Where Do You Read?

I always used to read in bed, but I've changed my routine recently so that I listen to podcasts instead of reading. My favourite place to read is now in a cafe - I like to take along a library book or something I've bought recently. Today I was in a cafe at lunchtime having a baguette and reading a book about money by Alvin Hall called 'You and Your Money. Creating a Prosperous Relationship'.

I also like to read when I'm waiting for an appointment at the doctor's or the dentist's and if I'm not too busy I enjoy reading in the morning or before I go to bed. It's a good way of winding down instead of watching TV, which can make the brain too agitated instead of creating a feeling of restfulness.

I used to travel by train every week and that was a good place to read too as I could fit in about an hour of uninterrupted reading on the way there, though on the return journey the trains would be crowded so I couldn't always manage to read for the whole of that journey.

Mind you, it's a lot harder to enjoy reading on a train these days now that so many people have mobile phones and iPods. When I was a student and had very long train journeys from Scotland to Cambridge, I always knew I'd be able to get some serious reading done.

Sometimes I'd make notes for my course or even write an essay. It's not always so easy to concentrate when there are other people's phones ringing, loud telephone conversations and tinkly personal stereos playing all around.

But where ever you manage to read, the important thing is to do it, and, if possible, try to establish a habit of reading fairly regularly. That way it will become part of your everyday life and you'll miss it if you don't do it.

Regular reading will nourish you as a writer in a way that nothing else will.