I was thinking about how important just the right environment is for me, to really get into a good book and read for an extended length of time. In bad weather it's easy, I have (2) comfy places I return to over and over, but in summer, I love being outdoors to read, although my mind does tend to wander from time to time. I love my deck, but the pollen has been so bad that I have not enjoyed it much yet.
Here are a few of my favorite places away from home.
This lake spans about (7) miles are is perfect for canoes or kayaks (no motor boats allowed). It is also known for some decent fishing.
When my new camera arrives, I'll really be able to capture the family of geese down by the trees.
I love this old beech tree, with the perfect shaded bench nearby.
One fall day I was surprised to see deer peeking out of these trees.
I can always be assured that I'll have the company of birds singing, and geese swimming or grazing nearby. This is where I love to spend my summer lunch hour on beautiful days. I have to tell you, that these are the only things that make my job tolerable during the summer months, when I'd rather be doing most ANYTHING but working.
How about you? Do you have place you go to seek solace, or just a place enjoy a good book in peace?
What a lovely place to read, Diane. Outdoor summer reading here in TX is a sticky, sweaty ordeal - unless you can find a shady, breezy spot, maybe with a ceiling fan. That describes or will describe my new covered back porch when it is finished. I hope so anyway.
ReplyDeleteThose look like lovely places to read, Diane. I also like to be outdoors when reading.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely confined to the indoors now because of allergies. But that's okay with me. Beautiful settings can distract me from books! :--)
ReplyDeleteAll your places are splendid for outdoor reading. I read on my balcony or in my room. Sometimes I go to the park but the noise is often unbearable.
ReplyDeleteThat's beautiful! Although I can, and do, read anywhere, I dream of a deck with a comfy chair to read at in the summer, and a window seat for the winter. Some day...
ReplyDeleteI like to read on the couch...I'm too distracted if I see birds! Have a great weekend!!!
ReplyDeleteI love to read on our patio or front porch but it's often too buggy or hot or windy. We're supposed to get the patio screened in; then it will be perfect. Most of all I love to read in a library.
ReplyDeleteI don't often read outdoors, but if I had a place like the ones you've shown here, I certainly would start! Great photos, and great spots, Diane!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful pictures! Seems like the perfect place to read.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the best place to read is my bedroom.
How gorgeous! I'm so envious! My little urban neighborhood doesn't have much in terms of green space for reading, but I do adore a good beach day or camping trip to sit and read outside. Someday, I hope to get an apt with a porch but for now, I just keep my windows open and park a chair by them!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful reading spots! I don't really have a favorite place to read, but quiet helps because I get distracted and end up eavesdropping on people talking around me or getting sucked in to the TV show that's on. Then I have to read the same page five times. :)
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful place to read, or sleep, or play . . . it is just sooo pretty.
ReplyDeleteI hardly ever read outside, but that's more because when I'm outside I've got the kids with me and we're doing stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place to read is in my bedroom with the bed made and the blinds pulled back so that bright sunlight is shining through. I think it's a throwback to when I was a kid and my favorite place to read was on my parents bed all by myself and with the sun streaming in. Just thinking about it I can smell the blackberries outside their window baking in the sun. :)
What a nice place for your outdoor reading! I can read just about anywhere but my favorite place to read is in bed. Second favorite is stretched out on my reading chaise. I'd read outdoors but don't have a nearby shady place. I do enjoy sitting in a courtyard outside of my workplace during my lunchbreak though.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures! I can usually read any place that's not distracting. Quiet places and also not-so-crowded places.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! The spot by the water looks like a lovely place to read. If it's nice out I'm usually reading on my patio or at the park.
ReplyDeleteLaying on my bed. It seems to be the only place that people leave me alone and I can dive right into a book.
ReplyDeleteOn campus, we have quite a few lovely spots but the students get on my nerves. They are either making out with each other, talking loudly on their cell phones or throwing trash everywhere. So instead of going outside, I find an empty room, preferably a vacant office with a door, and just camp out for awhile.
ReplyDeleteIf I am at home, and it's nice out, I can either sit on my patio (great view) or just open everything up and then sit on my couch, near the patio. Sometimes I do this if it is really hot out or there are bees!
I used to be able to read anywhere. Now, it's a bit trickier. :) It has to be someplace without distractions, like Claire :), but not too comfy, or I'll fall asleep. And it has to be far away from the computer, as that seems to be where most of my reading time gets used up.
