Reading	and	company:	embodiment	and	social	space	in	silent	reading practices Authors' preprint (pre-refereeing) Final version appeared May 2018 in 'Reading for pleasure: supporting reader engagement', special issue of Literacy edited by Teresa Cremin and Gemma Moss Citation: Kuzmičová, A., Dias, P., Vogrinčič Čepič, A., Albrechtslund, A.-M. B., Casado, A., Kotrla Topić, M., Mínguez López, X., Nilsson, S. K., Teixeira-Botelho, I. (2018). Reading and company: embodiment and social space in silent reading practices. Literacy 52(2): 70–77. DOI: 10.1111/lit.12131 Authors	&	affiliations: Anežka	Kuzmičová* Department	of	Culture	and	Aesthetics,	Stockholm	University,	Sweden Patrícia	Dias Research	Centre	for	Communication	and	Culture,	Catholic	University	of	Portugal, Portugal Ana	Vogrinčič	Čepič Department	of	Library	and	Information	Science	and	Book	Studies,	University	of Ljubljana,	Slovenia Anne-Mette	Bech	Albrechtslund Department	of	Communication	and	Psychology,	Aalborg	University,	Denmark André	Casado Iamin	Consulting,	Lisbon,	Portugal Marina	Kotrla	Topić Institute	of	Social	Sciences	Ivo	Pilar,	Osijek,	Croatia Xavier	Mínguez	López Department	of	Literary	Education,	University	of	Valencia,	Spain Skans	Kersti	Nilsson Swedish	School	of	Library	and	Information	Science,	University	of	Borås,	Sweden Inês	Teixeira-Botelho School	of	Communication,	Arts	and	Information	Technologies,	Lusofona University,	Portugal *Corresponding	author: Anežka	Kuzmičová Department	of	Culture	and	Aesthetics,	Stockholm	University SE-106	91	Stockholm Sweden Email	anezka.kuzmicova@littvet.su.se 1 Phone	+420739157673 Reading	and	company: Embodiment	and	social	space	in	silent	reading	practices Abstract Reading,	even	when	silent	and	individual,	is	a	social	phenomenon	and	has	often	been studied	as	such.	Complementary	to	this	view,	research	has	begun	to	explore	how reading	is	embodied	beyond	simply	being	'wired'	in	the	brain.	This	article	brings	the social	and	embodied	perspectives	together	in	a	very	literal	sense.	Reporting	a	qualitative study	of	reading	practices	across	student	focus	groups	from	six	European	countries,	it identifies	an	underexplored	factor	in	reading	behaviour	and	experience.	This	factor	is the	sheer	physical	presence,	and	concurrent	activity,	of	other	people	in	the	environment where	one	engages	in	individual	silent	reading.	The	primary	goal	of	the	study	was	to explore	the	role	and	possible	associations	of	a	number	of	variables	(text	type,	purpose, device)	in	selecting	generic	(e.g.	indoors	vs	outdoors)	as	well	as	specific	(e.g.	home	vs library)	reading	environments.	Across	all	six	samples	included	in	the	study,	participants spontaneously	attested	to	varied,	and	partly	surprising,	forms	of	sensitivity	to	company and	social	space	in	their	daily	efforts	to	align	body	with	mind	for	reading.	The	article reports	these	emergent	trends	and	discusses	their	potential	implications	for	research and	practice. Key	words:	reading;	learning;	embodiment;	social	space;	media;	reading	environment 2 Introduction Although	the	capacity	to	read	is	a	prime	achievement	of	the	individual	evolving brain	(Wolf	&	Barzillai,	2009),	there	are	many	ways	in	which	reading	is	a	social affair.	We	learn	to	read	from	other	individuals.	The	meaning	extracted	from	text is	shaped	by	social	convention.	The	habit	of	extensive	deep	reading,	whether	of fiction	or	non-fiction,	is	highly	socially	valued	(Mol	&	Bus,	2011;	Wolf	&	Barzillai, 2009).	In	the	history	of	reading,	specific	titles,	genres,	and	reading	practices were	always	considered	more	socially	significant	or	desirable	than	others. Individual	reading	and	associated	practices	(Collinson,	2009)	are	thus	used	as	a tool	for	social	status	formation	and	display	(Bourdieu,	1984),	community building	(Anderson,	2016;	Long,	2003),	and	more. Complementary	to	this	traditionally	established,	social	perspective	on	reading	is the	recently	invigorated	view	that	reading	is	embodied	far	beyond	being	simply "wired"	in	the	brain.	The	research	framework	of	embodied	cognition	posits	that written	stories	(Chapelle	Wojciehowski	&	Gallese,	2011;	Kuzmičová,	2014)	and mathematical	textbooks	alike	(Lakoff	&	Núñez,	2000)	enlist	the	reader's	storage of	prior	bodily	experiences	as	an	essential	link	in	the	comprehension	process.	