Monday, August 4, 2014

Bedtime Stories




HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: No matter how tired I am, I have to read before I go to sleep. This is a wonderful and lifelong habit, and I embrace it dearly. 


This is Melissa Jones Ragsdale's nightstand 
(I had thought we'd post photos of our own nightstands for this blog--with our piles of books. But then I got curious. Wonder what YOUR nightstands look like? So I asked my dear pals on Facebook to send me photos and Wow! Wait til you see them all.)

Anyway, back to reading at night.  Although it is wonderful for me, I am not sure it is wonderful for the book. I’m so excited to read when I start. Then, a few, well, I was going to say pages, but actually, often it’s paragraphs later, I feel my eyes fluttering and my attention evaporating.

I am, I have to say, able to persevere longer than Jonathan, who has just taken three months (exaggerating, but not much) to read Greg Iles fabulous Natchez Burning. He loved the book, loved it, but read about two pages a night before he fell asleep. I’d look over, and there he’d be, this huge book propped on his chest, eyes totally closed.

Wake up honey, I say. You’re sleeping. (Only wives can say this, even as I type it, I hear how absurd it sounds.)

I wasn’t sleeping, he insists. I’m reading.

Sure you were, I say. How’s the book?

And then I’d get the ‘look’. I don’t exactly remember, he admits. But I know it’s good. (He adored it, in the end. And one day spent hours reading it. “Wow, he said, “I can read so much more when I’m awake. And the book makes so much more sense.”

The best reading-at-nights for me are the ones where the book is SO GOOD it propels you through, far longer than is prudent. The Stand, I remember almost staying up all night to read. (I called in sick the next day, I guess I can admit all these years (32?) later. I did the same with Lisa Unger’s In the Blood. And Joe Finder’s Suspicion. And now, The Demonologist. (It’s very scary.)

Do you read before you go to sleep? Successfully?
This is Eleanor Cawood Jones' nightstand

HALLIE EPHRON: I'm with Jonathan. If I try to read in bed, it's a few pages and I'm out. Middle of the day, though, I LOVE to read as a break from writing. In the winter I make myself a hot cup of tea, in summer ice water, and lie down on the couch for a nice, if brief, vacation in someone else's book. I also love to read on airplanes. Now that's the test of an author's storytelling, if the book can make the trip "fly" by.

I used to listen to lots of 'books on tape' while driving but sadly I drive so little it would take me about a year to finish a book these days. And I haven't gotten the hang of putting a book on my iPhone and listening on the run. Why won't earbuds stay in my ears? Worse, having all that noise in my head makes me accident prone and forgetful... and dangerous.

This is Karin Carlson's nightstand 
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I can't read at bedtime; not because I'll fall asleep with a book on my nose, but because I'll stay up until 2am. If the book is really good, I'll keep going on chapter after chapter, and if it's bad, I'll put it down and try another book until I hit something I like! So at bedtime, I do the Sunday NYTimes crossword puzzle. Not only is it engaging but still put-down-able, it also makes an auto gift for the kids: every year on Mother's Day or Christmas, someone gives me one of the Sunday Crossword Collections books. And yes, I do them in ink. Without looking at the solutions.

My favorite reading times? Early evening, after dinner. Holidays and vacations. Traveling in the car, either by audiobook or with a print book if I'm not driving. And am I the only person who relishes flying because it gives me a stretch of uninterrupted reading time? When my kids were small, my best (only!) reading place was the bathroom. I went through a lot of short story collections.

This is Vicki Berger Erwin's nightstand
 DEBORAH CROMBIE: I am a life long dedicated read-in-bed-er. No matter how late it is, how tired I am, hotel or flat or home, I read something. I'm trying to think of some occasion when I HAVEN'T read. Even the night my mother died last year, I read. If that sounds callous, it wasn't at all. I had just spent six days with Nigerian hospice nurses, and I pulled up an Alexander McCall Smith book on my Kindle. I wanted to keep the rhythm of those African voices in my brain a little longer, because they had been such a comfort. And I needed something to take me out of myself, even for just a few minutes.

