Reader Mailbag: Do You Read Outside?
In the July newsletter I asked readers if they read outside, or if they only read at home. And if so – where? Here are the responses:
Debbie: Well, if reading on my screen porch counts as “outside” then YES. I’m sun sensitive…damned meds…and REALLY, REALLY hate bugs. So the screen porch it is. Comfy chair, check. Ottoman, check. Glass of wine, check…or iced tea if it’s within that narrow window that’s too early for wine. That’s as outside as this lady gets.
Donald I love to read on my back yard under the gazebo and still hear the birds all around.
B: Yes. I love to read outside. My favourite spot is on my back deck underneath the canopy, sitting in our comfy gravity chair. We have lots of trees and large bushes so it almost feels like sitting in a forest. And, anytime I am around water, where there’s shade and a comfy seat, I’m in for a read.
Jackie: I do read outside sitting on my patio under an umbrella. Mostly in the Spring and Early Fall when we have nice weather.
Phil: Hi Graeme and crew. To answer your Q, yes I love to read outside. Especially early in the morning when the birds are chirping. They don’t bother my concentration.
Judy: Oh, my, YES! It’s so inspiring to read with the beauties of nature surrounding you.
I read everywhere! Favorite places outside are in the swing on my porch in the cool of evening after dinner is done, or in a park, or in the car while waiting for someone, or at the beach definitely. When I was an older child, my favorite reading spot was in the park at the top of the double slide hidden by the overhanging leaves of a large oak tree. As children came by wanting to slide, I told them they were too small for the double slide and should go to the smaller single slide – much safer. I loved to read up there.
Also, I now listen to audio books synced to my in-canal hearing aids (so cool) as I do housework, gardening, cooking, hobbies, shopping, driving, exercising at gym, or just walking – It’s great as I can enjoy many more books this way. So many books; so little time. Some books are better in audio form, others not. Headphones or Bluetooth tune out extraneous noises when listening outside.
Lisa: In answer to your question, I do read outside quite frequently. I live outside the town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado and am fortunate to have quite a bit of peace and quiet out here at the house. I either read on one of my porches or just inside the open end of our garage. All afford me a spot with little or no interruption, needed shade and a clear view of the mountains, gardens and the critters that visit our yard. I can only do this for a few months a year as we get a lot of snow and extreme cold weather. So it is a lovely option for me during our short Spring, Summer and Fall.
Mark: Yes, I read outside as often as the weather permits, which is not at all from November to April or May. But during the summer, often even when the days are hot and humid here in the American midwest, the evenings are very long and very pleasant. I sit out on the deck overlooking the long pond/lake that runs along the row of condos, listen to the fountains and the birds, and read. For those hours, life is perfect.
htk: Every summer I read at the beach. It’s very peaceful with the waves flowing in the background. My daughter is a teacher in Maryland and she comes back to NJ for the summer to go to the beach with me. She also loves to read on the beach so we are very compatible that way.
Penny: Yes I do read outside occasionally. Usually on my side deck so my dog can lay in the shade and look over his “kingdom”. It is quiet out there and I easily loose track of time! Of course I can do that inside as well!!!
Chris: My favorite place to read outside hasn’t changed: I love to sit with a book on our front porch, in the early fall when the weather is mild, dry and bug-free! The weather here in Central Texas is usually too muggy, hot and full of insects to enjoy sitting outside for very long, so the few times it’s nice makes it very special. I can read without interruptions as the family rarely uses the front porch. The first day I get to read on the porch is when I know fall has arrived.
Anna: I missed the question about “do you read series books” That is really all I do. My current set are Brad Thor’s books about Scot Horvath. I am on #18. I immediately download the next one when I finish one. I think there are now 28 or 29 in the series so I’m getting there. It is not my normal reading, but I love this series.
If I read outside, it is on my patio.
Janis: I don’t read outside. Reading for me takes place snuggled in bed propped on pillows. My bedroom is my safe place: bed, cats and books. I have lots of aches and pains that melt away as I read.
Joyce: I do enjoy reading outside and relish those ‘perfect’ weather days in the Spring and Fall in SC. My spot of choice is in my glider on my screened porch, facing the wooded area out back. It is very serene and peaceful, with only the birds and squirrels to keep me company. I can lose track of time very easily, especially when in the midst of a great book!
Doris: Thanks for the newsletter, always look forward to it!!
I’m also an obsessed audiobook listener, with headphones
never far from my ears. At the moment binging the DCI Dailey series by Denzil Meyrick, luckily all available from the library. The narrator David Monteath is
excellent. You might enjoy it, it is set on the west coast of Scotland.
Anyway, outside, inside, cleaning the house, in bed etc I am always listening to, mostly when walking my Jack Russell Holly 😊
Thanks for all your hard work
Renni: I read everywhere, I bring my kindle with me whenever I go out,
waiting for an appointment is then never an issue, time
always goes by quickly. I listen to
a different book when I’m in my car, maybe something like The
Building of the Panama Canal – a fascinating book, but I wouldn’t
have enjoyed actually reading it as much as listening to it mainly
because it had so many huge numbers and a lot of technical information.
