First world problems, I know, and nothing at all compared to the horrors happening around the world.  I have little to complain about and, really, I'm only telling you all this to explain why today's is going to be a lazy, lazy TTT post.  The topic du jour is: Top Ten Places I Love to Read.  I did this one back in 2013 and it's still pretty accurate, so I'm just going to re-post it with a few updates.  

If you want to jaw about your favorite locations for reading, click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and join in the fun.

(post originally published on April 16, 2013)

It's that time of the week again and I'm excited about today's Top Ten Tuesday topic.  Our wonderful hostesses over at The Broke and the Bookish actually did not assign a subject for today's list—instead, we were supposed to choose a prompt that we either missed out on or wanted to revisit.  I scanned past TTT topics and decided it would be fun to talk about my Top Ten Favorite Places to Read.  It was actually tough to come up with that many, but I enjoyed the process (which might mean I'm a little hard up for entertainment ...).

1.  The beach—I'm not a big water person, so I spend most of my beach time on the shore.  Which suits me just fine.  There's nothing better than curling up in a beach chair and losing yourself in a good book.  The sounds of waves crashing, seagulls bleating, and children squealing with delight provides the perfect background music to any story line!  I've enjoyed oceanside reading on the beach in Jamaica, Hawaii, California, Oregon, The Philippines, Washington State and Mexico.  Had we stayed longer on Tybee Island, I probably would have done some reading there, too!

2021 Update:  It's been a few years since I've been to a beach.  I'm thinking the last time was when my husband and I were in Concepcion, Chile.  I didn't do any reading there, but I did slip on the wet shore, bruise my behind, and scrape up my arms.  That's what happens when I explore in real life instead of in the safety of a book!

2.  The lake—Again, there's just nothing quite as peaceful as relaxing with a book in a beautiful setting.  We like to go houseboating at Lake Powell, a giant man-made reservoir that straddles the Utah/Arizona border.  My favorite thing to do there (besides zoom around on a jet ski) is lay around and read.  It's incredibly relaxing to stretch out on a deck chair with a good book and just enjoy the amazing scenery as well as the happy, laidback atmosphere.

2021 Update:  I haven't been to Lake Powell in years.  We sold our slots on our houseboat time share since we hadn't been using it enough to make it worth the money.  It was fun while it lasted!

3.  My couch—Although it's much less exciting, the place where I do most of my reading is on the brown sectional in my family room.  It's not the most attractive piece of furniture, but we bought it because all of its seats recline.  Plus, there's a convenient cup holder between the "Mommy and Daddy" seats, so I can keep a cup of ice water handy while I put my feet up and read.  It's not the beach, but it works.

2021 Update:  We upgraded a year or so ago to a nice leather sectional.  It does not have a cup holder, though, and I miss that.

4.  My bed—Way back when my husband and I were in our early 30s (okay, it was only a few years ago, but it feels like forever), we invested in a California King-sized adjustable bed.  We felt like senior citizens when we made the purchase, but oh my gosh, that was some of the best money we've ever spent!  The bed itself is super comfy (I can't sleep well anywhere else), plus you can adjust both ends of the mattress to achieve the perfect position for bedtime reading.  It's heaven.  Seriously.

2021 Update:  Still an awesome bed and one of my favorite places to read.

5.  My bathtub—Here in the Phoenix area, it's blazing hot for most of the year, so I don't spend a lot of time soaking in the tub.  When I do, though, I always bring a book.  Nothing says relaxation quite like filling my tub with hot water and scented bubbles, switching on the fireplace that sits next to the tub and just luxuriating in the cozy warmth of it all.

2021 Update:  I still don't use my tub often enough.

6.  By the pool—Since desert summers are so intense (and last for a good 9 months), we spend a lot of time in our backyard pool.  When I'm not swimming, I like to sit on the deck in whatever sliver of shade I can find and read while I keep an eye on the kids.

2021 Update:  My youngest is almost 13 now, so I don't have to keep an eye on swimming kiddos these days.  Coincidentally (or not?), I rarely read by the pool anymore.  It's just too darn hot to sit on the deck.  At the moment, it's a little too warm for swimming as well since the pool water feels like bathwater!

7.  Airplanes/airports—Okay, these aren't my favorite places to read, but I've gotten a lot of reading done both while riding on airplanes or and waiting for them to arrive.  Because that much uninterrupted reading time can be difficult to find at home, I've been known to tell people, "You can drop me at the airport a couple hours early.  I don't mind."  Or, "Don't rush to pick me up.  I'll just sit and read."  Plus, if my book starts to drag a bit, the airport's a fabulous place for people watching.

2021 Update:  Other than a recent trip to Oregon, I haven't flown much at all in the last few years.  If Europe stays open, I'm going to make up for it by flying to England in September.

8.  Waiting rooms—Again, if you gave me a choice of places to read, I'd never willingly choose a waiting room, BUT, I do a lot of reading in such places.  It makes long waits at the doctor's office much more bearable.  In fact, when I wrote an online review for my dentist recently, my one complaint was that they get me back too soon for me to get any reading done!

2021 Update:  I'm basically a senior citizen in a 45-year-old body, so I still spend a lot of time in waiting rooms.

9.  My front porch—When the weather's nice here, my front porch is actually a perfect reading spot.  It's shady, quiet and really quite lovely.  I'm not sure why I don't spend more time there—I think I sort of forget it exists.  Crazy.

2021 Update:  My husband and I actually spent a fair amount of time reading on the porch during the cooler months of quarantine.  It was a nice, relaxing way to spend time together and the porch was a nice place to do some social-distanced visiting with friends and family.  Unfortunately, that big tree you see in the photo is no longer with us.  We lost it in a monsoon storm a number of years ago.

10.  The balcony—Ditto with the balcony.  Our house actually has two connected balconies, both of which offer fair views of the city and valley in which we live.  They're particularly nice spots from which to enjoy our beautiful desert sunsets.  Again, I think the weather is so fiery here most of the time that I forget to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather when it does come around.  Silly me.

2021 Update:  I really do need to spend more time reading on the balcony.

So, there you have them, my favorite places to read.  Also, the places that aren't really favorites, just places where I spend lots of time reading.  And, a couple of spots where I should hole up with a book more often.  How about you?  Where are your favorite places to read?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.