Where Is the Best Place to Read a Book? 1,000+ Authors Weigh In
Where is the best place to read a book?
It sounds like a simple question, but after asking more than 1,000 authors where they most love to read, I’ve learned that the answer says almost as much about a reader as the books on their shelves.
Since starting Hasty Book List, I’ve interviewed more than 1,000 authors about their books, their writing lives, their reading habits, and the little details that make them who they are. One of my favorite questions has always been: What is your favorite place to read a book?
The answers have taken me everywhere—from beds piled with pillows to beaches, bathtubs, hammocks, coffee shops, porches, airplanes, libraries, lake houses, and very specific corners of very specific couches.
For a recent event with Wayfair, I went back through these author interviews and started looking at the responses collectively. For this post, I analyzed 1,030 author answers to see which places to read appeared again and again.
And while there isn’t one universal best place to read a book, there is a remarkably clear pattern: readers want to be comfortable, undisturbed, surrounded by pleasant sensory details, and just removed enough from everyday life to disappear into a story.
So, if you’re wondering where to read books—or trying to create a better reading spot of your own—here’s what more than 1,000 authors taught me.
Where Is the Best Place to Read a Book?
Based on more than 1,000 Hasty Book List author interviews, home is the overwhelming heart of the reading life.
Beds, couches, comfortable chairs, porches, decks, and other cozy corners of the house appeared constantly in the responses. But outdoor reading was just as striking. Authors mentioned beaches, gardens, patios, hammocks, pools, lakes, and other outdoor spaces hundreds of times.
Because this was an open-ended question and authors could name multiple favorite places, these categories overlap. Still, a few themes stood out in the 1,030 responses:
319 responses mentioned a bed or bedroom
365 mentioned some form of outdoor reading, including beaches, porches, patios, gardens, decks, hammocks, parks, pools, and backyards
182 mentioned a chair, armchair, or recliner
158 mentioned a couch or sofa
124 specifically mentioned the beach
81 mentioned reading while traveling or in transit, including airplanes, trains, buses, and airports
39 mentioned a bath or bathtub
Coffee shops, libraries, bookstores, docks, fireplaces, hotel rooms, and vacation destinations also appeared again and again
What interested me most wasn’t necessarily which individual location “won.” It was what all these places had in common.
The best places to read seem to give us permission to stop doing everything else.
The Bedroom: One of the Most Popular Places to Read
If you’re looking for the classic answer to where to read books, start with the bedroom.
Nearly a third of the responses I analyzed mentioned a bed or bedroom somewhere in the answer. It makes sense. Reading in bed naturally belongs to the quieter edges of the day: early morning before anyone else wakes up or at night when the obligations of the day are finally finished.
Author Jessica Bull described her favorite place to read as:
“In bed with a cup of tea and a cuddle from my dog, very early in the morning before the rest of my family wake up.” You can read my full author interview with Jessica Bull.
I love that answer because the bed itself is only part of the equation. There’s also the tea, the dog, the quiet house, and that small pocket of time before everyone else needs something from you.
That combination appeared repeatedly in the responses. Authors didn’t simply say “bed.” They described blankets, pets, cups of tea, rain outside, early mornings, late nights, and the luxury of not being interrupted.
If you want to make your bedroom a better place to read, you don’t necessarily need a dramatic reading nook. A supportive pillow, a bedside lamp with warm light, somewhere to set a drink, and a blanket may be enough.
The Couch: The Everyday Reading Spot
The couch may be less romantic than a hammock overlooking the ocean, but it is one of the most practical places to read a book—and authors clearly appreciate it.
Audrey Birnbaum has an especially relatable arrangement:
“I have an L-shaped couch. The corner spot is reserved for me—or maybe I just claimed it.” Read my full interview with Audrey Birnbaum.
That idea of a claimed spot came through in many of the responses. Readers develop territories: a particular end of the sofa, a certain armchair, the corner nearest the lamp, the seat beside a window.
Peter Kageyama adds two of the most frequently recurring accessories in these interviews: coffee and a dog.
“On the couch, early in the morning before my wife gets up. I walk the dog and then sit down with my coffee and Dobby…curls up next to me while I read.” You can find more in my author interview with Peter Kageyama.
There is something reassuring about this version of a reading life. The best place to read doesn’t have to be an Instagram-worthy home library. It can simply be one comfortable corner of the room that has quietly become yours.
A Comfortable Chair Might Be All You Need
More than 180 responses mentioned some version of a chair, armchair, or recliner.
When I worked with Wayfair to explore how to create a reading nook, this was one of my biggest takeaways from the author responses: you don’t need an entire room to create a dedicated place to read.
A reading nook can be surprisingly simple.
