June 8th, 2010 / 8:26 pm
Word Spaces
Adam Robinson
Word Spaces
The Bather
Here’s me in the tub, circa 1999, reading Infinite Jest to Benji. Thanks to our third roommate, Craig, for sending me the photo.
Except for submissions, I read almost exclusively in the bathtub. I’ll even take a bath in the middle of the day so I can get some reading done. I think it just works best for me ergonomically. What about you?
Tags: adam robison
I read on the toilet, but I can’t read anything complex or difficult on the toilet. Tao Lin makes good toilet reading and that’s not saying anything against Tao Lin.
i thought about whether or not to post this in this thread, you known, in accordance with the fact that i consider myself a nice person. but then i thought: what the hell. i often struggle with another fact as well: that satire isn’t always for everyone.
THAT is great!
I just got home from voting. I have a sticker to prove it. And now I’m surfing.
PS -I never got to thank you properly for “The Voyage of the Mimi” info because HTMLGIANT went all wonky and I couldn’t comment for like a whole day, so, now, zu, THANK YOU for all that and for being so nice!
“in accordance” ha ha ha
First thing benji has great calves. He’s a biker or runner.
Second I love to read in the bath. That’s godly. I even read in the shower.
Thirdly ander monson has a good bath essay in neck deep.
Cute picture.
Man I hate baths. Can’t think in the morning without a shower. Pretty sure I would fall asleep and drown if I tried to bathe.
I also drop books a lot. (Shaky hands.) Wouldn’t end well.
I always read in the bath. I have one book specifically for that, one next to the bed and usually one that goes in my purse for commuting.
the only think i read in the bath is palms
I am a devoted bath reader and recently dropped Blake Butler’s book in the drink where it turned very dark my water and the book. I practice my violin in the bath as well not with my violin but I take the music in with me and read it and practice it in my head and once I dropped an entire book of Bach sonatas and partitas in the the water the day before an audition and had to dry it with my hair dryer so all the notes were and are forever wavy. Also the pages turned blue because I had been putting my fingerings in with a pen.
think palms
Just read Harry Mathew’s The Conversions pretty much entirely on the subway. People singing “Afternoon Delight” killed my Barry Hannah game today, though. So it’s a mixed bag.
Baths make me itch. I do not let my books enter the bathroom. Just seems like asking for trouble.
I’m kinda gross in that I think/write/read best in the morning pre-shower. Showering gives me that “OK, entering the real world now” feeling.
I think you are Jean-Paul Marat.
I’m with you, Mike. No baths here. I like to read in bed best. In fact, I could probably live the rest of my life in my bed and be just fine. You know the thing when you were little and sometimes you pretended the bed or the couch was a desert island and you couldn’t leave it because of the sharks? And so you piled all your toys and books and Game Boy and stuff onto the bed all around you, and maybe some cookies? I still do that, sometimes.
lol, gena just disturbed me from my writing session to show me this picture. and all i have to say is do you suck dick much?
hahahaha
adorable. i wish more people read to me in the tub.
I read on the toilet, but I can’t read anything complex or difficult on the toilet. Tao Lin makes good toilet reading and that’s not saying anything against Tao Lin.
I read and write in the bath. The only time I don’t write between 7-9am is in the bathtub. Also, books in the bath are the best, though sometimes it’s hard to navigate note-taking.
THAT is great!
I just got home from voting. I have a sticker to prove it. And now I’m surfing.
PS -I never got to thank you properly for “The Voyage of the Mimi” info because HTMLGIANT went all wonky and I couldn’t comment for like a whole day, so, now, zu, THANK YOU for all that and for being so nice!
“in accordance” ha ha ha
wow
First thing benji has great calves. He’s a biker or runner.
Second I love to read in the bath. That’s godly. I even read in the shower.
Thirdly ander monson has a good bath essay in neck deep.
i still that PBS show’s damned theme song in my head every once in a while… the comment wonkiest happens to me too. i put some post with chinese characters the other day and it got filtered/deleted, dunno which.
does your sticker say: “yo voté”? that’s what mine said last time.
d’oh, typorrata: “still get that” … “the comment wonkiness” … “put some post up”
classic jereme
Cute picture.
i’m new, but– am i supposed to ignore how hot that guy is and find some literary reason to discuss this? uh, i’m working on getting through infinite jest, too, but that guy is infinite _______
I always read in the bath. I have one book specifically for that, one next to the bed and usually one that goes in my purse for commuting.
Also big on the bath-reading with the occasional foray into marginalia. My theory is that it has something to do with immersion. That sounds like a pisspoor pun and nothing more, but I mean it sincerely. We crave immersion; reading literature is the mind reminding the body of that, bathing is the body reminding the mind. Or something along those lines.
the only think i read in the bath is palms
I am a devoted bath reader and recently dropped Blake Butler’s book in the drink where it turned very dark my water and the book. I practice my violin in the bath as well not with my violin but I take the music in with me and read it and practice it in my head and once I dropped an entire book of Bach sonatas and partitas in the the water the day before an audition and had to dry it with my hair dryer so all the notes were and are forever wavy. Also the pages turned blue because I had been putting my fingerings in with a pen.
think palms
Just read Harry Mathew’s The Conversions pretty much entirely on the subway. People singing “Afternoon Delight” killed my Barry Hannah game today, though. So it’s a mixed bag.
Baths make me itch. I do not let my books enter the bathroom. Just seems like asking for trouble.
I’m kinda gross in that I think/write/read best in the morning pre-shower. Showering gives me that “OK, entering the real world now” feeling.
I think you are Jean-Paul Marat.
