You ever wonder what your favorite author reads before bed? I do. All the time. Probably more than is normal. Like—while I’m shoving Goldfish crackers in my mouth at midnight and doomscrolling on my phone, I think, is Stephen King lying in bed with a cozy copy of Goodnight Moon? Okay, probably not. But I like imagining it.
And the thing is—I think what authors read before they fall asleep says a lot about them. Or maybe it says more about us, the nosy people who are curious enough to care. Either way, it’s fun.
I don’t know about you, but my own bedtime reading is a total mess. Sometimes I’m ambitious and start a giant Russian novel, like I’m suddenly a professor in tweed. Then by Tuesday night, I’ve switched to a trashy rom-com paperback with a neon-pink cover. And occasionally… nothing at all. Just me staring at the ceiling, spiraling about that one email I forgot to send in 2014.
But authors? They’re like book celebrities. You just know their nightstand stacks are way more interesting than my Target clearance-bin pick. So I started looking into it. And wow. It’s honestly not what I expected.
Stephen King – Spoiler: He Doesn’t Always Go for Scary Stuff
I had this image of Stephen King tucked in at night with like, an Edgar Allan Poe anthology. But apparently, the man reads everything. Crime thrillers. History. Even poetry.
Which weirdly makes sense—if you’re writing about killer clowns and haunted hotels all day, maybe you don’t also want that energy right before you close your eyes.
Honestly, I think about this a lot. Like, if I wrote horror for a living, I’d probably need to read Chicken Soup for the Soul before bed just to balance out my brain.
Nora Roberts – Comfort Reads Only
So picture this: the queen of romance novels, with her cozy blanket, maybe some chamomile tea, and a big chunky novel. But not always romance. Sometimes mystery. Sometimes thrillers.
I kinda love that. It’s like when you work at a bakery all day, the last thing you want when you clock out is more cake. (Okay, maybe bad example. I always want cake.)
Neil Gaiman – Mythology on the Nightstand
This one cracked me up but also made perfect sense. Neil Gaiman has admitted he reads old mythology and folklore before bed. Of course he does. That’s like… on brand.
If I tried to read Norse myths before bed, I’d get two sentences in before my brain went, “Wait, which god is Loki’s what now?” But Neil? He’s probably scribbling new ideas in a notebook, grinning in the dark.
Margaret Atwood – Poetry, Always Poetry
Margaret Atwood once said she keeps poetry close, especially at night. Which feels right. Like, she probably has this serene routine, reading a couple of lines of something beautiful before she sleeps.
Meanwhile, me? I’m still up at 1 a.m. Googling, “what year did Crocs first come out?”
Side Tangent: My Own Bedtime Book Fails
Confession: I once tried to read War and Peace as a “before bed” book. Biggest mistake of my life. I’d make it like five pages, then wake up three hours later with the lamp still on, drool on my chin, and no idea who half the characters were.
Another time, I thought it’d be relaxing to read The Road by Cormac McCarthy before sleep. I don’t recommend apocalyptic cannibal fiction as your lullaby. I just… don’t.
(Insert a funny GIF here of someone wide awake in bed with crazy eyes—perfect for this moment.)
J.K. Rowling – Crime Junkie Vibes
So Rowling (setting aside the discourse, just sticking to the bedtime reading bit here) is apparently obsessed with crime fiction. Which, again, makes sense. She even started writing crime novels under a pen name.
I imagine her sipping tea and reading some twisty British murder mystery. Personally, I can’t do crime before bed. Last time I tried, I woke up convinced my neighbor was hiding bodies in his garage. (He wasn’t. Probably.)
Toni Morrison – The Classics (But In Her Way)
Toni Morrison was known to re-read classics at night. But here’s the thing—when Morrison reads, she doesn’t just read. She reads. Like deeply. Slowly. Not rushing.
I envy that. Because me? I read like I’m trying to win a contest. Skimming, speed flipping, sometimes skipping entire paragraphs if they look boring. Morrison’s way sounds better. Calmer. More intentional.
Why It Matters What Authors Read Before Bed
Okay, real talk: does it matter? No. Not really. You can go your whole life without knowing what Margaret Atwood reads at 10 p.m. and be fine. But it’s kinda like snooping in someone’s fridge. It tells you who they are when no one’s looking.
Plus, it makes me feel better about my own chaotic nightstand stack. Because if Stephen King can read poetry at night, I don’t have to feel guilty about falling asleep halfway through a rom-com paperback with a shirtless cowboy on the cover.
My Messy Nightstand Right Now
Just for full transparency, here’s what’s literally on my nightstand right now:
- A half-read copy of Circe by Madeline Miller (been there for months, I keep putting it down but I swear I’ll finish)
- A sudoku puzzle book (don’t ask)
- Some random self-help book about “optimizing your mornings” (ironic, since I stay up till 2 a.m. reading instead of sleeping)
- And my phone, which is probably the worst bedtime reading habit of all.
Sometimes I think, if someone snooped my nightstand, they’d think I’m a chaotic librarian who’s also very bad at sleeping. Which, honestly, fair.
You Ever Notice…
How bedtime reading is different than any other reading? Like, you’ll read a tough nonfiction book at lunch. But before bed? Nah. You want cozy. Or funny. Or something that feels like a soft landing.
And sometimes—sometimes—you don’t even want a book. You just want your old favorite, the one you’ve read a million times. For me, that’s Pride and Prejudice. I can pick it up at any page, read a couple chapters, and it feels like hanging out with old friends.
Which maybe is the real answer to the question of what your favorite author reads before bed. Maybe it doesn’t matter the book—maybe it matters that it’s comforting. That it lets you sleep without nightmares about emails or cannibals.
Final Thought (But Not Too Final)
So yeah. What your favorite author reads before bed? Turns out it’s all kinds of stuff—poetry, mythology, crime, thrillers, even classics. Which just proves authors are like us. Messy. Curious. Reading to soothe themselves at the end of the day.
Now excuse me while I go stare at my nightstand and debate if I should actually pick up Circe again or just watch TikToks till my eyes blur. (Spoiler: probably TikToks.)
Outbound Links:
- Paulo Coelho interview — The Guardian
- Sylvia Plath bio & works — Poetry Foundation
- Original “Crying in H Mart” essay — The New Yorker
- James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter — James Clear
- Matt Haig’s blog — Matt Haig