By the	same	token,	it	has	been	proposed	that	the	physical	environment	where	one happens	to	be	reading	can	reinforce	text	experience	via	meaning	cues	(e.g.	when a	story	featuring	a	particular	type	of	setting	is	read	in	congruent	settings; Kuzmičová,	2016;	Mackey,	2016;	Prentice,	Gerrig,	&	Bailis,	1997;	Vaughn, Petkova,	Hesse,	Trudeau,	&	McCaffrey,	Unpublished	Manuscript),	or	simply	by 3 reinforcing	aesthetic	pleasure	(Burke	&	Bon,	2017;	Kuzmičová,	2016). Digitisation	is	an	additional	significant	impulse	in	the	ongoing	rediscovery	of	the embodied	and	physically	situated	nature	of	reading.	For	instance,	different physical	text	supports	(print	vs.	digital)	reportedly	entail	different	text experiences	(Mangen	&	Kuiken,	2014;	Rose,	2011;	Rowsell,	2014)	and	learning outcomes	(e.g.	Ackerman	&	Goldsmith,	2011),	in	addition	to	different	ergonomic and	health	consequences	(e.g.	Benedetto,	Drai-Zerbib,	Pedrotti,	Tissier,	& Baccino,	2013). This	article	brings	the	above	perspectives,	the	social	and	the	embodied-cognitive, together	in	a	very	literal	sense.	Reporting	a	qualitative	study	of	reading	practices across	student	focus	groups	from	six	European	countries,	we	wish	to	point	to	an underexplored	factor	in	the	social	and	embodied	underpinnings	of	reading behaviour	and	experience.	This	factor	is	the	sheer	physical	presence,	and concurrent	activity,	of	other	people	in	the	environment	where	one	engages	in individual	silent	reading. The	primary	goal	of	the	qualitative	study	was	to	explore	the	role	and	possible associations	of	a	number	of	variables	in	selecting	generic	(e.g.	indoors	vs. outdoors)	as	well	as	specific	(e.g.	home	vs.	library)	physical	environments	for	the activity	of	reading.	Our	pre-defined	variables	were:	a)	the	purpose	of	reading (e.g.	leisure	vs.	study);	b)	the	type	of	text	to	be	read	(e.g.	fiction	vs.	non-fiction, continuous	vs.	discontinuous);	and	c)	the	reading	device	(e.g.	print	book,	laptop, e-reader,	smartphone).	The	research	rationale	was	grounded	in	a	primarily embodied-cognitive	theoretical	framework	and	intended	to	expand	theoretical 4 insights	into	environment-sensitivity	in	reading	(e.g.	the	notion	that environment-sensitivity	increases	with	text	complexity,	see	Kuzmičová,	2016; see	also	Mackey,	2010).	Since	studies	of	the	physical	reading	environment	are not	established	per	se	(but	see	Burke	&	Bon,	2017),	no	particular	predictions were	made	as	to	the	social	dimensions	of	readers'	environment	selections	and experiences. However,	the	sociality	of	individual	silent	reading	emerged	in	various instantiations	across	all	six	samples	included	in	our	study.	Focus	group participants	spontaneously	reported	sensitivity	to	their	immediate	social environment	while	selecting	places	and	ways	to	read.	Importantly,	this sensitivity	was	not	defined	in	the	simple	negative,	i.e.,	participants	did	not consistently	prefer	or	require	solitude	and	privacy	for	reading	(although	some did,	especially	for	study	reading),	while	few	reported	being	wholly	indifferent with	regard	to	their	social	surroundings	while	they	read	(the	exception	being,	in some	participants,	episodes	of	highly	immersive	fiction	reading).	In	other	words, our	findings	contradict	accepted	stereotypes	of	continuous	silent	reading	as	an activity	unequivocally	enhanced	by	seclusion	(Birkerts,	1994;	Piper,	2012),	and as	an	activity	necessitating	mental	detachment	from	the	immediate	environment (Gerrig,	1998;	Spivey	&	Richardson,	2008). Such	nexus	of	embodied	and	social	factors	in	the	environments	of	individual silent	reading	falls	into	a	blind	spot	in	most	relevant	research	disciplines.	Within phenomenological	philosophy,	the	discipline	that	studies	embodied	experience at	the	most	general	level,	a	first	principled	invitation	to	explore	the	"experiential 5 role	of	social	space,	as	well	as	its	relation	to	embodiment	and	affectivity"	has only	recently	been	put	forward	by	Krueger	and	Taylor	Aiken	(Krueger	&	Taylor Aiken,	2016).	Research	specifically	dedicated	to	reading	in	its	various	guises	has yet	to	follow	this	invitation.	While	some	cognitive	scientists	integrate	embodied and	social	accounts	of	the	mind	in	theorizing	higher-order	reading comprehension	(Popova,	2014),	their	theories	do	not	go	so	far	as	to	include	the physical	reading	environment,	and	similar	gaps	or	approximations	may	be	found in	other	fields.	