Top Ten Tuesday – Favorite Reading Spots

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Top Ten Tuesday, but I love todays topic which is favorite reading spots. Here are my favorite places to read…

1. Northwest Park, Manchester, CT – I specify the location of this park because there are two Northwest Parks that I love to go to. This first one is in my hometown. There’s a dock that overlooks Union Pond and I love to sit out there (when it’s not winter time) and read and listen to the animals and feel the wind blow. Its a great experience. Just a note, I took the picture below from the Town of Manchester website since I don’t have any good ones. I’ll also say that it looks nicer in the summertime when the trees have leaves.

2. Northwest Park, Windsor, CT – The Northwest Park in Windsor is much larger than the one in Manchester and also has a lot more going on. I couldn’t find any good pictures, but I’ll tell you about it. In addition to fields and playgrounds and soccer fields there are several hiking trails, a nature center, live animals, tobacco musuem (tobacco was pretty huge here in CT) and so much more. The park itself is almost 500 acres. During the months when the weather is warm enough I go there friday afternoons with a friend of mine and we hike some of the trails and afterwords we lounge in the grass or under the trees and read for a while and just all around chill out.

3. Outside at my school – At my university there are benches and tables everywhere, theres even a few nice patches of grassy area on campus, which considering the very urban location is nice. I’ve got a few areas that call my name when the weather permits, the grassy area in the Maxcy quad or the sitting and grassy areas between Dodds and Kaplan. There is nothing like laying down in the grass and reading a good book. Can you tell I like the outdoors yet?

4. Lounge in the student center – For the days that weather does not permit being outside, I like to read in the lounge in the student center on campus. There are a bunch of cozy chairs to hang out in and a cafe for coffee and the like. If I have long breaks in my schedule, as I have before, I’ve been known to sit in the student center for hours and just read.

5. My bed – I usually get all bundled up in bed and read for an hour, or three, each night before I go to sleep.

6. My couch – Since I can’t always stay barricaded in my room with my books, I spent a lot of time reading on the couch. Usually with one dog asleep on both my right and left sides like right now.

7. Starbucks – There are three Starbucks in Manchester, but if I’m going to one its the one nearest to my house. The people there are great, there’s an endless supply of coffee and water, my drinks of choice, and again, comfy chairs. If I’m going to be forced inside, then that’s where I spend a lot of my time.

8. The round room at MCC – While I don’t attend classes at Manchester Community College anymore, the high school I went to is on the campus so I’ve spent a lot of time there. I still go back to visit my teachers (both high school and the college professors I had while there) and sometimes I’ll hang out. The new building is big on glass windows and there is a little nook or what I call the round room that’s above the doors to the library. It’s hard to explain the architecture, but either way there are a handful of chairs, your off the main hall so there isn’t too much traffic, and there’s tons of natural light because of the windows. It’s a great place to curl up with a book and coffee.

9. Barnes & Noble Cafe – I love bookstores. I love cafes. The Barnes & Noble cafe is a must for me. On days when I have nothing to do I’ll go to Barnes & Noble, browse the shelves for a bit and after I’ve spent what averages 45 minutes browsing and made my selections I’ll head up to the cafe and grab a drink and settle in to read for a bit.

10. In the mountains – This might seem a little weird at first, but do let me explain. I try to take two weeks a year to go up to Vermont and just chill. I love it in the mountains, and we don’t have many here in CT. The air is so fresh and the sounds of nature are all around you. There is so little traffic and noise to distract you, it’s amazing. Nothing like taking my vacation and enjoying some quality time outside to read with nothing to spoil my fun.

So, those are my reading spots. Whats your favorite?