Couples Reading Aloud Together?

[PoetryLover]

My husband and I love to read together. Right now we are beginning book 4 in a 7 book series. Sometimes we read for hours. Others for 20 or 30 minutes. It's great in so many ways. It's quality time spent together and we read books that we might not choose to read independently, so we're exposed to new things.

It's so relaxing at the end of a long day to snuggle up, sip tea and share a story...... It's one of my favorite things to do together. I just find it so rewarding and I was wondering if others out there do the same.

Also, if so, what books/series do you find enjoyable to share? I'm not a big Stephen King reader (beacause I can't handle a lot of horror), but we're currently reading The Dark Tower series by him.

[Mamafreya]

My dh and I love to do this too. :

We've read the Harry Potter and LOTR series to each other which was a lot of fun. Since I've had kids I can't handle horror anymore at all. My dh really enjoyed the Dark Tower series though. Stephen King can be a bit much for me actually. I snuck The Shining when I was 13 or so and ever since then I can't read his stuff without psyching myself up for it. Too intensely disturbing for me.

I've been trying to think of something fun to read to each other but I've been drawing a blank lately. One of my guilty pleasures is the Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich. I don't know how much my dh would like them though. For whatever reason they just appeal to my sense of humor big time.

[PoetryLover]

My husband mentioned both the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series. Maybe we'll read one of them next. Yeah, I saw the movie It as a child and have not been able to read any Stephen King after that or see his movies. (I did read a book of his on writing.) That is until The Dark Tower series. For some reason, even the gruesome parts of The Dark Tower don't bother me. Maybe that's because I'm reading it with my husband. In general, I can't stomach a lot of violence and gore, though. But I'm really enjoying this series. I can't wait to read a little bit later tonight!!

As for Janet Evanovich, I used to know a guy who loved reading her stuff. I've never read her work, but I hear that it's pretty funny and entertaining. I read a lot of Jodi Piccoult, but I don't know how my husband would respond to her books. So far he's never chosen to read any of them on his own.

I'm also thinking that it would be a lot of fun to read the Classics together. I'm always trying to find time to read the Classics--but keep reading contemporary fiction and memoirs.

[zinemama]

We have read all of LOTR and Philip Pullman's Golden Compass trilogy to each other.

[Tra1978]

I had a coworker tell me that her and her husband read together. I would love to do this. I've suggested it to my dh once or twice but so far he hasn't seemed that interested. He's an avid reader too but I don't think the idea appeals to him. It sounds so lovely though.

[Mamafreya]

Originally Posted by PoetryLover

I'm also thinking that it would be a lot of fun to read the Classics together. I'm always trying to find time to read the Classics--but keep reading contemporary fiction and memoirs.

That's a good idea. I am always saying that I want to read certain classics that I've never read. My dh is appalled that I have never read Moby-Dick. LOL. He's never read Lady Chatterley's Lover though so maybe we could read those.

Originally Posted by zinemama

We have read all of LOTR and Philip Pullman's Golden Compass trilogy to each other.

The Golden Compass trilogy is a good idea too. I've been wanting to read those as well. I think my dh may have read the first one though.

My dad sent me a non-fiction book that I need to read but I'm just not getting into it right now. It's called Not In His Image by John Lamb Lash, I haven't even made it past the introduction yet. It's his favorite book of all time and he asks me every time I talk to him if I've read it yet. Ugh, I love him but oh boy.
Maybe dh and I should read that to each other. It might make it more enjoyable.

[karliyanchus]

back when we weren't a couple yet, (HA!) we read the griffin and sabine trilogy (nick bantock) to each other. it was wonderful! very romantic, taking out the individual letters and reading them to each other. very intense.

http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Sabine.../dp/0811806960

[Smokering]

We used to do this. I wouldn't let DH propose to me until we'd finished reading LOTR together, because I refused to marry anyone who hadn't read LOTR. When he proposed he gave me a beautiful new copy of The Once and Future King (one of my very favourite books), so that we could read that together when we were married.

Only we've been married two-and-a-bit years now and haven't finished it! We're stuck somewhere in Candle in the Wind, but having a baby has kinda cut into our reading time. I keep meaning to get back into it.

I also read DH The Princess Bride when we were dating. I used to read to my little sisters, too - we did Peter Pan and The Hobbit, and I'm technically halfway through Prince Caspian now, but they haven't visited for a while. I can't wait until my baby's old enough that I can read her some of my favourite books.

[St. Margaret]

DH helped me read through some Shakespeare plays I'd never actually read, when I was preparing to teach and didn't know which ones I had to be ready for. I remember we read The Merchant of Venice alound, taking on different roles

I should try this again with him... he never has time to read, although he likes it. He was a really great English student back in high school. I read REALLY fast so it would be interesting for me, although I should be used to reading some stuff aloud with my students, back in the day. We normally watch TV together b/c it tends to wake up DD less than our talking . But I like the idea....

[notjustmamie]

DH and I have read Shakespeare together. We also started LOTR, but I had trouble getting into it. He wants to start reading it to DD in the next couple of years, so maybe I'll like it better a second time.

