Where do you do your reading?

by Fran

 
Image: Rowena Cade (Minack Theatre)

I came across this image the other day of a lady relaxing in a wheelbarrow, reading her book. It doesn’t look overly comfortable, but what struck me was how utterly absorbed she looks in her task. She looks hooked, as if she just had to sit down right where she was and read.  I am well known for carrying books wherever I go and whipping them out for a read whenever I get the chance. My dad asks me regularly- how many books have you got in your bag today, Fran? My answer was once eleven…I have never quite lived that one down. But this image got me thinking about all the places I have read my books, or tried to, and I wondered if it was just me who finds great comfort in simply knowing that I have my book with me, just in case. Is it just me? 

Here are just some of my reading spots over the years. Some have been more successful than others; I had to give up trying to read in the shower. I come from a family who love a good sit-down shower, but trying to twist and turn your body so your book is manoeuvred away from the stream of water just isn’t comfortable or relaxing in the slightest. The bath is always a good option, although I do drop books in frequently. If you lend me a book, I promise not to read it in the bath.

 Waiting in queues, sitting in waiting rooms- I will bury my nose in a book rather than my phone. Audio books have had to replace real books on walks because I trip over far too often, even without a book in front of my face- but you can bet that there is a book in my rucksack for picnic time. There is a huge willow tree on one of my favourite countryside walks and if you climb up behind its Y shaped trunk, there is a gorgeous reading spot, although my dogs are far too impatient to let me linger there for long. If Kevin the Crazy Spaniel is with me, I have no chance. 

My garden is one of my favourite reading spots, other people’s gardens too, in bed of course and on the sofa. I was that child at school who had a book secretly on her lap under the table. During my own teaching years, I could never be too mad with any child who did that in my lessons- their reprimand would be tinged with a knowing smile. Pages of my books are splashed with curry stains from reading whilst stirring tea or eating, dipping pages in pasta sauces by accident. Sitting in a café, drinking a cup of tea and eating a bar of chocolate positively beg to be accompanied by a book.

The crux of it is, I am often reading when I am supposed to be doing something else, no matter where I am. Cuddled up with my dogs is my most frequent reading pose- their heads often lolling over onto the pages, occasionally they try to have a sneaky nibble. On a holiday to Snowdonia, I sat in the window of our cottage, reading a book about the local folk takes, imagining that the trees on the hills opposite were the dragons in the stories. I can plot times and places in my life by what and where I was reading. 

When it comes down to it, books are just my thing. The world can be a scary, loud place, and books bring friends and comfort, escapism and joy, wherever we are. Even the thought that friends are flitting about the pages of a book in my bag can be enough to give a spring to my step. Some of our lovely customers pop in for a book to take over to the pub with them for the afternoon. Others describe a cosy living room or tell me about an album they will listen to at the same time. Another customer told me about an evening planned with a book and bottle of wine. I know someone who can’t read in bed because they just know they will stay up all night reading. We all know that feeling I am sure…just one more chapter really is a thing! 

So where do you read? Wherever it is, I hope your book takes you somewhere marvellous. 
Fran