The Rory Gilmore Book Club discussion
Music, Movies, & Miscellany
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Where is your favorite place to read a book?
My top three places to read:1) In my hammock chair on the back porch when the temperature is just right and there is just a little bit of sun.
2) In bed (probably where I read most often).
3) In the bathtub (which is why I really hate the idea of a Kindle, and why I don't always like to borrow books!)
The idea of setting any kind of goal for how much to read is completely foreign and unattractive to me. I think to do so would remove quite a bit of my enjoyment of reading. I read what I can when I can, and any amount is a plus. The only exception would be when I'm reading a book for my live and in person bookclub. There is usually plenty of time between meetings, though, that I've rarely needed to rush. Unfortunately, I've also rarely been able to make the meetings for which I've read the books. :'(
I probably read most in bed and in the bath. I also keep an audiobook on my iPod, and I listen to it while driving, doing housework, and at the gym while doing my cardio ( I have to switch over to music when doing weights - the counting distracts me from the book!). I don't really set any kind of daily reading goal, although I have been keeping a list of the books I read over the past three years or so, trying to read about fifty books a year. I have exceeded that goal every year I've been keeping a record. I like to have quiet when I read, but I can read fairly well in places that have background noise, like bookstores, airports, and waiting rooms. I have a hard time reading if someone else in the room is watching TV. I used to enjoy reading during my lunch hour, but this behavior was condemned as anti-social by my colleagues. (This is one of the follies of working with an all-female group -they love to use lunchtime to gab and gossip!)Now I just try to get a newspaper to read during lunch, so I can read bits and do the crossword while still participating in the conversation. Those of you in the Rory Gilmore bookclub who are Gilmore Girls fans can sympathize - I believe Rory suffered this same problem at Chilton, as the headmaster expressed concern that she needed to be more of a participant in the social scene, after she was observed using her lunchtime to read!
Mod
I like to read in a comfy chair, but I don't own one. LOL I think for me the location is not what is the key so much as the moment. Is it deliciously ripe with all the what-ifs of the world? Is it calling for me to stop, be still, and enter another universe? Is it time for calm amid utter chaos? For me, it's about the feeling when I get to crack the spine and dive in. If I am rushed or having to stay aware of the rest of the world (or being forced to), I may read, but it won't be a favorite place or moment for it.
Oh, and quantifying how much I will read is both pressure and limiting. As Robbie said, it is a foreign and unattractive idea. It would be causing a pleasure to become a chore.
I usually read on either my upstairs or downstairs couch. The one downstairs is cool, because it reclines. Thus, I like that one better, because I can really kick back when I read.During the summer, I love reading outside while laying by the pool. We have these great reclining chairs that are perfect for reading and sunning. Now that I am getting older though, I will have to be careful of the sun, even though the Vitamin D is very good for you.
I am able to focus really well so I don't need a quiet space to read. However, I usually have the TV on with the volume slightly turned down. I'm a notorius multi-tasker so I like to read and watch TV, but it drives my husband batty.
This is the first time that I will be participating in book challenges that can be found on another thread. I picked a low number of books to read (40) and started in October. I purposely picked a lower number, because I didn't want to make it more about the contest than enjoying what I read. But, I thought that it would be pretty neat to keep track of how many books I actually do read a year. People ask me that all the time; how many books do you read a month? I have no idea, but I would guess that I average a book a week. I'll have a much better idea later next year.
I love this website, because slowly but surely, I am cataloging many of the books that I have read over the years. It will be nice to have one place and one list of everything. I'm a big list person so this approach suits me just fine.
I read anywhere and everywhere. I read at home on my couch in front of a fire with a glass of wine or a cup of coffee. I read in my comfy chair with my feet up and some opera music in the background. I read in bed and in the bath. I read while on the treadmill. I read at coffeeshops. I read at bookstores. I read at restaurants when I am alone. I read at the theatre during rehearsals when I'm not on stage. I read on a comfy chaise lounge outside when the weather is fine, a glass of icy lemonade by my side. I read by the pool and in the pool. I read while waiting at doctor's offices, the DMV, in line at the post office (when I manage to go), at the movie theater before the previews. I've even been known to read at stoplights.