I don't allow myself to read often during the day, because I'd never get anything else done. And every day I look forward to the end of the day when I can get in bed and pick up that book--whatever that book happens to be. Some nights it's just a few pages and I have to reread them the next night, but I don't mind. Other nights I manage to get to bed early enough to read for an hour--or even two. Bliss! I'm not sending a photo of my to-read pile, because I'd have to decide which one:-) But as soon as I finish this fabulous non-fiction book on British undercover cops, I'm reading the galley of Rhys's new Georgie (can't wait!) and then the galley of Tammy Kaehler's new Kate Reilly, and then Kent Krueger's Ordinary Grace... and so it goes on. And I firmly believe it's better to have too much to read than too little.

This is Alyssa Renae White's nightstand
LUCY BURDETTE: I just finished Rhys's fabulous upcoming book--

(HANK: And more on that here tomorrow!)

LUCY: As well as MRS. HEMINGWAY and almost done with THE STORIED LIFE OF AJ FIKRY (so charming!) I read in bed every night. Who cares if I have to read a page or two over again because I was nodding off--makes a great pleasure last a little longer.

I have trouble giving myself permission to read during the day because it feels like such a guilty pleasure. But I read eight books on vacation--oh the heaven!

HANK: I guess we all read in bed right? Love that!
  
Here are a few more nightstands courtesy of the friends of Jungle Red!

Marianne Bowes











Kathi Gorecki Voskull

Michelle Tucker Reed







DFOJRW Mary Garrett! (very subtle, xo.....)




Fascinating, huh? And I'll post more all his week!

And our own dear Reine--also subtle!

Tomorrow we'll hear all about Rhys's new book, and Wednesday S.J. Rozan, and Thursday, Nancy Martin...and Friday, well--he's just amazing, so you'll have to come visit. And Saturday And Sunday--more surprises!

SO--do you read in bed? Let us know--and you'll be entered for an ARC of my new TRUTH BE TOLD!
********************
And talk about great contests: check this out! http://hankphillippiryan.com/newsletters/newsletter-7-14.html  

73 comments:

  1. There’s not too much reading in bed for me . . . if I’m in bed I tend to drift off, even if the book is good. I’m a curl-up-on-the-sofa and read kind of person. I’ve tried putting those really good page-turners aside, in the interests of getting some sleep, but it never works. I always get up and head back to the sofa to read some more. In fact, I’m probably going to sit right there tonight and finish my book before I head off to bed . . . .

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  2. I usually read in bed for 20 minutes to half an hour. It's just part of my winding down ritual.

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  3. I love seeing the pictures, Hank, and I look forward to see mine, too. I just knew it would be something fun when you asked for them. My picture is actually of the table by my reading chair, as that's I've been keeping my short list reading. Reine, great picture of you books.

    I absolutely have to read in bed before turning out the lights to go to sleep. I've been staying up read late this summer reading. I just finished the third book in Peter May's Lewis Trilogy, The Chessmen a little before 2 am, r before coming here to the blog. I will have to at least start another one before finally giving it up for the night, err morning.

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  4. Hank, love—have I ever been subtle about anything?

    Yes, I read in bed! It's a life-long tradition I started with the classic flashlight under the covers routine. Auntie-Mom pretended she didn't notice, and I pretended to snore.

    There was a huge chunk of time—years—when I couldn't read regular books . It is a great thing that audiobooks work in bed AND in the dark. Bonus!

    Now I can hold a book open and read as long as I want. Wow... it really is the greatest thing... except it doesn't work in the dark!

    I owe a lot to the Reds. Books are a big part of that. Mostly though... you have been here. Thank you.

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  5. I'm with most of the Reds, I cannot get to sleep if I don't read for at least ten minutes first. But of course it's almost never just ten minutes, and I have been known to read through the night if the story is that compelling.

    And thank goodness for the Nook! I love being able to read with the lights out, or on a plane without having to turn on the overhead light. Not to mention that mine has hundreds of unread books and magazines on it. I've been known to order the next book in a series as soon as I finish a good read, right from my bed.

    My husband is like Jonathan--out like a light after a few paragraphs, and it takes him months to finish a book. I'd forget what happened in the early chapters if I did that.

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  6. So funny! I love my ereader,but sometimes I forget to keep it charged.

    Do you read your books in the order you get them?

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  7. I read in bed, on the couch, outside in a lounge chair, you get the picture,lol. Always have a book or my Kindle in my purse because you never know when you may have a chance to read.

