Reading in Bed

I brought up the idea to my boyfriend of 3 1/2 years and he just kind of shrugged it off. Also, he has been having problems sleeping for a while, and has had some issues lately and just started therapy. I have been trying to get him into therapy for himself since 6 months into our relationship and a few sessions of couples therapy at yesr 2 1/2. Well he’s finally there and we are in definitely a couple in crisis. I suggested this to him and some other ideas because my own sleep hygiene has been lacking and suggested we try some things together mainly reading in bed. Either one of us reads, or we pick one person (but like I preferred we take turns….in no specific set way when one is annoyed at reading the other takes over or we take a break) he just seemed so disinterested. It’s sad really. I love reading out loud to and being read to….he has also recently started making fun of my spiritual beliefs and practices. And even mocking. I don’t know if we can come back from this.

Oh my, that’s so sweet! I am a bit jealous… ;)

Three summers ago, my then long-distance love and I spent three months just traveling around Europe. Just before boarding our plane to Paris, we bought a book at the airport that we thought looked interesting. We ended up tugging it along with us everywhere during our 2-week stay, completely enchanted by it but also the whole experience of actually reading it together. We’d buy croissants at the local boulangerie, find a bench and take turns reading out loud to each other. We’d lay under a tree outside the Louvre and keep reading. On the train en route to Versailles. And almost every night we’d end the day by reading it together in bed. It was just so wonderful and many times we too found ourselves ending up in side conversations. Would definitely recommend couples to try this. The enchanting book we read was called The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern.

When we were first dating, my boyfriend and I took turns reading aloud “Room with a View” by E. M. Forster. I read him the first few chapters of “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier, but it was an old hardcover and started falling apart. A few months ago, I showed him a picture book about Russian immigrants called “Anna and Solomon” that he referred to later in an email as “Elsa and Solomon.” I have a recording of him reading “Corduroy” that I listen to when I’m sick. I’m an absolute book nerd and couldn’t imagine being in a relationship without reading to each other.

My hubby and I have never even thought of reading to one another, but maybe I will start since it seems like a great way to connect.
Right now I’m reading “All the Light We Cannot See” and I’m loving it.

Hubby reads in bed every night and I join him when I can. We’ve been reading a few of the same books which is fun to discuss and see how we felt about different parts of the stories. Have you read Station 11?

The only person that I read to bed is my son. As far as reading to my husband, that probably would never happen. Although I do like to watch a lot of drama fever while in bed. Sometimes I binge watch late into the night, and pay for it the next day at work. That was definitely a sweet gesture by your husband, you both sound like you are really in love.

On a road/camping trip my husband bought the book Alive and read parts of it out loud, soon I became hooked on it and we started reading it out loud together. It’s a tragic gruesome tale but captivating. We started reading One Hundred Years of Solitude because we both loved it but we ended up getting stuck. We’ve since finished The Princess Bride and the first 3 Game of Thrones books. It takes so much longer to finish but its such a treat and a lovely ritual!

I have such fond memories of times when my husband and I read to each other. E went through a long fantasy series that way and it was wonderful!

I’m wondering about the sweet picture at the top of the post – is it of you? If not, do you know the source? I love it so much.

I’m the book lover in our little family. When we were dating my husband would read along with what I was reading so we could chat about it… I tend to be an obsessive reader when I enjoy a book and do nothing but read and talk about the book. We recently started reading “The House of God” by Samuel Shem together. I started reading it aloud to him while we were on a long car trip in an effort to keep him awake. I ended up liking it so now I read a chapter or two aloud every evening. But man, reading aloud sure is tiring on the vocal cords after too long!

Reading books together is such a nice habit, you shall add a Memeoirs to the list ;-) https://goo.gl/KPuVqJ

Yes! I love it when my husband reads aloud to me at night, it started for us too when I was ill and it’s sort of like a treat now – if we’re both around, not totally shattered and are really into something we’re reading. It send us both off into such a deep dreamy sleep.

I just love this idea. Have strangely never thought of doing it despite reading to two children every night. Ps I’m a cup of jo addict and talk to my husband about you and posts as if you are my very close friend. He thinks I’m nuts.

Yes! I love to read aloud and my go-to for boyfriend bedtime is Salinger’s “Nine Stories.” I try not to get offended if my listener falls asleep.

On one ill-fated summer mountaineering expedition with my girlfriends our climbing plan was thwarted and I ended up reading almost the entirety of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to them in a tent. It turned out to be a well-loved and memorable trip, which began a new tradition of read-aloud tent time with my trip mates.

The Little Prince, Hemingway’s short stories, and of course Huck Finn are some of our favorites.

My husband and I have read in bed for years and we have been married nearly 40 years. At times we’ve read books to each other and at times we’ve read our own books. My parents and grandparents read in bed. I thought it was a way of life lol

Maybe my husband and I need to do this as I have a project called fall for my husband all over again as lately things are not great here.