Happy New Year Ed!I read where I can, when I can. I'm finding it hard to be picky. I used to get most of my reading done on planes and in airports, as I traveled A Lot for work. Now that I'm home more I tend to read in this one well lighted spot on the love seat in the living room.
I prefer music when I read, especially when on the plane. It can't be anything new though or my brain will have a fit trying to appreciate both book and music. Familiar favorites and instrumental music are what I stick to.
I try to read a couple hours a day, but don't use a stopwatch for it. As long as I spend *some* time reading, that's enough for me. I tried doing the certain # pages/day thing once and it was very uninspiring and in some ways inhibiting to my reading. If I had to guess, I'd say I probably go through 50-100 pages/day though. Once I start reading, I like to really read a lot in one sitting when I can.
I love all of those suggestions. I've heard they even have pillows to plug in an ipod to listen to! I like a comfy chair with some music sometimes and I really like the idea of bringing a book wherever I am waiting just to catch a few pages. Happy New Year!Ed
Yes they have speaker pillows for mp3 players, because if you're laying down you can actually puncture and ruin your ear drum thanks to those little bud head phones. They're really bad for you if you have any pressure against them (does that make sense?). If I'm reading, just like when I'm studying, I listen to classical music (I'm a nerdlette what can I say?) and only classical music, sometimes I don't like any music but if it's going to be music, it's classical.
My fiance and I have 'park' days, the rare times when we actually have an afternoon off at the same time, and we go to the park with our dogs and a mini picnic. He props himself up against our big oak tree, and I rest my head on his lap and we both just read. It's easily my most favorite time of the month/week/whatever (you know, favorite of the PG rated stuff...). I read in bed too, all bundled up in my blankets or in my big arm chair. I really just need some place I can curl up and read, and yes, I do curl. I tug my knees up and sit either Indian style of with my knees up under my chin. A hammock is another favorite spot.
I can read pretty much anywhere...but there are certain places I just choose to, if that makes sense.
I love to read in the bedroom or on the couch. I will usually read an entire book in 2 days. So I can read for hours and hours.
"Yes they have speaker pillows for mp3 players, because if you're laying down you can actually puncture and ruin your ear drum thanks to those little bud head phones. They're really bad for you if you have any pressure against them (does that make sense?)."Really? But the little earbuds don't actually get to your ear drums, they just sit in the pinna part of the ear. So I'm not sure how they can actually puncture the ear drums. This is kind of scary because I like to put on an audiobook while trying to sleep.
I find weekend is the best time to write or read books. Its prime time, if you haven't got a mega household job list to get through!! I spend time at my caravan with the family, where I find it so relaxing to sit and write or read books.This I find is much easier than struggling with a few pages around the time you are retiring to bed with heavy eyes!!
Best Regards
Steven Preece
Author of
Always A Marine
Not only does it ruin your hearing (ear buds vs normal headphones) but yes, when you place anything with pressure against your ear, regardless of whether it is actually IN your ear or not, it can and most likely will cause permanent damage. If you're listening to something while trying to sleep, I recommend a speaker pillow or closed type of headphone (a non inner ear headphone i.e. iPod headphones, ear buds etc). My mom is a surgeon and I don't even want to get into the horror stories she's told me about patients coming in with headphone related stuff. It's insane! I mean sure, they're safe to an extent but it only takes one freak accident you know? Lol.
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I've always been a minimalist when it came to purses, but he bought me a Kate Spade purse (in red, of course, for those of you that REALLY know me) large enough to fit a modern sized book because he knew I ALWAYS had one with me. Especially commuting. The day I accidentally left it behind (especially if I'd also forgotten to charge my mp3 player) was the day I'd be stuck on a packed, broken train for an hour... standing in some very bizarre position, unable to move... and wanting to cry.
