1Q84 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Slightly off topic, but I'm curious as to where everyone does their reading. I've always had trouble finding a comfortable place that I can sit down and read for a while (strange as that seems). I absolutely can't read in bed. I've been reduced mostly to reading at my kitchen table but that chair is a bit uncomfortable. I guess reading in my office is usually the best bet. But I need somewhere at home! Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhefflol Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Slightly off topic, but I'm curious as to where everyone does their reading. I've always had trouble finding a comfortable place that I can sit down and read for a while (strange as that seems). I absolutely can't read in bed. I've been reduced mostly to reading at my kitchen table but that chair is a bit uncomfortable. I guess reading in my office is usually the best bet. But I need somewhere at home! Any suggestions? I read laying down, which usually results in a nap unfortunately. If I'm reading scholarship, I have to be in the library or a coffee shop so I don't fall asleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Yep, like Jhefflol I read lying down most of the time as well. Sometimes I'll read on the couch or in my armchair, but about 80% of the time, I read lying down in bed, with an extra-fine Pilot G-2 in hand for marginalia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man in the black hat. Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Some slight shameless self promotion considering I work for the publisher (and this is my first post after a long time of lurking... I'm the SO of a PhD candidate and I've been on here trying to better understand her... insanity? motivation? obsession? all of the above?) and the author is the root of my handle/avatar, but Randall Munroe's (of xkcd fame) "What If?" is a very fun read. It's definitely more on the science and tech side (he's a former NASA employee), but he hits on a variety of topics. Few topical excerpts below from the online strip for anyone not familiar and who might need a laugh during admissions season Going forward... please don't mind the finance guy and his spelling/grammar errors here in the humanities world, although I'm somewhat used to it from home by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smg Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I read lying down either in bed or in the bath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rising_star Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I do a lot of my reading in a papasan chair. Before I had it, I read a lot in an armchair. I make sure to have at least one comfortable reading chair in my house at all times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel_kaye13 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Oo! I've been between at least 5-10 different books for AGES now, but I just started the 11th (and seem to be sticking with it ;-) ), and thus feel justified in finally answering this question: I've just started working through some of the works of C.S. Lewis, starting with an old favorite, The Great Divorce, and treading through a couple others. I love remembering why I love this man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I read laying down, which usually results in a nap unfortunately. If I'm reading scholarship, I have to be in the library or a coffee shop so I don't fall asleep. Yep, like Jhefflol I read lying down most of the time as well. Sometimes I'll read on the couch or in my armchair, but about 80% of the time, I read lying down in bed, with an extra-fine Pilot G-2 in hand for marginalia. I read lying down either in bed or in the bath. Very jealous of you bed readers! I'd be 100% asleep after one sentence. Can't imagine reading in the bath. I'd be terrified of dropping everything. I do a lot of my reading in a papasan chair. Before I had it, I read a lot in an armchair. I make sure to have at least one comfortable reading chair in my house at all times. Okay this papasan thing seems like just what I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurayamino Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Okay this papasan thing seems like just what I need. I can second the papasan. Definitely my favorite place to curl up with a good book. Edited January 21, 2015 by kurayamino Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowMoreSerious Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I'm reading _The Marrow of Tradition_ by Charles Chesnutt, and Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. As for where I read: I read mostly on an Ikea Poang chair under my full spectrum lamp, or at a desk with good light. I don't find location to be that big a deal for reading. I find proper lighting, however, to be a very big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfLorax Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I really enjoyed This Is Where I Leave You, though you may not want to read about family drama while breastfeeding. Thanks for the suggestion! I can handle family drama as long as there are no super dark twists (child abuse, brutal rape scenes, etc). This Is Where I Leave You is now on my list! The Flappers Series is by far my favorite YA trash series I have read to date. It's about some debs in the 1920s who get involved with speakeasies, the mob, interracial marriages, etc...the usual. And it's relatively feminist considering the content. I'll look through my bookshelf when I'm fully awake to see if I can spot anything else. YA lit is my favorite for pleasure reading! SOUNDS AMAZING. From your description of the Flapper