When reading a good book...do you have to have quiet? or..

[Barbara, Founder and Moderator]

Do you need it quiet when reading? Do you have a pet on your lap? Do you feel like you need a warm beverage while reading?

What's your favorite way of reading a good book? Cozy chair? Snack foods? Etc.

[Tui]

I need a quiet corner. Love to have my cat on my lap if it is cold but not so much if it is hot. I like a cup of tea but don't have to have it. No food needed - its only a distraction. I love to read outside in a shady spot in summer, (like now). We have lots of shady spots here where the view of the mountain is superb whenever I look up to sigh with contentment after some delicious passage I've just read.

I have two chairs in my office - one very comfy one where I love to sit and read. The other is the chair I write in, much more upright and businesslike.I'm sitting in it now, but will soon be moving to the other one. But my lovely office is the preferred spot for winter or night-time reading. It's night time now.

My office has a glorious view of the trees, farms and the mountain. And it also has a whole wall of bookshelves.
But when I'm deep in a REALLY GOOD book, I'd be just as happy sitting on the back of an elephant or charging through wild surf in a kayak, or climbing over the mountains clutching my kindle. The whole world just fades away . . . .

[Jennifer]

I always have to have quiet when I read, or so much noise that it is impossible to separate the noises out, otherwise I hear everything. I recently discovered that while I can't read a book while someone is talking If multiple people are talking I can hear and understand up to three conversations at once, which is really annoying when I want to read.
Usually I only read at night, beginning after midnight. I do read on Sundays from 3:00AM until 1:00PM because this is the only point in any day of the week when nobody but me, is home. I can't read after 1:00 because people return. While I'm reading I usually need snacks of some kind. I don't know why but I have a hard time concentrating on a book otherwise. When I don't have food or ate before reading, it also works if my dog is in my lap, at least it works for a short time. Often in the middle of reading, my dog likes to sit in my lap and look at me with this really weird look. It looks almost like a growl because half his front teeth are showing, but what it means for me is that if I look back at him or talk to him he will lick me which is really distracting and at this point I usually quit reading.
When I was younger I had weird reading habits. I used to not be able to read unless I was moving. I had a long swing I liked to lay on and swing while I was reading. I also sometimes rode my bike around the yard while I was reading. I also had to be outside when I read, sometimes I also used a hammock. I stopped reading like this when my neighbors and several other houses on the street moved in with kids, at which time I discovered I couldn't read with noise.

[Melissa]

Yes...because I like to get really into the book I'm reading and "forget" about everything else