The worst was the time I didn't think I'd need a book because I was only going a couple stops. However, my old mp3 player got "stuck" like a record with a scratch, and kept repeating the same phrase over and over again... and I couldn't move to reach the controls to even turn it off. And of course, we were stopped in the tunnel under the Potomac waiting behind a broken train for like 15 minutes. To this day I have a hard time listening to that particular Norah Jones song!
OH! That reminds me! I'd always have my book in my hand and have my hand near eye level when I'd enter the train so that if it got that packed, I'd still be able to read! LOL
I miss being able to read on the way to and from work like that.
Oh, and ear buds hurt my ears. I can't wear them. I have those squeezy ones by Apple.
I so went off on several tangents and never actually answered the question as I'd planned! Heh. It was fun for me, how was it for you?
I have to go with the bath tub. I take a bath almost every evening for quiet time away from my husband and son. Quiet sometimes broken by my 3 year old banging on the door or in the event I forget to lock it, throwing toys in at me:) I also read in a big overstuffed chair in my living room. Those are my favorites, but I'll read anywhere.
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WhichWay's comment was hilarious. The getting stuck story, very funny.Me, I like to read on the couch where there's good southern exposure in the room, under the covers on a night I decide to "go to bed early" just so I can snuggle up with a good book, or like many of you, in the bath. Except for library books ;0)
My husband and read out loud every morning before we get out of bed. I love that. What a boring post! Hmmm, wish I could think of a funny story, but alas, there is none.
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Oh, and like I said on the other thread, reading with your husband every morning is really a great thing.
Feel free to call me Michele if you like!
P.S. I have about eight stories in my head that I am refraining from including in this post. They just roll off the brain! LOL
Michelle (whichway), your stories are hilarious! You ought to start a blog!
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Thanks for the awesome compliment, Tiffany! And if I ever do the blog thing again, I'll let ya'all know!
My favorite place to read is at home in my recliner with a drink of some sort in my hand.I also love reading in the bath.My favorite place out side the house is in my backyard on a lounge chair in front of the fire pit.I love my library to with a good cup of coffe right in front of the fireplace.I don't have any sey pages or time for reading.what ever i get to i get to.I have 3 girls at home so i love to read late at night whne everyone is sound asleep.I take breaks and go on the comp then read a littel until bed time.
My favorite place to read is in my glider in the living room, even though the padding is non-existent and I can never get my legs in a comfortable position. I'm sentimentally attached to it though because I would always read while I rocked my kids to sleep when they were babies. I've also gotten conditioned to the sound of my husband on the computer playing his favorite video game - he went to Nashville for a week and I didn't read a thing because I didn't have the sound of him tapping on the keyboard. How weird is that?! As for how many pages I read at a time, that varies, but I have an aversion to odd numbers so the page I stop on has to be an even number. I have some strange habits! LOL
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I love to read on the bus and in the grass on a sunny day.But my favorite time spent reading has been when I visited my friend in Denver and everyone went skiing while I sat at the bottom of the mountain in the sun reading to my hearts content with the skiers buzzing all around me.
Yeah, I know, I should probably try skiing, but really that time was great to me. I live in Minnesota and it is rarely snowing and yet warm and comfortable enough to sit outside at the same time in the winter.
Michele - My husband thinks it's nuts, so I'm glad someone finds the humor in my little quirk.
Very funny Tiffany...I think we all have little quirks.
Mod
Michele, what were you doing posting at four in the morning?!?
for those who read in the tub...how long do you last in the tub reading?
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Really, I'm just a night person that overdoes it on the night thing a bit too frequently.
I used to be a great night owl type but far less often now -- even so I get on a kick and am up late one or more nights running when I'm on my own for any length of time -- now that hubby is "retired" that may never happen again. Though once we get done with the house and get moved to TX -- I may just keep my own schedule when I get the urge.What I started out to say, Michele was -- it isn't likely to change just be less frequent with the years.