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  8. Scorching my pillow with a bare lightbulb while reading under the covers at age eight or so probably discouraged me from developing a reading in bed habit, but I do read while on my exercise bike, and every other chance I get. The better my own writing is going, the more time I make for reading other people's books. As Hallie said, it makes a good break.

    Kathy/Kaitlyn

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  9. Best teaching advice I ever received was to read something non-school-related before sleeping, to turn off all the replays of school worries.
    Second best was to elevate my feet while doing so, allowing fluids to move from the extremities for longer uninterrupted sleep.
    It's true that sleepiness can interfere with comprehension. I wrote "this makes no sense" on a couple of papers, then realized it was 2 a.m. In the morning I had to change those comments . . .
    ** disclaimer: No $$ paid for "subtle" product placement. ;-) <3

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  10. Always read before bed and every other chance I get. A few months ago I caught up on all of my books and had nothing in from the library. That was a very sad day. I didn’t know what to do with myself. That will never happen again!

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  11. I can't read in bed, but I must read every night before going to bed. I usually plan to devote just an hour before turning it, but count-less times that ends up being two or even three. On those nights, morning arrives far to quickly.

    My favorite time to read is early Sunday morning. Something about the slow start to the day, the light and the crisp air.

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  12. I can't go to sleep at night without reading. Well, I guess I could, but I don't want to. My favorite spot to read is in my bed propped up with a whole mess of pillows and my coffee close at hand on my night stand. It's also my favorite place to play on my laptop (like right now) and to write. I love having my feet and legs elevated and this is just what's most comfortable for me.

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  13. Like Reine and others, I did the "read under the covers with a flashlight" thing as a kid. Mom and Dad gave up trying to make me stop -eventually.

    I read almost everywhere - bed, chairs, front porch, the bathtub (no ebooks there of course) and sometimes the car (although I have to take breaks or I get car sick). I love reading in bed, but I have to be careful or it will be 3am and I've still got "one more chapter" - and the alarm goes off at 5:30. When I was having horrible arm/elbow pain though, I did a lot of 2am reading to pass the time and take my mind off it.

    If not careful, I can devour a book. I remember getting the sixth Harry Potter and literally being unable to put it down. I walked around all day doing chores (including making dinner) one-handed because I could not bear to stop. I finished that book in about 8 hours. I always mean to leisurely enjoy books (including Hallie's and Hank's latest) and, well, it doesn't happen.

    Favorite place to read in the summer - front porch. In the winter - in front of the fireplace.

    Oh, and I couldn't send a pic of my reading pile as it's mostly digital (unless you wanted a screen cap of my iBooks bookshelf). =)

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  14. I always read in bed. And, during the day, in the armchair, on the couch, at whatever random lunch counter I visit. I always try to have a book with me, although I haven't gotten into reading on my phone. This morning my nightstand holds a book of baby names, since I just got a new foster dog, and Anna Lee Huber's latest Lady Darby mystery. Plus, yes, a collection of New York Times Sunday crossword puzzles.

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  15. No no no Hank, I do not read in order. I read what grabs me and so sometimes things get pushed way down in the pile. And then when I get to them, I wonder why I waited so long!!!

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  16. I love to read in bed, and my favorite is when I can tuck in early and have an hour or more. I tend to stay up later if I'm reading on my Kindle or Nook vs. a paper book. The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz kept me up all night. Literally read until 4:30 the following morning!

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  17. Always, every night. It helps me relax and clear my head of the day's events. Most nights I'll drift off to sleep in a half hour. But some books are just so enticing I will read well into early morning and revel in the words/story.

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  18. What a fun post today! I love seeing everyone's books. But then I start thinking, "Oh, I want to read that one. And that one. And that one."

    The mantra of a read-a-holic!

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  19. I can't turn off my brain without reading fiction right before sleeping. Yes, sometimes this leads to almost dropping the book/e-reader. However, I'm fortunate that I have my husband to come check on me (he stays up later than I do) and tell me to stop reading and go to sleep ... otherwise I'd be too tired to deal with work the next day!

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  20. I love seeing those pictures, because now I know I'm not the only one who decorates my house with book piles! I can't read in bed or I'll read all night. But every other possible moment, yes... Brushing my teeth, in the bath, while eating (alone, not with company), etc.

