Dress Up Your Reading Room!
By Sue Eberling
Reading can be an obsession. Whether you read novels, non-fiction (or even writing books), what you read speaks about who you are and who you want to become. As you see below, even a bookish life carries its own paraphernalia to aid the bookworm in their quest to enjoy and share their own personal world of books.
This month’s Must Haves will dress up your reading room, your favorite arm chair, or your nightstand. Wherever you read the most, the following products will help you get organized, bring a smile to your face, or even add a little bit of technology to your reading routine.
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Stainless Steel Art Bookmark
www.MirageBookmark.ch
A bookmark can come from anywhere—receipts from your purse, an old magazine insert—whatever. But what if you could have a bookmark that’s also a piece of art? Mirage Bookmarks of Switzerland etches and engraves famous artwork and designs into bookmarked-sized stainless steel. The bookmarks range from flowers to Chinese calligraphy to art from ancient Egypt. Adaptations from Gustav Klimt, art deco and art nouveau images are also available. Sold at museums around the world (but also available online) these bookmarks bring an extra measure of beauty, art and whimsy as you sit down to read a juicy novel or book of poems. Most of the bookmarks are reasonably priced at under $8 and come ready to give as a gift.
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A Book Lover’s Diary
www.Amazon.com
Do you lose track of what you want to read? Do you read 10 books at a time and then have trouble recalling what you have read? A Book Lovers Diary by Shelagh Wallace and Scott McKowen will help make sense of the chaos. This journal lets you generate lists of books to read in the future (this way you won’t forget name of that novel your best friend recommended to you). There is also space to review books you’ve already read. In this section you can organize your entries by title, author, or subject. Other features include a place to keep info on your book club, such as names and numbers of fellow members, your reading list and notes. This book aficionado’s journal allows you to record memorable phrases and ideas from the books you read and the locations of favorite libraries and bookstores.
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Vintage Spiral-Bound Journals
www.bookjournals.com
Every reader needs a journal to record thoughts and jot notes. For truly unique journals with a nostalgic touch, visit www.bookjournals.com. A husband-wife duo hunts down and spiral binds vintage books with blank, acid-free paper inside to create these 5 x 8 journals. The covers range in variety from 1950s textbooks to old children’s school primers to Hardy Boy novels. These one-of-a-kind, hand crafted journals scream originality and sometimes come complete with hand-written inscriptions or library card jackets still intact.
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Kindle: Amazon’s New
Wireless Reading Device
www.amazon.com
It’s finally here, the paperless book. Well, Amazon’s version anyway. The recently released Kindle is a handheld reading device that holds up to 200 book titles. It features wireless technology allowing you to download a new book from anywhere, the same way that you would download and receive a text message or ring tone on your cell phone. By purchasing Kindle, you have access nearly all the New York Times best sellers for $9.99 in addition to 90,000 other titles and popular magazines. Lightweight and small, the Kindle fits in the palm of your hand and lets you to scroll and search for the books you want, much like you would search online. The device also allows you to e-mail Microsoft Word documents to your Kindle device (for a fee) so that you can peruse your own documents on the go. What Amazon calls “electronic paper” technology, allows you to read from your Kindle in broad daylight or darkness without glare like a PC monitor. One more cool feature. Say your Kindle takes a long jump off a short pier or your 2-year-old spills grape juice on it – you are still backed up. Amazon keeps track of the books you’ve bought and will restore them to you (though you would still need to buy a new Kindle).
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BookBrite™ Book Light
www.bn.com
Book lights are a must have for the avid reader who wants to continue reading after their spouse is sawing logs. This BookBright™ Book Light can be used on any size book or magazine. Not only can it clip on to illuminate the book in your hand, but it can convert to a small table lamp or hand-held flashlight. The swivel head and adjustable neck allow you to point the LED light exactly where you need it as you read in bed or while traveling.
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Book Bag
www.levenger.com
A strong tote is an necessity for the reader who tries to travel with just one book, but ends up taking five books plus 2 magazines and a notebook. When your reading room has to be portable, try this Bloomsbury Grand Zip Tote Bag from Levenger. This bag offers the strength of canvas, trimmed with chocolate-grained leather and six large outer pockets to stash all your reading loot. Levenger even sends the bag stocked with “eight useful tools for reading and note-taking” (the specific tools vary by availability).
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Would you like to suggest a must-have? We’d love it if you’d share with us and our readers. Drop us a line. Let’s continue to inspire each other!
