Favorite Places to Read

I have been known to read in the shower, when walking from place to place (at home) and even while exercising. It's amazing how many leg-lifts you can do if you loose track of time. A book at the sports arena is not a bad idea either. The treadmill, on the bus, on a long car ride, the living room floor, in bed; all good.

Some of the best places to read are outside. On a bench or sitting in grass. Some prefer a shady tree, others a sunny beach. I don't have one favorite outdoor reading spot. I am willing to read anywhere, as long as it's not raining. I like a chaise lounge, but I usually end up laying it flat so I can lay on my stomach, propped on my elbows. My favorite position to read in. You have to be careful with webbed chaise lounges - elbows can sometimes poke through.

As a kid I had a great outdoor reading spot between the privacy fence in our backyard and the forsythia bushes. I made a platform out of 2x4 scrap wood with a back, so nobody could tell I was there. In time I had a secret jar of change buried there, an old umbrella, and a nice flat rock to rest my feet on.

Inside, when I wanted to read I would go up to unfinished attic and sprawl on the cedar chest my dad made in high school. In the winter, I would take my coat. I could read anywhere, but I liked going up there. It was quiet. No TV, no sister, no blah blah blah.

Now I have my own house, I still read everywhere. The bed is, of course, premium, but the couch or floor is also fine. Chairs, at the breakfast bar, leaning over the sink. Another favorite is the tub. True decadence is a bubble bath, a glass of wine, and a good book (not a library book - learned that one the hard way).

I always have a book nearby, the opportunity to read a few pages might be just a moment away. I have yet to read stuck on an elevator, or on a runaway train, or when locked in a freezer, but one never knows when a new reading opportunity may arise. And who knows, it may end up being a favorite.