    Avis

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  21. Reading before bed is the only way I'm sure to have time for my daily reading fix! It's also always been my favorite way to wind down to fall asleep. But yes, the danger is losing track of time with my nose in a good book :)

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  22. Reading in bed is a lifelong habit for me. Thanks for posting those photos; I don't feel so bad now about the appearance of my own stacks of books!

    As a youngster, I read in bed long after the lights were out and I was supposed to be sleeping. I shared a room with my three younger sisters. We had two sets of bunk beds. I was on the top bunk, close to the door to the hallway. My youngest sisters were afraid of the dark, so my parents kept the hallway light on until they went to bed, with our bedroom door open to the hallway. I read by the limited light coming in from the hallway, until I got sleepy or until my parents caught me at it and told me to go to sleep!

    I mostly prefer my bedtime reading to be something I've already read; otherwise, the suspense will want me to stay up until I finish the book. Too often I do end up reading something new at bedtime, and that's the end of my early bedtime for that day!

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  23. I love to read in bed, usually 20 minutes before I go to sleep. Although if it's a real page turner, I sometimes read past my bedtime.

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  24. Now I know why I usually don't post at 2 in the morning. I have multiple mistakes and can only hope that my post was somewhat legible. With everyone talking about where else they read besides in bed, I wanted to add that I have a big comfy chair where I do most of my reading, but I still have to have my in-bed reading time, too. I'm enjoying reading others' replies here, reinforcing the fact that we are all book-loving sisters and brothers.

    Oh, and reading in order? Nope. I sometimes feel sorry for a book that has been patiently waiting only to get bumped by a new title. And, then, as Lucy said, you read that book and wonder why you waited so long.

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  25. I have to read before I can fall asleep, even if it's only two pages. But, I cannot read fiction before bed because then I have dreams all night featuring the characters and situations in the book.

    So I read non-fiction before bed, usually science, though I've just finished THE RACE UNDERGROUND which was about the race between Boston and New York to have the first subway.

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  26. I read in bed only when my husband is out of town. I'm a night owl and he isn't. He calls it "normal." Ha. I've always been a reader. I didn't do the flashlight under the covers. I sneaked out into the hallway where there was some light to read by. I have stacks of books to be read. I have a bunch on my Nook to be read. And I keep adding to them. I also have new books on reserve at the library, waiting for my turn to come up. I read off and on during the day and at night. It just depends what really needs to be done that day.

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  27. Reading past your bedtime! Exactly! and we know when we're going it, right? And yet...we continue..

    ANd everyone say hi to Ray Daniel! His new book TERMINATED is out tomorrow--sort of Spenser meets Person of Interest. And it definitely belongs on your nightstand. (Ray will be here Friday...)

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  28. YEs, I agree. sometimes i'll bump down a book on the pile to read a new one.. funny how our minds work!

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  29. I wish I'd seen the call for nightstand photos -- books galore on it and beside it!

    I also can't sleep unless I read first. I love planning to go to bed early so I can read for longer -- that's such a luxury.

    This might be TMI but I have this thing I do--when I'm dropping off, I tell myself one more potty break before sleep -- then, of course, I'm awake again so I read for a little longer. Silly, right? :-)

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  30. Every night, for at least an hour. I am reading Jacqueline Winspear's new book right now, having finished "The Accursed" by Joyce Carol Oates the other night. Love that time of day, and I stay up way too late!

    My nightstand isn't that interesting because there is only one book. But the bedroom has three bookcases, plus piles. And I plan to read every book.

    I do some daytime reading, especially if I love the book. But, at night in bed, my books and I . . .

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  31. I do not read the books in the order that I get them. I do it by feel. Do I feel like history, biography, mystery, myth or poetry. Nine times out of ten, I feel like mystery. I listen to books while I'm painting, riding my bike, walking dogs and pulling weeds. I especially enjoy listening to Deborah Crombie's books on audible, I like her readers' voices. I do read a page or two in bed until my eyes get bleary. Of course, I've been reading for a couple of hours in the livingroom before that.

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  32. Doesn't everyone? It's one of my favorite places to read but I can only read one book at a time so usually just one book on the nightstand. My to-be-read stacks are elsewhere.

