[franksolich]

I hope this is of interest.

[a fool in paradise]

If you are dining alone, I don’t see any problem. If it is an informal cafe setting by two people who are working their way through school texts or the newspaper, again I don’t see a problem.

In a formal gathering (9 people) it is considered bad manners. But then, it is also rude to be neglecting some members of the dinner party while you go on and on and on long after the meal has concluded.

[Billthedrill]

Well, deafness definitely changes the equation, but it's still a bit rude. Why not just fake it? I mean, if your table-mates are liberals, simply popping up with, "Wow, that's a total crock of crap!" every few minutes will suffice for conversation and be pretty much guaranteed to be true no matter what they're saying. If you really want to have some fun have it pre-arranged with a friend there who says something like, "oh, he's deaf. What he probably thought you said was..." and have her repeat what they really did say. Act innocent. Look for red faces and bulging veins in the forehead. Success!

[SamAdams76]

I'm constantly criticized by my wife's family for reading in their presence as they consider it rude (none of them have read a book in their lives.) However, they will think nothing of sitting around the television for hours and hours at family events - somehow that's okay.

So if they are watching some inane crap on TV, I'm the rude one for cracking open a book while the rest of them gape slack-jawed at the TV all night!

[Cyber Liberty]

My vote is, it’s rude unless you are dining alone.