Coffee + Books = Just Like Heaven

Everybody knows that waking up groggy and rolling out of bed to check your email is just about the worst way you can start a day. Not only does the immediate glare of a computer screen hurt your vulnerable, sleep-deprived eyes (just me?), but beginning your day with a slew of demands, deadlines, and spam promising that "RUSSIAN GIRLS NEXT DOOR ARE DYING 2 MEET U" is sort of a terrible foot to start out on.

Here's what an ideal morning looks like: a call from the MacArthur Foundation. Here's what the second-most ideal morning looks like: you stretch and slip out of your warm bed to leisurely brew a cup of coffee. You pour in a swirl of cream, pull on thick socks, and pad out to your misty patio, clutching your favorite novel. You sit, read, sip, occasionally looking up from your book to gaze at the deer feasting on dewy grass.

Maybe that's not how your morning started today. Don't feel bad; mine looked nothing like that, either. Maybe if "deer feasting on dewy grass" is a metaphor for "frantically getting dressed before missing the bus." But coffee and a book at the same time? It's a pretty accessible little fantasy.

Another way to start your day right: read about love.

Baked goods are not so much a "plus" as a "necessity."

Dwarves, elves, and hobbits need caffeine, too.

On day 28, drink coffee and read quietly.

A glossy manicure never hurt anyone's reading skills.

No one said that your book had to be high-brow or that your coffee had to be shade-grown.

You could do much, much worse than to start your day out with some Márquez.

Latin languages and tiny European cups are highly encouraged.

If you're going to cry first thing in the morning, you might want to switch to something stronger. Like sunglasses.

Extra blankets are never a bad idea.

Make sure your reading is infinitely Instagrammable.

Let your intuition guide you to a cappuccino.

Risks of the trade.

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