Knee-high Reading

[Lokasenna]

So, what do people have for knee-high reading? Do you even bother with it?

By the by, if you're not familiar with the expression, I mean do you keep any reading materials in the lavatory, for when you are... ahem... sitting?

I know I annoyed the heck out of my flatmates last year by the sheer volume of books that mounted up in the bathroom, but one of my bad habits is that I like a selection.

At the moment, I've got a volume of Shelly (I usually have at least one Romantic in there), The Devil's Dictionary, and the utterly wonderful 1066 and All That.

So, which books live at knee-level for you?

[prendrelemick]

Thats where I keep the Dan Browns, in case I run out of paper.

[wat??]

I have some books on Picasso and Impressionism as well as some Robert Crumb comix which I habitually read in the bathroom.

[skib]

I've been reading the same jokebook for about three years now. However, I also keep one of my former high schools' annual literary magazine in case the jokes get stale.

[Michael T]

A few old Calvin and Hobbes books.

[Scheherazade]

I usually keep something for the guests: recent copies of "TIME", "Scientific American" and "Linux Format".

Rarely take the books to the bathroom.

[Niamh]

people really do this?

[LukeS.]

I have never read in the bathroom. I don't understand it.

[sadparadise]

Harold Bloom's books Genius and How to Read and Why, can be found in the toilet area at my home. At work, in the can, I have a few editions of Philosophy Now and editions of the Discover science magazine. Often at work, first thing, I place the novel in the washroom I am reading at the time. It happens to be The Naked and the Dead right now.

[papayahed]

Currently I have two magazines, The Atlantic and Women's Health, and three books, Dead Souls, The Beautiful and the Damned and something by Donna Tarte.

One day at work I was talking about the perks at other jobs and I mentioned that one of my favorite perks at one place was a stack of magazines in the restroom. A couple days later I came in and in the bathroom were three magazines and a sign that said Papaya's reading material.

[Modest Proposal]

I feel like that setting is either a great honor to the authors or a great insult. So intimate... so awkward...

[Lokasenna]

A few old Calvin and Hobbes books.

Ah yes, that's something else that can often be found in my loo. Good on you!

[wessexgirl]

:eek2: Yeuk! I don't understand this at all. How long are you in there? Maybe I'm a bit anal (:lol:), but I could never take books or magazines into the bathroom, with the hygiene factor, and as someone else said, it also seems a bit disrespectful to the authors. We weren't allowed to use the insides of toilet rolls for craft work because of the risk of illness from germs, so the thought of taking my precious books in there doesn't bear thinking about! I admit I am a bit pernikety(? sp) about hygiene, and have had to toughen up working in a school. I never accept food from the students though :lol:, you don't know where their hands have been! On a similar topic, I heard a startling fact last night that Churchill never used to wash his hands after using the loo. Someone challenged him and said, "at Eton we were taught to wash our hands after visiting the bathroom", to which he retorted "at Harrow we learned not to p*** on our hands!" :lol:

[LitNetIsGreat]

:lol: I like that.

No, I don't read knee high or whatever it is called. I read in the bath every night, which can be a little tricky as I hate damp pages, but I am mostly getting used to it - keep a towel close to keep hands dry. Actually, I pay more attention to my books in the bath and I don't think I even wash properly - I tend to think that using the kids bubble bath will do the trick.

[Lokasenna]

No, I don't read knee high or whatever it is called. I read in the bath every night, which can be a little tricky as I hate damp pages, but I am mostly getting used to it - keep a towel close to keep hands dry. Actually, I pay more attention to my books in the bath and I don't think I even wash properly - I tend to think that using the kids bubble bath will do the trick.

On the odd occasion I take a bath, I read there too. Unfortunately, I've yet to find a bathtub I can comfortably fit in (I'm 6 foot 4) so its a rare occurence, but very enjoyable until your knees get cold. I also sort of read in the shower - I blu-tac sheets of A4 to the outside of the glass. Its really great for learning lines if you're in a play!

[Maryd.]

Well, I am a little bit of a clean freak as well. The only time I have ever read in the (knee high, Jon, lav, loo - whatever everyone calls it) is when I have visited someone's home and they have magazines available or posters. I do actually keep a poem up on my door, which I wrote. (On keeping the loo clean) But that's about it.

