1. If the train is delayed/the line is long/I’m stranded somewhere, I have something to do.
2. I can block out annoying noises/situations if I’m immersed in a good story.
3. It makes me look smart.
4. It lets me get through more books each month – a page or two here and there does add up.
5. I can avoid staring awkwardly at people on the train. (Or anywhere else.)
6. Occasionally, it’s a conversation starter.
7. I feel naked without one. Seriously.
Do you carry a book everywhere you go? (If not, WHY NOT?)
cakes, tea and dreams 
All great reasons. I used to always carry a book to the break room at work just in case none of my lunch friends showed up for lunch that day. Came in handy a few times.
I’ll carry a book with me for all of the reasons you listed, but mostly because I’m usually so impatient, I don’t want to have to wait to find out what happens next. I even dragged the last three Harry Potter books – in hardcover – with me to Ireland. I’ve since wised up and now I have a Kindle for longer trips. I haven’t given up hardcovers completely, though.
I carry my Kindle everywhere for those stated reasons. It’s even better for reason #3 because nobody can tell by the cover whether I’m reading something intellectual or fluffy! I’d like to add another reason related to #6: It’s a great conversation deterrent.
I carry a book with me because every time I DON’T I end up stuck somewhere–in a waiting room, on a train platform, waiting for a friend who’s running 15 minutes late to lunch–with nothing to keep me busy. Sure, I could observe the world around me–that’s what writers do, right?-but I’d rather stick my nose in a good book.
The good news is that with e-reader apps, even if I forget a book I at least always have my iphone with a book or newspaper article just waiting to be read.
SO WITH YOU… reason #8, can avoid conversation, eye contact, any form of contact. #9, can eavesdrop while appearing to be engrossed in book 🙂
I think being an English major in college definitely conditions one for lifelong book-carrying (and underlining and margin-scribbling). Though I appreciate traveling “lightly” on brief errands, all those years of hauling around novels and Norton anthologies makes being without one strange!
Kindle, Kindle, Kindle! For those reasons and more. I have approximately 100 books at my figertips at any given moment (I keep it in my purse always). Most of them are classics that I got for free at Project Guttenberg. I have their paper versions on my shelves at home, but the Kindle is handy on the go. After all, I can’t fit 100 books in my purse 😉
I carry a book everywhere now, probably since I first started university, years ago. I had about an hour and a half commute, EACH WAY, Monday to Friday. It started as a way to keep up with readings and then when I graduated it just felt so comforting to also have a book into my bag as an escape. BUT, I really want a Kindle to make my purse a little lighter.
Yes. My Bible and whatever I’m reading are always in my backpack. It tends to start conversations at work.
The thought of having even only a minute to read and no book near me freaks me out too much.