I want you to think about your ideal reading experience. Think about the location. (Your bed? Favorite chair? The beach? Indoors or outdoors?). Think about the sounds. (Is there music playing? Happy children playing in the background? Utter silence?) Is there a snack or beverage nearby? Are you alone or with friends/family (presumably being quiet enough for you to read in peace)? What kind of lighting is there? Are you dressed in something ultra-comfy? What’s your position? Curled up? Stretched out?
Now … describe it so that we can all feel exactly how perfect it is … and why. – BTT

To start, it would be a big chair and there should be natural light if possible. Everything else depends on the season. I like reading indoors by a window, but outdoors is nice. I want tea near by if it’s colder, but water works otherwise. No food as I find that an activity on its own. No music and mostly silent. I do not mind friends and family there, but they must be generally quiet. If it’s winter, I have a wool lap blanket and am wearing comfy leggings or trousers and a sweater. If it’s summer, I am wearing a skirt or a dress. I am usually curled up, but occasionally stretched out. I like to put my feet up sometimes. I move around as I read.

I was on Houzz.com and saw this photo yesterday:

Not perfect, but almost. I like the idea of a library/reading corner in a living room. A fireplace is always necessary with a nice rug at the feet. I love that chair. I realize I really want big, comfy chairs with arms. I like the feeling of being engulfed by my seating arrangement.

Here’s another nice chair:

Right now, I read in my study corner with a big desk and a leather chair. Leather chairs are nice, but depend on the room and the season too of course. I don’t need the desk near by though. I do like taking notes on the laptop from things I read though.

How about you?

Have your reading habits changed since you were a child? (I mean, I’m assuming you have less time to read now, but …) Did you devour and absorb books when you were 10 and only just lightly read them now? Did you re-read frequently as a child but now only read new books? How about types of books? Do you find yourself still attracted to the kinds of books you read when you were a kid? – BTT

As with last week, I rarely reread books as a kid or had the desire to do so. It was always about the next book, but today, I keep a running tally of books I’d like to reread in the future. I’m still not a big rereader though.

While I may have less time to read now, reading was my only real hobby as a child other than TV and socializing which aren’t really hobbies to begin with. Nowadays, I have a lot more things that occupy my time, but I read faster than I was as a kid obviously. I read faster than I did five years ago I think, but my speed has more or less plateaued now.

I think the intensity is the same, but I love books more than I did then. I am still drawn to children’s books because there were many that I missed out on such as Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. As a child, I really liked children and YA fantasy and mythology. While I am less into mythology, I still read a lot of YA fantasy. I actually am not as interested in adult fantasy as much which I’m not quite sure of the reason. I’m only now slowly getting into it with Game of Thrones.

What book(s) do you find yourself going back to? Beloved children’s classics? Favorites from college? Something that touched you and just makes you long to visit?
(Because, doesn’t everybody have at least one book they would like to curl up with, even if they don’t make a habit of rereading books? Even if they maybe don’t even have the time to visit and just think back longingly?) – BTT

Definitely those books that I read as a child and even as a teenager really stayed with me. I’ve read both the Harry Potter and His Dark Materials series about 2-3 times. There are a few books from my adolescence that I’d like to reread one day such as some of Shakespeare’s plays, Anna Karenina, and other memorable books from that time in my life. I don’t think I’m ready to go back to them yet. I’ve already reread Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion as well.

The older I get, the more I feel like I want to reread more books. In general, I am not someone who makes a habit of rereading books. This is good because I only ever buy new books when they are cookbooks or they are books I know I will reread.