Is it pretentious to read at bars?

>taking a dump in public isn't anti-social till you fling it
Interesting philosophy.

What then makes a bar a social space? People like to congregate there to have conversations and reminisce about times past?
How is a cafe not similar? At a cafe you still see people reading books/magazines/newspapers (often [but not always] by themselves.
If I go to the members lounge at my local art gallery there tends to be a lot of people by themselves reading, but I wouldn't call it a non-social space.

What makes a [dive/lower priced/quality] bar different - the consumption of alcohol? People still drink and read in their own homes.

not him, but lots of noise and distractions around

>What then makes a bar a social space? People like to congregate there

Yes.

>People still drink and read in their own homes.

I support that. More power to them.

Cafes are certainly similar and that works toward my point. I'd be just as unlikely to read in one. The meme is that people read there, sure, but I've never understood why. In fact, most of the time, I see people going to a cafe with that same meme in mind but really with the covert intention to be distracted by a conversation, by circumstance, by atmosphere. It's aesthetic, primarily. You go to be seen and to see - not to read. I'm not saying anyone should or shouldn't, I've just found myself thinking of going to a public, primarily social space, to read and immediately thinking - fucking why?

Quiet bars and cafes are nice atmospheres to read in. Also they tend to have better coffee/drinks than I keep at home.
This is a totally normal thing to do. Don't listen to the spergs on Veeky Forums that get triggered by it.

Reading in public is an anti-social display. It is commonly understood that someone who is reading wants to be left alone to read. They are not looking for interaction. Therefore, by reading, you are deterring social activity. You are displaying to other people that you do not want to talk to them. That's anti-social. There are no neutral actions in social activity.

You make a good point, I'd be happy if we reformatted the original argument (I'm not really making an argument though lol) to be something along the lines of:

People who attempt to read in overtly social spaces where the actual process of reading is easily disrupted are pretentious because they do not indeed on actually engaging in any Veeky Forums activity - rather purposely venture to such places in order to be:
(a) Disturbed/distracted, leading to actual social activity.
(b) Seen as Veeky Forums despite not being Veeky Forums at all.

As says, though, I think there is still merit(?) in going somewhere that is quiet (regardless of it being a bar, cafe, gallery etc to read - it provides external stimuli which are not accessible in ones own home/regular reading locations.

If half the clientele is over 40 then it's okay. Don't ask me why.

lern 2 understand colloquialisms

>I think there is still merit

There might be. I just fail to see how it could ever compare with or surpass the benefit of devoting oneself wholly to the space itself by basing the purpose for being there on actual social engagement. If you want blow money on fancy drinks, do the consumption thing, and want to knock out some reading at the same time, that makes sense. Not sure about the external stimuli bit but the point stands.

No, it's asocial. Anti-social behavior is murdering people, theft, rape, skinning cats, harming society. Anti social is not the opposite of being social. You're thinking of asocial, which means you prefer to stay home and read a book.

Staying home and reading a book is asocial. going out into a place where people are expected to be social, and doing something otherwise asocial is antisocial. Staying home is asocial only in the sense that, in being alone, there is a lack of social activity, because you are alone and singular. Social activity cannot be considered without context, because society is the context for behavior. Murdering someone is anti-social, but executing them after fair trial is pro-social. Reading a book at a library is pro-social, but reading one at a bar is (probably) anti-social. Anti-social behavior is behavior that cuts against social activity.

no idea, but its a FANTASTIC lure for potential friends or romantic entanglements.

>sitting and reading a book at a corner table
>girl walks up and makes a reference out of the book I'm reading
>become friends (benefits optional)
I have made a tidy handful of friends this way, cause stupid people keep thinking its fine to drag along their "awkward/weird" friend to bars and places they don't really want to go.

Seems like a pitiful way to make friends if it's your only option (seems that way for you)

I have better ways now.

but those few I got through this method have stayed as good friends for a long time

I require silence to read so bars aren't exactly ideal. Last winter I used to read in pub on Saturday mornings because it opened from 8am for coffee, breakfast (and alcoholics) and had an open coal fire. Cozy.

you really have no idea what you're talking about. behaviors are considered anti-social if they violate the rights of another individual. reading at a bar does not violate anyone's rights.

>reading in bars is bad because other people are there
Holy fuck this thread. It freaks me out that people who are able to coherently and argumentatively express themselves can otherwise still be just as utterly sheltered and socially retarded as your average /g/ poster. Yes, it's perfectly normal to read in bars. As long as it's not some trendy disco/nightclub fusion designed exclusively for hooking up and grinding it's completely fucking fine, you overly self-conscious autists.

I write at my usual bar a lot. But on my phone, with stylus and handwriting-to-text app. Pretty innocuous.
Then my friend shows up playing his fucking 3DS XL and ruins it all.

No, it's fucking sad

I don't know how people read in public. I can't read if I'm around people talking or music playing or anything like that. I used to be able to when I was younger for whatever reason, but now it just makes me lose focus.

>Cafes are certainly similar and that works toward my point. I'd be just as unlikely to read in one. The meme is that people read there, sure, but I've never understood why.

If you have a job and are on your lunch or another break, a cafe is a top-tier place to have a cup of coffee and read. Not really any other options.

what you do is just as embarrassing as what he does i'm afraid

Hardly. I'm sitting quietly, my phone flat on the bar and to the side, the brightness turned down, and I stop for stretches to talk to people. Sometimes they're interested in my setup. How does that even compare to
>BOP POW WAHOO