Among my collection of loved childhood books resides a badly-singed copy of Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery. It's the result of what became known in my family as The Gravy Incident.
For years my mother had been admonishing me to take my nose out of my book whilst attempting other activities such as walking, climbing trees, brushing teeth, or on one spectacularly unsuccessful occasion, taking a shower.
On this particular day she insisted I stir the gravy NOW, a request which seemed highly unreasonable to a ten-year-old engrossed in the mishaps and scrapes of the adult Anne of Green Gables and her brood of six children. I harrumphed my way to the stove, where I stood lazily whisking with one hand and holding my book in the other. Inevitably the book drifted too close to the gas flame, and suddenly my paperback was alight.
Happily, both book and child survived to read another day. Well, most of the book survived, but by then I'd read it so many times I probably knew the missing words by heart anyway.
The Gravy Incident highlights the inherent dangers awaiting booklovers who attempt to multi-task, so I was delighted to discover this recent article published by Time magazine, offering a definitive guide to the art of reading-while-walking.