read outside

Grab a book and read outside this weekend, if you can. Here are some inspirations.
What's the best setup for serious outdoor reading? I suggest that it be in an armchair, sitting up straight, in the shade of a tree or an umbrella, comfortable but not too comfortable. A beach towel or a picnic blanket works, but the sun moves, the back or the neck stiffens, it's not safe. My friend Avi insists you need to be in one of those zero-gravity recliners that I'm sure would work like an adult crib and put me to sleep instantly.
According to my colleagues Elisabeth Egan and Erica Ackerberg, who put together this glorious album of outdoor bookworms: "There are only a handful of non-negotiables when it comes to outdoor reading : sunscreen, hydration, repetition."
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Reading a book outside in the summer cements it in memory for me. J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace" on the beach in July and the ensuing sunburn. The restaurant terrace just sunny enough where I was going back and forth every three lines between Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" and a French translation, "Le Monde S'Effondre", trying to improve my language skills. "The Long Secret" by Louise Fitzhugh, a sequel to "Harriet the Spy", on the lawn, in the garden, mosquito bites.
ImageReading "The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World" by Michael Pollan, at Riverside Park in Manhattan.Credit...Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times
ImageReading "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", by Caitlin Doughty, in Washington, D.C.Credit ... Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
If you can take an hour or an afternoon to read outside of this weekend, the choice is yours among many promising new books. Perhaps Tess Gunty's "dense, prismatic and often fascinating debut" "The Rabbit Hutch"? Alec Nevala-Lee's biography on Buckminster Fuller? Or "Knocking Myself Up: A Memoir of My (In)Fertility" by Michelle Tea? Elisabeth recommends “The Displacements”, by Bruce Holsinger. I recently read Elizabeth Day's "Magpie" on two delightful afternoons. You may prefer a paperback, lest a hardcover prove too heavy to hold if you plan to lay down. We also have a bunch. (And if you're more of an e-reader, you have all of these options and more.)
What have you read lately, outside or otherwise, that you liked? Tell me about it.
Find out more
I love those old photos of people reading around you...

World Aug 7, 2022 0 89 Add to Reading List

Grab a book and read outside this weekend, if you can. Here are some inspirations.

What's the best setup for serious outdoor reading? I suggest that it be in an armchair, sitting up straight, in the shade of a tree or an umbrella, comfortable but not too comfortable. A beach towel or a picnic blanket works, but the sun moves, the back or the neck stiffens, it's not safe. My friend Avi insists you need to be in one of those zero-gravity recliners that I'm sure would work like an adult crib and put me to sleep instantly.

According to my colleagues Elisabeth Egan and Erica Ackerberg, who put together this glorious album of outdoor bookworms: "There are only a handful of non-negotiables when it comes to outdoor reading : sunscreen, hydration, repetition."

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Reading a book outside in the summer cements it in memory for me. J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace" on the beach in July and the ensuing sunburn. The restaurant terrace just sunny enough where I was going back and forth every three lines between Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" and a French translation, "Le Monde S'Effondre", trying to improve my language skills. "The Long Secret" by Louise Fitzhugh, a sequel to "Harriet the Spy", on the lawn, in the garden, mosquito bites.

ImageReading "The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World" by Michael Pollan, at Riverside Park in Manhattan.Credit...Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

ImageReading "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", by Caitlin Doughty, in Washington, D.C.Credit ... Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

If you can take an hour or an afternoon to read outside of this weekend, the choice is yours among many promising new books. Perhaps Tess Gunty's "dense, prismatic and often fascinating debut" "The Rabbit Hutch"? Alec Nevala-Lee's biography on Buckminster Fuller? Or "Knocking Myself Up: A Memoir of My (In)Fertility" by Michelle Tea? Elisabeth recommends “The Displacements”, by Bruce Holsinger. I recently read Elizabeth Day's "Magpie" on two delightful afternoons. You may prefer a paperback, lest a hardcover prove too heavy to hold if you plan to lay down. We also have a bunch. (And if you're more of an e-reader, you have all of these options and more.)

What have you read lately, outside or otherwise, that you liked? Tell me about it.

Find out more

I love those old photos of people reading around you...