Monthly Musings: Why Everyone Loves Reading in the Bath
Everything Madeline read last month 💎
Hello! I’m here with my wrap-up of everything I read last month, but first, I would love to talk to you about a subject that is very important to me: reading in the bath.
I’ve always loved reading in and around bodies of water. Growing up, I would take my books in every bathtub, pool, hot tub, ocean, or pond I could come by. As precious as my books are to me, they almost always get at least a little wet. While I didn’t have a bathtub in my first few New York City apartments, I’m lucky enough to have one now and have figured out the ideal bathtub reading setup (it includes my bedside lamp plugged in on the sink and a candle lit for optimal lighting, but I’m currently in the market for a cordless bathroom lamp). On a cold evening, nothing feels more natural to me than running the tub and settling in with my current read, and maybe a glass of wine or a fancy soda.
As we’ve been doing our interview series, Suggested Texts, for almost three years now, I’ve noticed a pattern. Many of our interviewees answer the question “where is your favorite place to read” with the same answer: the bath. One of my favorite anecdotes came from Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo’s Got Money Troubles, who said she loves when she starts reading a book in the bath, and it’s so good she ends up finishing it half-naked in bed, hair in a towel. Several other authors we’ve interviewed have shared similar sentiments.
Why is that? Why do we love reading in the bath so much? I think part of it is that the idea is glamorous, sexy even. It’s also a deliberate act of self-care. But still, I think it has something to do with the fact that stepping into the tub is like pressing a literal pause button on life. For however long you’re in there, you can’t work, you can’t pick up around the house, you can’t answer the door. (Sure, you can take your phone in the bath, but that kind of defeats the whole purpose, doesn’t it? And, I don’t like the way my screen fogs up). It’s just you, the hot water, that wonderful, soothing sloshing, and maybe, your book.
Now, onto last month’s reads, some of which I did, in fact, read in the bath.
Comedic Timing by Upasna Barath
★★★
Listened to the audiobook
A fun yet tender romance novella about a mid-twenties bisexual woman navigating a breakup, friendship, a new crush, and moving to NYC all at once.
A lot of build up for very little actual spice…dare I say, I was hoping for more?
RIYL: Big Fan, Old Enough
Good Girl by Aria Aber
★★★
A dark coming-of-age novel about a young woman born in Berlin to Afghan refugees
Very gritty, lots of drugs, sex, and relationships with unequal power dynamics
I was so frustrated with the main character for much of the novel, but I suppose that comes with the territory of coming-of-age stories
The main character’s reckoning with her identity was my favorite part, as well as the author’s sultry, scandalizing descriptions Berlin nightlife
RIYL: Luster, The Coin, Acts of Desperation
Die Hot With a Vengeance by Sable Yong
★★★★.5
Listened to the audiobook
Really smart yet accessible essays about vanity and the beauty industry
Read my full review in our March issue!
RIYL: The Age of Magical Overthinking, I Feel Bad About My Neck
What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci
★★★★
Listened to the audiobook
A diary-style memoir of everything Stanley Tucci ate in 2023, including meals he cooked at home with his family and on the road while filming Conclave, meals out at restaurants, etc…
I find him so charming that I didn’t mind his snobbiness at times—if anyone can pull it off, it’s Stanley Tucci.
His beautiful descriptions of food make me want to get in the kitchen, and I think that speaks to how good his writing is.
An image for you: At one point during my road trip last month, I sat in my car in the McDonald’s parking lot, eating a quarter pounder with cheese while listening to Tucci describe a delicious Italian meal. That was quite a juxtaposition.
RIYL: The Eating New York newsletter, Be Ready When the Luck Happens
At the Pond: Swimming at the Hampstead Ladies’ Pond, multiple authors
★★★★
A beautiful collection of essays about an all-women’s swimming pond in London.
I first learned about the pond while reading Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, and have been fascinated by it ever since. So when I saw this collection in a London bookshop in January, I knew I had to read it.
The essays combine beautiful nature writing, moving personal anecdotes, and meditations on gender, packaged very neatly in a collection that’s organized by season.
I need to swim in this pond as soon as possible.
I found a really sweet postcard inside my copy of the book and wrote a little about it here.
RIYL: Dolly Alderton, anything that takes place in London
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
The Tell by Amy Griffin
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (I just saw the fig tree excerpt on my Substack notes feed and am feeling the need for a re-read)
I instantly added At the Pond to my TBR list- then I saw that I already had another book from the same collection on there, In the Kitchen. Now I need to read both!
Reading in the tub 🤍