Series, you'd also love Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. The first two series are on Netflix. The fashion and feminism are both TO DIE FOR. jhefflol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycidas Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) I just started Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. While driving one day I heard a report on my local public radio station about Betty Smith’s impact on World War II soldiers; evidently thousands of copies of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn were shipped overseas and read by the troops there. Afterwards, many wrote to Smith crediting her for saving their lives and pulling them out of “shell shock.” Add to that the fact that my mother has been pressuring me to read this book since I was young, and I had to pick up a copy. 100 pages in, it reads like classic mid-20th century urban picaresque (think The Adventures of Augie March, but centering on a young girl, which allows Smith to do lots of interesting, genre-defying things). I think the best word for it is invigorating (although no matter how much glowing language is used to describe a dinner of cow tongue and sheep stomach marinated in bone marrow, I can’t quite get my 21st-century Midwestern taste buds to salivate). Edited January 21, 2015 by Lycidas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Getting a head start on reading Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio for a class. So far, so good! I enjoy character sketches at the best of times (hence my love of E. A. Robinson...), so it's right up my alley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurayamino Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I've never grown out of my Stephen King obsession from when I was younger...so I'm finishing up Revival. It's a very easy read and engrossing enough to keep me invested while flying across the country. When that's done I'm probably going to read Gilead by Marilynne Robinson which was highly recommended and given to me as a gift, but I know nothing about it except whats on the back cover. I'm also working on Under the Cope of Heaven by Patricia Bonomi for a history class. It's very informative and interesting, but a little dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I've never grown out of my Stephen King obsession from when I was younger...so I'm finishing up Revival. It's a very easy read and engrossing enough to keep me invested while flying across the country. Honestly, Stephen King was probably the first "adult author" I ever got into. I found my older sister's copy of Skeleton Crew when I was nine or ten, and was hooked. Maybe it's nostalgia speaking, but I think he gets a bad rep sometimes. Despite being a popular "horror" author, he's a very engaging writer. I haven't read anything he's written in the past twenty years, but when I first read some Flannery O'Connor some time ago, I couldn't help but notice a remarkable similarity in styles. I probably just offended 25,000 members of the literati by comparing King to O'Connor (don't worry, literati...O'Connor is better!), but that's my take and I'm sticking to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fancypants09 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I'm still on page 70-something of The Goldfinch which I started a few weeks back. I don't know why but I'm having troubles focusing on reading fiction---I just want to delve into some theory/criticism once I get back to my apartment. That, and/or I'm just not finding The Goldfinch to be the amazing work that it's been praised to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycidas Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I'm still on page 70-something of The Goldfinch which I started a few weeks back. I don't know why but I'm having troubles focusing on reading fiction---I just want to delve into some theory/criticism once I get back to my apartment. That, and/or I'm just not finding The Goldfinch to be the amazing work that it's been praised to be. I wish I had your problem! I'm dealing with the opposite; after all the theory/crit reading I did in preparing my applications, I've been left exhausted and just wanting to curl up with some middlebrow fiction. I’d be lying if I said I didn't envy your desire to spend more of your free time reading theory and criticism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurayamino Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Honestly, Stephen King was probably the first "adult author" I ever got into. I found my older sister's copy of Skeleton Crew when I was nine or ten, and was hooked. Maybe it's nostalgia speaking, but I think he gets a bad rep sometimes. Despite being a popular "horror" author, he's a very engaging writer. I haven't read anything he's written in the past twenty years, but when I first read some Flannery O'Connor some time ago, I couldn't help but notice a remarkable similarity in styles. I probably just offended 25,000 members of the literati by comparing King to O'Connor (don't worry, literati...O'Connor is better!), but that's my take and I'm sticking to it! Yes! It was the same for me as a kid. Same book even, although the copy belonged to the parents of the kid I was babysitting. I don't mind admitting I like Stephen King because he is engaging. I don't think I've read many authors who are on par with how quickly he can develop a character, but then again, I'm not a modernist. Perhaps I've been missing something. I can see what you mean about a similarity between King and O'Connor and perhaps that's why O'Connor appeals to me so much. Dr. Old Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fancypants09 