The Undermining Pleasure of Reading Books Together in Bed with Your Partner

Reading books by itself gives your mind a great pleasure. That’s why they say, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”. There is no great pleasure than reading your books together in bed at around 9pm when it’s quiet, save for the rustle of the leaves in the garden outside. Reading books together with your partner in bed before sleeping is the most precious moments that you should never miss out on. 

Do You Love Quotes on Reading Books? Read one here. 

Today, I am going to discuss about the undermining pleasure of reading books together in bed with your partner. 

Imagine you are in bed with your partner side by side, each absorbed in a different world. One of you might be in a submarine beneath the arctic ice floe while the other is flitting through the salons of 18th century Paris. Often your toes momentarily touch each other but without raising notice. You may briefly stretch a hand to touch the nape of your partner’s neck while turning a page. You can hear your partner breathing very lightly. There is blessedly so much of feelings and emotions going on which need no description. And this goes on for what might seem to be an hour or more. 

This my friend, is the modest, most comfortable and sweet pleasure which our present society is almost congenitally prone not to notice or respect.  

However, let me tell you reading books together with your partner in bed is one of the bedtime activities you can do to help you grow in your relationship. When you are asked to picture what a relationship might be for us, often we imagine the typical colorful scenarios of having passionate sex up against a wall, heading for the airport for a mini-break, a celebration of a triumph at work or the mutual exploration of one another’s soul.  

It is rarely that we understand that the true pleasure of long-term love in a far less dramatic, real and simple scenarios such as knowing sideways smile of your partner in the presence of a parent who has been tricky in the past, sitting on the floor together sorting socks after wash, watching a TV drama episode by episode and bantering about the plotlines and characters, chatting with each other after the friends who came for lunch or dinner have departed, and assembling a flat pack bookcase realizing that you both have got the instructions entirely wrong and laughing your heart out on the funny scene that it has now become. 

It is within such a list of hidden pleasures that we find the joy of reading bed together. This represents a major psychological skill but there’s not really anyone else we could do this with. If the world were fairer, we would be seeking partners not just who can look hot in a bar and perform spectacular sexual antics, but those with whom we can turn pages in silence as well. 

Reading books together in bed is a symbolic way of being able to share our true selves without shame, embarrassment or the need to perform. As we lie in bed together reading books with our partner, we are in the rest of life and feel simply accepted by each other.  

We tend to be so much aware of the troubles in our relationship, that we sometimes take the peaceful moments for granted and fail to appreciate the underlying achievement. Though reading together in bed with our partner may lack glamour but being able to read with someone you love is a major milestone. The pleasure of reading books together in bed is a sign of deep affection and we may do well in our relationship than we think. Stay tuned to know the Benefits of Reading Bedtime Stories to Your Children which I’ll be covering in my upcoming posts.  

Until then, this is Nyasa signing off.

Don’t forget to share your pleasure of reading books together in bed with your partner. 😉