What do you do when you're reading?

Personally, I love to take a nice hot bath and drink tea, or curl up in a nice big blanket and eat cookies as I turn the pages. Now that the weather's warming up, I hope to start with some beach-reading!

I, uh, pluck my eyebrows. And those obnoxious hairs on my chin. And stick them in the margins of the page. And see how many hairs I can get before I have to brush them off and turn the page.

How embarrassing.

I usually read in bed to wind down and get to sleep, or sit on the couch with a glass of water and a snack. I'm lucky enough to have a guy who reads so we can curl up and both read.

3> I miss that. Haven't had one that I can really read with in years.

I almost always have a blanket when I read indoors, even if it's summer.

I try to just read. I'll curl up on the couch or my chair and read for as long as I can. I've never been one for reading before bed, but maybe that's because I'm married to a non-reader.

Sometimes I'll read while the others around me are watching TV, but sometimes I miss details that way. It also takes away a lot of the pleasure of reading for me.

For another month (moving to Texas in May) I have my little reading nook. I live in a two bedroom apartment and converted the "dining room", and I use that term loosely, into my library. I put in a comfy chair and ottoman, plants and bookshelf. It faces a giant sliding glass door, so usually I'll read and watch the birds fly around while a cat lays on me. Pretty damn nice. Need to replicate that feeling in my new space!

I hope your move goes well, blissful, and that you are able to create a reading haven in your new home :-)

I like to curl up on the couch with a blanket and a glass of iced tea.

I usually read in bed or on the sofa. After reading I usually find that my finger nails are gone... :-(

I love reading in bed before I go to sleep, or when I have free time (which is almost never), I'll spend a day in bed reading.

The majority of my reading is done on the subway, however, so I'm constantly jostling for space to hold my book up. If I'm lucky, I get a seat and have a much easier time getting lost in the book.

As I'm still a graduate student (for another month at least), I read in bed with my laptop for class, turning 90 degrees to get a larger reading area - it's a bit cumbersome (and I'd love a tablet) but it works well for articles. For books, however, curling up sideways with a pot of tea nearby :)

Sit in the sunshine and enjoy the beautiful weather, in the winter I sit in my favorite chair.

I read almost every day in the bath--even at the busiest points in the semester, I try to take at least a chapter's worth of time for myself at that point of the day. In the summer, I'm reading on the beach, on the couch, in bed, on the porch--you get the picture. I'm also often known to have a book with dnner or a drink at my favorite bar, and I always read in stopped traffic.

As a sidenote for you readers: a few months ago I had dinner alone and took my book along to a Fatz restaurant. The book made me get teary eyed, and it just so happened that they forgot to bring my salad. I wasn't That hungry, so I didn't even notice until the waitress brought my meal. I said "oh--my salad didn't come" or something of that nature that popped into my head, and I got free drinks with dinner and quite a few apologies. I only realized later at home that those tears I shed over the book--well, they thought it was over the missed salad lol. Still, I got some free drinks and a discount out of it--and as a teacher, I can't complain about a few saved dollars...

I go to bed an hour or two before I'm ready to go to sleep, and just curl up to read. It really helps me wind down from the events of the day. Especially on nights like last night -- it was raining so I got to listen to the soothing sounds of rain hitting the roof as I read.

I love to read outside anywhere, at a park or lawn or cafe in the sunshine. On sundays I go to a coffee shop and sit outside with a cup of coffee and a book for 4 or 5 hours. Its my favorite time of the week!

#8 - I often find that I look up from the book I am reading in the morning on the train (subway) and forget where I am, until I realise I have a whole day of work ahead of me. That is such an unpleasant feeling, when the book was so wonderfull relaxing!

Definitely in bed, I almost can't sleep until I have read a bit, even if it is only a couple of pages of something boring! Am I allowed to say on the toilet? In queues, in traffic (I know!), with a coffee, anywhere really.

Ohhh i read in traffic. Although if someone is in the car they tend to look at me funny until I stop.

Lately, I've been sneaking in reading at the gym and at work on my lunch break. Sometimes I try to get in a couple chapters at night before bed, so I just turn on some mellow music and read for a little while.

On weekends sometimes I'll drink tea in bed and read. But I think my most favorite would be reading while I'm traveling (plane, car, etc.). I always seem to get in double the amount when I'm vacationing than I do when I'm juggling everyday life.