[Lulim]

Thats where I keep the Dan Browns, in case I run out of paper.
... that's an excellent choice -- for that purpose, that is ...

I have no reading material at the lavatory.

[kasie]

Reading in the shower! Wow, that's what I call inventive. Unfortunately, I need glasses to read, so could you also invent some specs with automatic wipers, please, for the use of the visually challenged?

Actually I'm with wessexgirl on this one - I can't bear the thought of the hygene (or lack of) aspect of taking books into the loo and the lasting effects of steam on paper, though I did once hear of a girl who read in the bath and just tore out the pages as she read them, on the grounds that the book was ruined afterwards anyway, a tale I thought was apocryphal when I heard it. Or are we back to the uses of the works of DB at this point?

[Lokasenna]

Reading in the shower! Wow, that's what I call inventive. Unfortunately, I need glasses to read, so could you also invent some specs with automatic wipers, please, for the use of the visually challenged?

It's not a problem - I'm very shortsighted (can't fuction without my specs), so I tend to wear them even when I'm showering (its a great opportunity to get them really clean!). When I take them off to wash my hair, I just have squint and get quite close to the glass - you'd be surprised at how you can manage!

[wat??]

A few old Calvin and Hobbes books.

Ah same.

[bohn]

I never ever read in the toilet..

Get in and get out asap :-)

But the person who said he keeps some Dan Brown for when he runs out of toilet paper.. that made me LOL :)

[The Comedian]

My list will include any or all of these: Time, National Geographic, Smithsonian, the local newspaper, various & sundry catalogs, the Green Lantern (comics), any of the novels that I'm currently reading. . . .

[Barbarous]

Any book that I'm currently reading comes with me into the bathroom, why have idle time when you can read!?

[bohn]

You guys ever considered eating more fibre.. perhaps that will help you go to the toilet quicker :-)

Then you wouldn't have time for reading..

[Maryd.]

You guys ever considered eating more fibre.. perhaps that will help you go to the toilet quicker :-)

Then you wouldn't have time for reading..

Here, here...:lol:

[papayahed]

erm, hygeine? and books? it's not like we're dipping the books in the toilet.

[wessexgirl]

erm, hygeine? and books? it's not like we're dipping the books in the toilet.

No, you may not be dipping your books in the loo, but you hold your books with your hands.....They are still in a basically unhygienic place. As I said on my earlier post, when I was doing craft work with children, our local authority stopped anyone using toilet roll inserts as it was proven that they were covered in germs, and could prove a health hazard, and you don't dip them into the loo either. "How Clean is Your House" anyone? Those who live in the UK will know what I mean when they show the trillions of germs crawling all over the place. Admittedly the houses they visit are akin to cesspits, but they do show how splashes of ........:sick: well whatever, contain billions of germs. For the amount of time I spend in the loo, I can leave my books outside. Think of it as an incentive, get the business done quickly, and get back to the lovely books :nod:. I couldn't wreck my books in the bath either. Much better to put an audio book on, and lay back and enjoy......I have the player outside of the bathroom as I don't want to get electrocuted! :lol:

[papayahed]

Then the toilet paper, toothbrush, soap dispenser, etc. has the same, if not more germs crawling on them then a book would.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6nGgS6ADoI

[Maryd.]

Then the toilet paper, toothbrush, soap dispenser, etc. has the same, if not more germs crawling on them then a book would.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6nGgS6ADoI

True that... One up for Papayahed...

[wessexgirl]

Then the toilet paper, toothbrush, soap dispenser, etc. has the same, if not more germs crawling on them then a book would.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6nGgS6ADoI

Exactly. But as they are things that are needed in a bathroom, then that can't be helped, to a certain extent. You can clean them though, and the loo paper will be going down the loo. You don't need to have a book in that environment. I'm lucky that I've got a separate bathroom and lav, so no splashback from the loo onto bathroom items.

[kasie]

Then the toilet paper, toothbrush, soap dispenser, etc. has the same, if not more germs crawling on them then a book would.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6nGgS6ADoI

Papya - you do not want to know what happens if your toothbrush is within six feet of the loo.....especially if you have the - ahem - windypops. :nod:

[skib]

Does no one else have lids on their throne?!

[My name is red]

I have never read in the bathroom. I don't understand it.
me neither.i mean how could it take so long or why would i try to enjoy these moments in an other way.i prefer to hurry up and go back to my read then.