I love reading on the toilet. My passion for toilet reading is now almost at the point where I simply cannot go to the toilet without something good to read. It is almost an addiction. My toilet related reading addiction also wastes a lot of my work time. In this post I am going to show you a few of my favorite toilet-time reads.
The top 10 best things to read on the toilet
1. New Scientist Magazine
A few years ago my younger brother started a science degree at university and not long after he was given a subscription to his favorite science magazine, New Scientist. This magazine comes out weekly and is filled with quality articles about what is going on in the world of science, medicine, etc. I fell in love with this magazine when I realized that they do a few regular pieces on the “mind” and its relationship to the body and brain. It is a perfect toilet time read with a mixture of both short and long articles.
2. National Geographic
photo credit: RonJe
Sometimes going to the toilet demands concentration and attention, especially if you are have just been traveling through New Delhi and your bowels are no longer on your team. For these moments it is good to look at some amazing photos of wildlife and the natural world. It is inspiring and relaxing and will get you through that tough toilet session!
National Geographic has been putting out quality magazines for 120 years now and then have never failed to impress me. I have learned a lot about the environment, politics, poverty and animals reading this magazine on the toilet.
3. Guinness Book of World Records
A friend of mine has the latest Guinness Book of World Records in his toilet and taking a dump at his house is always a great pleasure. I’m sure he will love to hear that, he is a reader of TDM!
The great thing about the Guinness Book of World Records is that it has a mixture of super short, short and medium length articles. In my friends words “…it is good for a 30 second trip or half an hour.”
There is a lot of weird stuff in the GBOWR though and sometimes it is not the best thing to look at if you are feeling a little sick or under the weather. Perhaps just stick to the sports section.
4. Time Magazine
photo credit: Spotrick
Now we are getting into the political side of toilet reading. Some of the most serious trips to the loo that I have ever had were when I was reading about the presidential election in Time magazine. I love Time because they have a reputation for integrity and thorough research and it shows through in the articles. Each one is extremely well written and you often get both sides of a story where other magazines might only be presenting one.
5. My Mobile Phone News
Sometimes when there is simply not enough time to gather some reading material I run into the toilet and switch on my Mobile Phone News service and sit down and see what “Breaking News” is on the front page. This cheap little service through my 3G phone has saved me a lot of time when there was no other reading material in sight.
6. The “Public Forum” (Graffiti)
photo credit: Tim Caynes
One of my old university buddies used to always come to lecture and tell me what was going on at the “public forum”. That was his word for the graffiti on the toilet wall. Usually it was some racist or homophobic comment that I really didn’t need to hear but he kept on telling me. Every lecture.
After a while I got sucked into the gossip of the public forum and starting reading it myself. I knew I was hooked when I went all the way across campus to go to a specific toilet in order to read what was happening on my usual wall. And, yes, I am ashamed.
7. The Newspaper
The newspaper is the traditional reading material for the loo. It is very popular. However, my city doesn’t have a very good paper. It is literally called “The Advertiser” and is more like a string of commercials than an actual news reporting service. A lot of opinion articles and very few international news incidents. So, for me, the traditional newspaper isn’t very common in my toilet.
8. My Comics
I have an awesome comic collection. I am a Marvel man and read anything created by Stan Lee – Spiderman, X-men, Silversurfer, Fantastic Four, etc. Sometimes when I am at home I whip out my comic collection and pick out an old favorite and head on over to superhero world where I can fly through the city and rescue damsels in distress.
It is a good idea to sometimes read something “light”. Often work can get us in a very serious frame of mind and we need to lighten up and comics are the perfect way to do it. Almost all of us read comic in our youth and they have the power to take us back to more simple times. Try it.
9. Street Magazines
I don’t know about your town but where I live there are lots of “street magazines” that are put out every week and are free of charge. Some of them are based around music and local gigs and others are about cultural things going on in the city. These little magazines are usually only good for about five or ten minutes of reading but are quite good to see if there are any local events going on.
10. Men’s Health
I am really in to fitness and I love to read a good fitness magazines. The problem – there aren’t very many good fitness magazines out there. Most fitness magazines are full of advertising and crap workouts that don’t work or have never been tested. Men’s Health isn’t always fantastic but it is usually good for some ideas or inspiration and usually after reading it I will try a new workout. At the very minimum I feel inspired to do a workout after reading it. It also has a lot of healthy eating ideas which are always helpful if you live and work a busy life.
What do you read?
Leave us a comment and let us know what you read on the toilet. We’d all love to know!
top image: photo credit: greatamericanfolkhero
Originally posted on April 28, 2008 @ 4:22 am
