When do you read?

[Eos]

This is related to my goal-setting thread and also related to figuring out my homeschool retirement plan. 

I generally read at night in bed, but either I get way too invested and stay up too late (I wake every morning between 4 and 5, so late nights are bad for me) or else I read an Agatha Christie to turn my brain off and go to sleep.  I like reading in the day but I feel guilty and lazy, like there is so much else I could be doing that reading is wasting time.  I would like to not feel this way, and so I'm exploring a goal of reading during the day. 

I look at the internet very early with coffee, but could imagine that could be a reading time instead.

When do you read?

[Harriet Vane]

I have the same night-time reading issue. I make a point of reading only gentle and often familiar things at bedtime. For example, right now I'm re-reading the Little House series. If I read something new to me, it's never a mystery and never anything suspenseful. 

During the day I read when I wake up because I just cannot get immediately out of bed. That is too much to ask of me. 😁After 15-30 minutes I am up. I read a bit while I eat, but that's not tons because usually dh joins me for lunch. I might read with a cup of tea later--that's hit or miss. 

If I feel guilty, I just remind myself that being well-read is all part of warding off dementia. It's a sacrifice, but needs must. 😉

[SKL]

TMI warning!  I keep books in the bathroom for leisure reading.  😛  I never thought I'd do that, until 3 years into being a mom and realizing I hadn't read a single grown-up book in all that time, because "me time"????

If it's news or work-related reading, I do it on my laptop.

I used to enjoy audiobooks in the car with my kids, but now I don't drive enough for that to make sense.

And I try to read on planes etc., if I don't have urgent work.

I have a tailbone problem that makes it unpleasant to sit and read, and I can't find a comfortable position to read in bed either.  Maybe someday, if I find any "leisure time," I'll figure out a comfy setup outside of the bathroom.  😛

ETA:  before kids / before tailbone problem, I used to spend about an hour every morning sitting in my "moon chair" in front of my bedroom window.  The sun would come in to illuminate the book, and I'd be sipping coffee and listening to soft "world music" or classics.  Ah, the good old days!

Edited October 8, 2023 by SKL

[mmasc]

I go to bed and read for about 30-45 minutes every night. It not only gives me reading time, which I enjoy, but makes me sleepy so I can drift off to sleep easily. I honestly don’t think I could go to sleep now without reading first. I choose very cozy, boring-ish mysteries so they never make me want to stay up and keep reading. That would never work for me bc I’d read all night if I was really into a suspenseful book!

[Katy]

I sometimes read in the car waiting to pick up a kid. And I often read in bed. But I’ve switched more than 80% of my reading to audiobooks because I can not only double-task, I’m more motivated to clean because it’s so tied to the habit. 

[Storygirl]

I have read every night before bed for my entire life. But now I go to bed too late and don't get much read before I need to sleep. I also read when I'm eating alone (breakfast and usually lunch).

But I get most of my reading done via audiobooks, while I do other tasks -- cleaning, laundry, driving, walking the dog, exercising, cooking. Basically all through the day, on days that I'm not at work.  I started this about two years ago and found that I increased the amount that I am reading exponentially. I listen at 2x the speed, usually, so I can zip through audiobooks a lot faster than I can read a traditional book. I get my audiobooks from the library, using the Libby app.

 

[Kidlit]

I read at night in bed, sometimes at breakfast, and sometimes at lunch at work (I am a librarian ).  I almost always have an audiobook going, too, and I spend much more time listening than actually reading myself.  I listen while I'm getting ready, doing chores, walking, and driving. 

[marbel]

Another bedtime reader here, though that is for easy fiction only as I get sleepy fast most nights. I also make heavy use of audiobooks when doing chores, driving, and walking. Now that I am retired from  homeschooling and work, I read often in the afternoon, but never as long as I'd like. That's when I read "hard" books - that's relative of course, but for example, I'm reading Moby Dick and that is definitely not bedtime reading for me! 

[Ottakee]

I read 15-30 minutes a night before bed.  I try to limit that as 5:45 comes early and I need my sleep.  That is reading on my kindle time.

