Just in case. Always just in case.
They read in waiting rooms. On park benches. In line at the coffee counter. At their kid’s soccer practice — maybe just during halftime, maybe not. They read at the kitchen table while the pasta boils, and in the car, parked with the engine off, because they need three more pages before they can go inside.
May is Get Caught Reading Month. And honestly? We think we’re exactly the kind of people this month was made for.
The History, Quickly
The campaign started in 1999, launched by the Association of American Publishers to celebrate reading — not as homework, not as a productivity habit, but as something worth doing entirely for its own sake. It’s since grown into an annual invitation: show the world you’re reading. Get caught doing it.
We love this framing. Because there’s something quietly radical about being seen with a book in a world that rewards looking busy. Reading — slowly, attentively, just for yourself — is a small act of resistance.
A very cozy one.
Where We Actually Get Caught Reading
A few favorite spots (some more dignified than others):
In the bath. A classic for a reason. Warm water plus a good book is genuinely one of life’s finer pleasures. Waterproof sleeves exist. We use them.
In the school pickup line. Parents will understand. Those 10–15 minutes of waiting are practically engineered for reading. Kindle charged, audiobook cued, paperback open on the steering wheel — we’ve seen all three.
In the garden. There’s a very specific joy in reading outside when you probably should be weeding. The sunshine is a bonus. The mild guilt is irrelevant.
At the doctor’s office. Why reach for the celebrity magazines from three years ago when you have 47 pages left of something genuinely good? The waiting is an opportunity. Take it.
In the first fifteen minutes after everyone else goes to sleep. This one isn’t a location, exactly. It’s a ritual. The house is quiet for the first time all day. The lamp is on. The book is waiting. This is what we read for.
Reading Everywhere Is an Identity
Here’s what we believe: readers are the people who find reading everywhere. Not just in the designated spots — the quiet bedroom, the library corner — but in the margins of a busy life. In the five minutes before the timer goes off. In the gap between one obligation and the next.
There’s a particular kind of reader who’s skilled at this. Who always has the Kindle app charged, even when the physical book is at home. Who keeps a second bookmark in their bag. Who knows, to the page, exactly where they’ll pick up next.
This is their month.
And if you’re trying to figure out what that next book should be — we have a few ideas. Our reader type quiz will narrow it down based on how you actually read. Or if you want something chosen and wrapped and waiting, browse our current Wrapped Reads. May’s featured read is a beach mystery that’s been following us around all spring, in the best way.
Every reader has a type. Do you know yours?
Take the quiz to discover your reading style — and find the books that were made for the way you read.
We Want to Know Where You Get Caught
This month, we’re celebrating the readers who get caught — in the break room, at the soccer field, in the bath, in the garden, in that small pocket of quiet they’ve carved out for themselves.
On May 19th, we’re asking: where do you read?
Share a photo, tag us, tell us the ridiculous or beautiful or entirely mundane place where you last opened a book. We’ll be celebrating everyone who shows up.
Until then — wherever you are right now, with whatever minutes you have — you have our full permission to open your book.
Get caught.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Get Caught Reading Month?
Get Caught Reading Month is a national celebration held every May, originally launched by the Association of American Publishers in 1999. It encourages readers of all ages to be seen reading — wherever they are — and celebrates the joy of books.
When is Get Caught Reading Month?
All of May. Every year.
How do you participate in Get Caught Reading Month?
Read in public. Bring your book somewhere unexpected. Share a photo of where you’re reading. The whole point is to be seen doing something slow and wonderful in a world that rewards looking busy.