For	instance,	while	communication	research	into	mobile	devices explores	a	wide	range	of	behaviours	in	relation	to	the	sociality	of	public	space (Baron	&	Hård	af	Segerstad,	2010),	the	activity	of	reading	continuous	text	is scarcely	a	central	concern	in	this	strand	of	inquiry.	Some	mental	health applications	of	fiction	reading	rely	on	the	social	and	embodied	sharing	of	text experiences	in	physically	constrained	therapy	sessions	(Dowrick,	Billington, Robinson,	Hamer,	&	Williams,	2012),	yet	they	do	so	on	the	basis	of	reading	aloud rather	than	silently. The	field	of	literacy	traditionally	explores	reading	in	familial	and	educational settings,	which	are	also	inherently	social	(Compton-Lilly,	2012;	Knoester	& Plikuhn,	2016;	Kucirkova,	Sheehy,	&	Messer,	2015).	However,	these	literacy practices	have	largely	been	studied	separately	from	their	embodied	and	material contingencies.	In	reaction	to	this,	two	original	arguments	for	acknowledging	the embodiment	and	physical	situatedness	of	reading	were	recently	published	in	this journal.	One	of	them,	presented	by	Mackey	(2016),	reports	an	auto-bibliographic study	of	literacy	as	a	process	that	"winds	in	and	out	of	the	material	objects	of	our ordinary	domestic	lives",	and	refers	to	the	embodied	and	the	social	in	aggregate 6 as	a	"clutter	of	people,	objects,	and	emotions"	(Mackey,	2016,	pp.	166–167).	The other	is	a	programmatic	statement	by	Mangen	and	van	der	Weel	(2016), proposing	an	integrative	research	framework	wherein	qualitative	and quantitative	approaches	will	be	combined	in	assessing	the	impact	of technological	change	on	reading	experience,	embodied,	but	also	social.	The	study presented	here	should	be	understood	in	light	of	these	proposals. Method	and	procedure The	purpose	of	our	study	was	exploratory.	Thus	we	chose	a	qualitative	approach and	used	the	focus	group	method	(Basch,	1987),	aiming	to	collect	rich	data concerning	both	individual	choices	and	motivations	but	also	a	common	context. The	only	criterion	for	participant	selection	was	that	they	should	be	frequent readers	and	declare	enjoying	reading.	Moderators	in	the	different	countries	used a	variety	of	methods	for	recruiting	participants,	including	directly	approaching students	in	class	and	on	campus,	written	announcements	asking	for	volunteers, and	snowballing.	The	sessions	were	conducted	in	Croatia	(HR),	Czech	Republic (CZ),	Portugal	(PT),	Slovenia	(SI),	Spain	(ES),	and	Sweden	(SE).	Participants	were undergraduate	and	graduate	students	(N	=	36;	21	females).	Their	mean	age	was 21,58	(SD	=	4,36).	Most	participants	were	enrolled	in	university	programs	but some	attended	professional	training	below	university	level.	A	wide	range	of subjects	was	represented,	including	anthropology,	communication,	economics, education,	library	and	information	science,	literature,	modern	languages, physiotherapy,	social	work,	sociology,	technology,	and	theology.	There	were	six participants	per	session	on	average. 7 To	maintain	consistency	across	groups,	moderators	were	provided	with	a methods	and	purposes	briefing	and	a	protocol	for	conducting	the	sessions.	The protocol	consisted	of	four	open	questions. a)	Do	you	enjoy	reading?	Is	reading	your	hobby? b)	Where	(and	when)	do	you	read? c)	What	do	you	usually	read?	How	is	your	reading	different	depending	on whether	you	read	for	leisure	vs.	work? d)	How	much	do	you	read	in	print	vs.	digital	format? The	sessions	took	place	in	neutral	meeting	environments	in	urban	areas	of	the respective	countries,	between	March	and	October	2016.	Each	session	lasted approximately	one	hour.	The	data	were	audio	or	video	recorded	and	transcripts were	produced.	At	the	end	of	each	session,	participants	filled	out	a	brief anonymous	questionnaire	that	included	two	items	on	their	device	preferences and	five	items	on	their	perceived	reading	habits	relative	to	peers	(adapted	from Acheson,	Wells,	&	MacDonald,	2008).	Upon	transcription,	all	participants	were anonymised	and	the	data	were	coded	using	thematic	analysis. Reading	environments,	embodied	and	social The	findings	reported	below	are	thematically	organised	into	three	sections according	to	three	main	types	of	reading	environment:	the	home,	dedicated 8 settings	outside	the	home	(e.g.	school	or	library	environments),	and	nondedicated	settings	outside	the	home	(all	other	non-home	environments).	