I'm usually at work when I read, so mostly I lean forward on the counter and hope no one comes in during the juicy parts of my book!

But, before I became a mommy, I would read a lot at home, and I would curl up in my big comfy satelite chair, with a mug of cider or tea or sometimes hot chocolate in the winter, a blanket on my lap and a small pillow for resting my hands. Now, if I have the spare moment at home, I am either curled up on the couch in the morning or I'm sprawled on my bed just before sleep.

I've started the very bad habit of reading on the way to class. On foot, in the city, through the streets. I do look up when I cross an intersection though.

Granted, I've only got 2 weeks left of class (forever? Gasp!) so I may not get myself killed before graduating.

I can understand the walking whilst reading thing. When I'm engrossed by a book I'll read while walking round the house, cooking, pretending to listen and join in conversations etc. Though it's not a good look to fall down the stairs or cause a minor house fire due to a gripping page turner :-/

Ahh, walking while reading. I used to do that. Then I fell down two flights of stairs at my elementary school because I was much too interested in my book to look where I was going. (The thing that amazes me -- aside from the fact that I was not seriously hurt -- is that I passed at least two teachers, and neither of them tried to stop me!)

I was lucky enough to move into an apartment recently with an extra little room with built in shelving and lots of light, and lucky enough to have a boyfriend sweet enough to actually suggest I turn it into a library/study... I read in my armchair in the corner, usually with coffee, tea, or a cocktail. I've always maintained that a good stiff drink enhances the reading experience... as long as you stop before the words run together. Oh, and with music I know too well to be distracted by in the background.

allysonwonderland, that sounds like a wonderful little retreat!

Usually with a cup of coffee. Books and coffee go together so well!

I get antsy when I'm in one spot for too long so I tend to take my books with me to various places around the house/town. Although I always lose my place if I try to multi-task too much so I prefer to just sit and read...just moving to a different spot every hour or so.

I have been known to take my books for a walk on occasion...if I'm walking somewhere with a low probability of getting hit by a moving vehicle.

There is a turret on the side of the house in which I reside so I have this perfectly round alcove in the front corner of my apartment that I have dubbed the "Book Nook". It's sunny and beautiful and completely lined with book shelves, aside from the windows themselves. A bean bag and some potted plants complete the room. I highly enjoy sitting there with a cuppa or some nice liquor to sip as it is lovely no matter the weather, so long as I have a book in my lap.

>20 BookishRuth: I can't recall how many times I almost did precisely that as a child, whether at school or in my own home. My parents endlessly encouraged me to leave the house sans-book-in-hand but failed miserably; if they went so far as to forbid it, I snuck them out by hiding one in a bag or (in desperate times) stuffed halfway into my pants with a sucked-in stomach. >_

I sit in my favorite chair and dare anyone to disturb me while I drink coffee. I also read in the tub, outside, while walking, waiting etc

>25 Allama: I've always wanted a turret for that exact use :)

Anyone read on the can? It's a major pet peeve of mine... not only for the germaphobe Seinfeldian connotations ("sir, this book has been tagged": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bookstore ), but because my bf (public offender) always leaves them on top of the basin and I freak out about the shower steam. Your feelings?

28: Oh yeah. I keep an emergency book on the radiator across from my toilet. Usually it's one that no one in their right minds is gonna want to read (besides me) - Le Morte d'Arthur, for example. The shower doesn't seem to affect it - although I wouldn't leave a first-edition in there or anything.

I've never liked bringing a book into the bathroom. I prefer to be sitting in a nice cushy armchair rather than on a big piece of cold porcelain!

I'm never in the can for long enough for a book to be practical.

My boyfriend, on the other hand, keeps all kinds of guitar and drum magazines of the back of the toilet. I don't like for him to keep books on there since one of them slipped off and fell into the toilet once (no one was in the bathroom at the time) and was ruined.

Reading in the ladies room is how I steal little snippets of reading time during my work day! I just put the book in my purse and no one is the wiser. Though it's not like I sit there forever...but if you're in the middle of a really good part, you're not really going to get anything done sitting at your desk thinking about it all day. Sometimes five minutes is enough to soothe the "got to read" anxiety ;-p

If I had a typical 9-5 job, I would probably be doing that Ilithyia. As it is, I pretty much have the best job ever - I work at a mechanic station and when there's nothing to do, I can read!!! My boss doesn't mind as long as I take care of the customers when they are there. But other than that, I'm free to read, etc.

