More of the Perfect Bathroom Reading

Awhile back (2013 actually), I wrote a post on the pastime described in the title. Yes, I decided to go there again. (Get it? Go there? Okay, I really should let that go. Ha ha! Aren’t you glad I stuck around four years as a blogger?)

Anyhow, the subject came up again recently, and since I have a blog, I decided to discuss it here. No subject is too inane for me to write about. Perhaps you wish some were. Well, it was either this subject or a discussion of what I had for lunch (grilled ham and cheese—see, not much to talk about).

So, what makes for good bathroom reading? Need it be waterproof? What are the criteria? Have they changed in the last four years? Good questions. Well, I’m still very particular about my bathroom reading. As I mentioned in a previous post, novels (non-graphic novels) don’t really work for me, unless the novel is something for which putting it down is next to impossible. But if it’s that impossible to put down, I would remain in the bathroom for hours, reading. (Not a bad thing, really, if you live alone. With a family sharing a bathroom, however, this would be a bad thing.)

I prefer something I can flip through, and perhaps quickly read a section. That’s why, at least for me, magazines (the extent of my nonfiction bathroom reading), alumni newsletters, fun catalogs, and graphic novels still make the perfect bathroom reading. (Nothing much has changed in the last four years.) I love the blend of images and text, which makes finding an interesting place to land very easy. And for the most part, I don’t “cheat” by taking my reading material out of the bathroom to finish reading later. Like I said, this is bathroom reading. It remains on the shelf in my bathroom.

This is what I currently have in my bathroom. Yes, that issue of Entertainment Weekly is as old as dirt. But it’s still fun to look at. And that’s definitely not the latest issue of Game Informer. I usually pass those on to some friends as soon as I finish them. Somehow I managed to hold on to this one.

I also have this series, written and illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi (books 3 and 7):

For more about this fantasy series, go here (the author/illustrator’s website):

Maybe a month ago, I read a great article on the work of Sir Fraser Stoddart, a professor at Northwestern University (see photo below left) who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year. Now, an article of that depth took several sessions to read. Took over a week to read Game Informer’s article on the three doctors who founded BioWare, the videogame developer. (That was a long article.) An article on George R. R. Martin (bottom right) took a few days to finish.

  

But I guess the point I’m making is that I love my bathroom reading. It’s just as special to me as my bedtime reading, though the time I spend doing it is a bit shorter. 🙂

Do you keep reading material in your bathroom? If so, what?

Bathroom image from somewhere on pinterest.com. George R. R. Martin photo from christianpost.com. Sir Fraser Stoddart photo from chemistry.northwestern.edu. Other photos by L. Marie.

The Perfect Bathroom Reading

I don’t know about you, but I like to have a selection of reading materials in the bathroom. That’s probably more information than you wanted to know about me, but I’m telling you anyway. I keep a stack of Entertainment Weekly and Game Informer magazines there. (Probably time to weed out some of those.) But my latest discovery is a Star Trek: The Next Generation graphic novel. Its episodic format makes it the perfect bathroom reading. I couldn’t be happier.

Now with a post like this, I run the risk of someone taking my words out of context and mistakenly believing that I equate the content with the . . . er . . . occupation. Nope. What I am saying is a certain kind of reading is relaxing enough to warrant a spot in my bathroom. I think of it as comfort reading. Like comfort food. You just crave it.

So, what doesn’t make good bathroom reading, at least for me? Ignore what you see in the picture above. Longer, print novels or nonfiction books don’t work for me. I get too caught up in the story . . . or not sometimes.

If you’ve read this blog before, by now you might be thinking this is an analogy about writing. I’ll finally get to the meat of the post right about now. We should strive for the literary equivalent of comfort food—right??? Write what’s comfortable or comforting? That’s what I really mean, right?

I would never presume to tell you what to do. (Though, you should floss regularly.) I’m just saying this isn’t an elaborate analogy. This is just a post about the perfect bathroom reading. Now, isn’t this time well spent?

Gotta go. Thankfully, I have an Entertainment Weekly waiting. . . .

What constitutes the perfect bathroom reading for you?
Take this poll or comment below (or both).

Toilet photo from viewgoods.com.