At the Gym, in the Park, in the Bath… Where Do You Read?

At the Gym, in the Park, in the Bath… Where Do You Read?

I just recently joined a gym. It’s a whizz-bang schmancy gym with state-of-the-art machines you can watch Netflix on while you pedal or run or endure whatever other misery you put yourself through. Being the misfit that I am, I have started reading while I work out. Sometimes it’s an audiobook, but generally I’ll pedal while I flip pages on the latest book I’m reviewing for work. If I enjoy the book enough, I forget that I’m actually in agony.

Another change in my life recently: In a moment of insanity I took on a foster dog who has been so badly abused he’s on Xanax. Despite only just meeting me, he has separation anxiety if I leave the room. I have started sitting in my small back garden, reading while he sits beside me, like the clinger he is.

I was always an in-bed or on the lounge type of reader, but this has changed drastically with these two additions to my life. Often readers are creatures of habit, but I haven’t actually read on my lounge for months. I thought back to my past reading habits and realised there had been a number of changes to my reading spots over the years. Like when my younger son decided the only place he’d fall asleep was in the car, so I’d take him for a drive during the day, wait until he’d dozed off, and park somewhere reasonably calm and read until he woke. Or the years of waiting for kids to finish swimming or martial arts or macramé or whatever else they were doing – I was there with a book.

I asked a friend of mine who told me she used to always read when she was flying, but now, due to a later in life fear of flying, she can’t focus on a book while in the air. “I need to mentally fly the plane,” she explained. “I now read in the bath.”

I asked around the office to see if anyone else had made any changes to their own reading spots recently. While bed and lounge are still the main places to read, Alice has just made a shift that most mothers will relate to with her young daughter finally being old enough that Alice can read a book with both eyes, and not one on her toddler and one on the page.

Both Melissa and Bec use cooking time as reading time. Bec listens to audiobooks but Melissa takes it a step further and actually holds a book while she’s cooking dinner. So far she hasn’t poisoned anyone but I’ll keep you updated.

So let us know, where do you read? Are you a creature of habit or do you mix it up a bit and read in an unusual spot?

*Please note Better Reading does not take any responsibility for readers injuring themselves while attempting to replicate the reading position in the featured photo.

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                      1. Cj says:

                        I was a reader in bed just before bedtime. Howver having a toddler sleeping in the same room can be abit challenging. With the sound of pages turning or the bright light it disturbs him. However now its reading on the lounge or car trips. Looking forward to once he can move out into his own room.