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I wish I had your problem! I'm dealing with the opposite; after all the theory/crit reading I did in preparing my applications, I've been left exhausted and just wanting to curl up with some middlebrow fiction. I’d be lying if I said I didn't envy your desire to spend more of your free time reading theory and criticism. I've had to answer quite a few questions from family and friends over the holidays on why I want to pursue a PhD at this point and what my intended research is about, which got me thinking on a couple additional questions I want to look into by getting back at some theoretical reading. I think my desire for theory also has to do with the fact that I'm not in school at the moment---I don't have reading assignments for class, etc. I do wish I could get into The Goldfinch though. I wanted to read it so badly when it first came out but I was too busy reading/preparing for my applications, and now that I have time I can't get myself to get into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fancypants09 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Very jealous of you bed readers! I'd be 100% asleep after one sentence. Can't imagine reading in the bath. I'd be terrified of dropping everything. Okay this papasan thing seems like just what I need. When I'm at my place I read on my couch lying down. It's perfect---super comfortable and I read until I fall asleep, which is relaxing. I can't quite read in bed. At my parents' place I have a Poang-like chair in my bedroom so I'll read on that. But I do miss my couch and will be taking it with me wherever I end up in the fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1racyjacks Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 The collection The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction ed. Gordon Van Gelder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Honestly, Stephen King was probably the first "adult author" I ever got into. I found my older sister's copy of Skeleton Crew when I was nine or ten, and was hooked. Maybe it's nostalgia speaking, but I think he gets a bad rep sometimes. Despite being a popular "horror" author, he's a very engaging writer. I haven't read anything he's written in the past twenty years, but when I first read some Flannery O'Connor some time ago, I couldn't help but notice a remarkable similarity in styles. Yes! It was the same for me as a kid. Same book even, although the copy belonged to the parents of the kid I was babysitting. I don't mind admitting I like Stephen King because he is engaging. I don't think I've read many authors who are on par with how quickly he can develop a character, but then again, I'm not a modernist. Perhaps I've been missing something. King fans unite! I'm not at all ashamed that he was the first "adult" author that really got me into reading. IT really changed my childhood... (I mean, reading a horror meditation on childhood during one's childhood has weird effects). I think Running Man and Misery were the next ones I read... good times. I also haven't read any of his work past Everything's Eventual but I heard Doctor Sleep was actually not half bad as a sequel to The Shining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirbs Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 King fans unite! I'm not at all ashamed that he was the first "adult" author that really got me into reading. IT really changed my childhood... (I mean, reading a horror meditation on childhood during one's childhood has weird effects). I think Running Man and Misery were the next ones I read... good times. I also haven't read any of his work past Everything's Eventual but I heard Doctor Sleep was actually not half bad as a sequel to The Shining. So glad I've found other people who aren't ashamed to say they enjoy King. I really hope what you heard about Doctor Sleep is true! My parents bought it for me for Christmas because their vision of me studying literature is me lying around reading popular novels (at least they're trying). The Stand got me interested, The Shining got me hooked. Right now I'm reading a collection of short stories called Oblivion by David Foster Wallace. The boyfriend is a huge Wallace fan so I'm acquainting myself with his work, but I didn't have the courage to go straight for Infinite Jest. I'm interested to hear others' opinions on the novel... I either hear that it's a work of genius totally worth the time it takes to labor through it OR that it's completely inaccessible. Thoughts? 1Q84 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echo449 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Infinite Jest is v accessible--it can be a pain to read at times, and is indeed very long, but it isn't any more difficult than most contemporary novels. Wallace, at least in that book, is not attempting anything like the big modernist or postmodernist texts that the book is frequently pared with--he's too much of a populist at heart. The problem with Infinite Jest is mostly its bulk--reading it is a commitment not to read anything else for a little while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erosanddust Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I've been spending a lot of time with good ol' William Blake lately. Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion and Marriage of Heaven and Hell, in particular. ...Although on days when admissions stresses are particularly high, I'll often disappear into A Song of Ice and Fire for several hours. I'm currently halfway through A Feast for Crows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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