I am glad it is Friday. I feel as though I have had two weeks smooshed into one and while work is going really well and I am loving it more and more each day, my life outside of worke has slipped and not found a new routine to settle into yet. So it will be nice to have a weekend to get caught up with blog reading and comments and putting things in order so that by next Friday I won’t feel so discombobulated.
I take the bus to work now, two buses to get there and my return home involves bus to train to bus because of the weird way public transit works. I have been taking Jane Austen with me to read while I travel. I have discovered that reading while packed like a sardine onto public transit is definitely a fine art I will need to master. Mornings aren’t so bad since I board the bus at 6:30 and there are hardly any people on it yet. But by the time it reaches my transfer spot it is crowded. So I have to get used to blocking out everything like the guy sitting next to me on talking on his cell phone the whole time. But I can’t block everything out because I have to keep track of where I am so I can get off at the right stop.
It is also winter here at the moment and everyone, including myself, is bundled up to the gills to stay warm. While the buses and trains are toasty warm, standing in the cold and wind for ten minutes waiting for them to arrive is an exercise in slowly freezing. I have tried to read on the bus with my mittens on until my hands thaw but as you can imagine it is almost impossible to turn a page with a mitten. I’ve been watching other readers to see what they do, because there are a good number of readers. They either take off their mittens or they have those mitten glove combo things where you peel back the top mitten part and you are wearing fingerless gloves. Unfortunately the mitten gloves are usually wool and wool and I do not get along. I suppose I will have to take off at least one mitten.
It’s only been three days so I will learn eventually. If anyone has tips on reading while riding public transit I would appreciate the advice!
What works well for me is using ear plugs. Generally they are best if you get them from a hardware store. They make everything apart from really loud noises seem muffled. So you will probably hear an announcement but you won’t be able to make out actual words of the guy sitting next to you.
If you can learn to read on the bus without missing your stop, more power to you!
I tried an audio book in the car once (Robert Frost’s poetry) and got in such a zone that I missed my exit on the turnpike. I had to choose between making an illegal U-turn across the median and going 75 miles out of my way. Talk about the road not taken.
I am lucky in that I 99.9% of the time I get a seat and so can read in comfort, but the whole blocking things out thing is very much dependant on how absorbed I am in the book I am reading. On the odd occasion when I do need to stop I realise that I need to practice holding on with with one hand and turning pages.
In time you will get to know subconsciously where you are on your journey and so you won’t need to be quite so concerned about missing your stopped.
As a fellow rider of public transit I understand your situation completely. I ride at least one (if I don’t mind a 20 minute walk to get to the stop) bus each way and if the weather is particularly nasty I take two. Unfortunately it’s too cold and dark here to do much reading in the morning while I wait, but I use every minute on the bus to read as much as I can fit in. Like you the morning commute is fairly empty (and riders pretty subdued), but the afternoon ride can be entertaining. Just wait until someone sitting in front of you talking on their cell phone talks about their mutual friends who are in jail–now those are fun conversations to try and block out!
It’s amazing what people will talk about in front of an entire bus packed with people! I’ve gotten very good at sensing where I am streetwise without looking up–and you will too. If anything this will give you a little added reading time–and it is always interesting to study people in these sorts of situations….Hope things get into some sort of routine for you soon!
Maybe try some nice fingerless gloves (or half-fingers) for the bus/transit part. I used to wear very thin glove liners (super-thin gloves) under thick mittens and then took off the mittens for the bus ride part. I could still hold a book. And a small book (paperback) that is easy to hold in one hand makes it easier.
Alas I never had that problem since reading on the bus makes me nauseous. But earplugs sounds promising. Earbuds would be a slightly less (or perhaps more) geeky option–the ones that fit in the ear and block out outside noise might work just as well as earplugs. No one needs to know that there isn’t an ipod at the other end of them.
Most of my readings are while commuting on public transport. Maybe it’s because the route is still new to you, but over time, you develop a sense of how long the journey should be. Meanwhile, just remember to look up after every few pages to check, so you don’t miss your stop.
One good way of blocking out the crowd is an mpeg player – which is why I am always plugged into my iPod when I go out.
There is also the art of learning to read with one hand (holding the book) while standing. Mass paperback or thinner volumes that can be held open with one hand are great for commutes. It’s amazing how little space you really need to read on a bus/train.
But use a bookmark that can be “clipped on” so that you don’t lose your pages when you are jolted by the bus/crowd.
I have to endure an hour of public transport as well to get to work but it gives me some time to catch up on my reading. Fingerless gloves definitely help to turn the pages and after a while you’ll be able to balance like the best of them on the bus. Just remember to get off on time!
The other option is to listen to audiobooks when you have to stand, that way you don’t have to worry about turning pages, you can see where you are and you block out the noise. If you have a book for when you do get a seat then you will have all situations covered.
