This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a non-bookish freebie, but nothing totally unbookish was coming to mind. Instead — prompted by my new reading nook —Â I thought of one of my favourite first lines: “I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.” (That’s from Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle.)
So, here’s a list of my reading spots over the years, some odder than others.
- The stairs. I did this at both my grandparents’ house and at home. At my grandparents’ house I’d often just sit on the second-to-top step and dangle my legs through, since the steps had gaps between them. At my parents’ house I tended to start on the top step and move down a step for each chapter read (and then back up, again, a chapter at a time); I don’t really remember why, but apparently it was fun?
- The shower. This one requires a bit more explanation, I guess. At some point, my grandparents had a small cupboard (maybe an airing cupboard?) converted into a very small shower room. I used to get in there and read, in part because I could lock my sister out, and in part just because I liked small spaces. I sat in the shower cubicle or on the postage-stamp of floor outside it, and I guess that felt like a den! I grew out of this eventually because I got long legs (though I never got very tall) and it stopped being comfy. Bah.
- By the front door. I used to like watching people come and go, and especially watching Mum get home from work, so I’d read sat by the front door, peering out through the distorted glass window every so often. I remember Dad bringing me snacks of apple and cheese there, and my teddies set up to look out of the window!
- In bed, in a “tent”. I had a high sleeper bed from when I was quite little, and one thing I used to do was drape my duvet over the top of the railings and tuck it under, creating a little tent. My parents used to oblige this sometimes by letting me have a sleeping bag as well, so I would “camp” in my own bed. I also had a torch, so I could read riiiight inside the “tent”.
- Under the high sleeper, with a blanket hung over the side. With a blanket hung over the side and the wall behind, and a desk built in on one end, it all became very cosy underneath the bed. It was a great place to read, since I had a sofa under there and a light — and also a good space to play in and around. The bed part was often the deck of a ship, and the part below the cabin, and I both a fierce pirate captain (on top) and a helpless captive with nothing to do but read (when in the “cabin”). Even once I was older I kept this up for cosiness’ sake, with slightly less imagination.
- Sat on a wall outside the childminder’s house. Sometimes it was the only way to get some peace and quiet to read, with her kids running riot alongside my sister (I was a bit older). I have no idea how I found that comfy, but I know I stayed out there reading for hours sometimes. I think the childminder used to worry she’d get in trouble with Mum, but I’m pretty sure Mum just knew what I was like and would ignore it…
- With my back against a radiator. I am not very good at staying warm, so in winter I can often be found curled up to a radiator. Dad put guards on all the radiators at home, but when I lived with my grandmother for a while after finishing my second degree, I used to go into the spare room to sit against the radiator there. I also did that in my last flat…
- On the floor, with rabbits snuffling around me. This was mostly in our flat in Belgium, where the bunnies roamed freely because the floor was tiled rather than carpeted and there was less for them to nibble. Sometimes I hang out with the bunnies and read now, but less so, because Biscuit is fiendishly jealous of anything I’m paying more attention to than I am to her. She’s bitten my books in the past. Still, the funniest story is when I used to read with a reading light, because we had a studio flat and my wife needed to sleep, but I couldn’t. One night, Hulk snatched my reading light and hopped off with it, the light bobbing along with her… I woke my wife up laughing about it.
- On the floor, leaning against a hedgehog. An inflatable hedgehog from Ikea, I hasten to add. They’re no longer sold, but when I saw one in their showrooms a while ago, my dad made it his mission to obtain not one but many. They’re hard to find now — it took me ages to find a page with a picture — for which you can probably thank my dad, as I think he has “adopted” several for future need. Anyway, my personal hedgehog companions Norman and Hogglestock are now roaming the new house, so I’m sure I’ll be returning to my hedgehog-cuddling reading spot soon enough.
- Below the bed, in a recliner. At the new place, I have a high sleeper once more to act as a spare bed for when I have trouble sleeping and need to leave the main bedroom and go to bed separately. It helps save space, which I have filled with a recliner. It’s very comfy! And I might just drape blankets over the side again, or even ask my wife to sew some kind of curtains for it…
Probably I’ve done other weird things when reading, since I do have a love for small spaces and cosy spots — I have sized up one of our cupboards at the new place and considered taking a pillow and blanket in there to read for a while (with my ereader, since there’s no light). I’m not promising I’m never gonna do it, though I’ll have to do so before we put anything away in there if I’m going to: I don’t think the fans, boxes, etc, will be super comfortable company.
What about you? Any reading nooks or stories about reading in weird places?
I wonder which spot was my favorite reading spot. As a child, I wasn’t allowed to sit on my bed (!), my bedroom was shared with my sister, and it was too noisy in the rest of the house…if only I had had a reading place as a child.
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz recently posted…Good Things!
My family tended to make space for me to read quietly, I guess I was always an obvious introvert. My nan (Dad’s mum) used to let me go and sit in the front room on my own, and would put the gas fire on for me if it was cold… then after a while the dog would come to check on me, and usually end up staying with me to nap and keep a doggy eye on me, hahaha.
I used to love nooks and cosy spots as a child to curl up in. They feel safe!
My TTT theme is Natural World
https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2025/08/26/%f0%9f%93%9atoptentuesday-freebie-natural-world-tuesdaybookblog-booktwitter-booktwt/
I’m still giving very serious thought to that cupboard next time I feel overwhelmed, ahaha.
Aww, I’d love to read while a few pet rabbits snuffled around me.
