In this excerpt from and acirc and 128 and 156The Raven and acirc and 128 and 157 by Edgar Allan Poe what is the speaker doing when he hears a knock at the door?

In the excerpt from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, the speaker is reading and trying to distract himself from his overwhelming grief for his lost love Lenore when he hears the mysterious knocking at the door.