Congratulations on your new job, Stephanie. You’re an inspiration to those of us who are also trying to change careers! On reading on the bus, I definitely think listening to some music at the same time helps create a more personal space and reduce distraction. The two glove shuffle seems like an excellent idea too. I do hope you’ll be able to get back on your bike, when the weather improves.
I have no tips, but enjoyed reading all of the tips offered by others. Some good suggestions! Hope you become accustomed to the situation soon.
I’ve never been able to read on public transport because I get so easily distracted by what’s going on around me. It would have to be audio books for me. But isn’t the first week of a new job exhausting? Fun and fascinating, but exhausting too! Have a lovely weekend resting and taking care of yourself.
Although I’ve always been able to read on trains, I’ve never been successful on buses — too fascinated by observing all the people who got on and off at stops. I spent lots of time in NYC making up stories about people while riding buses. Hope it all works itself out for you soon.
P.S. In sporting stores, I think you can get versions of those glove-mitten things in non-wool materials.
I’m afraid I’d get carsick on a bus and I’m absolutely terrible at blocking out noise, so probably an iPod would be the only thing that would work for me. What Danielle said about getting good at figuring out where you are on the bus makes sense, so maybe you will soon be able to block all noise out?
I used to have an hour commute on public transit. Reading was what made it ok. My problem though was when someone sitting next to me wouldn’t grasp the concept that they shouldn’t interrupt someone reading! Never could get out of that easily.
Dhea, thanks for the suggestion!
J.G. heh, I’ve done that before! My husband has also done it. I’m going to have to be careful
Marg, thanks for the encouragement! My husband rides the bus and tried to show me how to hold the book and turn pages in one hand but I have small hands and doubt I will be able to master that. And thanks for the audiobooks suggestion!
Danielle, I was hoping you would comment since I know you ride the bus! Thanks for the encouragement and sharing your experience. I’ve already noticed a few colorful characters on my route that I am curiously keeping my eye on! And perhaps instead of trying to block out those cell phone conversations I should start listening in
Daphne, I have glove liners, I should try wearing those under my gloves and see how that works out. Thanks for the suggestion!
Sylvia, oh now that is brilliant especially since I don’t have an iPod!
Dark Orpheus, thanks for the advice! I am looking forward to a month from now when I am not so paranoid about missing my stop. I’m glad one starts to get a sense of it, it will make for more relaxed reading time
Rebecca, I am going to try my glove liners but if that doesn’t work think fingerless gloves under my mittens will definitely be my next attempt. I’m glad the balancing will get better, right now I feel like I’m drunk without ever having a thing to drink!
maggie, you are so sweet! It seems I might need to get myself an iPod one of these days. I am looking forward to getting back on my bike too but chances are the thaw won’t happen until the end of March or beginning of April.
jenclair, thanks! And if you ever do find yourself taking public transit, you now have all kinds of ideas to help you out
Litlove, lol, I can see you sitting on a bus or train trying to figure out the stories of all the people around you
It’s been so long since I’ve had a new job I forgot how tiring those first days are! Thanks for your good wishes, my weekend has been fairly restful.
Emily, I wish I was sitting next to you as you were making up your stories in NY! Thanks for the tip on the glove mitten things, I will try the local sporting good store.
Dorothy, how unfortunate you get carsick. I can’t read in cars but I can read on the bus so I am lucky especially since most members of my family are prone to motion sickness, I managed for the most part to escape that trait. Since I don’t have an iPod I am hoping I will soon be able to block out noise. If not I will have to get an iPod shuffle.
Iliana, so far it doesn’t seem that people talk to each other on the busses and trains here unless they know each other. It’s weirdly like being in an elevator in that way.
Ugh, I can’t read on the bus at all – much to crowded, noisy, congested…which really is just another word for crowded, I realize…but my ride is very short, less than ten minutes, so I just watch the hills pass me by and find that very satisfying. Do let me know if you master the art of reading on the bus though…that’s a tough one!
I almost wish my commute were longer so I’d have more reading time!
As darkorpheaus suggests, give it time… you’ll eventually probably develop a feel for when you’re at the right stop without even looking up — I know there are times I don’t look up till I come to the end of the chapter and I’m surprised to find myself already halfway out of the metro station.
Fingerless gloves under mittens sound good, or a liner. Or the Frankenstein fingerless glove mitten. No wool at all?
I used to read on the bus and BART. I was always a little too paranoid to want to block out what was going on around me (so I wouldn’t recommend earplugs, although they do filter nicely). Paperbacks work best. Paperbacks you can beat up. Holding a hardback after you’ve given up trying to read it only leads to contemplating if you could actually knock the guy on the cellphone out with one whack or if it would take two.