Start with a comfortable chair. Add good lighting. Give yourself a table close enough to hold a drink and your phone. If possible, position the chair near a window. Add a throw blanket, a footstool or ottoman, and somewhere nearby to keep a few books.
The authors I’ve interviewed repeatedly described places that made them feel settled. That may be the most important quality of a good reading spot. You want to sit down and immediately feel as though there is nowhere else you need to be.
Outside: One of the Best Places to Read a Book
If home dominated the answers, the outdoors provided serious competition.
More than 350 responses mentioned some form of outdoor reading. Beaches were especially popular, but authors also dreamed about porches, patios, gardens, decks, hammocks, docks, backyards, lakes, and pools.
And perhaps no answer captures the appeal quite like Phoebe McIntosh’s:
“In a hammock. The location of the hammock doesn’t matter too much.”
For McIntosh, the gentle rocking helps time slow down—what she calls “perfect reading conditions.” Read the complete author interview with Phoebe McIntosh.
There’s a clue there.
Reading is inherently still. A hammock, porch swing, breeze through the trees, or waves hitting the shore introduces just enough movement and ambient sound to make that stillness feel luxurious rather than restless.
Why Authors Love Reading on the Porch
Porches came up dozens of times in the responses, and I can understand why. A porch sits somewhere between indoors and outdoors. You get fresh air and changing scenery without completely giving up the comforts of home.
Author Joy Jordan-Lake gave me three possibilities: the beach with the tide at her feet, a roaring fire in the mountains, or her own back porch with a fire, crickets chirping, and her dog in her lap. Ultimately, she chose the porch. Read my author interview with Joy Jordan-Lake.
Her answer also illustrates something I noticed throughout the data: the best reading environments engage more than your eyes.
There’s the sound of crickets. The warmth of a fire. A dog in your lap. Moving air. A view.
A good reading space gives your senses just enough to enjoy while allowing your mind to remain inside the book.
Is the Beach the Best Place to Read?
For 124 of the responses I analyzed, the beach made an appearance.
That probably surprises absolutely no one.
A beach naturally provides many of the conditions readers seem to crave: warmth, repetitive background noise, natural light, a comfortable place to stretch out, and—most importantly—very little expectation that you should be accomplishing something productive.
Of course, beach reading has practical drawbacks. Sand. Wind. Glare. Wet swimsuits. The inevitable moment when you realize you have been reading for two hours and only applied sunscreen once.
But as a place to escape into a book, it is hard to beat.
And “water view” appeared beyond the beach, too. Authors described reading beside lakes, pools, docks, rivers, and oceans. There seems to be something about reading near water that makes slowing down easier.
The Perfect Reading Spot Changes With the Seasons
One of my favorite discoveries in these answers is that many authors refused to choose just one place.
Instead, their favorite place to read changes with the weather.
Loreth Anne White put it perfectly:
“On our cabin deck up at the lake during the long days of summer, or curled up near the fireplace in cold seasons.” Read my full interview with Loreth Anne White.
That sounds pretty close to an ideal reading year to me.
Summer invites you outside: a porch, beach, hammock, pool, garden, or lake.
Fall calls for a comfortable chair, blanket, warm drink, and open window.
Winter belongs to fireplaces, couches, and beds.
Spring brings back porches, patios, and those first afternoons when it is finally warm enough to take your book outside.
Instead of trying to create one perfect place to read year-round, it may make more sense to have a few reading rituals that change with the seasons.
The Bathtub: A Surprisingly Popular Place to Read
There are two kinds of readers: people who think reading in the bathtub sounds heavenly and people who spend the entire time worrying about dropping the book.
Authors in my interviews are apparently willing to take the risk.
Susan Coll certainly is:
“The bathtub. I have destroyed any number of books while reading in the tub, but I persist, nonetheless.” Read my complete author interview with Susan Coll.
Honestly, that may be the greatest endorsement of bathtub reading possible.
Baths offer something many of the most popular places to read have in common: a boundary. Once you’re in the bathtub, you’re unlikely to fold laundry, answer the door, reorganize a closet, or wander into the kitchen to unload the dishwasher.
For a little while, reading can be the only thing on the agenda.
Just perhaps don't take your favorite signed first edition in there.
Coffee Shops and Libraries: Reading Alone, Together
Not everyone wants complete solitude.
One smaller but fascinating group of authors mentioned coffee shops, libraries, bookstores, and other public places. These reading spots offer a different experience: the ability to be alone without actually being alone.
Elisabeth Rhoads loves cozy coffee shops:
“There’s something about drinking a heavily creamed cup of coffee, while reading an absorbing book, that makes me feel completely at peace.” Read the full author interview with Elisabeth Rhoads.
