When I lived alone, I would always keep a book or magazine in my bathroom. Unfortunately, my wife finds such literary endeavors unsettling. Her opinion is that the bathroom should be used for showers, makeup, and lavatory excursions and not for reading.
At first I chalked this up to nurture. As a child I can remember toting the sports page or the comics to the bathroom, and I've heard my mother-in-law espouse the same feelings as her daughter. However, I remembered my sister (same parents and social upbringing as myself, of course) chastising my brother-in-law for requesting a bookshelf in their master bath.
Is this a split along sexes? I'm not sure. My wife has relented, she allows me to keep a copy of The Sporting News Hockey Register in our bathroom, along with some seed catalogs and a dog-eared Who's Who In Baseball (I find that books of sports statistics make the best bathroom reading for me, you can start and stop anywhere, and not have to worry about continuity).
Where do you stand on the topic? What do you read (if you do)? By the way, my wife has stood firm with her "no television in the bathroom" rule. I was kidding when I suggested it, but now that I think about it...
Posted by david on January 31, 2004No, not a split of sexes. My bf thinks itīs odd that I keep my comix in the bathroom. He puts up with it, however...
Posted by: CAG on January 31, 2004 09:22 AMMagazines. Only magazines, for the same stop and start continuity reason you mention. My roommate and I have a john with an interesting mix of Sports Illustrated, JAMA, and MacMall catalogs.
Posted by: Jeff on January 31, 2004 09:53 AMagreed, only magazines are acceptable.
Posted by: troy steele on January 31, 2004 10:06 AMAt my parents house, we always had magazines and joke books to read in the bathroom. I've never had anything in my own bathrooms, though. I have no opinion on the matter... if it's there, I'll read it; if not, I'm content. And what other people do in the bathroom is none of my concern.
Posted by: kim on January 31, 2004 10:07 AMComing from a house where four girls shared a bathroom, reading was inconsiderate of others' needs. Now, however, it's about cleanliness--don't examine that dog-eared book with a black light. Oh, and please wash your hands.
Posted by: linda on January 31, 2004 12:04 PMRead whatever you want. It's not like you're wiping your ass then massaging every page of the book before washing your hands.
Why are americans so uptight about stuff like this? If you were that concerned about hygiene you wouldn't shake anyone's right hand...ever!
What do i read in the can? Journal articles relevant to my research. Hey, why waste 10 minutues of good learning time?!?!?
Newspaper sports page.
I've never known a woman that admitted reading in the john, but I'm sure there are plenty. I've worked with guys who grabbed the daily off their desk, proudly proclaimed they were going to "their office" and then left the newspaper behind as a courtesy to co-workers.
Posted by: Jason on January 31, 2004 05:25 PMMy wife keeps a little basket by the throne in which all of her reading materials are stored. As a result, I usually get to catch up on all the J-Lo/Ben stuff, recipes, etc. I do manage to stash away some local indie mags and a couple of useless trivia books for when I've finished reading about Ashton Kutcher (or whatever his name is) for the umpteenth time.
Posted by: Jeff on January 31, 2004 08:23 PMmy wife and I currently have travel guides (of places we plan to visit), and the rolling stone 500 best albums of all time. they both provide inspiration (of sorts) and work with that continuity issue.
Posted by: rob on January 31, 2004 08:45 PMMagazines, usually, but poetry's good too. Nothing epic.
Posted by: Nic Dafis on February 1, 2004 12:16 PMSomehow having a copy of Rolling Stone magazine just seems appropriate for this reason. But that would mean I would have to buy the stupid thing and Jann Wenner already has too much money....
Posted by: Danny on February 1, 2004 05:23 PMMy dad always kept comic books in the bathroom - every bathroom. I can't imagine a bathroom without comic books in it. My husband has half a library in ours. We keep the Reader's Digest in there, too. Reading in the john was done by everyone in my family, but then my parents had 7 children and it was one place to get away from noise and being disturbed. heh
(My only regret is not KEEPING those comic books we were reading 40 years ago.. sigh.)
Posted by: Terry on February 2, 2004 10:48 AMI agree with Jeff and Troy.
Kirsten and I have a mag rack next to the facilities with nothing but mags ranging from Post, SI, ESPN, and Television Week.
What can I say? The bathroon is an ideal place for those industry mags. Plus, they're free, so the first place they usually go is in the bathroom.
Posted by: Cory on February 3, 2004 02:30 AMNo! No! No!!! In our law office, if a guy takes a file into the can, the legal assistants GAG!!! I don't blame them. Remember the Seinfeld episode where George tries to return the book he read in the bathroom? It's disgusting!
Posted by: Joe on April 16, 2004 12:45 PM