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!


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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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?  

 

Once again, it's time for Top Ten Tuesday, a bookish, list-y meme hosted by the fabulous ladies at The Broke and the Bookish.  And, wow, is this week's topic a stumper:  Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was a Blogger.  It's a toughie, right?  Especially for those of us who have been blogging for a while (BBB was born in August of 2006).  I mean, one of the chief reasons I started this blog was so I could remember all the great books I've read because, without it, my old, feeble mind just comes up blank!  Well, okay, I managed to think of ten, but I'm telling you, it was not easy, not easy at all ...


1.  Twilight by Stephenie Meyer—Yeah, yeah, yeah.  When Twilight first came out, I belonged to a book club with a woman who was related to Meyer somehow (cousin?).  She recommended the novel to us, saying if we all read it, she was pretty sure she could get Meyer to come chat with our book club.  But, when she described the novel as a "teenage vampire romance," we all turned up our noses.  And, it must be said (though it pains me to do so), that by the time she convinced us all to read Twilight, Meyer was much too busy to come to our little book club.  True story.

I remember being embarrassed to read Twilight in public.  Back then (it came out in 2005), adults didn't read teen books unless it was to screen them for their kids (which was totally what I was doing—uh huh).  And yet, it kept me totally entranced.  It still shames me to admit it, but I loved Twilight.


2.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling—The name J.K. Rowling doesn't appear on my blog until 2007, when I reviewed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, but I had been reading her ever since the first Harry book came out in the U.S. in 1998.  I remember devouring the series while sitting in the bedroom of my toddler (who's now 14).  He played happily while I read, oftentimes falling asleep before I realized the room had gone suspiciously quiet.  H.P. grabbed me from the get-go, keeping me totally riveted with the story, the characters, the setting, everything.  It will always be one of my favorite children's series!


3.  Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell—I'd seen the movie version of GWTW several times, but I didn't read the book until after I traveled to Atlanta in 2000.  The setting definitely came alive more because I'd visited the setting and the story, of course, kept me totally engrossed.


4.  Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman—I'm not sure why this one sticks out in my mind, except that I remember it being a fun, charming novel that was different than other books I was reading at the time.


5.  Outlander by Diana Gabaldon—I read this fat tome on someone's recommendation and, in no time at all, found myself totally immersed in the story.  It swept me away from the stresses of my every day life, which at the time included bottles, diapers, housework, and all the other chores that come along with stay-at-home motherhood.  I don't know why I didn't continue with the series, but it's one I would like to finish.  Someday.  You know when I have a million free hours to wade through those very, very large books!



6.  Emma by Jane Austen—After Gwyneth Paltrow brought Emma Woodhouse to such charming life on the big screen in 1996, I knew I had to read this book.  Needless to say, it met my (very) high expectations.


7.  Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty—I've never been a huge fan of Westerns, but this classic really captured my imagination.  It's an entertaining read that I should probably re-read soon.


8.  The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown—Like millions of other fans, I found this one edge-of-your-seat compelling.  Is the writing absolutely brilliant?  No, but it's still an exciting and very readable thriller.


9.  A Time to Kill by John Grisham—I loved the movie version of this novel and not just because it's the only  Matthew McConaughey film in which the actor does more than just look pretty.  Nope, it was the storyline that sucked me in.  I'm not a huge Grisham fan, but I did really enjoy this book.  I've been meaning to re-read it for years, but a library copy's still sitting on my desk waiting for my attention.  Soon, I promise!



10.  The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold—As disturbing as this novel is, I also found it totally mesmerizing.  It's unique, compelling and memorable.

A stunning realization:  So, as I was typing up this post, I had an epiphany—all the books I listed, except one (Outlander), have been made into movies/t.v. series.  Does this make them stick out more in my mind?  Or, is it just because I selected a crop of very excellent books?  Hm ...

Now that I've searched my tired mind for titles I loved before becoming a book blogger (way back in 2006—yikes!), I'd really like to know which books you adored back in the day.  Do we have any favorites in common?