When I was a kid, I’d go hide underneath my grandmother’s piano to read. (Our extended family was kind of big, so this way I knew I’d have a little personal space. 🙂 )
Lydia recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Things I Love About Museums
Bunnies are very variable on how much they want to hang out — Breakfast used to just outright cuddle with me, and Hulk’s happy to chill next to me, but Biscuit, oof, you don’t get much reading done. XD
Small family here, but sounds like something I’d have done!
These places are so fun! I don’t think I have any interesting nooks lol
I think I read everywhere I could conceivably fit myself and a book, ahaha.
Now I wish I had one of those hedgehogs!
They are very fun! They make it a bit comfier to sit/lie on the floor, and I love how cute they are.
This is the oddest bunch of reading places I’ve ever heard, lol. I especially love that you were an avid reader as a child and found lots of nooks and crannies to read it. My favorite is the stairs and moving a step for each chapter I’m a bed reader myself and don’t feel comfortable anywhere else.
Reading to the beat of my own drum, ahaha. I think half of it was being an introvert, but not wanting to be far away from everyone.
I think having worked in film in a hurry-up-and-wait job means I’d be cheating for weirdness and discomfort levels. I’ve read on curbs, clean garbage bags in the middle of an empty parking lot, inside the hatchback of my car, at the top of ladders, in condemned buildings, in hedgerows, leaned against an entrance gate, the back of semi-trailer with my feet swinging down… Funnily enough, I never got in trouble for being distracted on the job when I pulled out a book and settled in, even on the strictest sets, which was a nice change of pace!
To be fair, all of my list are regular reading spots that I returned to because they suited me, not just for convenience/necessity — I’m sure I’ve read in some even weirder spots than my list above when pushed to it, ahaha. 😀
What a great choice for this week. I love reading in my recliner now, but when I was younger I read a lot outside on a lounge chair, weather permitting and on the floor when I was a kid. I never had bunnies hopping around though.
I’ve never been a huge fan of reading outside, somehow — I think I’m too scared of bugs! Though I do remember a spot where I used to read in summer as a kid, now you mention it — it was kind of an alcove along the side of the pavement that I think was meant for a tree to be planted, since most of the others had trees, but it was just grassy. It was a bit shielded so other kids didn’t usually see me there, when I was more in the mood for a book!
My possibly strangest one is behind/under the Christmas tree in my grandparent’s house. I don’t know why I took such a shine to that spot, but I used to shimmy in and read for hours. I vividly remember reading The Neverending Story under there 🙂
calypte recently posted…Spiderlight – Adrian Tchaikovsky
That sounds like a reading nook after my own heart!
I also used to read on the stairs when I was a kid! I didn’t move up and down steps per chapter, though, just plunked down in the middle of the staircase to read. I don’t do it anymore, partly because my stairs aren’t carpeted in this house, and partly because I have comfier sofas and armchairs to choose from.
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday ~ Video Games!
Interesting, good to know I wasn’t alone, ahaha.
This is a great list. I like the hedgehog, I have a hedgehog doorstop in my bedroom (otherwise the a/c makes the door close). I can’t think of any odd spots I have read…just the normal odd spots.
Cindy’s Book Corner recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday-Bookish confessions
Hedgehogs are a favourite animal of mine; real ones visit my parents’ garden, so I’ve even rescued wild ones in the past that seemed to be in distress in their garden (…and handed them over to an expert, to make sure they got good care).
You going up and down the steps for every chapter read is just perfect! My favorite spot other than in my bedroom, used to be under the dining table especially when there was a tablecloth acting as my tent. It was still quite hidden even without the tablecloth because the chairs did a great job hiding me from view as well. I dragged all the pillows and blankets under there and would read for hours until it was a meal time and I had to clear out!
Haze @ The Book Haze recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | The Three MeowsCateers
I actually did it again recently for old times’ sake, at my grandparents’ house! It’s amazing how quickly the book goes by when doing that somehow…
I used to play under the dining table, for sure, but I don’t think I read under there. On the other hand, it might be a question of where didn’t I read at some point or other.
This list makes me smile. I wasn’t a huge reader as a child so I don’t remember having any special spots to read as a child. Now I read whenever I can but I always have to read at least a few pages of something every night in bed before I turn out the lights.
Anne@HeadFullofBooks recently posted…TTT: Favorite National Park Memories
Oddly enough, I’m not usually much for reading in bed! I did when in university (so my bed was the most comfy place), but generally I’m more comfy sat up.
These days I tend to either read lying in bed or sitting at my desks. So boring compared to all your different locations.
Marg @ The Intrepid Reader recently posted…Blog Tour: So This is Christmas by Helen Rolfe
I do read in normal places like at my desk too, I promise… XD
I’m so boring! I mostly read in bed before I go to sleep.
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…The Longest Books On My TBR (Convince Me To Read Them)
I don’t read much in bed, somehow! Though it depends; I used to at the old flat when I couldn’t sleep, for example…
You found such creative spots to read in! I love it.
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Haha, I probably read everywhere in my parents’ house at some point or another, knowing how I am. 😀
What what? Reading with bunnies??? I would love that!! I love rabbits and dream of having one. Lol.
Our bunnies have wildly varied about how patient they are with that, ahaha. When Breakfast was alive he’d curl up with me and stay snuggled up for ages, but Biscuit gets way too jealous of the book, and Eclair’s just not that interested in me most of the time. Hulk will sit next to me and let me pet her, though.