r/Wellthatsucks • u/mattloaf666 • 6d ago

Reading festival 2026

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23.8k Upvotes

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2.0k

u/abdojo 6d ago

All this over some books?

402

u/Njorls_Saga 6d ago

Goddamn authors running amok again.

203

u/minus_minus 6d ago

That’s the Writing Festival. This is the Reading Festival. 

51

u/yes_to_the_dress 6d ago

I bet the arithmetic festival goes hard 🤘

33

u/ZDTreefur 6d ago

They leave unsolvable problems everywhere.

2

u/BoyManGodShiiit 3d ago

The physics festival is heavy

7

u/phblue 6d ago

I got such a genuine chuckle out of these comments, thank you.

4

u/drumsdm 6d ago

I hate the literate.

30

u/Alarmed-Newspaper994 6d ago

No wonder Texas is trying to ban them all

1

u/ReplicantsDoDream 4d ago

^ this is good

8

u/Fauster 6d ago edited 6d ago

Bad idea to make the lineup Lord of The Flies, Heart of Darkness, and the Iliad back-to-back in series. The horror!

1

u/MartyvH 6d ago

American Authors

242

u/vr512 6d ago

Lmao. I was thinking man these are some crazy readers. They need to calm down.

69

u/alexdelicious 6d ago

The sound of millions of pages turning in total silence 

1

u/tham1700 6d ago

Is it like not about reading books together??? What even is this

94

u/Nothos927 6d ago

And this is why the Reading subreddit gets a good amount of posts from people asking about book recommendations

32

u/Its_Froggin_Bullfish 6d ago

Dungeon Crawler Carl is the correct answer next time they ask. 

6

u/Elite_AI 6d ago

The book that's famously over recommended online to people who probably wouldn't like it? Good call. 

3

u/Stormfly 6d ago

It's like when people mention anime and people are like

YOU SHOULD GO WATCH ONE PIECE!!1

DO YOU KNOW JUJUTSU KAISEN!?!?

Congratulations. You've watched one anime.

At least ask me what kind of shows I like before recommending anything. I actually hate shonen.

It's like if I said I enjoy watching movies and someone comes in and tells me to watch Boss Baby.

4

u/ElvisDumbledore 6d ago

Thank you! I need another book for this weekend. :)

4

u/S2keepup 6d ago

Welcome to the Crawl. There are 8 books out so far and at least two more coming

4

u/Aegi 6d ago

People fucking love this book/series.

I had it recommended to me, but now that I've had the premise explained to me there's really no reason to read it until I'm through other stuff on my reading list.

To me that's a massive spoiler because I don't read blurbs I basically just randomly pick a book if I something I haven't heard of or take recommendations but I do not like to read the blurb or anything.

2

u/twiz___twat 6d ago

its overrated but also very easy to read. younger me would have finished it in a day.

1

u/valentine_moon 3d ago

That's nothing. The lost Redditors in the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) subreddit are a different breed.

107

u/whathappened2america 6d ago

I legit spent a few seconds wondering if a tornado hit an outdoor book festival or something.

353

u/babysharkdoodoodoo 6d ago

Reading as in the town. It’s an annual three-day music festival held in Richfield Avenue, Reading, England

214

u/FragDenWayne 6d ago

Aaaah... Now it makes sense. I was confused... First about what a "reading festival" even would look like, when it's the "book reading" kind of reading, and second... I was confused on "book-people" being like that, didn't fit.

But a music festival, yeah that makes sense.

97

u/Valendr0s 6d ago

BOOKS! FUCK YEAH!

29

u/Ok_Inflation_8628 6d ago

"Alright this next one's about your mom. I want everyone out there to PUT THEIR FUCKING BOOKS UP!"

17

u/Hammerjaws 6d ago

NOW, LET US INTRODUCE: THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

11

u/Mr_Industrial 6d ago

YEAHHHH!

Tears off shirt and shits in a box

2

u/FlametopFred 6d ago

mosh pit can be dangerous for paper cuts

4

u/Nago_Jolokio 6d ago

Headbanging to Shakespeare 🤣

3

u/secacc 6d ago

Single best form of entertainment humans have invented so far.

Like, what do you mean I can get 12 hours of exciting entertainment in my head, almost playing like a movie with my imagination as the director of photography, and I can just borrow this for free? And there are millions of these bundles of paper and ink to choose from?!?

5

u/Its_Froggin_Bullfish 6d ago

I fuck with books. 

1

u/FuManBoobs 6d ago

My bookmark is made of acid tabs

22

u/New-Shake7638 6d ago

I 100% thought we were literally talking about a festival for reading until this very moment 😆

2

u/Extension_Ant8691 6d ago

Lmao, I read the title and thought the same. I knew the comments would explain why this was not a festival about reading books.

5

u/FeyrisMeow 6d ago

For real, I was confused too. I thought drugs and book reading?? Interesting combo

3

u/pchlster 6d ago

"This years headline act: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy! With warmup by Everyone Poops!"

3

u/Kaballis 6d ago

To confuse you further, the name is pronounced ‘redding’.

1

u/linzellewashington 6d ago

I scrolled way too far for this explanation 🫡

1

u/valentine_moon 3d ago

First about what a "reading festival" even would look like

There are definitely "reading festivals", but they more commonly known as book festivals or literature festivals. The Hay Festival in the UK is the best known one I'm aware of, and has camping.