I always have an audio book as well.  I use Libby from the library.  I listen while i drive, walk, occ. at the gym, around the house, etc.  I have much more time to “read” when I can listen and multi task

[HS Mom in NC]

I'm retired and I do what I want when I want most of the time. I usually read 3-4 books a month. I'm in 2 different monthly book clubs that meet outside my house, so 2 books a month have deadlines and I take notes because my brain is menopausal. I have 1 going with my husband and 1 for myself to read when I wake up at night and can't get back to sleep.

Morning: After waking I do Bible study+ devotional reading for about an hour.

Siesta: I read for around an hourish and nap for an hourish.

Evening: Audio book with my husband for about an hour to an hour and a half after dinner instead of TV (I do my hand sewing while listening) and anytime we're on a road trip, which is a few times a year.

Bedtime: Usually about an hour, sometimes two depending on various factors. When I wake in the night (very very frequently) and take a while to get back to sleep.

I don't listen to audiobooks when I'm working/cleaning/shopping/running errands because I listen to podcasts then.

[busymama7]

Mostly at night but also while waiting for kids a lot.  Like they are in lessons and I'm in the car.  Gives me 30-45 mins.  I don't generally read during the day unless I need to rest/lie down. And I don't feel guilty about that but I have a chronic illness so it's just life.   I DO listen to audiobooks a lot during the day while doing menial work like dishes/laundry and while driving by myself. I have no qualms about audiobooks "counting". It's still reading to me. 

ETA: and I bring a book everywhere so read while waiting say at the Dr office.  Sure sometimes I dink around on my phone but I try to not make that a habit and I want my kids to be in the habit of using that for reading time too so we all grab a book or Kindle before we leave.  I don't like reading on my phone but I will occasionally have a book on there if I forget one.  

ETA2: I have had a goal for the last 4-5 years of 50 books a year and I generally make it or come very close. I am currently at 30 so might not make it this year.  This only includes books I read or listen to, not ones I read to my kids.  

Edited October 8, 2023 by busymama7

[bookbard]

As soon as my work is done for the day, I go to bed and read. Sometimes that's after dinner and clear-up. Sometimes it's earlier. Basically I don't watch TV at all, I do surf the net (here!) but only have a few sites. So the rest of the time I read.

[BakersDozen]

I only make time at night when I go to bed. I allow myself until 2am for lights out so if I don't get to bed until 1:30am, I only get 30 minutes for reading. If I don't read, my brain won't shut off and that's not good. I've tried reading during the day or evening, but I get interrupted or feel like I should be doing something else (which is usually true). It's only when the house is completely quiet that I can really relax and read.

[Junie]

I try to read most afternoons for 30 minutes to an hour, just before I need to make dinner.  I like to read out on the back deck when the weather is nice.  Every year I choose one huge work of literature that I've never read before (I just finished Don Quixote; other years I've read The Count of Monte Cristo, Les Mis, The Hunchback of Notre Dame).  

I read other times, too, but since I tend to be in more than one book at a time, I have one for the back deck, one that I read when I'm waiting somewhere, and then usually one other book that I just read at random times.

Edited October 8, 2023 by Junie

[scholastica]

I read for one hour after lunch and at bedtime. I worked so hard for so many years and that was the only thing besides exercise that I did just for me. It started as quiet time for the older kids while baby napped and it stuck. We all needed that break from each other by that point.  Middle of the day works for me because I can pay attention and remember what I read. I usually read 4 books for 15 minutes each in that hour and then a “fluffy” book at night. 

[rebcoola]

I carry my kindle and read in all the odd little moments.  I also read when I take the little to the playground, open gym or storytime. I read in the shower/bath yay for waterproofing. Usually for an hour or so in bed.

