Relaxing with a Good Read
Don't stress out over what, where or when
By Melanie Lauwers

In preparation for writing this column about how to relax with a good book, I did what any self-respecting books page editor would do: I did some research to find out what books were available on the subject of relaxed reading.

Taking time out to relax with a good book.
I just knew that somewhere out there were writers who at some time had turned to the most basic questions for readers:
Why should I read?
What should I read?
When can I find the time?
Books page editors are not immune to the question of what to read or when to read it. Even with boxes of books delivered to my desk every week, when I look for personal reading, I pick up and put down many books without that "hook" that draws me into the story and keeps my eyes focused on the words and images that fly across the page. Over the course of my reading lifetime, I've probably put down 100 books for every one I've read. And I've read a lot of books.
I began my research at a local bookstore, searching the computer with keywords and phrases such as "reading for relaxation," "reading for pleasure" and "relaxing reading."
I found some interesting titles, among them, "Reading for Pleasure: Guidelines and Reading Aids," "Lost in a Book: The Psychology of Reading for Pleasure," "How to Read a Book for Pleasure and Profit," and "Pure Pleasure: A Guide to the 20th Century's Most Enjoyable Books."
Curiously, the computer also told me that all these books are out of print., perhaps pointing to the decline of reading as a personal habit, which was recently quantified by a report issued by the National Endowment for the Arts that said 10 million fewer readers are reading literary fiction today than 20 years ago.
While the books about reading books are probably available somewhere, and could be retrieved by a bookseller specializing in out-of-print books - or even at a library - frankly, relaxing with a book shouldn't require too much advance work.
And guess what? It doesn't.
In fact, it's not what you read that determines whether you'll relax with a book, but that you read.
I have sat in stone-quiet libraries and hushed houses and not relaxed to any degree more than I have reading science fiction on rattling subways or the most intricate novel on the most boisterous beach. The hammock in the back yard has provided a comfortable nest for curling up and reading, but so has the front seat of my car, when I've parked it in a lot at lunch time and read undisturbed for a half hour.
I've owned reading lights that hang over the headboard of the bed or get clipped to the book cover, but I've never enjoyed reading more than I did recently by flashlight in a tent in the woods in New Hampshire.
If a book has a hook, I'll read it. And I'll find the time, even if it's just five or 10 minutes at the very end of the day.
Many reader-wannabes will argue they simple have no time to read. They're not alone. In a recent story on this page, we interviewed beach readers to see what they were reading and how they were enjoying their books. We discovered, not surprisingly, that every one of them had brought their book from home (some had had the books in their possession for months) in hopes that they'd finally have the time to read them.
It doesn't have to be that way. Time can be found, and if you prepare in advance, you'll be ready to read when the time arrives.
A few tips:
Keep a small cache of books in your car and instead of waiting for the dentist appointment in the office, wait and read in your car.
Keep books in your desk at work and instead of running an errand at lunch time, read a chapter.
Traveling by car, bus, train or plane? Enjoy a rest break with a book break.
Find it hard to wake up and get focused in the morning? Begin with short readings of poetry or short stories.
Desperate to unwind after a stressful day? Relax to motivational reading.
Put a bookcase in the bathroom and read while you . . . well, you can take it from there. Suffice it to say, no one will bother you.
As to why you should read, research shows that reading, like listening to soothing music, is good for you. In fact, a team of European researchers - as recently reported in Time magazine - have found that reciting passages from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (while walking and moving the arms) increased what they called the "synchronization of certain cardio-respiratory patterns." Apparently, reading poetry, with its built-in breath patterns of hexameters and rhymed couplets, is good for you.
As to what you should read, I can't answer that. But I would bet that a trip to any library or bookstore will leave you with more choices than you can ever follow through on. Browsing is relaxing, and if it leads to the fresh discovery of a new book, so much the better. A few pages read in a bookstore or among the library shelves can lead to hours of enjoyment at home.
A final thought. If you put books along the path of your daily living, you'll read them. Probably not in one sitting, maybe not all the way to the end. But read you will, because books and relaxation naturally go together.

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