This division	of	reading	environments	yielded	vastly	distinct	sets	of	reading	practices and	experiences	as	reported	by	the	participants.	We	open	each	section	with	a report	on	the	more	general	main	trends	for	a	given	environment,	before	moving on	to	the	more	specifically	social	factors. Reading	in	the	home People	generally	spend	more	time	in	their	home	than	anywhere	else	(Morley, 2000).	Unsurprisingly,	then,	many	participants	identified	the	home	as	their preferred,	and	most	common,	reading	environment.	As	for	positions	within	the home,	the	bed	was	usually	mentioned	first,	and	the	couch	came	second.	Reading in	the	bedroom	or	living	room	entailed	lying	down	or	reclining,	or	other	postures associated	with	relaxation	and	bodily	comfort. "When	I	read	for	pleasure	I	prefer	to	lie	down	because	that	makes	it	easier to	immerse	in	another	world."	SE1 "I	read	with	my	legs	crossed	on	the	sofa."	ES1 "I'm	not	exactly	lying	down	on	the	bed,	I	look	for	a	comfortable	posture." ES5 In	most	cases,	print	was	preferred	for	reading	at	home,	but	a	few	respondents mentioned	the	superior	physical	comfort	of	holding	an	e-reader	or	a	mobile 9 phone	while	reading	in	bed,	in	comparison	to	handling	thick	and	heavy	print volumes. "It	can	be	very	nice	to	lie	in	bed	with	an	e-reader."	SE3 "To	be	lying	on	the	bed	with	a	three	hundred-page	volume	over	you,	that's very	heavy."	PT5 Participants	also	referred	to	leisure	reading	at	home	as	part	of	the	various domestic	rituals	such	as	dining,	drinking	coffee	behind	a	kitchen	table,	or	going to	the	toilet,	thus	linking	reading	to	other	home	settings.	However,	when referring	specifically	to	reading	for	study,	they	reported	different	styles	of reading	with	regard	to	posture	as	well	as	environment	("When	I	am	reading	for study,	I	do	it	at	my	desk,	and	I	use	a	pen."	PT1;	see	also	next	section).	Unpleasant outdoor	circumstances	were	repeatedly	mentioned	as	contributing	to	the pleasure	of	reading	at	home,	enhancing	the	safety	and	cosiness	of	the	home environment	and	its	suitability	for	"reading	as	well-being"	(McLaughlin,	2015,	p. 133). "During	winter	I	like	to	put	my	back	to	the	radiator;	I	take	my	blanket	and sit	there,	and	during	summer	[I	read]	on	a	couch	with	a	lot	of	pillows."	HR2 Despite	the	fact	that	the	home	was	often	favoured	for	its	proverbial	peace	and quiet	(I	like	to	read	at	home,	because	there	I	have	my	own	peace,	HR4),	many participants	rather	implied	that	peace	and	quiet	is	not	necessarily	what	makes 10 their	home	a	favourite	place	to	read.	For	some	of	these	participants,	the	home simply	lacks	these	properties,	yet	they	still	enjoy	it	as	a	place	for	reading. "Home	is	never	silent	if	you	have	siblings."	HR3 "When	I	read	at	home,	people	are	talking,	the	TV	is	on."	ES4 Others	yet	reported	that	the	many	different	affordances	of	the	home	on	the	one hand,	and/or	its	seclusion	and	privacy	on	the	other,	have	a	counter-productive effect.	These	participants	reported	to	prefer	a	more	dedicated	environment	(e.g. a	library)	for	study	reading,	and/or	more	vivid	and	eventful	public	(e.g. outdoors)	places	for	leisure	reading. "There	are	too	many	distractions	at	home,	commitments,	responsibility, 'musts';	I	rather	read	in	places	away	from	home."	SE3 "My	room	is	reserved	for	the	torment	of	study,	and	everything	else	I	read outdoors."	HR1 Many	of	the	home-related	reading	practices	described	by	our	participants challenge	the	assumption	that	for	skilled	readers,	reading	at	home	is	solitary	and devoid	of	social	interaction	(e.g.	Piper,	2012).	Providing	more	than	just	white noise,	family	members,	partners,	and	flatmates	were	reported	to	take	part	in participants'	reading	experiences	in	several	different	ways.	Although	shared reading	aloud	is	not	the	main	focus	of	the	present	article,	remarkably	many	of our	participants	engaged	in	such	forms	of	reading. 11 "In	our	flat,	we	do	shared	reading.	We	have	a	day	scheduled	for	that.	The day	that	everybody	comes	back	early	and	we	are	in	the	bed,	one	of	us	starts to	read	in	the	corridor	and	everyone	follows	the	story. [....]	It's	like	an intimate	moment	for	everyone."	ES3 More	importantly,	silent	reading	was	also	experienced	as	a	social	practice,	and sometimes	purposefully	performed	as	such.	