You should invest in a good reading chair, even if you don’t sit in it very often. Then, if additional money is available, you should go out and buy an expensive floor lamp, one of those that arches over the back of the chair.
Put your purchases in a prominent place for all to see, particularly you. Lamp and chair can serve as a modern art piece when friends are over. When you have been given a prized possession, say a book that your best friend says will titillate you but yet has a conservative burgundy cover, place it on the chair, and shine your light right on it.
One trick I learned is to put a heavy box on the new reading chair for about eight hours, implying you have sat there for days on end.
Such silliness makes me feel good, as if I’ve pulled one over on my more curious acquaintances…and, with time and the forgetfulness of age, even on myself.