ReplyDeleteThese are certainly very lovely reading spots. I enjoy reading outdoors, when the weather is pleasant, but usually it is just at our home.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your reading places. Yes, it is important to me, too, and for writing as well as reading.
ReplyDeleteI love to sit beneath the palm tree and hear the buzzing of bees gathering nectar. I also love to sit in the gazebo from where I can see the distant mountains across from our hill.
Also, if I find I have a 'room with a view' if I am away from home, I can curl up in contentment to read or wite.
I always think of Jo from 'Little Women'. As a child, I wanted to 'be' her and bought a flea ridden old pouffe from a jumble sale and totally horrified my mother, who did not understand at all that I wanted to curl up on it to read!
I love to be at home, in my reading chair. While I like being outside, it's usually bright out and I need sunglasses, but then the print is too dim and my eyes hurt.
ReplyDeleteI'm a wimp.
My front porch swing is the best place to read. I'm in the treetops, in the shade, and I just got some new cushions.
ReplyDeleteYour reading places are lovely ... but pollen would just kill me right now. Here's hoping for cool, pollen-free days of reading ahead!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. And so peaceful. I am always out on my backyard swing reading.
ReplyDeleteThose are fabulous settings, Diane. I imagine it's wonderful unless it gets hot...
ReplyDeleteWhere I am, it's hard to read outside. On my patio in the morning hours, it is relatively comfortable.
I do sometimes take a book to a restaurant and read while I eat...the rest of the time, I'm on my comfy couch.
I read everywhere. On the BART, while walking places, in bed, at the office - never leave the house without a book!
ReplyDeleteThose look like such peaceful places to read. I mainly read inside or at the beach.
ReplyDeleteI'm not picky about where I read...I read in the swing by the pool early in the mornings, in a chair outside (if it's not 100 degrees yet), in the recliner in our den after everyone else has gone to sleep, in my bed lots of time, in the kitchen on a barstool, etc. I love being surrounded by the water...even if the pool is not a lake or the ocean, it's still comforting and serene to me.
ReplyDeletethose photos are so peaceful and beautiful. Now I know why green is my favorite color :)
ReplyDeleteI used to love to read by lakes...now...since I have an "office" that is where I do most of my reading. It is the only place I can go to where I am "relatively" uninterrupted.
What a tranquil setting for reading in.
ReplyDeleteI read everywhere, but my favorite places are anywhere at home where the cat can sit with me, mainly the bed or the couch. I also love, LOVE to read in the subway and the bus.
ReplyDeleteReading in beautiful outdoors setting like yours can be great, too, but then I tend to be distracted by all the beauty.
Our pollen count has actually settled down some now, but that means it's hot as blazes outside. I can read just about anywhere. I'm not sure that I have any place that I go to seek solace, but my husband always says the mountains "refresh his soul."
ReplyDeleteYou have beautiful setting to read in! I like to read outside although I get distracted easily. I see weeds that need pulling or plants that need watering. My favorite place to read is in bed but lately I fall asleep too easy there. I am trying to find a new favorite place. I love reading on the treadmill when I use it.
ReplyDeleteThey all look perfect! I love reading outdoors, too, and have managed to do quite a bit of al fresco reading this year, thanks to the dry weather, for a change.
ReplyDeleteFor me its not just a matter of where I read, its also about the mood I am in for reading. I can read pretty much anywhere depending on my mood, although some places are more comfortable than others.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bucolic place for reading! I can pretty much read anywhere, as long as it's a good book. But my favorite place is my bed.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite places is on my front porch early early in the morning when everyone else is still in bed and it's just me and the dogs....next would be the beach.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful spot to read...
ReplyDeleteMe, My new apartment has a balcony - and I'm going to be reading while enjoying my nice chaise lounge...
A perfect paradise, indeed! I do like to read outside in the evening or by the pool. A lady in our bookclub reads IN the pool. Hence, I never loan her any books ;)
ReplyDeleteYou have such lovely reading places. I'm just happy to have a few moments to myself to read at all. But my favorite place to read is on the beach in Hawaii!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful scenery! My favorite place to read is in a coffee shop. I love the feeling of all the action around me while my mind is elsewhere, wherever the book takes me.
ReplyDeleteI can read anywhere but I do like a shady place with soft breeze. Usually I just read at the dining table or in my bed.
ReplyDelete