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  33. Shirley and Denise Ann, that is SO organized of you!

    Lisa, send me your photo via Facebook or my email! There are still 6 days to go!

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  34. Reading in bed is my big treat. I don't know why, either, but I feel guilty if I read during the day. And sometimes I start out on the couch, but then I think--why aren't I in bed where I can really be comfortable? I've been known to read all night. Caught the habit from my mom. I don't read my stacks in order--sometimes things come in that I've been longing to read and I'll jump right on on them and finish up other books later. And I never run out of things to read--because if I've finished up everything new, I'll go back and re-read an old favorite quite happily!

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  35. I always read in bed. Last night I was reading The Silkworm until 2am, I had to stop because I work today.
    I used to get a book and start it on a weekend, then just keep reading until I was done, but now I hate to finish so quickly! I still do it sometimes, especially if I am "catching up" on a series.

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  36. I regularly bump books down a little on my TBR pile if something I've been waiting for at the library becomes available. I keep the books I own, either in print or on the Kindle, for when the library books are finished. And of course, I regularly read 3 or 4 books at a time. Some people wonder how I can keep the details straight in my mind. My response is "do you know the difference between your sons and your daughters??!!

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  37. DebRo, I just burst out laughing! Perfect!

    And good question--who else reads more than one book at once? Well, not at once, at exactly the same time. You know what we mean.

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  38. Yes, I can't sleep if I don't read something before nodding off. I can trace that back to my grandmother reading me stories at bedtime before I even started school.

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  39. Kathy Reel, thank you! Outside of conscientious non-subtlety with Hank it was no work at all taking the photo… Grab iPhone. Point. Click. Looking forward to seeing everyone else's book photos!

    Hank, leave it to you to come up with a fun activity!

    Deborah Crombie, I'm a read-a-holic, too, and I've been taking note of what others are reading. But now I'm thinking I was up until 6:30 this morning—supposedly researching the history of Salem—but woke up with a JRW book in each hand. How am I going to get my writing done if you all keep writing such good books?

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  40. I have to read before I go to bed, or I can't go to sleep.

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  41. If I read in bed I wind up staying up all night reading so I really have to pick which nights to do that.

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  42. Ray Daniel—hi! I love the history of the Boston and New York subway systems... so thank you for mentioning THE RACE UNDERGROUND! Do you know of any books about the great molasses flood of 1919?

    Hank... "And good question--who else reads more than one book at once?" I have at least one book going in each room of the house, by each seat I use. xoxox

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  43. I read in bed, on commutes, while my work computer is booting up, during commercials while watching tv. When a friend and I take road trips, she drives, I read to her.

    I was on vacation when Hank asked for photos. I have several shelves of unread books and an iPad with books on the iBooks, Kindle and Kobo apps.

    Looking forward to "The Truth Be Told".

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  44. I read in bed almost every night. Sometimes I have to go back and re-read the next day but that's okay I dont mind. :) Ive been house sitting for the past 4 days, but when i'll get home tomorrow I will take a pic of my book mountain beside my bed..

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  45. I read in my recliner every evening, but it may as well be in bed because sooner or later I nod off. I usually manage to get an hour or two in every evening (and I didn't take a photo of my bedside pile because it is over 100 books at the moment). Nonetheless, there is room there for an ARC of yours ;-)

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  46. Absolutely! Sometimes I am forced to "lie" to my husband about "just finishing this section!"

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  47. No matter how tired I am, I have to read before I turn off the light to sleep. Once I start reading, I have to get to the end of a chapter before I can stop!

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  48. I didn't post a picture of my bedside table because it's loaded with books. LOL. Glad to see I'm not alone. I start reading about 10 p.m. when hubby puts on some awful tv programs. I read for about an hour...then the news. 7

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  49. I love to read in bed, but I've been reading a lot of mysteries and thrillers lately, which have me leaping onto the mattress for fear something will grab me from beneath it. I don't want to freak myself out when my husband is traveling. So, when he's away, I have to admit, I'm all about Angry Birds. It's redundant and mindless enough to put me to sleep. Funny. I can write some horribly gruesome stuff, but I can't always read it!

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  50. I read in bed - or anywhere else I get the chance! But there's actually a lot of nights that I end up just snuggling my book or kindle - sleep comes too soon!

