Do you enjoy taking a good book into the bathroom with you? And does this habit get you laughed at by unsympathetic household members?
Never fear – you might be in a minority in your own home, but you’re not alone. 2008 is the 20th anniversary of the Bathroom Readers’ Institute and its series of publications, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader.
Designed to give you something to think about when alone in the smallest room, the series contains individual volumes for every member of the family as well as puzzle books, trivia collections and insights into geography, history, science and a host of other subjects.
According to the organisation’s website, the idea was born after Uncle John himself was caught short – sitting on the loo with nothing to read. In his own words:
And then a shaft of light appeared in Uncle John’s privy, and angelic voices began to sing! And lo, Uncle John proclaimeth’d: “There is a whole world of forgotten readers out there. We must all unite as one and make our voices be heard! ‘We read in the Bathroom and we’re proud!’”
And with that, the Bathroom Readers’ Institute was born. Nearly two decades later, we’re still going strong. Uncle John and his crack research staff work year-round to make each all-new Bathroom Reader a stand-alone, sit-down masterpiece! Since 1988 we’ve sold seven million books and have now reached a membership base that’s over 30,000 loyal readers.
So you can sample some of this American institution’s finest output from the last two decades for yourselves, it publishes a number of articles on its website – a handy length for printing out and taking to the bathroom with you (Although if you’ve got a really long soak in the tub in mind, there’s always War and Peace).