What an awesome job! My mom is the same way. She's a correctional officer and when she has downtime she can read as well. As long as she doesn't let anyone escape!

Yeah, I'm only going to have this perk for another week or so. I'm about to start my master's degree in sec. ed. and I'll be a permanent sub teacher while taking evening classes. But as an English teacher I'll be able to read for "work" ;-p

I read on my couch in my den; legs propped up. Also I read outside in a comfortable portable chair under a tree.

Oh, or I sit in my grad school's library.

> 32

That is brilliant! I have thus far been too afraid to try it as I am sure someone would somehow manage to figure it out and leave me to the law, so to speak. My books don't even come into the building with me as I know I would be tempted to sneak longer and longer peaks into the desk drawer.

#2 - lol

i've found that i can't read sitting up, i have to lie down. no matter how much i try, i end up horizontal, or at least close to sideways, even on a chair :(

Same here. I can read in a couch, but only with my legs up. And then after a while the book slips down, and I curl around, and I'm just lying on the couch. I realize that it's bad for my back, but I just can't read sitting straight.

Maybe I should train my arm muscles?

lol, arm muscles.... back muscles, neck muscles... probably suffering from dystrophy from lifelong horizontal reading at this point!

I mostly read in bed - and it's always better with food. In the morning I go back to bed with a warm pain au chocolat and a big cup of coffee, and stay there until I'm at risk of falling back to sleep because my eyes are getting tired! Then at night it's water or chocolate milkshake, with crackers or something chocolatey. Disgraceful behaviour. In fact, last week I had the delicious Twilight to read because I was going to the cinema to see it the next day, so I went to bed at ten with crackers AND a huge tin of Cadbury's Roses, water AND Mars milkshake, and read straight through til about half two in absolute bliss.

My mum thinks I'm just being a layabout who reads too much on days like these - I think I'm living the dream, baby.

37: I do the same thing! I always wind up sideways one way or another.

Also, I rub my feet together really fast. Like, if I'm reading while on my side, I'll rub the parts on my feet just below the big toe, back and forth at a very rapid pace. It's like restless leg syndrome...except I only do it when I read.

My legs can get really sore after awhile so I have to make an effort and force myself to stop (which lasts about 20 seconds)

I have a glass of good wine - I'm a viticulture student, and quite often I'm also reading a book about wine... (this makes me sound like a lush, i'm really not, it's research). Or on the couch with my husband while he watches TV. I never used to be able to do that, but I'm learning!

>42 tash99: I used to be able to read anywhere and everywhere - in the car, while people were watching telly, on public transport, even while singing along to music (how?!) but I seem to have been losing the ability over the last year or so. Good to know I might be able to re-learn it so I don't have to sit in silence on my own just to enjoy a book!

I like to either sit upright or lie on my stomach. I don't usually like sunlight, but I've found it pleasant to read in the morning and early afternoon sunlight. Tea, coffee, or water while reading is nice. The company of my doggies is great, too. But reading for hours in silence with my husband on our couches is the best.

Oh, I also do this compulsive and weird thing while I read: I pick at my scalp and my ear piercings. Sorry, overshare, huh?

its ok Penguin... My mom pointed out the other day that I have a peculiar habit that my grandma had too. I chew on my lip or nibble the ends of my hair while I read or concentrate on anything really ^_^ My grandma nibbled her lip but the hair thing... that's all me. I think I get it from my cat LoL He used to sit behind me and lick and chew on my hair when I was little and learning to read. I had issues reading aloud when I was little so the teacher suggested reading to the cat. (gotta love a non judgemental audience ^_^)I think its just a comfort thing.

I'm also notorious for playing with my piercings if I'm reading school work. Nervous twitch I guess.

Awww, reading to your cat! That's really cute! We try and read WITH the cats sometimes but since one of them likes to sit on the exact magazine page you're reading, and one likes to stand between you and your book purring and dribbling, it never really works out...

I read mostly in bed, curled up under the covers. Although I must admit, I love reading newly published books in Borders or Barnes & Noble with a cup of apple cider and a snack.

I used to try reading during my commute on subways and busses. I've quit. I grew weary of missing my stop(s).

