In November’s O Magazine, Oprah was photographed on a green, sun-dappled lawn, stretched out in a comfy lounge chair, with a book in her hands and two more on a table next to her. The caption says: “My best life: a beautiful day and a magnificent book in one of my favorite places.” 

That photograph inspired my own musing about my favorite reading experiences: Where I was and how the books I was reading were enriched by the sounds, smells and surroundings in which I was reading them.

I want to spark your memory of a favorite reading experience.  Where were you? What is most vivid about that day?  The scent of a garden? The sound of a thunderstorm? And what were you reading? 

Tweet me @KerriMPR and I’ll share your memories in a future Thread Must-Read.  

To get you going, here are some reading experiences that well-known writers shared with The New York Times:  Memoirist and essayist Leslie Jamison described being at a cabin in western Maryland where she was working on a magazine profile.  “...In the afternoons,” she recalled, “I’d lie flat on my stomach on a small dock for hours — in the impossibly strong sun, while the wood bobbed up and down from the motorboat wakes — reading 'The Hunger Games.'"

Chuck Klosterman told The Times he likes to read in diners. John Green likes the idea of playing hooky and reading in a quiet house when he’s supposed to be writing. Imani Perry loves to snuggle into a comfortable chair next to an open window in the midst of a thunderstorm, inhaling the smell of the rain, and Tomi Adeyami brings her Kindle to the beach, pops open an umbrella and munches on tasty snacks.  

So, those are some favorite reading experiences from writers.  How about you?

Tweet me your most vivid reading experience and what made it special. (And tell me what you were reading!) You can find me @KerriMPR.

-Kerri Miller