My boyfriend and I are both bookworms and we have been reading in bed together every night since we started dating. In the summer, we also often take our books to the park or by the river and read together outside. In the winter, we seek out cozy coffee shops and do the same, always sharing passages that strike a chord.

We have been reading in bed since we started dating a year ago! We’ve read sherlock Holmes, the adventures of huckleberry finn, little sister by raymond chandler and I’ve loved them all. The sound of his voice reading to me is heaven and I doze right off into his arms. It is the first time anyone has ever read to me and I love it.

My husband and I read out loud to each other all the time as we lay in bed at night. We read Grimms’ Fairy Tales, Aesop’s Fables, and Edgar Allen Poe. It’s such a special, sweet time to spend with someone you love.

What a lovely practice–I’m going to see if my husband would like to give it a go! Thank you :)

My boyfriend loves reading to me in bed. I try my hardest to stay awake, but I always fall asleep within like 2 minutes. I tell him it’s because his voice is so soothing (which it is!) and not a result of boring stories. Ha!

I rarely comment, but I just had to say how much I loved this post. So sweet! We’re both bookworms. Early in our relationship, we read several books to each other. We both loved it. We’ve talked so much about how much we miss that during the past few years. A couple of months ago, at christmas, we actually gave it a new try, and we did read quite a few chapters to each other during a few weeks, but then, sigh, it dribbled out, released by a lot of late night working and series. So this post really inspired me. :-) Besides, we both love reading to our kids, especially to the oldest one, who is now six years old. We can read him stories that we love ourselves, which feels so exciting and unifying!

My partner and I would read a chapter each of a “relationship” book every night at bedtime to open up dialogue. It was a good way to work out issues before they evolved and to discuss what we wanted and expected of each other to make our relationship work. We are now headed into our 10th year together and no longer need a book to start a conversation…but I do miss hearing him read out loud to me while I’m falling asleep.

My husband reads me ghost stories every October. I love that month.

With us, I am the reaser and he hates reading, so we enjoy watching great movies and TV series together instead. But sometimes we do spend hours without any distractions and just talk.
x M.
http://nevermindnm.blogspot.com/

I love that I just by chance stumbled on your blog today and found this post…my hubby and I have just started reading together this week! And we both are loving it…its a great way to unwind at the end of a long day and I get to share whatever book I’m loving with him (currently reading WILD)…so happy to hear that others are doing the same!

My BFF Jim and I vacation together in Wellfleet Ma (lovely!) a week each September. We’ve been doing this for over 15 years. About 5 years ago we started a tradition. We stop at Tickcomb’s bookshop (great shop!) on Rte. 6 A (best road ever) and by the same book and read it during the week. It’s such a fun!

My husband and I used to read together all the time before we got married…or was it before we had kids? Then the reading went to the belly, then the baby and now the 12-year-old, 10-year-old and 6-year-old. Only recently did I read a novel…the first fiction book for must me in 6 years (The Girl On The Train). I joined a book club so I had to. So….perhaps hubby and I will start reading to each other again? Some of my happiest moments/memories with him as a partner is reading books together. I’m ready to find that in us again.

I so rarely comment, but this struck a chord! I read to my boyfriend almost every night (it depends on his shifts) before I go to bed. We’ve been doing that for the last one and a half years. It started when I got Where the Sidewalk Ends for Christmas from a friend (nostalgia!) and realized he’d never heard the poems. We started with that and have now read a crazy variety of books together.

This is such a cute idea!

xo, Liz
http://lipstickandconfetti.com

Love this thread! When we were first dating, I would read to my husband from “The Little Prince” as we fell asleep. It’s such a soothing little book and became a special part of our routine each night. We ended up weaving passages from the book into our wedding ceremony, years later.

We’ve just returned from an extended vacation and all we did as a family was read in bed at night. No televisions or telephones to distract us, just the sounds of the crickets and bullfrogs singing in the background. It was close quarters, so we could all see each other’s books and sometimes we would share passages or where we were in the story. I LOVE it. It’s one of my favorite parts of our family vacation. I think my husband and I will have to start this new ritual at home. It sounds like a lovely way to end the day.

We do this all the time! My boyfriend works for research and development for a native plant nursery and is always researching so, although I start out with my own book, usually nature writing of some sort, I regularly end up reading about plants along with him over his shoulder and we stop and talk about what we want for our someday garden and what wildflowers we might have seen on one of our hikes. It’s nerdy, but one of my favorite things.

This is the sweetest thing ever. I hope I will meet someone who reads for me in the future.

Funny side note though – my parents read for me and my sister every night growing up, and when we got a bit older the books got longer and more difficult. My dad, being tired from work, promised one chapter but when he turned the page he would skip 3-4 pages and just continue the sentence like nothing had happened. If we didnt notice, he just kept reading for another minute and then he knew we were asleep. Most of the time we would loudly tell him that it made no sense.. :)