Participants	reported	enjoying reading	together	with	other	members	of	their	household,	sharing	not	only	the same	space	and	time	for	reading,	but	also	exchanging	related	comments. "At	home	we	often	read	together	in	the	living	room,	each	with	their	own book,	and	we	sometimes	also	comment	on	the	books	we	read	–	so	it	can	get very	dynamic."	SI4 Even	more	generally,	however,	the	home	reading	experience	was	spontaneously reported	to	benefit	from	the	sheer	physical	presence	of	others,	who	disrupt	the quiet	but	endow	the	reading	environment	with	a	sense	of	belonging. "If	I	read	in	the	room	and	I	sit	on	a	bed	[...],	I	will	not	finish	the	book,	it's	too quiet."	HR1 "I	don't	want	to	be	alone.	I	like	to	read	most	at	the	kitchen	table,	where	I hear	background	noises,	the	TV,	or	my	mom	is	saying	something,	but	I'm immersed	in	my	book,	I	just	like	to	be	exposed	to	a	varied	soundscape."	SI3 "If	you	read	alone	you	can	get	lonely,	so	it's	better	if	there's	someone	there, either	reading	or	doing	something	completely	different."	SI5 12 This	affective	impact	of	the	unobtrusive	physical	presence	of	others	is	perhaps the	most	intriguing	finding	with	respect	to	the	home	environment.	It	is	difficult to	assess	to	what	extent	this	finding	is	contingent	on	the	age	of	our	participants; at	the	time	of	the	study,	only	a	few	had	entered	the	parenting	life	stage	wherein solitude	may	be	valued	for	its	scarcity.	Insofar	as	they	may	be	regarded	as members	of	the	young	adult	population,	the	participants'	relationship	to company	during	reading	extends	the	definition	of	the	Home	Literacy Environment	as	defined	in	studies	into	children's	reading	development	(Burgess, Hecht,	&	Lonigan,	2002;	Leseman	&	Jong,	1998),	along	the	lines	of	Mackey's (2016)	proposal	that	literacy	and	memories	of	reading	are	intertwined	with	the sheer	physicality	of	their	props,	including	human	beings. Reading	in	dedicated	settings	outside	home Contemporary	advances	in	e-publishing	and	portable	technology	seem	to promise	a	future	where	people	will	learn	through	reading	anytime,	anywhere. While	the	potential	worth	of	mobile	practices	for	informal	learning	(Tseloudi	& Arnedillo-Sánchez,	2016)	and	leisure	reading	(Kuzmičová,	Schilhab,	&	Burke, Submitted;	see	also	next	section)	is	relatively	evident,	institutionalised	learning behaviour	may	not	adapt	as	easily. Exploratory	research	has	shown	student samples,	internationally,	to	resist	abandoning	traditional	print	formats	for	study purposes	(Baron,	Calixte,	&	Havewala,	2016;	Fortunati	&	Vincent,	2014). 13 Although	reading	on	laptops	was	frequently	mentioned	(see	also	Burke	&	Bon, 2017),	a	clear	preference	for	print	over	digital	format	for	study	purposes	was expressed	in	all	six	focus	groups	in	our	study.	Participants'	motivations	ranged from	convenience	such	as	variable	in-text	annotation	and	marking	("I	print everything;	I	need	to	have	it	physically.	To	underline,	to	write	on	it."	ES1),	through affective-cognitive	concerns	such	as	the	visual	traces	of	previous	readers	in	a textbook	loan	("I'm	sometimes	consoled	when	I	see	books	in	a	library,	stained	with tea	and	coffee."	SI4),	to	cognitive	support	more	generally	("I	avoid	e-books, because	I	feel	that	I	don't	remember	enough."	SI2). However,	in	addition	to	studying	with	largely	traditional	reading	devices,	our participants	also	reported	to	study	in	distinct,	traditional	environments.	For them,	institutionalised	learning	was	not	a	mobile	enterprise.	While	some reported	a	preference	for	studying	at	home,	many	of	our	participants	described the	home	environment	as	relatively	unsuitable	for	studying.	Instead,	they declared	a	preference	for	dedicated	settings	such	as	reading	rooms	in	libraries	or at	school. "I	like	reading	at	home,	in	the	morning,	but	if	I	have	to	read	something	more demanding,	I	rather	go	out	to	a	library	and	read	it	there."	SI2 "I	really	appreciate	the	constraints	of	the	library.	[...]	It's	both	[temporal and	spatial	constraints].	Having	the	time	slot	certainly	makes	a	difference but	it's	mainly	about	this	special	environment	that	is	so	totally	dedicated	to reading.	[...]	I	have	several	favourite	libraries	that	I	choose	from	depending on	my	mood."	