Últimamente ando leyendo el periódico en casa por la mañana.

Últimamente means lately, recently, or these days. It tells you that the action is something that has been happening in the recent past and is still relevant now.

In this sentence, it sets the time frame for the whole idea:

• Últimamente ando leyendo... = Lately, I’ve been reading...

It is very common at the beginning of a sentence, but it can also appear elsewhere depending on emphasis.

Both are possible, but they do not feel exactly the same.

• Leo el periódico en casa por la mañana = I read the newspaper at home in the morning
  This sounds like a regular habit or general routine.

• Ando leyendo el periódico en casa por la mañana = Lately, I’ve been reading the newspaper at home in the morning
  This sounds more like a recent tendency or ongoing pattern.

So ando + gerundio adds a sense of these days / recently / as things have been going.

It is a verbal structure made of:

• ando = 1st person singular present of andar
• leyendo = gerund of leer

So this is andar + gerundio, a Spanish periphrastic construction.

It often suggests:

• an action happening over a period of time
• something going on lately
• a slightly informal, conversational tone

It is similar in meaning to I’ve been reading or I’ve been going around reading, though in natural English you would usually just say I’ve been reading.

Not really. On its own, ando can mean I walk or I go around. But in andar + gerundio, it no longer keeps that literal meaning.

Here, ando leyendo does not mean I walk reading. It is just a verbal expression meaning something like:

• I’ve been reading
• I’ve been spending time reading
• I’ve lately been reading

This is a very common question.

• Estoy leyendo el periódico usually focuses on right now / at this moment.
  It often means I am reading the newspaper.

• Ando leyendo el periódico often suggests these days / lately / over a stretch of time.
  It is less about the exact current moment and more about a recent ongoing pattern.

In this sentence, because of últimamente, ando leyendo sounds especially natural.
You could also say Últimamente estoy leyendo el periódico..., but ando leyendo gives a slightly more idiomatic feeling of an ongoing recent habit.

Because the verb is leer. Its gerund is irregular in spelling:

• leer → leyendo

This happens because when -er or -ir verbs have a vowel in the stem before the ending, the gerund often uses y:

• leer → leyendo
• oír → oyendo
• ir → yendo

So leyendo is the correct form.

In Spanish, articles are used more often than in English. El periódico here means:

• the newspaper
• or more generally the newspaper as a regular thing I read

Even when English might say I read newspapers, Spanish often prefers the singular with an article in this kind of habitual statement.

So leer el periódico is a very natural expression for to read the newspaper.

Because en casa means at home, while a casa means to home / homeward, usually after a verb of movement.

Compare:

• Estoy en casa = I’m at home
• Voy a casa = I’m going home

In your sentence, the person is already located there while reading, so en casa is correct.

Por la mañana means in the morning.

In Spanish, the usual expressions are:

• por la mañana = in the morning
• por la tarde = in the afternoon / evening
• por la noche = at night / in the evening

This is the most standard and natural choice, especially in Spain.

A learner may expect en la mañana from English, but that is much less common in Spain and less standard in general for this meaning.

It sounds natural, conversational, and slightly informal.

The most important tone points are:

• Últimamente gives a recently / these days frame
• ando leyendo sounds a bit more relaxed and colloquial than a plain present tense
• the rest of the sentence is neutral and everyday

So it feels like something someone might casually say in conversation about a recent routine.

Yes, Spanish word order is flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others.

For example:

• Últimamente ando leyendo el periódico en casa por la mañana.
  Very natural.

• Ando leyendo el periódico en casa por la mañana últimamente.
  Possible, but less natural because últimamente usually comes earlier.

• Por la mañana, últimamente ando leyendo el periódico en casa.
  Possible if you want to emphasize the time of day.

The original order is good because it flows naturally from:

1. recent time frame
2. action
3. place
4. time of day

Exactly. Spanish often leaves out the subject pronoun when the verb already makes the subject clear.

• ando already tells us the subject is I

So yo ando leyendo... is grammatically possible, but yo would usually only be added for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

For example:

• Yo ando leyendo el periódico, pero mi hermano no lee nada.

Without that kind of contrast, leaving out yo is more natural.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is simpler and also natural. The difference is mainly nuance:

• Últimamente leo el periódico en casa por la mañana
  = a recent habit, stated more plainly

• Últimamente ando leyendo el periódico en casa por la mañana
  = a recent ongoing tendency, with a more colloquial and slightly more dynamic feel

So both work, but ando leyendo adds extra aspect and style.

Yes. The sentence sounds perfectly natural in Spain.

In particular:

• por la mañana is very standard in Spain
• andar + gerundio is also common and natural in everyday speech

It is not exclusive to Spain, but it fits Spain Spanish very well.