldnt feel bad about reading and not socializing. you said you tried to socialize and they would just glare etc. I would try to talk with them every for a few minutes every break thought

I do the same thing. One colleague asked me about it and I said because I consider my lunch as 'my time'. Hence, I do the thing that I like the most - reading.

Thanks all I am feeling a little bit better about it. Sometimes I wish I could just eat in the break room, but since we still have to monitor the phones I can't.

If you ask me, it's your coworkers who are rude, not you! If they don't want to talk to you, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with reading on your lunch break. I'm sorry you have to deal with this--I've been there and I know it's no fun! I also took to reading (or sometimes playing Flappy Bird) as an alternative to being ignored!

No, I don't think reading during your lunch hour is rude at all, especially in the situation you described. If you've tried multiple times to include yourself in the conversation and they still don't include you and/or are rude to you, absolutely use that time to read! And who cares if they think it is rude (which they might, but again...); their behavior towards you is unwelcoming and unfriendly.

It is just my opinion, but for me it is rude to read at lunch, if I eat together with someone. But if someone is eating alone, it is fully ok.

Eh. Rude means that you violated some kind of social convention, which may or may not exist.

Honestly, I'd go up to them and ask if they think you're being rude. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised by the results.

not rude at all, if they won't interact with you why should you go out of your way to speak to someone who doesn't want the attention, just spend your lunch the way your comfortable with.