I almost always fly in First, and unless I'm headed over the pond, I don't recline. I choose bulkhead whenever possible so people reclining in front of me don't have to be an issue.
However, since I am not quite a princess, sometimes I'm stuck, and sometimes it's in torture class. As much as I'd love to be gracious about having a stranger lolling in my lap, it gives me the willies. Worse, I have long legs and a big .... No matter what I do, my knees are rammed in that seat in front of me. I can't get the machete through security to chop them off. . . so what's a girl to do?
I endure, but by the end of a coach flight, I'm usually either weeping or bruised. I've thought about buying the seat in front of me, but as it is, if I'm in coach I've already bought the seat next to me, to keep that big ... comfortable. Not to mention some unlucky fool in a middle seat would probably leap into my supposedly empty aisle, so what would be the point.
My husband, who reclines with gusto, says I am a pain. Easy for him to say with his 27 inch inseam. He also claims I close my eyes and mumble "please please please don't recline" whenever someone sits in front of us. How odd.