Reading retreat

[pegkerr]

One of the features of the new offices of my employer is a little balcony patio just off the reception area, furnished with bistro tables and chairs and giant pots of cheerful red geraniums. For the past few months, I have been taking my book out there to read during my morning and afternoon breaks, propping my feet up on one of the little iron wrought tables, lulled by the sounds of traffic below on Washington Avenue. What has been so wonderful about it is that it has given me an opportunity to be exposed to the sun during the middle of the work day--I work in an interior corridor with no windows. I realized how much I have come to depend on that sliver of sunlight today when I looked out ruefully at the rain on the balcony, and thought of the snowy months to come when a retreat to the balcony would not longer appeal.

At home, I love to read on my front porch (which will also not be much fun during winter). I thought about it and realized I don't otherwise really have one designated reading place in my house. I'll read anywhere--stretched out on my bed, at the dining room table, in my office in the little chair now covered with a new rich red velveteen throw.

What are some of your favorite places to curl up with a good book? What makes it especially appealing to you?

Comments

[copperwise.livejournal.com]

I like to go to random cafes and order lunch or a drink and sit in a corner and read. I don't really have a comfy reading spot at home or at work, but then, I can and do read anywhere, any time.

Mostly I like best to read somewhere where I'm either alone or where I can become invisible. I dislike being interrupted, especially with "what are you reading?" questions from total strangers.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

I tend to do all my reading in my car or when I'm out, and, now that you mention it, I think I need a reading nook. That way I don't have to leave the house to read.

Having said that, one of my favourite times to read is when I'm out to eat, all by myself. The waiters might think it odd, but I get a lot of reading done that way.

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

I got in the habit, in 1997 and 1998 when living in a really tiny one-bedroom flat, of reading exclusively in bed, that being basically the only comfortable thing to sit on in the room. I've never got out of it.

[ali-wildgoose.livejournal.com]

I love to read in countless different, random little nooks and corners, but....

One is on the subway, on the way to or from work. Somehow, even though the cars are packed full of people, and screaming down rattling tracks and echoing underground tunnels, I find it very easy to loose myself in a book. In fact, that's the only reason I ever miss my stop -- I'm so absorbed, I just don't look up in time to catch it!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

*Laughs* As a matter of fact, I just went out to lunch--and I missed my bus stop on the way back because I got too absorbed in Tim Powers' Declare!

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

I'm fond of reading on airplanes. This is not because airplanes are so comfortable, but rather because I read very very fast and even a round-trip flight to Seattle (from Anchorage) means I usually get 4 to 6 of my To Be Read list caught up on, and when I get to go as far as San Francisco I usually get a dozen books read on the plane/in the airports.

At home, I just like curling up on the couch under a good light.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I no longer have my favorite reading places, alas: up a tree (any climbable tree) and on a second-floor windowseat overlooking a Santa Barbara suburban neighborhood.

I particularly enjoy reading in high places, in enclosed places, crouched hidden in bookcases in a library, in a cozy chair or sofa near a lit fireplace with a view of the rain outside and a mug of hot chocolate by my side. But really, I'll read anywhere that isn't moving.

[wilfulcait.livejournal.com]

At home, my favorite reading place is a comfy chair in the corner of the den, where I can have my laptop on one side (the joys of a wireless LAN) and my sewing on the other. My window looks out on the yard, and sometimes there are animals and birds, and in the winter there's a hot air vent from the fireplace directly onto my toes. When I deliberately settle down to read, it's usually there; when a book just snags me, though, I can wind up anywhere, including halfway up the front stairs, on the floor of my closet, or sitting in the laundry room.

Sometimes I read in the jacuzzi, too, but only if I'm sure the book is replaceable.

[airemay.livejournal.com]

I love to read on this big blue chair at home. It's reclineable. And it's comfy. I read in my bed all the time but I often fall asleep. *G* I like reading in this hamock like thing outside that swings around. The sun feels really nice.

I need to find good places to read here, at UCI. Hmm.

[carbonel]

I prefer to read lying down, so the two standard places at home are the living room couch and my waterbed. When I'm reading on the couch, I generally have Gandalf draped over my right arm until the arm goes to sleep and I have to dislodge him. For some reason he doesn't do that when I'm in bed.

I also like reading in restaurants. For some weird reason, reading in coffeeshops makes me feel like an imposter -- I can't possibly be cool enough to be doing this.

[chained2u2.livejournal.com]

Ah! I know the "intellectual imposter at coffeeshop" syndrome well!

