I assumed the reading was while on public transportation.

I don't care if someone reads while walking, but I wonder if you would have been as downvoted if you instead complained about people staring at their phones while walking.

I should have phrased the comment better, it probably came across as passive aggressive, which wasn't intended. My brain is not working this morning.

I used to be one of those and loved it. So?

Well, at least in NYC, I tend to narrowly avoid crashing into them on the sidewalk.

Perhaps it doesn't apply to you, but I don't think 90% of people who read books while walking are as good at navigating around obstacles as they think they are.

Used to do that too and from school after a while you learn to walk around obstacles without breaking your flow.

Got me an extra 40m reading time over the day.

I do this regularly when I walk around our neighborhood or to a nearby park. I usually make sure to hold the book up to help my posture, and look around frequently. Haven't ran into anyone yet, and often saw them before they looked up from their phone and saw me (most people, I've learned, don't walk on the proper side of the road). Allows me to get a lot more reading in, really, and helps me focus and digest what I'm reading a bit more when I want to.

Sure. But please don't project your notion of "sidewalk" onto the rest of the world. You can't do this everywhere, for obvious reasons, but it's perfectly fine in most places. Takes a little bit of practice but it's lovely during a daily commute on a familiar route.

Could be audiobooks.

Audiobooks are great for walking. Not sure if that was what the OP was implying.