CZ1 14 Most	of	those	who	make	regular	use	of	dedicated	reading	environments	reported using	them	for	study	reading	specifically,	while	leisure	reading	was	typically associated	with	other	environments.	For	some	participants	the	spatial	divide between	leisure	and	study	reading	was	a	categorical	one. "It's	not	the	same	space	nor	the	same	atmosphere."	ES3 "Even	in	the	classroom,	between	classes,	I	can't	imagine	taking	out	a	book for	the	pleasure	of	reading."	ES2 Postures	afforded	by	typical	reading	room	furnishings	(sitting	straight	up	at	a desk)	were	associated	with	study	reading	overall.	Participants	made	a	point	of distinguishing	between	the	alert	postures	necessitated	by	studying	and	the	more relaxed	postures	associated	with	leisure. "For	pleasure	I	read	on	the	sofa,	in	the	armchair,	or	in	bed.	When	I	read	for studies	I	sit	at	a	desk;	I	have	to	sit	upright."	SE1. "I	can't	imagine	reading	a	scholarly	article	laying	down.	That's	impossible." ES2 One	participant	described	how	the	library	environment	in	itself	alleviates negative	feelings	connected	with	difficult	reading	tasks	(and	the	typical	vertical posture),	whereas	dealing	with	the	same	tasks	at	home	calls	for	special, embodied,	coping	strategies. 15 "When	I'm	in	the	library	studying	something	important,	the	hard	chair	and upright	position	feel	good.	But	at	the	same	time	when	it	is	a	really important	thing	I	have	to	study,	it	always	makes	me	a	bit	nervous	too,	and curling	up	with	it	in	bed	relaxes	me	when	I'm	at	home."	CZ4 However,	when	participants	referred	to	the	library	as	tangibly	dedicated	to reading,	they	seemed	to	have	more	in	mind	than	proper	desks,	chairs,	lighting, relative	silence,	and	an	escape	from	the	distraction	at	home.	A	library	reading room	was	for	them	a	preferred	place	to	study	primarily	by	virtue	of	being	used for	this	purpose	by	others. "When I read articles for college, sometimes I also need to go to places where	other	people	are	studying."	PT1 "So	for	instance	at	[Library	X],	it's	typically	just	me	and	three	librarians	in the	reading	room.	And	this	is	disturbing.	I	feel	outnumbered.	[...]	So	I	feel much	better	at	[Library	Y]	where	there's	lots	of	people	studying."	CZ3 When	reading	"together"	with	others,	participants	reported	higher	motivation for	the	particular	reading	task	at	hand.	Some	also	provided	deeper	explanations relating	to	their	social	identity	as	students	and	readers. "I	like	having	this	sort	of	approval	from	the	others	for	studying	as	such.	That it	makes	sense	to	do	it.	So	everybody	else	in	that	space	is	studying	and	I	join them."	CZ4 16 Pre-arranged	study	in	groups	was	reported	to	facilitate	individual	reading through	a	sense	of	sharing	one's	general	focus	with	others	within	a circumscribed	environment.	Importantly,	one	participant	brought	up	the	need for	the	tacit	approval	of	the	immediate	surroundings	not	only	with	regard	to	the activity	of	reading	as	such,	but	also	with	regard	to	one's	particular	reading materials	(see	also	next	section). "For	instance,	walking	down	the	aisle	in	the	main	reading	room	of	[Library Y]	and	seeing	all	these	myriads	of	medical	students	with	their	anatomy textbooks	laid	out	on	the	desks.	That's	unsettling.	[...]	I	feel	like,	hope nobody	will	punish	me	for	studying	theology	in	this	place."	CZ1 Reading	for	study,	albeit	cognitively	taxing,	proved	never	to	take	place	in	an experiential	or	affective	vacuum.	Even	in	the	case	of	environments conventionally	designed	for	reading	and	studying,	the	feel	and	impact	of	any given	environment	is	subject	to	sensory-motor	affordances	(Mangen,	2008)	as well	as	social	variables,	e.g.,	the	physical	presence,	perceived	status,	and	activity of	other	people	in	the	room.	These	social	variables	in	turn	are	not	wholly separable	from	embodiment	proper	(Krueger	&	Taylor	Aiken,	2016),	as	one's posture	and	handling	of	reading	materials	in	a	classroom	or	crowded	library	can also	be	a	means	of	non-conscious	social	coordination	(de	Jaegher	&	di	Paolo, 2007),	or	even	serve	as	an	intentional	signal	of	one's	attitude	or	socio-cultural identity	("so	then	I	just	held	onto	the	book	to	flash	it"	CZ3). 17 Reading	in	non-dedicated	settings	outside	home Non-dedicated	settings	outside	the	home	can	also	be	described	as	public	spaces in the widest sense, which are by definition likely to be shared with others. Indeed, participants most often mentioned the social dimension of reading in relation to this type of setting, and highlighted its importance for the reading experience.	