[tiellan.livejournal.com]

I love reading in restaurants too. When I worked thirty miles from home I used to eat out alone on my lunch break, specifically so that I would have some time to read. If I forgot to bring a book or magazine, I'd crawl the 'net looking for something good to print out for my lunch reading. :)

[castiron.livejournal.com]

My current favorite place to read is my glider rocker with rocking ottoman; the light isn't the best at night (gotta rearrange the living room one of these days), but it's extremely comfortable, and there's surfaces on either side for my drink and to land the book quickly on when my son needs something. It's also my favorite place to do needlework.

Second favorite is the beanbag in the dining room. Very comfortable, next to the main bookcases, slightly better light, but harder to stand up from, and when my son's awake I'm more likely to get hug-attacked there!

I also like reading on the front porch, on the bus, and occasionally while walking somewhere. Reading on planes is nice (especially when I'm travelling alone), but because I read so fast, if I don't choose the book carefully then I'm done before I've finished the first leg of the trip. (A good argument for ebooks; at least I'm not hauling twenty pounds of reading material that way.)

And for small bits of reading, I've designated one of the bathroom shelves as a bookshelf. It's mostly comic strip collections, but also holds Natalie Angier's Woman: An Intimate Geography and G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy; I found those two lend themselves to reading and ruminating over short passages.

[aome.livejournal.com]

Favourite place to read: On the sofa with a blanket, although in bed works, too.

We're about to do some remodeling to our house; we have a loft over the garage which we're going to be fixing up to be our new master bedroom. One of the additions is to convert skylights into dormer windows with a window seat. I am very much looking forward to curling up and reading there.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

People have listed lots of my favorites (although, alas, the tornado that ate part of my college ate the tree I read in). My current favorite is one of the chairs in the library or the floor in the library (that is, the room designated for that purpose in my house, not the public building). I more often read at my desk if I'm trying to convince myself I'll be working again any minute now, or in the living room if the family is in there reading or working on laptops or whatever, but the library is my favorite because it's a room I always wanted and now have.

[chained2u2.livejournal.com]

I like to read on my bed but whenever I try to do this, they follow me in for one on one conversations. If I try to read on the couch, the dreaded tv keeps distracting me. I read lots and lots of books and magazines plus read throughout the day online.

[tiellan.livejournal.com]

I don't have a specific place -- just where ever I can get comfey. But, I feel especially cozy and warm when I'm wrapped in a blanket and there's a cat purring on my chest or in my lap while I'm reading. That's my favorite "place" to read.

[pixelfish.livejournal.com]

The bathtub. And I've only ever dropped one book--God Emperor of Dune. It was, of course, a library copy, so I had huge fines.

I also like a good chair with an ottoman, a fuzzy blanket, hot chocolate, decent lighting, and pounding rain. With the SO sprawled about five feet away on the floor reading a graphic novel.

[bibliotrope.livejournal.com]

My absolute favorite place to read is the lounge chair in the backyard. Because of the wet weather I have not had much chance to do that this year, though.

Runners-up are The Comfy Chair in the living room (a very cushy recliner, now in permanent recline because the mechanism that closes it back up again broke), the glider on the front porch (see comment above about weather; also, it's not quite as comfy), and, yes, bed. The latter, I suspect, is largely the byproduct of growing up in a big family (third of six), where my bed -- when I was young this was a top bunk -- was the most privacy available. Sometimes even more than the bathroom.

[elfundeb.livejournal.com]

I do most of my reading in the subway -- it turns commuting time into my time. I manage to get a seat coming home, but I'm quite comfortable reading standing up, holding the book in one hand and hanging onto the pole with the other. At home I most often read in the big recliner, but as it's in the same room as the TV, it's not always available. I also always keep a book at bedside (so I'm usually reading two books at once, since I keep the subway book in my bag) to read when unwinding at night. This can be dangerous, though, as I sometimes start to doze over the book and manage to miss something important.

[kristenj.livejournal.com]

The bathtub, with a bubblebath. Quiet, warm, soft, "me time." Haven't dropped a book yet, although plenty of bookmarks.

In bed. Again, warm and cozy. This time, however, is "us" time, as my husband also likes to read in bed.

Corner of the couch, snuggled resting against a pillow (from the bed) and covered with a fleece throw. As soon as I get myselft settled my cat will come to either rest against my other side to be lazily petted, or she will perch at the top of the sofa at my shoulder and purr into my ear.

[kchew.livejournal.com]

I used to get a remarkable amount of reading done on buses, but I don't commute anymore. I spent a good deal of time finding a comfy reading chair, but it's in the wrong place right now: I have to rearrange the bedroom to make it work again. Most of my reading is done in bed while the baby falls to sleep and afterwards, in cafes while the baby sleeps, and while pushing the stroller and trying to convince the baby to sleep. I've got a reputation now in my neighbourhood as "she who reads while walking the baby."