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  51. I agree! I recently started two books that I had to put aside because they were just too gruesome. Is this a sign of old age? Or wisdom? It never used to bother me…

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  52. I read every night before going to bed. Usually it's via the Kindle app on my phone. Life is pretty stressful at the moment, and I love the escape that reading provides.

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  53. I try not to read in bed, but I definitely read before bed. And in the morning. And at my lunch hour. And in waiting rooms (hooray for Kindle ap on my phone). :) I can't share a night-stand picture because I don't have a night-stand. :)

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  55. I have read every night in bed, for at least an hour, since I knew how to read. It drove my husband crazy for years, until about nine years ago, when I hooked him on James Patterson, and he hasn't said a word since.

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  56. Nearly all of my reading takes place in the bathtub. I rarely read in bed. In the summer, I also read out on my porch and in the winter, I curl up on the couch in front of the fireplace to read. But the bathtub still wins out for the most reading done.

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  57. I read in bed but not usually before going to sleep. I can read there in the daytime. I do my best reading in bed because I have a good lamp and I use my backrest.

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  58. Every night. But my nighttime ritual is to reread books that I know and love, like the Harry Potter books -- they can hold my interest, but, if I'm really tired, I can put it down in the middle of a sentence and know exactly where I am and what I'll be reading the next night.

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  59. I have several books going at once . . . one on CD in the car and whatever else has grabbed my attention and/or needs to go back to the library soonest. It's like keeping up with different friend's lives . . . and less confusing if the genres or settings are different enough.
    Someone mentioned ear buds not staying in -- this is probably NOT your problem, but when I had that issue with my first iPod, a teen-ager showed me the faint L and R on them . . . then they worked much better. Also books were more logical when another teen taught me how to undo the shuffle mode. (Hank what does DFOJRW mean under my photo? Can't figure out the code there).

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  60. I read Everywhere and Anytime!! I read in bed and every other room in the house and in the car and on the plane and in a bus and on a train!

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  61. I do read in bed. For hours. I have 3 stacks of books by my bed.

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  62. I have to say I only read in bed -unfortunately- because there is where I can be found most of the day and, naturally, at night. I can't get to sleep easily, so a book is always welcome (not to make me sleep or keep me awake, but to make me forget my health problems...)

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  63. I've been reading in bed since I could read - flashlight under the covers, etc. Always have a book with me. Now that I'm retired, I read in bed way too late and enjoy every minute of it. Best reason to lose sleep!

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  64. I always start out the best bedtime reading intentions but then I am afraid I turn into a Jonathan. I fall asleep within 5 minutes. And that's after reading the same page over and over again as I am nodding off. But it is still a necessary ritual for me and I find when I don't do any bedtime reading I have a harder time falling asleep.

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  65. I read in bed every night and usually have at least two books in progress to choose from on my nightstand. Sometimes I just read a few pages; other times, I stay up w-a-y too late because I can't put the book down. Regardless of how much or how little I read, it's part of my evening ritual and has been for as long as I can remember.

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  66. I used to LOVE reading in bed. But first old age crept up on me and then it pounced. Now, even if I'm wide awake to begin with, open a book or switch on the e-reader and it's...zzzz. Better than a sleeping pill or hot milk with bourbon and nutmeg.

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  67. Hot milk with bourbon and nutmeg? Cannot hurt, Mary!

    and "turning into a Jonathan"? I LOVE that...and am telling him tight now. xoox

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  68. Martisima, isn't it wonderful that it can work? xoxo
    Yes, Megan G and Casey..part of the evening ritual. And I am honored to share it with ou!

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  69. And the winner of the TRUTH BE TOLD arc is mmgage! HURRAY!

    Send me your address....to h ryan at whdh dot com

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  70. ** different friends' lives**
    I know you all would be too polite to take notice of a misplaced apostrophe, but it bothered me . . . edit option would be nice ;-) I could blame the keyboard, though, since it just tried to leave out the second o in too.

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  71. I do read before I go to sleep. How long depends on how tired I am because my super power is being able to read myself to sleep. I can fall asleep in the climax of a favorite author if I'm tired enough, and when I can't go to sleep, I pick up my book again and read myself to sleep.

    carstairs38 at gmail

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