[Ellie]

I read at night when I go to bed. I started doing that when my first-born was just little, because I couldn't figure out how to read during the day when she was up. 🙂 So I shower, go to bed and read, go to sleep. Even though I'm an empty nester and can read any darn time I want to, this is a 40+ year-old habit, so I just keep doing it. 🙂

[Spryte]

At night before bed, usually far too late into the night. All day at odd moments, as time allows — my kindle is always with me. Sometimes I take an afternoon break and much of it is actually reading. 

[Carol in Cal.]

In the bathtub, mostly.  I like to soak.

Also during breakfast if I have breakfast.  Normally I eat that alone.

And then in theory before falling asleep, although I’m pretty much like one of those dolls whose eyes close as soon as they lie back.

[lovinmyboys]

My kids are all in school now and I’m not working so I kind of read when I want. I do think it is hard to read during the day because it feels very indulgent, but I got over that. I have more time during the day than the evening, so I just decided to embrace that time. I often am the only parent at home in the evenings so I am busy with the kids- who now stay up late enough that I go to bed at the same time as them. 
 

I enjoy reading more when I can really sink into a book, so I tend to block off a couple of mornings a week to read for a few hours then the other days I do the errands and household tasks. 
 

In general I get the kids to school, eat breakfast and read the internet, tidy up, exercise, get ready for the day, then I read for a few hours. If I try to read after lunch I get sleepy, so I use my afternoons to be more productive (although it is debatable whether those tasks are actually more productive than reading).

Edited October 8, 2023 by lovinmyboys

[Eos]

8 hours ago, Harriet Vane said:

being well-read is all part of warding off dementia. It's a sacrifice, but needs must.

Compelling!  Do yo think audiobooks are also protective i.e. is it the sorting out of the plot and imagining the characters or the physical act of reading and processing?

8 hours ago, SKL said:

I used to spend about an hour every morning sitting in my "moon chair" in front of my bedroom window.  The sun would come in to illuminate the book, and I'd be sipping coffee and listening to soft "world music" or classics. 

I want this!

7 hours ago, HS Mom in NC said:

Evening: Audio book with my husband for about an hour to an hour and a half after dinner instead of TV (I do my hand sewing while listening) and anytime we're on a road trip, which is a few times a year.

I think we will start this.  Dh is a quilter and I have a million mending projects I want to do plus we need something to do together once all the wood is stacked 🙂  We play yatzee over dinner and I sometimes read aloud to him while he sews but I'm not convinced he likes that as much as he might like an audiobook.

6 hours ago, Junie said:

I like to read out on the back deck when the weather is nice

This sounds heavenly.

1 hour ago, lovinmyboys said:

eat breakfast and read the internet, tidy up, exercise, get ready for the day, then I read for a few hours.

I like this but it would have to start with lunch for me and go into the afternoon as mornings are my "productive" time.  But without kids at home what will I be productive of?  Hmmm, maybe that's the real question.

[LauraClark]

I'm like you and get up early. But, as soon as I get up I feel like I need to be doing things and would feel lazy reading (although here I sit on my phone and do not feel that way...feelings are complex!). The kids go down 1-2 hours before dh and I go to bed, so that is my ideal reading time (not that I always use my time wisely). Kind of a "done with my tasks and now winding down for bed" type of thing. Maybe you could read for a little while and then read something lighter if the initial reading gets you too keyed up. 🤷‍♀️

[HomeAgain]

I read Dec 26-mid January, and May-end of August.

I'm bogged down during the school year with way too much to read for pleasure.  This week I have two history chapters full of primary sources to prepare, a few dense readings on the discovery of the double-helix to take notes on and begin to form an outline, bones to study, and two short stories to compare to each other as well as a handful of poems to analyze.  And that's not including all of the other paperwork I have to keep up with for ds, which can be dense in itself.

Dh gets me a new book every Christmas and I read it during the break.  I read solely for pleasure during the summer.  But for the most part right now my reading for pleasure is just this board and occasionally Facebook.

[Pawz4me]

I'm another bed time reader. Generally I'm in bed around 8:30 and read until I get sleepy. That might be anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours. The only time I stay up later than I should is when I'm very close to finishing a book and don't want to stop. My bed time reading is always on my Kindle, but I also read via the Kindle app on my phone, which is always with me. I read on my phone when I'm in a waiting room, we're in the car (DH driving, of course) and I need to zone out for a bit, etc.

