29 Things Readers Are the Best at (and 13 Things They Aren’t)

Readers possess many qualities that puzzle non-book readers. While non-readers may not be able to wrap their minds around our actually liking books and wanting to carry them everywhere we go, we don’t spare these traits a second thought. We know that reading is amazing and that readers are the greatest people. Hands down, we’d build a team of book lovers to have our backs in an emergency because, quite simply, readers are the best. I even made a list of all the things readers are best at below just to prove it. How many of these things sound like you?

1. Readers are the best romantic partners. (Really, science says so. It must be all the romances we read.)
2. Readers are the best listeners. (We listen with our eyes as well as our ears. Although, there might be a couple thoughts about the latest book we’re reading bouncing around in the back of our minds.)
3. Readers are the best at balancing books in weird positions. (If you haven’t shifted to at least 27 different positions during one reading session, are you even a real reader?)
4. Readers are the best at losing track of time in bookstores. (Let me loose in a bookstore and centuries will pass by unnoticed.)
5. Readers have the best memories. (Do you think it’s easy to remember every plot from every book we’ve ever read since the first grade?)
6. Readers are the best at reducing stress. (Lots of studies have proven that reading reduces stress. Apparently, reading six minutes a day keeps the doctor away.)
7. Readers are the best at coming up with comebacks (. . . 6 hours after the fact.)
8. Readers are the best at multitasking. (reading while walking, reading while cooking, reading while cleaning, etc.).
9. Readers are the best at whipping out a book at a moment’s notice. (Five minute wait for the bus? Let me grab my book. Two minute wait for the cashier? Let me grab my book.)
10. Readers are the best at letting you have alone time. (Seriously, take all the alone time you need. I’ll always have more books to read!)
11. Readers are the best at creating vivid scenes in their heads. (Television ain’t got nothing on me!)
12. Readers are the best at becoming just as emotionally invested in fictional characters’ lives as they are their friends and family. (They’re real to me.)
13. Readers are the best at finding typos in books. (But if the story’s good, we won’t judge too harshly.)
14. Readers are the best at making last-minute excuses to cancel plans. (It’s no surprise that readers are also considered some of the most creative people.)
15. Readers are also the best at pulling through when you really need them. (Partly because we’re always home, partly because we’re very empathetic, and partly because we’ve read a book that’s prepared us for the situation.)
16. Readers are the best at turning any nook, cranny, or flat surface into book storage solutions. (Anything can be a bookshelf with the right mindset!)
17. Readers are the best at saying “I have nothing to read” when there are full bookshelves and an ereader in front of them. (What? It’s true.)
18. Readers are the best at empathizing. (And literary fiction is said to increase empathy the most.)
19. Readers are the best daydreamers. (Because we need something to fill the time between reading sessions.)
20. Readers are the best at losing bookmarks. (And using literally anything else as bookmarks in their place.)
21. Readers are the best at being patient. (Unless they’re waiting for the next book in a series.)
22. Readers are the best at spotting the differences between books and movies (or television series).
23. Readers are the best at Scrabble and other word games. (Usually . . .)
24. Readers are the best at budgeting (if only to maximize their book-purchasing capacity).
25. Readers are the best at being fashionably late. (Sorry, I just had to make it to a good stopping place!)
26. Readers are the best writers. (Never trust an author who doesn’t read.)
27. Readers are the best at recommending books. (Duh!)
28. Readers are the best at taking care of their books. (There will be no broken spines or dog-eared pages in this house.)
29. And last, but not least, readers are the absolute best at reading!

Things readers aren’t the best at:

Even with all the great things that readers rock at, we are still human. Below are a few things that readers aren’t always the best at.

1. Readers aren’t the best at understanding why others don’t like to read. (“But you’ve tried it right? Like, you’ve actually read the book? And you still didn’t like it?”)
2. Readers aren’t the best at putting books down. (The only valid reasons to interrupt me are: 1. My books are on fire, 2. A child is crying, 3. You want to take me to the store to buy more books.)
3. Readers aren’t always the best at waiting until the end of a book to read the end of the book. (Sometimes I just need to make sure reading the whole book will be worth it.)
4. Readers aren’t always the best at not judging a book by its cover. (But we are great at seeking forgiveness when we have misjudged a book.)
5. Readers are not always the best at going to bed on time. (Just one more chapter!)
6. Readers are not the best at pronouncing the names they’ve only ever seen in books. (“So that’s how you say it . . .”)
7. Readers aren’t good at not taking it personally when you say you hate a favorite book. (Insulting me is fine. Insulting my favorite book is asking for war.)
8. Readers are not very good at picking a favorite book. (You can’t seriously mean just one?)
9. Readers are not the best at keeping their cool when they realize there aren’t enough pages left to tie up all the loose ends. (Hold up, she’s just barely walking into the castle, and there are only 9 pages left?!)
10. Readers are not very good at packing lightly. (I need a plane book, a beach book, a hotel book, a car book, and backup books in every genre!)
11. Readers are not always the best at forgiving someone who borrowed a book and forgot to return it. (Or, even worse, returned it tattered.)
12. Readers aren’t the best at forgiving authors for killing their favorite characters. (I still burst into tears occasionally.)
13. Readers are not the best at organizing their bookshelves without becoming distracted by a book. (Five years and several books later, my shelves are finally organized! Now where to put these new books . . .)

Can you relate to these things book lovers are best and not best at? Let us know in the comments below!

Happy reading!

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