I now have a new routine when not at work. Started seeing this guy about 2 months ago, and now he and I will stretch out at opposite ends of the couch, our feet in each others' laps, a big heavy blanket thrown over our legs, and read our books. It's really nice to have a guy who loves reading as much as I do. Also makes it interesting when we both try to get the seat with the reading lamp. ^_~

That sounds divine... my last boyfriend was a nightmare, the only books he ever read were the manuals for the latest Final Fantasy games. A love of books has slid right up my list of demands for my next relationship!

49: "the manuals for the latest Final Fantasy games."

And what's wrong with that? =P

Video games are my 2nd love.

Yes... but that's not all you read, right?! OK, he read Nuts magazine as well. The only good thing about his obsessive video gaming was that he was relatively stationary and made a handy head/book rest for reading - and I could drift off in comfort if my eyes got tired!

I like to munch, preferably Chocolate (Maltesers if possible)

@ 49 - It's amazing, how good it feels to sit down and the two of us just read. Even better that we read much the same type of books, so often we are reading books in the same series/genre, and end up talking in depth about what's happening in this or that scene, and eventually trading books once we've finished them!

The other night, my daughter (she's almost 2 1/2) and I were over at his house, and he had these books that he had borrowed from his parents - Water Spirits: The Enchanted World, and a few others in that series. My daughter went over and climbed up on our legs, and he just ended up reading stories out loud to the both of us. She of course kept trying to read out loud also, but it was a lot of fun listening to him, and we all seemed to enjoy it.

Funny how things can fall into place at times. *smiles*

I'm a bed reader. Both in the morning when I wake up and don't want to get out of bed yet, and at night when I've turned off all the lights except the bed-side lamp and want to separate the day from the night.

Or, you know, I'm also the any time and any place type. Particularly since I have no problem reading in moving vehicles.

Isn't snuggly morning bed reading the best? With a drink or something non-messy for breakfast... mmmmm... It's good at night too but you're colder then, you're always all warm and cosy in the morning!

I used to be able to read on the move too - I once read for 8 hours straight all the way to Cornwall as a child - but I seem to feel queasier when I try it these days. I can read on trains fine, and I was okay reading on the coach to Spain, but I'm terrified of being sick so I don't risk it often any more, more's the pity!

I've never been able to read in the car, boo hoo *cue pity party* And it was always so frustrating because my family lived in a rural area — it took a good half-hour to get anywhere! All those hours of reading, gone forever...

I'm cold at night too. I'll usually curl up next to a space heater for a bit, get all toasty, and then take a flying leap into bed with my book :)

I love reading in the bath, but the tubs are more then questionable at college, so when I am away at school I generally read curled up in my bed or in one of the wonderfully comfortable armchairs in the library. Occasionally in the bistro on campus, but I always get interrupted by a friend or professor.

52>viciouslittlething......I totally agree with yr choice of munchies, malteasers are my fave!
I like to be tucked up in bed with my book, with very low background music. I can snuggle on the sofa under a blanket but only if my other half isnt watching the TV, not because I want to watch it too, but the noise distracts me. Funnily enough I can concentrate quite well if he plays his PS3.
Still prefer to be snuggled in bed though! :)

58: I know what you mean with the PS3/TV comparison, and I think the reason TV is more distracting is because there is more talking. It's the individual words that are distracting, like when you are counting and someone is screaming out random numbers to throw you off.

58/59: I can read during TV shows but not during commercials. It's all that advertising-related conspiracy.

58/9 - I found that too! I could concentrate curled up with my ex when he was playing Final Fantasy or whatever, but as soon as he switched back to the telly my attention drifted until I was watching it too. Course, now that I'm single again, I can snuggle up with the telly OFF, in my dressing gown, with a large bag of Revels and a hot chocolate, and just read to my heart's content! :-D

58/9: I can read with the TV on (we live in the world's smallest flat, so I had to learn!), but I agree about the ads, they tend to break my concentration with their shouty obnoxiousness. I also find it hard to read while my husband plays video games - I think it's the repetitive noises that distract me, especially when it's little phrases the characters/commercials use over and over again.

