The Places That Hold Our Books

In this feature, the editorial team presents a series of texts about favourite reading places. Each contribution captures a unique atmosphere, from busy public spaces to quiet corners, showing how the environment shapes our reading experiences.

By Sofia Peslis, Sonakshi Gupta, Bora Sezer

Booked on the Train

By Sofia Peslis

There is a peculiar kind of calm that descends once the train doors close. The world outside reduces to a blur of fields, villages, or cityscapes. I open a book, and suddenly the train itself becomes a moving library, rattling steadily toward some destination. The rhythm of the tracks keeps time like a metronome, and the enforced stillness makes turning pages feel like the most natural act in the world. Trains, unlike buses or planes, have always struck me as particularly forgiving for readers.

On one recent journey, a word caught my eye: alogotransiphobia. It is defined as the fear of being caught on public transportation without anything to read. Realising I had braced myself with two novels and three articles for a five-hour trip, clearly, I am not immune to this phobia. There is something both funny and true in the idea. I might forget a toothbrush, even a phone charger, but to be stranded on a train without a book? That is unthinkable.

What I like best is the readiness it requires – the ritual of slipping a book into my bag, as essential as a ticket. Forgetting it would feel like leaving home without shoes. Armed against alogotransiphobia, I board with a small sense of superiority. Whatever happens, I will not be trapped with nothing but the emergency exit signs to read.

Once the train moves, the book becomes a shield and a stage at the same time. Delays no longer matter; I am too busy surviving a fictional storm or falling into a witty exchange centuries removed from the present timetable. Fellow passengers might scroll through their phones or stare out the window, but I get to time-travel, laugh at jokes no one else can hear, or gasp at twists that have nothing to do with the sudden brake outside Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe.

And I’ll admit, part of the joy lies in performance. Reading on a train is never just private. It’s public theatre. I like to imagine that the stranger across the aisle is silently impressed, convinced they are witnessing a mysterious intellectual at work. In reality, I’m just trying to look profound while re-reading the same sentence for the third time while the train gives another sudden shake.

Benches on the Campus

By Sonakshi Gupta

The sound of leaves crunching as people walk, a soft breeze blowing through the trees as the sun shines, and the smell of warm coffee making its way to me as I sit with a book. That is what it is like to read sitting in front of the ZHG. It is a spot I discovered while waiting for a friend and quickly became a place I go to whenever I need to take a breath and a break. It is conveniently in front of Café Campus, so that whenever I get a craving for a snack while reading, I do not have to wander too far away from the fictional world I would find myself immersed in, but is still comfortable enough that I can sit there for long periods of time.

There are usually a lot of students either walking past this place or chatting with friends here, which might be a dealbreaker for those looking for a quite spot for reading. However, as someone who enjoys being surrounded by the sounds of autumn, the patter of winter, I find this a perfectly peaceful spot to read. For someone looking for a lively but still calm spot to delve into a new book, there will always be a place to sit on the benches in front of ZHG.

Reading in Bed

By Bora Sezer

Along with being a leisurely activity for some, reading is a full-time job that requires discipline and commitment for others. This job can be done in many places; it depends on the person and their habits. The Litlog Editorial team has decided to share their favorite places and to highlight why do they like to read there.

As the curtain of the old day closes, the bed is the place for me to forget the rush of the day and just read as long as my eyes allow. When the winter arrives in Germany, the calm feeling of the night and the warm bed with a good book are the highlights of my day.

If the window of opportunity just before sleeping is too short for some, there is also the morning. Picking up a book after waking up rather than my phone helps me start the day more positively because I believe the day continues as it starts. Especially in this day and age where it is easy to become addicted to scrolling on our phones, reading is an activity that can prevent this fate. Rather than scrolling on social media for hours, even a 15-minute reading session makes me feel productive when starting the day. Even if one has little time for reading during the day, the bed is always there as the place to start and end it.

The bed may be a convenient place to revitalize the habit of reading, but it is also a comfortable place. One does not have to read just before sleeping or after waking up but can also do so during the day. Especially during winter months in Germany, the bed’s warm and cozy atmosphere along with soft and yellow lighting turn reading into an event to look forward to. I prefer to put up some music, but one can light a candle or listen to the birds chirping by their window—all while picking up a book and leaving the world’s daily stress out while getting lost in the story. The peace and quiet the bed offers cannot easily be rivaled but of course, there is not just one place to read, and each must look for their most comfortable spot on their own.