Alexandra’s Dominic Haanen can often be spied wandering around Alexandra with book in hand, and head down. The Central App caught up with him to find out what he’s reading. 

The Dunedin, born and raised reader is often spotted in t-shirts and shorts wandering around Alexandra, engrossed in a book. 

“I always enjoyed a book, but it was highschool when I really got into reading,” Dominic says. 

“After lunch there was a 15-minute reading period, and I just wanted to keep reading, so I kept reading as I walked towards the door, and that became just not putting the book down unless I was talking to someone or supposed to be learning.”

Dominic says he actually became known for his habit in Dunedin before he arrived in Central. 

“I lived an hour’s walk away from Uni and Polytech (Otago both), so that was a decent amount of exercise and reading while I was studying. 

“I did gain some fame/notoriety for my walking and reading along Portsmouth Drive (just the section from Musselburgh to the Molars).” 

At the moment my usual reading and walking route is to and from work - from Dunorling street, then across the bridge and up to Bodkin Road. 

“I do frequent the Sidewalk café for lunch, so I am very frequently seen reading/walking from Dunorling Street, along Centennial avenue as far as Brandon street. 

“It was during move-it March just before COVID that I was trying to get as many steps in per day as possible.

“So my after-work walk started from the bridge, then up the Manuherikia river-track to the rail trail, along there then left at the Pines, following the powerlines to the Clutha river-track and there to the bridge, then home. I think that netted me about 20000 steps a day but it wasn’t the most in the office.

“Usually I’m not thinking when I’m reading/walking, as I am engrossed by the book. Sometimes if I’m walking somewhere with really nice scenery (down the river-track towards Roxburgh, for example) I won’t get much reading done because I’m too busy looking around.”

As for how he ended up in Central Otago, Dominic explains it was a series of fateful events which led one to another. 

“I originally planned to study Engineering at Christchurch, but the city fell over so I switched to Physics at Otago University. I wasn’t quite up to that, alas, so I then switched again (and succeeded this time!) to Civil Engineering at Otago Polytechnic.

About three years ago he was working as a labourer helping build a house in Alexandra. 

“Near to the end of the job, the wonderful woman we were working for advised me of a job going at the District Council,” he says. 

“By that time the deadline for applications had expired, but I still applied, so now I can say that for the last two-and-a-bit years I’ve been working for Central Otago District council as an Environmental Engineer.”

Dominic admits walking and reading is a bit of a skill, he says. 

“People have been commenting on my walking and reading since I started. I’ve only walked into a couple of lampposts, and I had my arm out to cushion the blow. 

“The secret, in my opinion, is that it's all about peripheral vision. I hold the book off to the side rather than directly in-front of me so I can see where I’m going (and importantly what the ground I’m about to step on looks like). 

“I have tried looking at my phone while walking, but I just can’t concentrate on what is on the screen and where I’m walking simultaneously. 

“The book is easy to focus on by comparison. I think it might just be something to do with the text on the screen being harder to focus on than text on the page.

“I should be able to expand on this as it's what people always ask, but I’m not sure what to say.

“I do keep hearing from friends, family, and colleagues of people conversationally mentioning my walking and reading, then they get to announce that they know me. 

“I’ve thus gained a bit of fame in Dunedin before I gained fame in Alexandra (though I think proportionally more people know of me in Alexandra than Dunedin). 

“I’ve heard of only one other person who reads and walks; a fellow from Alexandra by the name of Garth but I’ve not met him before. Perhaps I’m carrying on the torch.”

Dominic Haanen’s (AKA, the Roaming Reader) favourite lineup of books.  

Dominic says his habit became so entrenched his teachers at high school became concerned for him. 

“Actually I have an amusing anecdote here. During highschool at the time of parent-teacher conferences (I was rather academically inclined), my mother came along and the teacher said they were very concerned about me. “Oh no!” Mum thought to herself. And the teacher went on to say that they were instead concerned I’d walk into a wall or fall down the stairs.”

Hobby-wise, Dominic says he isn’t just into books, but also dabbles in boardgames and videogames. 

“I’ve been enjoying the Game of Thrones board game very much recently,” he says. 

“My preferred genres are fantasy and science-fiction, which are in some ways two sides of the same coin. Well-written magic works just the same as science, after-all.

“I see fantasy as being more about the “hero’s journey”; a fairly ordinary person, by chance or prophecy, becoming a great hero, Good triumphing over Evil (which made Game of Thrones a bit difficult because I wasn’t sure who to root for).”

While many see younger generations as preferring digital forms of entertainment rather than physical, Dominic is one of many young people who still prefer the paper over the tablet when reading. 

“I like reading physical books, paper and ink, rather than the e-readers,” he says. “They don’t seem to have the same meaningful, almost magical quality that physical books have. 

“I especially like a long book, as it takes longer to read and I can become more immersed in the story, and the characters, and the world. 

“Some people don’t like Tolkien’s works because he spends too long describing landscapes and such, but I think that is an essential part of becoming immersed in the world of a story. 

“Sort of like a picture in my mind drawn by the description, and polished of-course by imagination.

“Science fiction portrays ideals better, I think. A fantasy of the future showing what humanity may achieve as long as we hold on to hope, as long as we just stay alive and stick together. 

“Hope and wonder, to put it simply. Although, I suppose the corollary of that is that the science fiction stories dealing with the more evil sort of scenarios (The Sith Empire in Star Wars, for example) paint a picture of the greatest possible depravity. Literature can tell every story possible.”

For someone who reads so often, The Central App asked how many books he gets through in a time period, but Dominic says it wouldn’t be as many as you’d expect. 

He says a book every three to four weeks is about his speed. 

“I don’t read as many books as you might expect, for a few reasons,” he says. “I love long books, and it takes a while to read a 1000 page book. 

“I’m careful not to read too much except when I’m walking because I find it difficult to put the books down! I recall it was midnight once, and I thought “I’ll just read a few more pages”. A few more pages later, and it was 3 am!

“I think I might have only got up to a dozen books read this year. I don’t keep a diary of the books I’ve read, alas.

“I’ve never measured my reading speed. I understand I read quite quickly. I suppose I read about 200 – 250 pages a week, though I do read more if it’s just the sort of book I can’t put down.

“A short book in a week sounds about right, but the last one I read was quite an emotional one (a tale of an NHS obstetrician/gynaecologist who kept a journal. Some stories were amusing, others were quite sorrowful), so I had to take a few breaks while reading it.”

The Central App couldn’t help but ask for book recommendations, with many people hoping to find that spare time this holiday period. 

“I think a great book is one that vividly describes a world I can get lost in,” Dominic says.

“A story that makes sense and isn’t too silly. And if magic is involved it has to follow the same rigorous rules as other natural phenomena. I do think a love story is a very important thread to any plot. Love is a very powerful motivator for characters.

“Hands down, Lord of the Rings is my favourite. As a teenager I was really enjoying the Riftwar Cycle, each book is quite short but the entire series is 30 books long. 

“I’ve recently been re-reading the Wheel of Time, but I’m only up to book five of about 14. They are long books, but I think I’ll still keep ahead of the TV show.”

Dominic says the Roaming Reader name is growing on him, and a good nickname is always given, but never chosen.

“I think walking/reading is a very good thing. I’m confident I won’t walk into a pole, or onto a street without looking both ways. I think it would be nice to teach other people the skill. 

“It just requires practice, I think. If I’m ever walking anywhere without a book I do feel like I’m missing something. It has become part of my character now.

“I dubbed myself the “Roving Reader” because I like the alliteration, but to everyone else I am and shall always be the “Book Man”.”