Listening to it was great. I read before I go to sleep, I read at breakfast.
I read anyplace and all the time, anyplace I am is my favorite place to
read.
I can’t imagine not being able to read ~
We all like to settle down and read in my house ~
Tom: Hello Graeme. I usually read outside on the patio. If I am going to be away for a few days or longer, I always take a few books to read. Strange, but being on vacation and reading outside always seemed to go hand in hand. The experience is somehow enhanced, but I don’t really know why.
Tracey: Reading outside? There is nowhere better! Fresh air, sunshine, birds and squirrels, books, all my favorite things. I live in Connecticut, so it’s usually either too cold or too humid, but I get out onto my deck whenever I can to just sit quietly and enjoy a good book, with just the sound of birds chirping. Or a magazine, or a book related newsletter 😉. I have a great view also, nothing but trees.
Linda: In the summer we used to vacation in Okoboji, Iowa. There is nothing more relaxing than sitting on the beach chairs listening to the waves ripple to the shore and reading a beach read. Every summer I would bundle up a few books to read during the vacation. Then when I got home I would sit on our swing with an animal beside me and read my books. Sunshine and summer breezes make a book better.
Dawna: I read outside, on my rear deck, in my comfy glider, and pretend I’m at a beach… The best thing though…no sand between my toes!
Mike: As far as reading outside, for me it’s like a mini-vacation and it started as a child with those delicious mid-western Ohio summer days when school was out, in a hammock, under a tree with a book – often a Hardy Boys mystery. Later in life, now living in Florida, my favorite outside place has become the beach, in my beach chair, under the beach umbrella, often (usually) with a favorite rum cocktail, savoring books like Grace Jones’ biography and next on my shelf: Love you Madly, Holly Woodlawn: A Walk on the Wild Side With Andy Warhol’s Most Fabulous Superstar by Jeff Copeland. Can’t wait!
Kelly I love reading on the beach! There’s something about sitting there with a breeze, it nice and warm and listening to the ocean while reading is just calming.
AJ: I love to read outside on my deck on a sunny day. My deck faces east, so as the sun moves, so do I and I finally end up on the steps facing west to get the end of the sun.
John:
One of my absolute favorite places to read is sitting on one of my two favorite beaches that we always visit very summer, no matter where else we visit that year!
My wife and I have our beach equipment down to a science. I’ve got a couple of my absolutely reliable authors in old-school hardback format in my bag, she has her headphones fully charged, and once we settle down in the right spot, we companionably ignore each other for a couple hours. Pure Bliss!
Here’s wishing every one of my fellow Order of Books fans can spend hours in their favorite spots!
Vicki: Of course I read outside! I can remember being in middle school sitting up in the huge oak tree across the street reading. I wasn’t quite hidden, but you had to look.
Over the years I’ve read in parked cars with open windows, parks, by swimming pools, in hot tubs balloon festivals, and at campgrounds. These days I go out to the patio, pull the cover off the patio furniture (it rains a lot here), and settle in. When the sun gets too hot or my water glass is empty, I cover the furniture and head back inside. A couple weeks ago I was looking for my phone at bedtime. I’d left it on the patio table when I covered it up.
Fresh air without running? Enjoying a book? Yes, please.
Christine: Once in a while I read outside, and the favorite spot is out back in our Adirondack chairs. Although your hot tub spot sounds sooooo much better!!
Phoenix: DO I read outside? Well, it depends on what you mean by “outside.” If you mean “outside in the sunshine,” then not so much. But if you mean “outside my home,” then yes, for sure. I always take a book with me because one never knows when one will have to wait for something. Doctor’s offices, definitely. And I pretty much MUST have a book to read when I go to a restaurant. I live alone, so I eat out probably more than I should, but I’m never lonely because I always have a book with me. I’m also a writer, so I get a lot of my work done in restaurants as well.
Susan: My favourite place to read outside is on my patio , warm sunny day sat in the shade with a cup of tea and my book , no better place to be . Quiet and peaceful just sat enjoying a few hours of reading
Amy: I LOVE reading outside, as long as it’s not blazing hot and I have some shade. My favourite spots are on my back patio early in the morning (with coffee, of course), and in the garden of my local library, which for some reason, no one ever uses! There is the BEST ice cream shop right across the street, so I get a cup of my favorite Coconut Almond Chip, and read away under the flowering trees!
I was just reading the answers to last month’s question, and it reminded me of 20+ years ago when I worked. I had a very long commute of an hour or more (depending on Southern California traffic), so I started listening to Books on Tape. One day I was quite late for a meeting because I was listening to “The Hunt for Red October”. I pulled into the parking garage at a particularly suspenseful point, and stayed in the garage for 25 minutes listening. Meeting be damned!
Ha I know that feeling – I love when a book just takes over your life like that 🙂