thread starts running before calling Thread.start

t1=threading.Thread(target=self.read())
print("something")
t2=threading.Thread(target=self.runChecks(), args=(self,))

self.read runs indefinitely, so the program won't ever reach the print line. How is this possible without calling t1.start()? (Even if I call that, it shold start running and go on to the next line, shouldn't it?)

_{See Python Argument Binders for standard techniques (not threading-specific) for solving the problem.}