“Reading is setting out to discover a universe, it is also setting out to meet who we are.”
Victor Hugo.
Hello, young Padawan
Christmas is coming, so you may need more inspiration for your Christmas gifts. A reader around you? Don’t move; this article is for you, and if you are a reader yourself, there is no harm in doing yourself some good; you will likely find a tip (or two!) that will improve your reading comfort.
Reading is a most enjoyable activity that nourishes the mind, heart, soul, and body. It maintains a cognition at the top, trains your memory, stimulates your sense of logic and concept, questions you about your acquired knowledge, upsets you, and entertains you. You will have understood, nothing replaces reading.
But sometimes, when your eyesight is failing, you are in a poorly lit place, traveling, you take your book everywhere with you, and you lose your bookmark, your book is big, or your hands hurt, reading can become a little painful.
Forget all these discomforts, you will be able to spend hours on your book without ever again squinting or rotating your wrists, make way for the reading gadgets of your faithful servant, tested and approved through thick and thin.
The right bookmarks for globetrotters, and the one that will help you hold your book in comfort.
The bookmark may seem like a harmless object, as simple as hello, and yet, it is strategic, especially when you take your book with you when you travel or, worse, when you travel. Who has not already spent ten minutes finding their chapter and bookmark in the meanders, what am I saying, the depths of their bag has no idea how annoying it is! What an insult for a human being who invented the wheel, light, and space rockets to have to fight against such a small strip of paper, even if we had no idea that it could lodge there, the bugger!
You will have understood that the small rectangle of paper for the bedside book, the occasional table, or the coffee table is a yes; for the move or the trip, it is a no, no, and a triple no. So, we fumble, we try, then we adopt. These are two bookmarks that have seduced the nomadic reader that I am.
First of all, the bookmark with clip, the little green object in the photo above, also has the quality of not having to clip each new page again since it has a small silicone strip that allows you to have a few pages in reserve. There is no need to lift this strip; the simple action of turning the page makes it rise and reposition itself on the next page. This tool is magic for short trips, such as public transport, waiting rooms, and client appointments. The silicone clip does not damage any book, stays firmly in place, and the silicone strip always rises when you change pages, no matter how dense the pages are, I have never torn any book. It’s as if a reading engineer had designed the thing, lol.
The second legendary bookmark, a gift from a Swiss friend, is a panacea for long trips like a plane trip, a TGV, reading on a café terrace, or in nature. It’s a classic bookmark with an elastic band, which you can see in the photo above, but also in action in the photo at the bottom of the page, which has the great quality of keeping your book elasticated all around your book. The cardboard strip keeps your reading page; the elastic band closes it, keeps it in place, and keeps its shape once in your bag. You no longer dog-ear your books unless you’re a brute; your book no longer takes on that unpleasant crease of a front cover that seems to want to go far from the rest of the book; it stays well closed. We’re good!
Finally, let’s talk about a small tool that may seem trivial but can be very comfortable for those with sore hands or lack strength. It’s the small wooden object in the first photo above. This little thing helps you keep your book open without effort. You slide your thumb inside, and you can rest your hands. Aesthetic and useful, what more could you ask for?
The right lighting in all circumstances.
I have had this reading lamp, pictured above, which I told you about in this article here, for several years. It is flat, small, versatile, fits in any size bag, and allows you not to strain your eyes when you open your book in a waiting room between two appointments, in a train station, and at home if you have settled far from an adequate light source. You can adjust different intensities. There is a cold, medium, or warm light option for the evening; it is great, and I highly recommend it. I also recommend another one with an adjustable rod for the home for large books, which you will find in this article here.
This summer, I was given this little gadget that won a prize at the Lépine competition, pictured below. This three-in-one tool acts as a bookmark, a book opener like the little wooden object I showed you, and a reading lamp if you slide the small adjustable part to the right on the switch. This little thing is really good, calibrated for paperbacks or not too big or large. You can’t adjust the lamp’s intensity, but it is very effective and a warm light that is also suitable for evening reading. Bravo to this young French company that works well because I have been using it regularly since I got it at home or on a short trip. For example, if you walk to your osteopath, drive, or take the bus to your dentist with a bag in which your book is firmly stuck, or you are on a briefcase or small bag for these gentlemen, we are good; it will not move.
And here are the 2024 reading gadgets. Some of them are many years old, so I’m not sure I can offer you some regularly regarding this activity, but if this little post interests you, I could do it in other areas, such as my gadgets and tips for the office, kitchen, beauty, etc. Let me know what you think.
I wish you a good weekend, and see you next Friday, for new adventures on the blog.
XO 📖