[historically accurate]

I always have an audiobook and a book-book going:

Audiobooks: 

• in the car
• while cooking or doing dishes
• occasionally while putting together a puzzle

 

Book-books:

• waiting at a restaurant (although, sadly, we haven't been to a restaurant in a long, long time)
• waiting at a doctor's office
• waiting for a kid at an activity
• soaking in the tub
• during breakfast

 

 

[alisoncooks]

I abandon my family after dinner chores are finished (dishes washed, etc) and I retire to my room for a couple of hours of solitude. Sometimes I watch a movie, but mostly I read. 

I also do a lot of reading while I wait in the car. (waiting on not-yet-driving teens who are hanging out with friends or are at activities.)

[SHP]

I switched to listening to audio books because the list of books I want to read exceeds the amount of time I can devote to just reading. I listen while doing mundane household chores, gardening, exercising, while driving (highly recommend against consuming any visual media while driving), and any time I have a few minutes.

[stephanier.1765]

I started to go to bed earlier just so I could read. I read for an hour, take my medicine, then read for another hour. At that time, I promptly turn out the lights no matter if my brain wants one more chapter. If I stick to this routine, I've found that I fall asleep faster and sleep better. If something happens to interrupt it, I will have issues sleeping that night.

[AmandaVT]

Before bed mostly. I'm also a "carry a book around everywhere" person and will read during pauses while making dinner or just whenever I can steal 5 minutes. 

[SKL]

I'm curious what position you all find so comfortable that you are able to read in bed for an hour or more.  I haven't been able to do this in decades.

[Lynn in al]

Usually between 6:30-7:30.   I try to have  All chores are done by then and I turn off electronics.    I cannot read in bed I start falling asleep withing 15min.

Edited October 8, 2023 by Lynn in al

[Laura Corin]

At bedtime and also with tea first thing at weekends. I also read on the bus to and from work.

[Hannah]

9 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

In the bathtub, mostly.  I like to soak.

I enjoy doing this before bed most evenings.

49 minutes ago, SKL said:

I'm curious what position you all find so comfortable that you are able to read in bed for an hour or more.  I haven't been able to do this in decades.

When I do read in bed its flat on my back with the book held in the air.  I have my cellphone lying on my chest to light up the book.  I'm sure it looks extremely strange, but its the most comfortable position.

[Carol in Cal.]

1 hour ago, AmandaVT said:

Before bed mostly. I'm also a "carry a book around everywhere" person and will read during pauses while making dinner or just whenever I can steal 5 minutes. 

I do always keep a book with me in the car just in case.

[Ottakee]

1 hour ago, SKL said:

I'm curious what position you all find so comfortable that you are able to read in bed for an hour or more.  I haven't been able to do this in decades.

I read on my kindle.  I have a case that folds back.  I lay on my side and the kindle is then on its side propped up by the case.

[Eos]

2 hours ago, SKL said:

I'm curious what position you all find so comfortable that you are able to read in bed for an hour or more.  I haven't been able to do this in decades.

Flat on my back.  I start scooching around after an hour or two.  I read real books but maybe this would be easier on a kindle.

 

[rebcoola]

2 hours ago, SKL said:

I'm curious what position you all find so comfortable that you are able to read in bed for an hour or more.  I haven't been able to do this in decades.

I have a kindle holder attached to my nightstand and a little remote. I can lay on more side or on my back and read without any weird contortions.

[Grace Hopper]

For decades I read at night in bed. In recent years, though, two things have happened. One, I really can’t get comfortable anymore for reading in bed. I am sure I need a new mattress but it just seems harder on my back. Also, my dh likes to do an end of the day thought processing download and if I’m sitting there in bed, even with a book before me, I am the receptacle of that download. This results in a peaceful sleep for him and for me a whole new set of info to fret about and difficulty falling asleep. For these reasons I took  to reading in a recliner in a tucked away corner, but that’s not without challenges as it’s big and comfy and easy to fall asleep in. More recently I’ve been experimenting with a more ergonomic setup with a book rest on top of a spare bedroom desk. This really has alleviated a lot of neck strain. 
 

