This article argues for an increased focus within literature didactics on the wide range of reading prac- tices available both within and outside the educational system. One way to achieve this is to drastically shift focus, to concentrate not only on the act of reading, reading strategies and reading types, but on reading practices, as multifaceted offerings. What does it mean to read around the text (a concept bor- rowed from Italo Calvino)? This formulation of the question forces us to take seriously the framework of reading and other factors, which tend to be marginalized. These factors can include the location of the reader when reading, the text as a physical object, other people, activities and artefacts which become important in reading practices. Examples discussed include Stockholm Reads, Retro Libraries, Literature in the Mall, and Author Cruises. In conclusion, practices of reading around the text deserve much great- er interest from L 1 didactics research.