Exercise is for non-book-readers!
July 18, 2012 2:14 PM   Subscribe

How To Read A Book takes us through the trials and tribulations of finding reading-time comfort. (SLYT)
posted by vorfeed (26 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
An unwelcome reminder of my ereaderless childhood
posted by MangyCarface at 2:24 PM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


That's why I won't even attempt to read in bed.

Sitting at a table is the most comfortable for me, especially if there is a steaming bowl of pho between myself and the book.
posted by TheRedArmy at 2:31 PM on July 18, 2012 [4 favorites]


So nobody has a data port in their neck yet?
posted by jfuller at 2:46 PM on July 18, 2012


Reading in bed is generally an uncomfortable proposition unless you've got a lot of pillows to prop yourself up with. Since my wife is prone to stealing my pillow in order to allow her to comfortably read in bed, I tend to lay there awkwardly until she's finished.*

*That sounds way more like an innuendo than I intended.
posted by asnider at 3:08 PM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


This is why you move around. From chair to bed to floor to bed the other way to walking around to chair to couch.
posted by DU at 3:11 PM on July 18, 2012


Also, the simple solution would be to get a chair.
posted by asnider at 3:14 PM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


An unwelcome reminder of my ereaderless childhood

Have... have you discovered a way to hold an e-reader in bed that doesn't suffer from the same problems? Because man, I would love to hear it. For me it's the same choice between butt-numbness or a slow collapse of the e-reader into my face, only one-handed rather than two.
posted by vorfeed at 3:30 PM on July 18, 2012


Have... have you discovered a way to hold an e-reader in bed that doesn't suffer from the same problems? Because man, I would love to hear it. For me it's the same choice between butt-numbness or a slow collapse of the e-reader into my face, only one-handed rather than two.

Lay on your side. