Do people who don't enjoy reading make you feel sorry?

If a person doesn't want to read then they won't be very well read. I write a lot so I read a lot, it helps to give me ideas about stuff I would not have thought about. I guess if somebody doesn't want to read then they are missing out on the old fashioned way of learning.

Hi there! Well, sometimes feel that people who dislike books are missing out on a lot they everyone has different interest and that's what makes us all different :)

Whether I feel sorry for them completely depends on the reason they don't read. My sister-in-law, for example, has a college education and works in human resources and I have the impression that she just has a lot of other interests that fulfill her life. Now, if she ever made a comment like "I wish I could read a book, but I just don't have time," I might feel sorry for her, because I can identify; I don't have time to read nearly as much as I'd like to. At the other end of the spectrum is my ex-husband. He also has different interests, but is the type of person I WOULD feel sorry for, in fact I have used your exact phrase about him, "doesn't understand the concept of reading for pleasure." He seems to have some type of learning disability and reading is difficult for him. However, I can't bring myself to feel as sorry for him as I probably should because of the obnoxious way he acted about ME reading. He totally resented it. He would come home after doing something he liked and say "Don't tell me you read the whole time!" His attitude was pretty much that since I didn't have to leave the house to do it, it didn't count, and all I was doing was wasting my time instead of cleaning house all day while he played. Now, if he'd shown any interest, or asked for help so he could read better, I'd have felt bad for him instead resenting him.

When I think about a person who doesn't love to read, well, I'm not too bothered by that! This is their choice. Yes, they are definitely missing out on a lot of pleasure in relation to this, it's a shame I guess but they obviously do what they feel is right for their own life! I love reading and for me it's nothing but pure escapism into another world! The other good thing about reading is, it definitely improves your communication skills in all areas. I will always have time for reading in my life! Andrew

I think it is sad when people don't like to read. There are people out there who have never read an entire book in their whole lives! My husband will read, but he makes me sad too. If there is a movie based on a book he won't read the book, just watch the movie.

I feel the exact same way. I feel like reading is a unique way to experience things you could never experience in your life, and to examine the human condition through characters. If you could only really experience one life, it seems like you wouldn't be able to understand others at all. I wonder if these same people experience movies and other immersive medias differently, and that leads to their lack of appreciation for it? I assume that aside from the ability to read, the "absorption" characteristic also plays an important role.

Me too, ladybug, me too. I feel so bad about a few of my friends who don't read for pleasure - I just don't understand why they can't see how much fun it is. Even tho I don't read as much as I used to, because I'm on here all the time, I still have a book sitting next to me most of the time and will pick it up and read it. Heck, the roomie's nephew has a reading problem but is the only one of his family that has any desire to read - and is going to be the only on in his family to actually graduate from high school!

I know just what you mean, crimsonladybug. There is such a sense of escape that can be felt from reading a good book and it is sad for me to think that someone has never experienced that. It seems to me that everyone could benefit from an easy way to escape now and then.

I wouldnt really go as far as to say I feel sorry for people who dont enjoy reading. I am completely at peace with the fact that no everyone will have differnt hobbies.

Hi! Yes, there are times when i meet someone who does not read for pleasure that i feel sorry for them. I have caught myself several times trying to explain to a non reader what they were missing, and to be honest i think it made tham kind of mad and also went right through one ear and out the other. I think maybe they think i miss things also because i read, just as i think they miss things because they don't read. It is just a no win situation.

More than feeling sorry - I'm evangelical about people who don't read. One of our neighbours said he didn't like reading, and I've made it my mission to convert him. I asked his wife waht sort of stuff he was interested in, and found a few books I thought he'd enjoy. The first one he (reluctantly) picked up was a real page turner, and by the time he'd finished, he was hooked on reading. Success! Now I'm looking for another 'convert,'

100% my boyfriend had actually never read a book hen I met him! I was so appalled, I can happily say since I've coaxed him into reading a lot more often. You can normally tell someone doesn't read because they have a poor vocabulary; most people cannot learn words without them being in context, and also lowers their general knowledge! Personally, I don't know how people survive without reading, I can't remember ever not having a book on a go.

Of course. Whenever they say something to the extent that they don't enjoy reading or they don't have the time, I do feel sorry for them. Reading is perhaps the best pastime that one can have. I always feel so much better whenever I read something as opposed to watching a movie or something on TV. For someone that say that they don't like reading, I begin to believe that they have not read much to begin with.