I’m with you, Mike. No baths here. I like to read in bed best. In fact, I could probably live the rest of my life in my bed and be just fine. You know the thing when you were little and sometimes you pretended the bed or the couch was a desert island and you couldn’t leave it because of the sharks? And so you piled all your toys and books and Game Boy and stuff onto the bed all around you, and maybe some cookies? I still do that, sometimes.
That book’s not tall enough to be Infinite Jest.
lol, gena just disturbed me from my writing session to show me this picture. and all i have to say is do you suck dick much?
hahahaha
adorable. i wish more people read to me in the tub.
I read and write in the bath. The only time I don’t write between 7-9am is in the bathtub. Also, books in the bath are the best, though sometimes it’s hard to navigate note-taking.
wow
classic jereme
i’m new, but– am i supposed to ignore how hot that guy is and find some literary reason to discuss this? uh, i’m working on getting through infinite jest, too, but that guy is infinite _______
Also big on the bath-reading with the occasional foray into marginalia. My theory is that it has something to do with immersion. That sounds like a pisspoor pun and nothing more, but I mean it sincerely. We crave immersion; reading literature is the mind reminding the body of that, bathing is the body reminding the mind. Or something along those lines.
me too. that’s one of the best games. the only problem is sometimes i associate the bed with reading and don’t sleep as well.
“writing session” – the question, jereme, is do you?
i will say i was shocked to get this far down the comment thread before you or someone else asked the question. ha ha
hah: “stuck in my head”
/ would you believe i’m paid to edit?
;( … “the comment’s wonkiness”
That book’s not tall enough to be Infinite Jest.
A few weekends ago, I took the weekend to “Eartha Kitt”, meaning I recreated her role from Harriet the Spy and stayed in bed all weekend only getting up to pee. Books everywhere, sandwiches piled high. Bags of chips, and my god, the bedside hotplate. It was wonderful.
As a college student who has lived in some pretty run down places, I’ve yet to bathe in any home I’ve rented. The shower is the only option. But when I go home-home, and I always stay with my grandmother, who always makes me Poor-Boy Stew, I make it a point to take a bath before bed, and I always bring something to read. There are few things that make me as shiny inside.
yeah. i only just comet’d my tub. maybe i’ll take a bath one of these days, but for now i still got the shanty town fear.
In high school, at my parents’ house, i did the bulk of my reading (homework, mostly) after football or basketball practice in the hotbub out back. I remember reading Siddhartha in one soak. The pages are still wavy from the steam.
Ever since, no reading while bathing. That’s not to say there aren’t ample NYkers and TimeOuts in the bathROOM, but none in the bathTUB.
Indie lit boy Tiger Beat.
I revise and brainstorm in the bath. It’s an excellent opportunity for my mind to relax and rove freely. The only problem is sometimes I can’t read the blurry pen marks on the page after I get out. I do like it hot.
Book reading usually happens in bed, and not usually nekkid.
Funny, I understood everything you said. Maybe commenting here allows you some sloppy-non-edit catharsis?
Where are you, Portugal?
No you’re not supposed to ignore it! Why do you think they posted it?
Say anything you want. Run with it. They like that kind of stuff here, I think. I know I do.
Those guys have good hair style.
me too. that’s one of the best games. the only problem is sometimes i associate the bed with reading and don’t sleep as well.
“writing session” – the question, jereme, is do you?
i will say i was shocked to get this far down the comment thread before you or someone else asked the question. ha ha
Best photo ever. Adam, you’re the Cousteau of poetry marketing.
Absolutely.
A few weekends ago, I took the weekend to “Eartha Kitt”, meaning I recreated her role from Harriet the Spy and stayed in bed all weekend only getting up to pee. Books everywhere, sandwiches piled high. Bags of chips, and my god, the bedside hotplate. It was wonderful.
As a college student who has lived in some pretty run down places, I’ve yet to bathe in any home I’ve rented. The shower is the only option. But when I go home-home, and I always stay with my grandmother, who always makes me Poor-Boy Stew, I make it a point to take a bath before bed, and I always bring something to read. There are few things that make me as shiny inside.
Yeah, comet can’t get the sin out
yeah. i only just comet’d my tub. maybe i’ll take a bath one of these days, but for now i still got the shanty town fear.
In high school, at my parents’ house, i did the bulk of my reading (homework, mostly) after football or basketball practice in the hotbub out back. I remember reading Siddhartha in one soak. The pages are still wavy from the steam.
Ever since, no reading while bathing. That’s not to say there aren’t ample NYkers and TimeOuts in the bathROOM, but none in the bathTUB.
Indie lit boy Tiger Beat.
I revise and brainstorm in the bath. It’s an excellent opportunity for my mind to relax and rove freely. The only problem is sometimes I can’t read the blurry pen marks on the page after I get out. I do like it hot.
Book reading usually happens in bed, and not usually nekkid.
Funny, I understood everything you said. Maybe commenting here allows you some sloppy-non-edit catharsis?
Where are you, Portugal?
do i suck dick much or have i tried it?
i am not against it.
No you’re not supposed to ignore it! Why do you think they posted it?
Say anything you want. Run with it. They like that kind of stuff here, I think. I know I do.
Those guys have good hair style.
Best photo ever. Adam, you’re the Cousteau of poetry marketing.
(backing away) let’s just forget i asked
Absolutely.
Yeah, comet can’t get the sin out
do i suck dick much or have i tried it?
i am not against it.
Is this for real?? Or is it a jest.
I read in parks or in the pool.
(backing away) let’s just forget i asked
Is this for real?? Or is it a jest.
I read in parks or in the pool.
Wow: yummmmmmmmmmmmmmy picture–ya’ll are verrrrrrrrrry cute!
Wow: yummmmmmmmmmmmmmy picture–ya’ll are verrrrrrrrrry cute!