I read a lot of genre fiction, Sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, romance.
Typically I don’t have any qualms about people knowing what I am ready. I am proud to be holding a book by Lois McMaster Bujold in my hands on bart. I want people to see what it is I am reading. If they look down on it and consider me not worth talking to, those are the people I wouldn’t like anyway and I am pleased to have them run them off. If they are drawn to me because of the book, they are the type of people I want to talk to and we can geek out together.
I find this works until I get to the romances. Some of them with the “romance” covers (de-shirted men, women in some form of undress) are not things I want to be seen reading. I find I feel much more comfortable wrapping the book cover up in a sheet of white paper like I did with my text books in school to protect the book. I don’t care to be seen as a Bodice Ripper Only Reader.
I am fine as a Sci-fi Only Reader. Or Mystery, or Fantasy. Just not Romance. I am a little leary of Best Seller type books too. Guess this says a lot about my attitudes about types of books. I would rather be seen reading the obscure then the mainstream/popular.
Pssst, pssst.
I sometimes read Tom Clancy novels.
Oh, the delusions of anonymity I seem to be entertaining when reading on the BART… self-help books, fantasy, D&D books, other gaming books. I empathize with your reasoning. However, I have reserved that commute time for reading all manner of things, else I would get scarcely any reading done otherwise! Though you have a good idea: I should probably engineer some sort of book-cover for my more scandalous reading.
Most romance readers I know feel the same way about the covers.
I have (had?) a paperback book cover designed to a) protect your book cover and b) shield your choice of reading materiel from others. If I can find it (I *think* I know where it is) would you like it?
Nah,
That would be too much like taking your own grocery bags to the grocery store. It would require planning ahead and I rarely do that.
Right now, if I find a book with an objectionable cover, I just use a piece of 8.5×11 paper to make a cover. I can even draw or doodle on it. I think it is cool that paperback books fit with 8.5×11 paper so well.
I feel the same way which is hard because I also feel that, ftmp, romance novels aren’t worth buying so when I want to read one I’m usually reading in the breakroom at work
) And trying not to let my coworkers see