In	addition,	although	other	reading	supports	(print	books,	e-readers) were frequently mentioned, reading on smartphones emerged as the most distinctive	practice. "I read	the	most	on	my	smartphone	and it is	always	online, so I read anywhere.	The	place	and	device	depend	on	the	content	I	am	reading." PT4 The impact of mobile phones on public spaces, and changing norms and conventions, has been exhaustively researched (Fortunati, 2002; Ling, 2004). Currently, smartphones	and	other	portable	devices	are fully integrated in	daily routines and are frequently used in social situations, going from exception to norm (Lee, 2013).	Our participants recognise disadvantages, such as the small screen, or their potential for distractions, but they also stress the embodied versatility,	mobility,	and	convenience	afforded	by	smartphones. "I	take	the	phone	[for	poetry	reading],	because	it's	smaller,	mobile	and I	find	it	easier...	and	also	I like	the	way	text	on	the	phone	has	shorter lines,	which enables	me to	go through it faster. [The	phone] enables 18 me	to	read	in	various	positions."	SI3 "On	the	mobile	phone,	during	classes,	we	download	a	book	in	.pdf,	so	in school I read books on the phone, and	when I read a [print] book, I prefer to do that during breaks when I have	more time and peace." HR3 The type of reading most typically associated with phones was also specific. More	common	than	extended	sessions	of	deep	reading	(Wolf	&	Barzillai,	2009) was	the	discontinuous	reading	of	bits	and	snippets	whenever	one	has	some	time (Hupfeld, Sellen, O'Hara, & Rodden, 2013). Often, participants reported to use smartphones for	keeping	up	to	date	with	news	or	social	media,	but there	were also	cases	of	reading	longer	texts	for	studying	and,	above	all,	leisure. "I	read	a	lot	on	my	phone.	[...]	Some	of	these	are	long-form	texts.	I	have a	large	screen,	that's	convenient	for	reading."	CZ2 "I believe that the key for reading on your smartphone is the momentary. [...] I carry books with me [digital books in the smartphone]	and	if	I	have	15	free	minutes,	I	read."	PT5 "In	digital,	you	read	everywhere.	It	doesn't	matter	if	you're	on	the	bus or in	class.	And	you	don't	even	have	to	spend	extra	time	reading.	You just	read.	It's	automatic."	PT1 Although	non-dedicated settings	outside the	home	were	not	described	as ideal places	for	deep	reading	compared	to	the	home	or	dedicated	settings,	reading	in public spaces is a very common	practice, an effective solution for giving some 19 use	to	waiting	time.	But	it	can	also	be	a	social	statement,	a	form	of	nonverbal	and symbolic communication.	Lasen (2002) reports	how fiddling	with the	phone is replacing	the	use	of	newspapers,	magazines,	and	books	for	communicating	that one is unavailable for social interaction, and Fortunati (2002) highlights the display	of	the	mobile	phone	to	express	social	status. The	symbolic	aspect	of	reading	in	public	spaces	is	important	for	readers,	as	they worry about how their actions will be interpreted, from the mere activity of reading	to	the	content	chosen.	Our	participants	highlight	that	smartphones	give them	unprecedented	privacy,	as	they	don't	need	to	worry	about	what	others	will think about them reading or about what they are reading (see also Hupfeld, Sellen,	O'Hara,	&	Rodden,	2013). "That's	why	I	prefer	reading	on	my	mobile,	because	not	everyone	can tell I am reading, they might think I am scrolling on Facebook. [...] There	would be a lot of comments in the classroom	at school [if the participant's	classmates	knew	she	is	reading	fiction	during	recess]." HR2 The	social	dimension	comes into	play in	different	ways.	The	effect	of sharing	a space	with	others	on	the	experience	of	reading is	multifaceted,	as it	may	cause distraction	and	difficulty	in	concentrating,	or	it	may	provide	a	comforting	sense of	company	and	belonging	(see	also	above). "I think I	enjoy	reading	outside in the	park	or somewhere	because	of 20 the	background	sounds,	leafs,	people,	I	like	that	there	is	something	like that, I	always read	outside.	The same thing	goes for cafés, I like that there	are	people	around	me,	that	something	is	happening."	HR1 "Also I'm	really	annoyed	by	being the	only	one	reading in	a	group	of people.	