I've got two kids under three, so I've mastered the fine art of reading in any circumstances. Literally! I'm not too picky, but with Northanger Abbey, I've been reading only when I can be alone so I can absorb all of her great witticisms. As for bathtime reading, I've been known to take 3 hour baths believe it or not. But sometimes I pass out, and my hubby has to check on me. Actually, I think I'll have a bath now!Dottie, I'm now a Texan, and all I can say is, prepare to sweat!
I love bookmarks, too, Alison, though most of mine are from bookstores I have visited. Some of my favorites are from The Tattered Cover in Denver, Moe's in Berkeley, City Lights in San Francisco, Square Books in Oxford Mississippi, and of course, good old Lemuria Books right here in Jackson. I also have a commemorative bookmark from a booksigning by the lady who wrote Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, think her name is Susannah Clarke. I am really picky about which books get certain bookmarks. Books with more illustrious reputations get the "special" bookmarks, while "trashy" books have to make do with my bookmark from the Bill Clinton Presidential Museum.
Mod
I do love bookmarks. I was reading Northanger Abbey today in the car, and looked down to see what bookmark I was using. It was Barnes & Noble's Jane Austen (it's kind of a caricature of her).
I just watched Jezebel at your rec., Beth. Holy crap. That movie chilled me to the bone. I'm going to have to sign off here and try to figure out how you catch yellow fever (yellow jack!). Seriously, that movie disturbed me on many levels. Bette Davis is just....words fail me.
you got a bill Clinton commemorative thimble? I just did my beavis and butthead laugh.
Speaking of yellow fever, Josh Russell's novel Yellow Jack is supposed to be quite good. Several well-read friends have recommended it to me, though I've never gotten around to reading it.
"while "trashy" books have to make do with my bookmark from the Bill Clinton Presidential Museum."OK, that cracks me up on so many levels. How apropos. Ha!
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So Beth, please accept this award along with our admiration and sincere gratitude. Congratulations!
3 hour bath....must be a record. lolHave a great weekend.
Arielle -- oh yes, humidity. But since the year before the job went to TX had been in Taipei -- TX loses the humidity crown. The visits I made to my hubby in Taipei -- whew -- I would step out the door and it was like someone had a bucket perched on the door that drenched me immediately.Bath lengths depend upon the time it takes for the LUSH bubbles to dissipate and that depends upon whether one uses a full bubble bar or a half or a quarter. LUSH people will understand that. But I don't generally take books into the bath since my lovely across the tub basket bit the dust many years ago. none of the things I've seen since meet my picky requirements -- so no more reading in the tub.
I was on pregnancy bedrest, nowhere to be anytime soon, so why not? :-)
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When I was pregnant, I took two baths a day. It was the only time that my back didn't ache me to tears (one twin pregnancy). I'm going to have to look into this LUSH. Is there a website?
Yay, Beth! Best line ever. :)
Oh another person who has hair with amind of its own! But before you get too giddy -- remember my age -- think carefully about the hairstyles of the 1960's -- hair down to your tailbone -- hair that could be sat upon -- long STRAIGHT hair -- now picture my curly ear or chin length mop bopping about the campus amongst all those long tresses rolled nightly upon orange juice cans! YUCK -- but oh have I appreciated my hair since then -- I love it -- and now with age taking some of the curl away -- I miss it and appreciate what is left of the curl even more.
I'm laughing like crazy over here about all the Bill Clinton bookmark comments - classic!!
Beth, you definitely should read Yellow Jack! Especially if you like historical fiction. It's a fairly quick read. It's actually about photography--about the advent of the camera--but it's set during the time when New Orleans was under a Yellow Jack epidemic. I think it's like malaria and you can catch it by mosquitos.So what's the concensus on dog-earring your page instead of using bookmarks?
I get a lot of books from the library, so no dog-earring. But right now I'm using a sweet card that my husband gave me for the holidays. He doesn't do that kind of thing often, so I've officially retired all of my bookmarks.
I used to dog-ear pages I wanted to refer to later for a book club discussion or class or something. But then a really brilliant and fabulous person gave me those magnetic page markers and now I don't have to. :)
Ed