General Books / Top Ten Tuesday

#TopTenTuesday: My Favourite Places to Read

Dini @ dinipandareads38 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: Favourite Places to Read.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read anywhere other than at home but even looking back at all the places I have read or used to read, I’m still not sure I can come up with a list of ten! It can get particularly tricky for me because most of the time I do need a quiet space to read, or at least a space that makes me feel calm and comfortable, otherwise I’ll end up focusing on everything but my book! Anyway, let’s see how far I can get 😊

1 My bed

Of course, my top pick would be my bed! My routine is to read before going to sleep (and it really feels weird when I don’t get in at least five minutes of book time) but I also love to laze in bed with a book on mornings where I don’t have to get up for work!

2 My reading chair

I have a small recliner chair next to my bookshelf in my bedroom and I alternate between the chair and my bed on most days!

3 Hotel rooms

I love staying in hotels and I love staying in hotel rooms in new places (I know I’m weird because most people don’t spend time in their hotel rooms but I love to say in mine LOL)! There’s just something about sinking into soft hotel beds, snuggling under a fluffy doona and dropping my head on those featherlight pillows that create such a perfectly inviting reading environment that I hate to leave! 😂

4 Bookstore aisles

This one doesn’t happen very often and it definitely hasn’t happened since I moved to Indonesia cos they wrap up their books in plastic so you can’t check it’s contents before buying 🙈 But when I lived abroad I loved going to bookstores and browsing shelves and sitting down and reading bits and pieces of books to see if they’d come home with me. I miss it!

5 Poolside

When on holiday, I love nothing better than breaking out a book next to the pool. Funnily enough, this is one of those rare times where I can put on any kind of music to listen to while reading! I also much prefer poolside reading than beachside reading cos I somehow always end up getting sand through half my book and half of me while I’m at it!

6 Airports/Planes

Reading isn’t my favourite thing to do in airports and planes (not to sound creepy but that goes to people watching—so fascinating!) but I do love zoning out to a good book while sitting in a cafe at the airport or reading on the plane itself as it makes the time fly by that much faster! The only thing I hate about it is when I end up reading a tearjerker and end up sobbing (or trying not to sob) in public 🙈

7 Cosy cafe corners

This is another odd moment because I generally get distracted when I read in public spaces but I can get lost in a book for hours if I can find a semi-quiet cosy corner of a cafe (especially if I have a coffee in hand, too)!

Not quite 10 places but almost!
What are some of your favourite reading spots?

38 thoughts on “#TopTenTuesday: My Favourite Places to Read”

  5. Yes to hotel rooms even though I haven’t been in one in SOOOO long. 😭 Or been in one all by myself at least (now it’s filled with noisy kids lol). I love recliners, but the one we have in the living room, my daughter has claimed lol…I should buy another for upstairs where my bookshelf is.

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  7. I like reading in hotels too, there’s just something about being away or on vacation and reading somewhere different. Plus hotels are usually cozy. 🙂

    I love a good recliner chair reading session too!

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  9. I agree with all your places even though I twisted my topic. But I loved going through your list and see the books you read. Where the Crawdads Sing was one of my favourite books last year.

    Thanks for visiting my TTT earlier.

    Unfortunately, I can’t comment on your Dinipandawho? post. Therefore, I do it here. My kids grew up the same way as you did, though not as large a mixture but they lived in Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands, later also in Belgium, Northern Ireland, Australia and (for my youngest son finally) in Germany. They went to international schools just as you did and are generally thought of as American because of their accent. My oldest son is the same age as you are, so I can well relate to your life.

    Have your read Third Culture Kids? If not, I highly recommend it.

    It was lovely to get to know you. HOpe we’ll “talk” more in future.

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    • I’m sorry for the late response but thank you so much for wonderful and thoughtful comment! It made me quite happy to read 😊 It’s always nice to ‘meet’ more people who have experienced that “Third Culture” lifestyle, and surprisingly, I haven’t met that many people in the book community who have had that same upbringing! It’s such a wonderful way to grow up and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

      Crawdads was one of my top reads in 2019—it’s such a beautifully written story. Hope you’re enjoying all your reads and have a lovely weekend 🙂

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      • Thanks, Dini, I mostly enjoy what I read and only finish those that I enjoy or if they are for the book club, though mostly I enjoy those, as well.
        Anyway, you are right, it’s always nice to meet people with a similar background. Even though I was an adult when I had that international period, I raised two third culture kdis (who are about your age).
        And don’t worry about answering late. We all have a life outside social media that is even more important. This is nice and lovely but not a substitute for going out and meeting people. A great addition.

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  12. Hotel rooms are an interesting choice! I’m a little germaphobic, so I always wonder if the person who used it before me was sick or something. But they do have some comfortable chairs for sure.

    And cafes! How I miss going to them and being able to read while sipping something delicious.

    Thanks for stopping by my post earlier.

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    • Oh no, I never thought of that before! 😂 I like to believe that they change the sheets and sanitise everything well before I check-in (even pre-pandemic times) but I guess maybe for some places it’s wishful thinking, haha! I really do miss going out just to read in a cafe, too. One day again! Thanks for stopping by, Lydia ❤️

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  17. Love that we both ended up using our Instagram pics along with our answers! And had some of the same answers. Ha! Great minds thinking alike again. ❤

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  19. I can relate with reading in hotels beds :)) There’s something really inviting to super comfortable hotel beds, I did so much reading in the evenings during business trips despite the fact that I was super tired after looong days.

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