I	don't	like	being	watched	when	I	read.	In	a	waiting	room,	for instance.	It's	much	more	difficult	being	the	only	one	reading	compared to	when	I	read	my	book	and	two	other	women	are	reading	a	magazine. For	me	it's	not	only	about	getting	approval,	but	also	about	blending	in with	the	crowd."	CZ3 Also, in the company of friends, reading on the phone was reported more acceptable than reading	print, due to the tacit assumption that it	will be	quick and superficial, and thus will not prevent the reader from interacting with others. Unlike single-purpose dedicated settings, non-dedicated public environments are versatile with respect to the bodily actions and social interactions afforded, and smartphones seem to	make reading	more adaptable than	ever	before	to	this	versatility	(Kuzmičová,	Schilhab,	&	Burke,	Submitted). Conclusion Compared	to	other	data	collection	methods	such	as	in-depth	interviews,	focus groups	are	difficult	to	quantify	due	to	the	tacit	dynamics	of	turn	taking,	topic exhaustion,	non-verbal	patterns,	and	so	forth.	Individual	participants	may refrain	from	commenting	if	their	views	are	too	similar	to	those	already expressed,	but	some	may	also	shy	away	from	disagreeing.	As	regards	the 21 specifically	social	dimensions	of	silent	reading,	the	present	article	nearly exhausts	the	explicit	mentions	in	our	data	set,	with	the	exception	of	smartphonerelated	social	behaviours,	which	were	discussed	extensively.	The	reading practice	associated	with	perhaps	the	highest	degree	of	disagreement	was reading	for	study;	there	was	at	least	one	person	in	each	group	who	reported	to be	overly	distracted	by	sharing	study	space	with	others.	Finally,	it	should	be noted	that	some	of	the	non-dedicated	settings	where	our	participants	reported enjoying	reading,	e.g.,	beaches	during	the	summer,	also	entail	rather	intensive forms	of	embodied	social	sharing	that	were	nonetheless	left	unaddressed	in	the discussions. Overall,	it	is	fair	to	conclude	that	the	students	in	our	study	spontaneously testified	to	varied,	and	partly	surprising,	forms	of	immediate	social	awareness	in their	daily	efforts	to	align	body	with	mind	across	reading	environments.	The exploratory	data	reveals	a	certain	level	of	conscious	curation	of	literacy	practices with	respect	to	the	purpose	of	reading	and	content	being	read,	an	emergent	skill of	matching	the	right	posture	and	technological	support	with	the	right	content and	social	environment.	To	use	Mackey's	words,	the	experiences	captured	in	our study	evade	the	"tidy	abstractedness"	(Mackey,	2016,	p.	166)	of	prevalent approaches	to	reading,	which	tend	to	study	the	reading	mind	as	if	temporarily decoupled	from	all	stimuli	in	the	physical	environment	(Kuzmičová,	2016),	other than	the	text	being	decoded. If embodied and social contingencies play such a decisive role in the reading experiences of our participants, who were transitioning or had already 22 transitioned from young adulthood to adulthood, the possible implications for practice and research relative to the more sensitive, less professionalised younger	readers	are	many,	and	should	not	be	ignored.	To	name	just	a	few,	social dynamics and embodied affordances within classrooms	may be explored as a factor potentially affecting individuals' reading skills and attitudes to reading. Physical libraries appear to be a vital type of social space for study reading (Fallin, 2016), and should be preserved rather than eliminated as digitisation progresses. In light of our findings regarding smartphones as reading devices, further studies	may look into readers' potentially changing readiness to read, and modes of reading, in the very close physical proximity of familiar or unfamiliar	others. Finally,	heeding	Mangen	and	van	der	Weel's	(2016)	call	for	integrating	the	social and the embodied perspectives on reading through also combining research methods that have traditionally been	practiced in	mutual isolation,	we see the present exploratory study as a first step toward research designs wherein participants' reading experience and performance will be observed and measured in controlled or semi-controlled experimental environments, and across different bodily and social conditions. 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