I'm a very restless reader. I usually start off sitting upright in a comfortable armchair of choice. Eventually I've got my knees pulled up to my chin. Then I curl up into a ball, only to later sprawl out with my legs over one arm and my back against the other. I vividly recall ending up upside down, hanging off the edge of a chair, because it happened to be the most comfortable position at the time.

Yup. I'm odd...

Lately I've taken to sitting on my living room floor, back against the sofa, with a fan heater on the floor blasting straight at me. It keeps me warm, and the buzz of the fan kind of keeps me focussed, in a strange way...

64: Right outside my bedroom is both the furnace/air conditioning unit and the washer/dryer, and I seem to focus better when one of them are running as well. I think maybe because it's 1 continuous droning noise that drowns out the more distracting ones. *shrug*

I tend to stretch out on a couch with beer/whiskey at hand. Whether or not I make use of anything I write is strictly (ha!) up to my own prejudices.

>63 kabrahamson:, I completely understand. One of the positions I constantly seem to find myself in while reading is laying down on the couch with my feet propped up on the back up it. I don't know why, but this is just very, very comfy...

I have had a lovely hour this afternoon sitting by my patio doors reading Charlie Chaplin's autobiography, leaning against the deep wall recess in the springlike sunshine, keeping my legs warm with a fan heater, dunking custard creams in a mug of coffee. I think I may have just found a new reading spot for sunny afternoons!

I am pretty much always multitasking, so I am often watching tv or a movie while reading. It works for me.

Or reading while cooking. But only my own books, because I am a messy cook and I don't want to get stuff on books that aren't my own.

With me I usually read before bed, in the break room at work, outside on a bench, on a long plane trip, pretty much anywhere where I'm sitting or laying down and have time to read.

I just picked up 4 more books for a round trip 2-week vacation next week

I definitely currently do the majority of my reading either on public transit or waiting for public transit. My book count would be far lower if I ever actually drove for my commute, heh.

I drive an hour one way to work, and have recently discovered the wonders of audiobooks :)

I read on the bus on the way to work and sometimes during the load/save screens of computer games. Other than that I tend to just sit down and read, completely blocking out the rest of the world (assuming it's a good book).

I usually read right before bed which i know i shouldn't because if it's a good book or if i get into it i'll stay up all night to try to finish it and since i'm a slow reader i've had a few long nights. I'll try to sneak it in whenever i can. It takes me about half hour to read 30 pages i guess so i try to mainly do it on days off. I can sometimes block out the tv in the background or other things depending on the book and the volumn

When I drive to and from work I usually listen to an audio book.

At work, sometimes I look up a classic to read online. (When there is no work to be done, I sware!)

At home...before bed, with some tea. Often times I wish my partner was a reader too, but alas, he goes off to play his video games. :)

Well... I'm getting the urge to go off and play Final Fantasy XII again right now thanks to you lot. ;) But I love to read, more than I game. I always take at least one book with me in my cavernous shoulder bag when I leave the house, especially if I know I'm going to be in a waiting room or a queue for a while.

I read at bus stops (set my alarm for two minutes before the bus is due, otherwise I've been known to fail to notice it's there and miss it!), on the train (never on the bus or in a car unless it's stationary - I get sick otherwise), on random benches around the city, in queues, in the doctor's or dentist's office, in A&E (while waiting to have my shoulder relocated, usually), in cafés and restaurants, when walking through the street if I'm in a relatively quiet, level area (I've fallen downstairs before - NOT doing that again)... When I'm at home I curl up on the couch or in bed, or fold myself into an armchair with head over one arm and legs over the other. Often with a hot drink, rarely with anything that makes crumbs (I hate getting crumbs stuck in the folds of my books!). I miss my cats, used to curl up with them on my lap and a book over them quite frequently! They live with my dad, they don't like traffic.

I usually try to snuggle up somewhere comfy and warm and drink some hot tea or coffee.

If a book seems to be going really good, I'll walk to the Starbucks near my house and finish it there. For some reason, I feel that only the best books deserve to be read at a coffee shop.

And I like to eat snacks like pretzels or popcorn while I read... But that's a habit I'm trying to stop. :P

I like to have a comfy chair, and if I'm reading in my living room, I'll turn my reading lamp on if its too dark.

Usually I'm in bed or laying on the sofa. Sometimes I read when I sit in my working chair. I dont eat while reading, but I like to have a glass of water nearby. It has to be quiet when I read, or I cant concentrate.