DARE TO ASK: Reading in bathroom: A guy thing?

By PHILLIP MILANO, The Times-Union

Question

Do women not read on the toilet? Men, do you? Please say yes -- and let women know about the pleasure of a really good ... read.

J., male, Orange Park

Replies

I read in the bathroom. I just finished James and the Giant Peach. Last month it was The Count of Monte Cristo. I even keep Where's Waldo and I Spy in there to keep me busy. By the way, this is also a great place to polish your toes.

Aneba, 22, female, Houston

Sorry, I'm a guy, and I don't. The entire purpose of going to the bathroom is to go to the bathroom. Maybe it's just that I grew up in a household with only one toilet.

P.R., Irvine, Calif.

Being a mom of three, sometimes the only quiet time I can get until everyone is in bed is in the bathroom. I generally keep Reader's Digest or something else on hand.

SecretMe, 40, Tacoma, Wash.

I'm a female, and I have to read something on the toilet. I'm not even picky about it. I'll read the back of a shampoo bottle, toothpaste tube, etc.

Christy, 22, Jacksonville

If you've got time to attend to anything but the matter at hand, maybe you're just not getting enough fiber in your diet.

N.J.W., 25, male, London

I sing to myself on the toilet.

Bunnie, 15, Chattanooga, Tenn.

I wonder if other women feel comfortable taking reading materials with them into the bathroom, specifically a public bathroom. Men seem to not think twice grabbing a newspaper at work and heading in.

Stacey, 30, Ellicott City, Md.

Now that I think about it, it does give you that concentration that's perfect for getting reading done.

Jamie, female, Reading, Pa.

Expert says

Our mailbox overfloweth. Who better to ask about the gravity of the situation than Gordon Javna, editor in chief at the Bathroom Readers' Institute in Oregon, which has sold more than 6 million copies of its popular Uncle John's Bathroom Reader book series, produced precisely for porcelain throne perusal.

"Every survey we've seen shows that roughly two-thirds of people who can read, read in the bathroom," he said. "Since less than two-thirds of the population is male, it would be impossible for it to be only men who read in the bathroom. We get plenty of women ... who write and say they love our books."

The institute's readership is slightly skewed toward men, however, and men who read in the lavatory may spend more time in the inner sanctum than women.

However, "I don't subscribe to the theory that women are so dainty that they just get in and get out [and don't read]," Javna said firmly.

Men may also be more bold about reading in the bathroom at work, while women are more discreet about such things, perhaps preferring a more languorous approach, adds Julia Papps, production manager for the institute. That may account for the popularity of its Mom's Bathtub Reader title.

Phillip Milano, author of I Can't Believe You Asked That! (Perigee), moderates cross-cultural dialogue at Y? The National Forum on People's Differences. Visit www.yforum.com to submit questions and answers, or mail to Phillip Milano, c/o The Florida Times-Union, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Include contact information.