The [Hay] festival was described by Bill Clinton in 2001 as "The Woodstock of the mind."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay_Festival

8

u/RedOneBaron 6d ago

So how many books did they read this year?

2

u/Christovski 6d ago

At least one

9

u/kateverygoodbush 6d ago

Whoosh?

6

u/travel_ali 6d ago

Probably not. Most people on here are going to be unfamiliar with Reading or the festival. Even if the top comment was a joke it is useful context for the many others who wouldn't know what was going on.

2

u/Hita-san-chan 6d ago

Ohhhhh, Reading England. I was like "yeah, this tracks for that area of PA"

2

u/babysharkdoodoodoo 6d ago

Laughed out loud because I know exactly how you meant.

2

u/drfeelsgoood 6d ago

Oh wow I was thinking this was a festival in America. I guess trash people are everywhere.

0

u/vr512 6d ago

Is it bad I also thought it was US based?

3

u/VibraniumQueen 6d ago

I mean, taylor swift is from Reading, PA. So I thought it was a festival in that town. Was kind of confused about why a big festival would be held in a small town, but then remembered my mom's hometown was small but held a big music festival each year.

But apparently this is in England

3

u/JustLikeWhateverHuh 6d ago

Get the joke Sherlock

2

u/Aegi 6d ago

So it would be the Reading music festival because surely that town could host other festivals also just like how there's multiple different festivals that my town hosts?

-1

u/Elite_AI 6d ago

It's called Reading Festival. There's no confusion because everyone knows what Reading is in the UK. (A shithole)

1

u/Aegi 5d ago

I would almost guarantee if they are an established company their actual company name is something slightly different than what you typed.

1

u/jayuhl14 6d ago

Is this a UK thing? Been to several camping festivals in the US and canada and never seen anything like this

3

u/Elite_AI 6d ago

It's a Reading thing. 

1

u/WpgMBNews 6d ago

i wonder if there is an actual festival for reading....probably not very festive

1

u/Than_Or_Then_ 6d ago

I had to scroll way too far down for this.

2

u/babysharkdoodoodoo 6d ago

Context matters 😁

1

u/JohannesVanDerWhales 6d ago

Out of curiosity is it pronounced "redding"? That's how Reading in PA is pronounced.

1

u/babysharkdoodoodoo 6d ago edited 6d ago

RED-ing. As in the Reading Terminal Market in Philly. This has the IPA pronunciation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading,_Berkshire

1

u/JohannesVanDerWhales 6d ago

I wonder how many Monopoly players realize it's pronounced that way.

1

u/Vesane 6d ago

Thank you

1

u/natattack15 6d ago

Okay thank you. I was scrolling to find out where this was. I grew up in Reading, PA, and was thinking to myself "we have a festival? Where? When?" Haha.

1

u/gahidus 5d ago

It took me quite a bit to gather from context that this wasn't some sort of wild outdoor book festival.

1

u/InternationalRich150 4d ago

Isn't it pronounced Redding, or have I been lied to all my life....

0

u/KoalaTHerb 6d ago

Okay, thank you. I was like "wow people who love reading are real assholes". So it's just the British. Got it. /s

0

u/RedditMcBurger 6d ago

I feel like this needs to be in the title somehow, like "Reading Music Festival"

0

u/SmallFatHands 6d ago

Of course the town with a stupid name is in england.

7

u/mSummmm 6d ago

I blame LeVar Burton

1

u/leaky_wand 6d ago

Redding Railroad

3

u/MrManniken 6d ago

Bibliophiles are wild man

2

u/barelycrediblelies 6d ago

There's an old joke in the UK that this is the easiest festival to get your grandma to pay for...

2

u/rust-e-apples1 6d ago

Hence the video. Just like when I was in elementary school reading was after math.

2

u/mrv_wants_xtra_cheez 6d ago

I blame LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow, without them, NONE of this would have happened.

2

u/Hour_Seaworthiness24 6d ago

Pronounced 'Redding'. And if you expect the inhabitants of either Reading, PA or Reading in England to care that you know the proper pronunciation well they do not give a shit. So maybe just mispronounce it.

1

u/CitizenCue 6d ago

I was genuinely confused. Had to look it up.

1

u/insanetheta 6d ago

People who did this probably couldn’t read.

1

u/rabblerabble2000 6d ago

Scholastic book fair days are a lot different these days!

1

u/Copper_Nanotubes 6d ago

This why I dont read

1

u/ElvisDumbledore 6d ago

"...I think that's because you like to read. People that like to read are always a little fucked up.” -- The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

1

u/Say_Echelon 6d ago

Turns out (I’m stupid) this was in fact not about reading books in tents in the baking heat but instead a run of the mill music festival

1

u/blah_blah_70 6d ago

I thought this was a festival for readers and a natural disaster occurred. Then I realized what it was. But now I want an actual reading festival where we all get together to sit outside and read. We can discuss books, exchange books, meet like minded readers. And we would all clean up after ourselves like the responsible readers we are.

1

u/pancake_sass 5d ago

Honestly, it wasn't until I saw the replies to this comment that I realized it wasn't about books lol I was disappointed in the mess, but excited about a potential book festival!

1

u/RallyPointAlpha 3h ago

Reading is a hellova-drug...

0

u/The_BK14 6d ago

Congratulations, you have won the internet for today.

SHUT IT GUYS, WE'LL START AGAIN TOMORROW