So I guess that’s more why and how than when, but it plays in because I’m no longer reading much at bedtime. Since the pandemic, dh has worked at home a lot more and as an extrovert, will take breaks and seek me out for water cooler talk iykwim. Or he’s on a reverberating conference call. Or maybe seeing me sitting reading midday makes me feel guilty for not doing some oft needed housework (he wouldn’t say anything but I feel it iykwim). So there are two times I get reading done. First, now that the days are getting shorter I’ll be going back to my happy light first thing each morning, a great time for reading. Then I pack up and head out to either a coffee shop or library, where I can reserve a study room if I plan to do a writing session or other creative thought work. The library always has comfy chairs, no obligation to buy food and beverage, and it’s a no judgement zone. So that’s morning or afternoon, wherever I want to take a chunk of day for it. 

[Pawz4me]

3 hours ago, SKL said:

I'm curious what position you all find so comfortable that you are able to read in bed for an hour or more.  I haven't been able to do this in decades.

I read on my back with one leg bent and the other crossed over it, holding the Kindle above my head. I have to switch which leg is bent/crossed every few minutes, and when my arthritis is flaring holding the Kindle can be a challenge. But mostly it works fairly well.

21 minutes ago, rebcoola said:

I have a kindle holder attached to my nightstand and a little remote. I can lay on more side or on my back and read without any weird contortions.

I just realized a week or so ago that Kindle holders and remotes exist, and I'm intrigued.

[maize]

I read via audiobbooks anytime I'm doing tasks that don't require a lot of mental focus.

[kathyl]

My reading is all over the place these days.  I think I read more when I was hs'ing 5 kids than I do now that I'm done.  Sometimes I read a lot, and sometimes barely at all.  

Lots of things seemed to make it difficult to concentrate since I finished hs'ing.  5 different moves, cancer treatments, dh unexpectedly retired/fired, grown kids coming and going for extended stays, getting in a couple of hours of gardening daily, etc.  I guess the most disruptive thing has been dh going from leaving for work and not coming home for >12 hours .... to ....  working from home (Covid) .... to .... being home all day, every day (retired).  I'm still learning how to work around that.

I can usually read some in the morning before I go to the gym.  And then again before I go to bed.  What I end up doing more, however, is watching stuff in the middle of the day when I'm tired.  Sometimes I read when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.  The only thing I've ever been able to do in bed, though, is sleep or have sex, so no reading there.  And I can listen to books-on-tape and such, but my mind will wander off before I know what's happened so I end up having to repeat a lot which is frustrating. 

Anyway, I really like HS Mom in NC's idea of the reading followed by a siesta in the afternoon.  I might try that because I'll have enough energy to garden in the evening if I do that.  And maybe even be able to read after the gardening. 

IOW, it's kind of a mess at the moment.  Oh well.  It's helpful to hear how people here are working in their reading. 🙂    

[Harriet Vane]

11 hours ago, Eos said:

Compelling!  Do yo think audiobooks are also protective i.e. is it the sorting out of the plot and imagining the characters or the physical act of reading and processing?

An intriguing question! I looked just a tiny bit on the internet and found both studies that say reading is better and studies that say the brain responds the same either way. My personal opinion is that either way is a good workout for the brain.

[Emba]

Now, my kids are all in public school and I am not working outside the home, so I can read whenever, though I usually don’t because I feel like I’m “wasting time”. I’m mostly in the habit of reading after the kids go to bed, plus carrying books around when I’m going somewhere like the dentist or laundromat where I know I’ll be waiting. I’ll take books on car trips, because I can read in the car for limited amounts of time before it makes me feel sick.

 The actual majority of my reading is audiobooks, though, which I listen to while I’m at the gym, cleaning, or taking walks.  