Coffee shops can be especially good places to read when your own house is full of distractions. The background hum creates atmosphere without requiring your attention, and ordering a drink gives the outing a small sense of occasion.
Libraries offer another version of the same experience. You’re surrounded by people, but everyone has implicitly agreed to leave one another alone.
For readers who have trouble concentrating at home, that may make a library one of the best places to read a book.
Planes, Trains, and the Pleasure of Reading in Transit
More than 80 responses mentioned planes, trains, buses, airports, or other forms of travel.
I find this category particularly interesting because these aren't necessarily comfortable places. What they provide instead is time without responsibility.
Once the plane takes off or the train leaves the station, you can't run an errand or start a household project. You are going somewhere, but you don't have to do the work of getting yourself there.
A book fills that in-between space beautifully.
Lauren Aliza Green described reading “on planes, trains, by lakes, in coffee shops, tucked into library corners,” adding:
“Books are the best company.” Read my author interview with Lauren Aliza Green.
For anyone wondering where to read more books, this may be an important lesson: don't wait for perfect conditions.
Keep a book with you.
Sometimes the Best Place to Read Is Wherever You Can
That idea appeared repeatedly throughout the author interviews.
Some authors had wonderfully specific reading rituals. Others essentially told me: anywhere and everywhere.
They read in waiting rooms. In school pickup lines. At airports. During their children's activities. On public transportation. At the hair salon. On vacation. At home. Outside. In bed.
Those responses might offer the most useful advice of all.
Creating a beautiful reading nook can make you want to read. But becoming someone who always has a book within reach is what helps you actually read more.
A ten-minute wait becomes a chapter.
A delayed flight becomes reading time.
Arriving early becomes something to look forward to.
What Makes a Good Place to Read?
After reading more than 1,000 answers, I don't think the perfect reading spot is really about a particular room.
It's about a feeling.
The places authors described most lovingly tended to have a few things in common:
Comfort: somewhere you can stay for more than a few minutes without constantly shifting around.
Good light: natural light during the day or warm, well-positioned task lighting at night.
A place for a drink: coffee, tea, wine, water, or whatever belongs to your reading ritual.
Minimal interruption: perhaps the most important ingredient of all.
A little atmosphere: rain, waves, a crackling fire, birds, crickets, coffee-shop chatter, or a good view.
Something soft: blankets, pillows, upholstered furniture, even a dog or cat curled up beside you.
A sense of escape: the feeling that ordinary life has temporarily been put on hold.
You don't need every one of these things. But combine three or four and you are well on your way to creating a place where you'll actually want to linger with a book.
How to Create the Best Place to Read at Home
If I were building a reading nook based entirely on what these 1,000+ authors told me, I would start with comfort rather than bookshelves.
Choose the place in your home where you naturally want to settle. That could be the corner of your couch, an armchair beside a window, one side of your bed, or a chair on the porch.
Then pay attention to the small things that would allow you to stay there longer.
Put a lamp within easy reach. Add a side table large enough for a drink and a book. Keep a blanket nearby. Add an ottoman if you like to put your feet up. If you have a good view, orient the chair toward it. If you love reading with coffee in the morning, make that part of the ritual.
Most importantly, don't design a reading nook simply because it looks like a reading nook.
Design it around how you actually read.
That was one of the ideas I explored during my reading nook program with Wayfair, and going through these author responses completely changed the way I thought about reading spaces. The best ones aren't necessarily grand home libraries. They're spaces that remove the tiny annoyances that might otherwise make you get up.
So, Where Should You Read Books?
After 1,030 answers, I don't think I can crown a single best place to read a book. But I can tell you what the authors taught me.
Read in bed before everyone wakes up.
Claim the corner of the couch.
Put a chair beside the window.
Take your book onto the porch when the weather turns warm.
Read beside the pool, on the beach, or in a hammock.
Bring a paperback to the bathtub if you're willing to accept the consequences.
Find a coffee shop where nobody knows you.
Put a book in your bag before you leave for the airport.
Curl up beside the fireplace when it snows.
The best place to read a book is the place where you can become unaware of where you are at all.
And perhaps that's why I’ve loved asking authors this question for so many years. Their answers aren't really about furniture or rooms. They're little portraits of what it looks like when someone makes space in their life for reading.
After more than 1,000 interviews, that may be my favorite thing these authors have taught me.
Where Is Your Favorite Place to Read a Book?
Now I want to add readers to the conversation.
Where do you read books when you have the luxury of choosing? Are you a read-in-bed person, a beach reader, a coffee-shop regular, or someone who has claimed one very specific corner of the couch?
Tell me your favorite place to read in the comments. I’d love to see how Hasty Book List readers compare to the 1,000+ authors I’ve interviewed.
