Amy

(This is to help along the formatting issue, but it's one of my "solo" things, too.)

When I'm eating alone, I almost always have a book with me; actually, I walk a lot to get to local stores and read while walking--there's nothing new to see, I'm familiar with the area...

Anyway, if I don't happen to have a book with me, well, let's just say I practically memorize anything that's on the table. (or eavesdrop, if I'm in an English speaking country. )

tzarinna

It depends. If I'm at the bar I might read,plan my day for tomorrow. If I'm at a table I might take the time to write in my journel.

JBHapgood

I usually do bring a book or magazine, as it makes the waiting (and the lack of a travel companion) more tolerable. Eating alone in restaurants is probably my biggest <i>b&ecirc;te noire</i> when it comes to solo travel, so I look to anything that makes it a better experience.

If it's lunchtime and I don't have reading material handy, I always have my &quot;man purse&quot; camera bag. So I can &quot;chimp&quot; my pictures or play solitaire on the PDA I also carry. Yes, I should be looking for any opportunity to socialize with others in the restaurant rather than reading or playing with electronic devices, but as a solo male I know it's rather unlikely that the couples and families at nearby tables would welcome that.

teach2travel

I always read while waiting for a table and waiting for my food. Usually I put the book down while actually eating so as to appreciate the food. To this end, I recently got a Sony e reader the best travel device ever! I holds at least 80 books and the battery charge lasts a long time. I no longer have such anxiety about running out things to read and it's lighter than a regular book. I promis I have no ties to Sony, I just love this product.

toedtoes

I can't read a book and eat at the same time.

I always carry a book with me, but I usually look over my travel notes, etc. during a meal.

pippy4tao

YESSS!! It's practically a life saver from dying of boredom. It's just not fun eating out on your own. What an akward thing it is waiting for my meal in dead silence. I always try to have something to read or do when I go to order in a restaurant. If I'm caught without anything it makes it a horrible experience. ha ha.


Theresa
www.nomadwannabe.com

suze

Yes I do. Not so often my paperback novel of the moment, as I can't really concentrate reading in public. But I like to take a local newspaper or entertainment guide.

I can't read and walk but I can read and eat
;-)

toedtoes

I know, I know... it's very strange. But I really can't do both at the same time. I've tried and I end up spilling food all over.

I CAN eat and walk at the same time - do I get any points for that?

jbtan

I read everywhere -- in the restaurant, while waiting for the train/subway, at the gate to the plane and on and on. It's hard to see me without reading material on my hands or tucked in my daypack/handbag. I have been a book-worm since young. Add the fact that I'm in the book publishing industry.. and you get a major (book-)worm ;-)

At restaurants while traveling, I like to read local phrases aloud and practice them (with unsuspecting service people). Or point to the food section in my travel guide and get some local opinions.

I'm very chatty and kind of gregarious. So... a book on hand doesn't mean I have zipped up my lips ;-)

ninasdream

jbtan- ok now we all want to travel with you!

I usually have something- clippings, notes, a magazine article, not usually a book, but something I can easily pull out and tuck away.

I actually find the hardest part of travelling solo is eating dinner alone- B'fast and lunch I don't seem to mind. It's a prop, but I like having something to read with me.

suze

Cut the short stories out of the New Yorker magazine and save them up. The fold into a nice neat packet and give big bang for the buck (space).

ninasdream

Suze - I do that! that's part of what I meant with clippings and magazine articles. It's also fun to read their little Table for Two reviews when you are out to eat solo, even tho the places are in NYC.

UCLAJules

My trick is to bring a book of Suduko puzzles. I tear our a few pages and fold them up in my purse. They can keep me entertained while waiting for food or eating. I find they are much easier to manage then a full book.

In Australia I shared one with the 10 year old boy at the next table. Now he is hooked.

MissZiegfeld

I usually end up writing in a notebook..I tend to come up with random lists to make, it's almost OCD. I'll start making a list of my favorite songs, planning a cabaret act or something..writing down some travel notes sometimes..planning an itinerary for a future trip..anything! i do this even at home.

crackers

Always. I never go anywhere without a book. I find it so boring to sit and not have anyone to talk to.

SeaUrchin

I, too, read local papers or something pertaining to where I am. Isn't it too hard to keep a book open while eating, how do you do it? I can see myself flipping my wine, dipping the book corner in the sauce, etc.

When I dine alone I try to sit outdoors where something is going on that I can watch.

suze

Actually I used to eat at one lovely restaurant outdoors in Puerto Vallarta by myself. I had to read my paperback novel by the votive candle on the table. SeaUrchin, it's an art! (like reading and walking at the same time which for the life of me i cannot master -lol)

toedtoes

SeaUrchin - I can't read and eat at the same time. They just aren't compatible behaviors to my brain. I have to put the book down in order to take a bite of food and that decreases the enjoyment of reading too much. So, I eat quickly and then start reading.

Amy

Read and eat, read and walk, read and soak in a bathtub...Good thing I don't drive, no?

It's pretty much instinctive for me now; the book is on the table at the left, the plate and my fork on the right--and as for walking, honest to goodness, I tend to trip/stumble etc. less when I am reading (when I'm walking familiar territory, of course.)

SeaUrchin

But if you are reading a book doesn't that take you away from the moment? I tend to get lost in my books, if they are good ones. Maybe a magazine?