[ktgrok]

I read while I have my coffee, I read during lunch, I listen to audio books while cooking and always when doing dishes or folding laundry or mopping or other chores. I sit down and have a cup of coffee and some quiet time in the afternoon and read then. I read in the bathtub at night. And then I read sitting next to my DD6 while she falls asleep at night most nights (I read on my phone or kindle so I don't need the light on). Then I read in bed before going to sleep. 

Oh, and I listen to audio books in the car if I don't have the kids with me. 

If DH is driving I will read while we are on the way to church or wherever. I will read on my phone while standing in line at the store even. 

Edited October 8, 2023 by ktgrok

[Eos]

4 hours ago, kathyl said:

I really like HS Mom in NC's idea of the reading followed by a siesta in the afternoon. 

Same!

[KungFuPanda]

It wasn't until the pandemic that I started to heavily rely on audiobooks.  I still enjoy reading, BUT there are times when audiobooks have  distinct advantages.  Here are my top 3:

1.  The author reads their own audiobook.

2.  Listening while doing tedious, mindless tasks like cleaning, weeding, or driving.

3.  The book has a lot of names in a foreign language.  

 

I still mostly prefer to just relax and read my books, and I do that a lot, but I have greatly increased the number of books I can consume by adding audiobooks to my life.  Also, if I just want a bedtime story, I put on my sleep headphones, set the sleep timer, and drift off without the visual/light stimulation of reading.  It's just easier to fall asleep if you're in the dark with your eyes closed and drifting off while you listen.

[HS Mom in NC]

5 hours ago, kathyl said:

Anyway, I really like HS Mom in NC's idea of the reading followed by a siesta in the afternoon.  I might try that because I'll have enough energy to garden in the evening if I do that.  And maybe even be able to read after the gardening.

My mother, now 78, has done that my whole life. In the summers it was our (4 kids) required quiet time in our rooms on pain of death.  I grew up on a hobby farm outside Phoenix, AZ and it was a "when in Rome" kind of thing. Mom gets up very early, works or walks outside 2 miles with the neighbors depending on the day until it's hot (usually about 9 or 10am) then runs errands, has lunch, takes her siesta (reading + napping) from 1-4, does indoor things, goes to bed and reads until 10 or 11. She boards sheep, does all gardening, and now does all the irrigating sine she was widowed in May. She likes to be busy and physically and mentally active.

[HS Mom in NC]

2 hours ago, ktgrok said:

I read while I have my coffee, I read during lunch, I listen to audio books while cooking and always when doing dishes or folding laundry or mopping or other chores. I sit down and have a cup of coffee and some quiet time in the afternoon and read then. I read in the bathtub at night. And then I read sitting next to my DD6 while she falls asleep at night most nights (I read on my phone or kindle so I don't need the light on). Then I read in bed before going to sleep. 

Oh, and I listen to audio books in the car if I don't have the kids with me. 

If DH is driving I will read while we are on the way to church or wherever. I will read on my phone while standing in line at the store even. 

I would books on a boat
I would read books with a goat
I would read books in a line
I would read books anytime
I would read books here and there
I would read books anywhere

[HS Mom in NC]

10 hours ago, SKL said:

I'm curious what position you all find so comfortable that you are able to read in bed for an hour or more.  I haven't been able to do this in decades.

My husband has a book stand sort of like this one. https://www.amazon.com/Overhead-Adjustable-Stretchable-Compatible-Phones-Black/dp/B0B2D8Q8SG/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2MV0AY9CHZ4F6&keywords=book+stand+floor+wheels&qid=1696811145&sprefix=book+stand+floor+wheels%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-10
There are many different kinds. I couldn't find the exact one he has.  He has a repeat stress injury from 10-16 hours days for 35 years of constant typing as a computer programmer and back issues that flare up now and then. It's been helpful because he's a bookworm too.

[Garga]

I read when I’m in the loo and I read while I eat. My family doesn’t eat meals at the same time (we all have different schedules), so I prop up the book while I eat three times a day.