If you like the Stephanie Plum mysteries (those are the number ones: One for the Money, Two for the Dough, etc.) you might also want to try Sue Grafton's Alphabet Mysteries--haven't read those but BIL loves them--and Suzann Ledbetter's Hannah Garvey Mysteries (East of Peculiar, North of Clever, South of Sanity, and West of Bliss).

DH and I have also read a number of childhood favorites together: the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, C.S. Lewis's Narnia series, I think we started Anne of Green Gables, but I can't recall if we read it through.

I also really enjoyed the book The Princess Bride (and I adore the movie, but that's beside the point). If you read non-fiction, I highly recommend Robert Fulghum, Bill Bryson, Erma Bombeck, and J. Maarten Troost.

Other random stuff: The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, anything by Ray Blackstone, the Ender series--or, actually, anything--by Orson Scott Card, anything by Dorthea Benton Frank (but especially Full of Grace and Sullivan's Island).

[CHoney]

Wow, that sounds so romantic! I've asked my DH to read with me a few times, but he would rather read by himself.

Was your DH always receptive to the idea, or how did you coax him into it?

[PoetryLover]

Originally Posted by Smokering

I used to read to my little sisters, too - we did Peter Pan and The Hobbit, and I'm technically halfway through Prince Caspian now, but they haven't visited for a while. I can't wait until my baby's old enough that I can read her some of my favourite books.

I used to read to my little sisters, too. I mostly read from my school textbooks, though. There was this one play about a golden apple where the main character had my sister's middle name. When she wanted to hear the "story", I converted the play to a story as I read. She was never the wiser until a few years later when she had the same textbook and realized that her favorite story was actually a play that I'd converted just for her. (I'd actually love to get my hands on that textbook to read to my own children someday! It had so many intriguing stories...)

Originally Posted by CHoney

Wow, that sounds so romantic! I've asked my DH to read with me a few times, but he would rather read by himself. Was your DH always receptive to the idea, or how did you coax him into it?

Actually, reading together was his idea. There were some books he wanted to share with me. He's actually read The Dark Tower series a number of years ago and he wanted to share the series with me. As for partners who love to read but aren't exactly interested in reading alound together, I wonder if a little exposure to this type of sharing may convince him/her? Honestly, it sounded nice, but I wasn't overly eager to begin until my husband read to me a couple times and I realized how much I loved it and how valuable the experience was. (So I guess you could say he coaxed me into it.) Now we take turns reading and I'm so glad that I was open to the idea initially. It's a very special sharing that I hope we never lose.

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful ideas! I'm sure they will keep my husband and me reading together for a long time! The possibilites are endless, really.

[Picturesque]

My DH and I love to do this, too. He's not a big reader on his own, but he really enjoys when we do this together, although I'm almost exclusively the one doing the reading. We've read through several series together. But every once in a while I'll go to bed earlier than he does and he'll read ahead. : Just kidding, I think it's neat and it's easy for me to catch up and we just go on from there. It's nice to know that other couples do this. We're a TV-free family and this is what we do almost every night.

[PoetryLover]

Originally Posted by Picturesque

We're a TV-free family and this is what we do almost every night.

We're near TV-free. I watch little to no TV and my husband usually watches the news in the morning or a little TV when I'm not home. It opens time for reading separately and together--as well as tons of other things. But I've never really watched much TV. I own a TV just for my exercise videos and occasional movies. ... People tend to think that strange--and they say, "Well, what do you do?"

[SAHDS]

People reading to me puts me straight to sleep, I don't know what it is. Two minutes in and I'm OUT (if I had a dollar for every time I passed out in DS or DD's bed...). So, DH and I read together, just not out loud. Actually, just earlier today I laid down and started reading on our bed and he grabbed a magazine and flopped right next to me. I really enjoy the cozy silence of just being near each other.

Tuesday I was sewing DD's Joan of Arc costume and he came into the room, sat on the floor and just started talking to me about random things. That was soothing too.

Ah, what a nice thread this is!

I'm trying to think of books that both DH and I would enjoy. Hmmm...

[PoetryLover]

Originally Posted by SAHDS

People reading to me puts me straight to sleep, I don't know what it is. Two minutes in and I'm OUT (if I had a dollar for every time I passed out in DS or DD's bed...). So, DH and I read together, just not out loud. Actually, just earlier today I laid down and started reading on our bed and he grabbed a magazine and flopped right next to me. I really enjoy the cozy silence of just being near each other.

Tuesday I was sewing DD's Joan of Arc costume and he came into the room, sat on the floor and just started talking to me about random things. That was soothing too.

Ah, what a nice thread this is!

I'm trying to think of books that both DH and I would enjoy. Hmmm...

Sometimes if we've had a stressful day and need to quiet our minds, we read together right before bed. It is very relaxing and helps me to sleep more easily.

Another thing that we do sometimes is read the same books, though not necessarily together. But then we can still discuss them and share books that we love in that way.