Today I received an email from Brent Hatton;

Hi Lou, my names Brent, 20 years young from Perth, Australia. I work in a camera shop, and while sitting in the loo at work today I read an article about you in an old ProPhoto magazine. Flattered?

Hell yes I’m flattered. There something regal about being the subject of preferred reading in the throne room. A room where one can sit comfortably and have a cogitate in the miasma of yesterdays supper.

Lavatorial reading is a decidedly male pursuit. True there are a few female followers of the ritual, but they are a minority to their gender. Taking a few moments quiet time at home or at work should be taken seriously with the following comforts considered;

• Lighting: a well lit reading space is a happy reading space. Sadly most bathrooms have awful lighting. Consider the purchase of soft style light bulbs.
• Library: a healthy selection of reading material organized in a magazine rack can make your visit to the loo diverse and interesting by catering to your mood of the moment.
• Seating: although a seemingly innocuous activity, reading in the can is rough on the back and butt muscles. Assign the same considerations to choosing your toilet seat that you do when choosing a couch.
• Supplies: the calming effect of concluding a novel can be shattered by having to yell to someone outside your sanctuary to toss you a roll of toilette paper. Avoid this unfortunate circumstance by checking the roll before dropping your pants.

Finally, practice good hygiene by shutting the lid before flushing. Tests have shown that flushing without a lid sends up a cloud of spray, invisible to the naked eye, a considerable distance away from the toilet (easily filling the volume of an average bathroom). The spray has the potential to contain a variety of viruses and bacteria, which will happily eke out a wretched existence on anything it can in your bathroom.

Many thanks to Brent for inspiring this post by taking the time to write to me.