Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is Favorite Places to Read!
Hello Readers! I hope you’re all doing well and reading great books! I’m currently on vacation. It’s the first real vacation we’ve taken since 2019. (Yay for vaccines!) When we booked our vacation, things were much better (thanks a lot Delta), but we’re doing more things outdoors and wearing our masks so I’m trying not to worry too much.
I haven’t done a lot of blogging but I have been reading! …And watching countless hours of Jane the Virgin. 😉 I read almost half of The Georgraphy of Lost Things by Jessica Brody in the car on the way and then finished it a few days ago. It was the perfect road-trip-read! I’m planning on finally starting Well Met by Jen DeLuca on the way home. Before we left, I worked up a month’s worth of Top Ten Tuesday drafts—even though we’re only on vacation for a week—but I’m hoping I can stay ahead. I have to admit, it’s nice to not be working on TTT hours before I post it. Ha!
Today we’re talking about our favorite places to read! I’ll be sharing some of my Instagram posts that include some of my favorite locations and the books I read there.
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(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)
1
On My Back Patio
One of our ‘pandemic projects’ was to finally build a patio cover over our back porch. Now it’s one of my favorite places to read and I only wish we would have done it sooner. Don’t let this sunny picture fool you, though. I read most of People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry on the patio while it was raining.
2
In Bed
Most of the reading I do in bed is late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. OR those rare occasions when I can’t stay awake but immediately pick up a book to finish when I first wake up in the morning, like I did with Melanie Chartoff’s memoir Odd Woman Out.
3
My Comfy Chair
We recently purchased a comfy chair to go in a front room that also has our piano, and now it’s one of my favorite places to blog and read. It’s where I read the second half of Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson, unable to stop until I reached the end.
4
In the Car
We love to road trip, and one of my favorite things to do is read while someone else drives. 😉 It was especially unforgettable reading The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea while driving through the Southwest.
5
In a Hotel
I love to read books set in the places I’m visiting, but it’s not always easy to do. I happened to have Ruta Sepety’s Out of the Easy on hand when I accompanied my husband on a quick business trip to New Orleans.
6
During Breakfast… or Lunch… or Dinner
I can often be found with a book open at the kitchen table, whatever meal it is. A warm blueberry muffin helped me through Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting (of Hill House).
7
At the Beach
I love to read at the beach! The sound of the waves is the perfect background for getting lost in a book. Especially a thriller like Scott Smith’s The Ruins.
8
By the Pool
When I can’t be at the beach, a pool will do! I have fond memories of reading The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess by the pool while on vacation with extended family.
9
By the Fire
When we were snowed in here in Texas this past February, I spent a lot of time by the fire reading. I read Bethany Mangle’s debut Prepped in one day.
10
On Vacation
One of the hardest decisions about vacation is what books to pack! And it was hard to pick a favorite book vacation photo, but I had so much fun reading and creating this shot of Wanderlost, a road trip book by Jen Malone, while we were in Yellowstone a few years ago.
Do we share any favorite places to read? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
The one place I can’t read is in the car. I get squeamish and it’s a struggle travelling long distance for me haha! I can’t wait to read by a fireplace though!
I hear that so often now that I’m blogging. I never knew being able to read in the car was such a rare thing. As long as I look up often, I do okay. I’m getting excited to read by the fire again, too. 🙂
The only reading I will do in a car, is audiobooks! I just can’t read in a car. I get motion sickness! But the beach, in bed and at the pool, are sure wins for me too!
Elza Reads
So many people are saying they can’t read in cars! I’ll be appreciating that ability more now. Ha!
I feel like an outlier. I don’t read in bed. It may have something to do with my 30 years of treatment for insomnia. I only sleep in bed, but I do have a comfy chair and if the weather is nice, I will go out on the patio. Otherwise, anywhere I can is where I read.
That makes perfect sense! I’m a night owl so I do read a lot in bed on my phone or kindle while my husband sleeps. The only time I’ve ever suffered from insomnia was while I was pregnant and it was not fun. I can understand wanting to keep the bed as a place for sleep only. 🙂
I am glad you are enjoying your vacation. It must feel great to get away, even if you had to change some of your activities. I love this post, Dedra. I love how you used your instagram photos to highlight your locations. I used to read in bed a lot, but not anymore, I fall asleep. Audiobooks are my go to in the car. I don’t think I will come up with ten, but will post mine shortly.
Thank you Carla!! I had a lot of fun working on this post. I think I’ve discovered that writing up several TTT posts at once actually forces me to be more creative. Ha! I’m excited to see what you came up with!
I keep saying I am going to do them ahead of time, but I never do.
It’s been a long time since I have. I did it this time so I wouldn’t have to do any blogging on vacation (unless I wanted to), but it reminded me how nice it is. 😉
I LOVE to read by a fire. Just perfect!
My list: https://fiftytwo.blog/2021/08/17/ttt-favorite-places-to-read/
I’m getting excited for fireside reading this fall and winter. 🙂
I love reading at the beach! Such a great relaxing setting. I can’t read physical books in the car, though. I get motion sick… any car reading for me has to be audiobooks.
My TTT: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2021/08/17/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-places-to-read/
Sooo many of you have said you can’t read in cars. That’s an ability I’m going to appreciate more. Ha!
You are lucky that you can read in cars! I have learned that I can do a little knitting in cars, if it’s a simple project that I don’t have to look at much. But other than that, I get to look out the windows.
Looking out the window is nice, too! Sometimes I have to force myself to put the book down and just appreciate my surroundings. 😉
Good point… though I would like to have the option. 😉
Haha! I hear you!
I love that you included what you’re reading in those places! It made it more fun to read.
Thanks Deanna! I was working on about four TTTs at once and it forced me to get creative. Haha!
I love when that happens!
Great list! This winter I’d love to go for a walk and end up in a country pub with a roaring fire so I can curl up beside it with a good book.
Oh that sounds heavenly! I wish I lived somewhere with pubs. 😉
I hope you are having a blast on vacation! We are going about 4.5 hours away to a beach this weekend. Well it’s a HUGE lake that has a beach. lol. I am so nervous and excited because it will be the first time in like two years. I can’t wait to all the reading in the car and on the beach! Love the addition of all your photos. <3
Oh I hope you have fun! It was so nice to get away and relax. And I managed to read a couple of books. Haha!
It was a lot of fun! It was Oliver’s first time on a beach setting and he was in heaven.
Awww! I remember my kiddos first trips to the beach. Such a special milestone. I know he had a blast!