A lot of people who love reading can do it anywhere and everywhere. But the best place to curl up with a good book is in a quiet corner. Unfortunately, you can't always find somewhere peaceful enough, especially if you live in a busy house. If you need somewhere you can hide away whenever you need to immerse yourself in a story, you can create a cosy space for yourself. Even if you don't have much room to claim as your own, you can set up somewhere quiet just about anywhere you can think of. Start putting together your reading nook with these suggestions.

Alex

Find a Quiet Space

The first thing you need to do is find somewhere that you can use. Sometimes there's a perfect place, like a window seat or a cosy corner. But you might find that you have to carve out a space for yourself, whether it's in a small alcove or just an empty space in a room. If you don't want anyone to disturb you, don't choose a high-traffic area where your family or housemates will always be walking past. If you can't find anywhere that's naturally separated from the rest of the room, you could section off a space with a privacy screen or curtain.

Choose Your Lighting

Lighting is critical when you want to get stuck into a book. Soft lights make everything relaxing and peaceful, but you don't want it to be so dim that you have to squint at your book. You might choose to sit by a window so there's plenty of natural light during the day. But in the evening you'll need some help from a lamp or two if the overhead lighting isn't enough. You could decorate with fairy lights, which would help you to see too. It helps if there aren't too many wires to deal with, so think about some battery-powered LEDs.

Get Comfy

You don't want your reading nook to be uncomfortable. Most book lovers will read in any position, whether it's curled in a ball or hanging upside down. Make sure you're super comfortable by picking the right seating and adding some cosy accessories. You might not have much room, so if there's no space for a squishy sofa or armchair, try a beanbag. Otherwise, make a hard dining chair more comfortable with some cushions. It's also a good idea to have something to keep you warm, like the Aran wool throws from AranSweatersDirect. Any time it's cold you can snuggle up with a blanket and dive into your book.

Find Somewhere for Your Books

You don't have to keep your books close by, but it's helpful if you don't have to leave your sanctuary to get a new one. Even if you don't keep your entire collection in your reading corner, you can have one shelf that has some favourites or your current reads on it. You could also hang a storage pouch from the wall to slip your books inside without taking up any room.

Last week I was lucky enough to receive a large hamper of goodies from Superdrug. You can broadly split the products into three categories: footcare, weightloss and sexual health so there's quite a large range of stuff here. The box contained products from LighterLife, Silverline Skin Beauty, Scholl, Freeman Barefoot and Smile Makers. 

 My thoughts... 

LightLife Fast 

LighterLife Fast is a diet plan whereby you eat normally on 5 days of week but on the other two days you eat either meal replacement bars, nutrition shakes, soups or prepared meals. I'm not on the LighterLife Fast plan myself as I'm far too active to be able to get enough calories from these products alone, but I'm sure that for those who are cooped up in an office all day or afraid of the gym will find these sorts of products useful. The meal replacement bars come in several different flavours and I tried the chocolate peanut bar. Taste-wise, I have to say it doesn't differ wildly from any other cereal bar so they definitely haven't sacrificed taste to make this product. This bar is high in protein, high in fibre and packed with 22 vitamins and minerals so eating these bars on two fast days a week shouldn't mean that you're deficient in anything your body needs. Each bar contains around 214 calories, which actually isn't than much higher than lots of chocolate bars on the market. It's definitely got less calories than a snicker bar but it has a very similar taste and is packed with much better ingredients. I don't plan on going on the LighterLife Fast plan anytime soon, but I will be considering eating this a snack between meals instead of my usual sugary treats. 

4 Nutritous Banana flavour shakes RRP £8.49 (click here to buy)

Meal replacement bar RRP £2.49 (click here to buy) 

Silver Line Skin Beauty 

Silver Line Complete Skin Beauty capsules are wheat germ and argan oils plus collagen and vitamin C with added zinc which contribues to the maintenance of normal skin. You are supposed to take three capsules a day and the days are clearly labelled on the packet which is incredibly helpful. I can't say whether there's been any improvement in my skin so far as I have only been taking the capsules for a few days, but I'll be posting an update at the end of the month. The capsules are quite small and easy to swallow unlike many other food supplements I've tried so that's a bonus. 

RRP £14.99 (click here to buy)

Detox smoothie: All-in-one Superfood Smoothie

I am a huge fan of smoothies, drinking them pretty much everyday so I was very excited to try this superfood smoothie. I was slightly worried that it wouldn't taste very good because of the long (long) list of healthy ingredients but I actually quite enjoyed it. It comes in a large packet which contains 1 dose of smoothie powder. All you have to do is mix it with 150-200ml of water, shake it up a bit and it's ready to drink! Lots of these powder-based products are very lumpy and need a blender to really get the water and powder to a smooth consistency but all this took was a few shakes in my mixing. I have to admit, I thought the powder smelled pretty gross when I first opened the packet. It smelled very 'green', but not in a particularly positive way. Once I added the water, the smell remained the same, but thankfully it tastes a lot better than it smells. There are so many different superfood flavours in here that it's difficult to describe the taste of the drink. The mint flavour was the only really distinguishable taste but it also contains: pineapple, banana, apple, orange, barley grass, spiruline, spinach, rice protein, hemp protein, psyllium, basil, mint, ginger, birch leaf, nettle lead and chorella. Phew. Just a 'few' ingredients. It's quite a refreshing drink to have in the morning alongside your breakfast and it gives you a bit of an energy kick to start the day. 

RRP £1.99 (click here to buy)

Scholl Express Pedi Deluxe and barefoot Foot Soak and Scrub

Recently I noticed that quite a lot of hard skin has built up on the bottom of my feet, which nobody wants. I've never really believed in pedicure products such as this but having tried it out, I must say I am impressed. This set comes with an electronic foot file and velvet smooth serum. The foot file only needs 2 AA batteries to work and they come with the set (handy!). This product is pretty self-explanatory and very easy to use. You twist the silver band around the handle to turn the product on and then run the file along the bottom of your foot, targeting any areas of hard skin. After just a few minutes of filing, the bottom of my foot was significantly softer and you can see the difference the file is making as a lot of 'dust' is generated from the filing (perhaps do this over a towel or large bowl). 

Both the foot soak and foot scrub are a peppermint and plum flavoured and they smell amazing. The foot scrub feels a little weird to apply, but that's probably because I have fairly ticklish feet. The scrub doesn't really remove any hard skin, but it does make the skin significantly softer. The foot soak does a similar job but the softness doesn't last quite as long as it does after using the scrub. All in all these two products are perfect to use after the Scholl pedicure set and my feet are so much softer and nicer now. I will definitely be doing this pedicure routine on a weekly basis at least as the effects are immediately noticeable and it's quite a relaxing process too.  

RRP £44.99 (click here to buy)

Smile Makers: The Fireman

Yes, this is a vibrator and yes it is a far cry from what I usually review but change is good... right? I have to admit that I have owned several vicbrators over the years (mostly because my friends think its funny to give sex toys as presents), and this is the most unique that I have seen on the market. Shaped like a flame, the Fireman is a silicone clitoral vibrator featuring an 'intense nose, exhilarating tip and 'soft flames' for extra sensation'. It's very simple to use, requiring only one AAA battery to get it going (or rather, get you going). You can use it in the shower or the bathtub as it's completely waterproof and cleaning it is also very easy. It comes with 5 different settings, four different intensities and one pulsing function. It's not the most powerful I've seen, but give it time and it's enough. 

RRP £34.99 (click here to buy)

Thank you to Superdrug, Cow PR and Kerry for sending me this hamper of goodies!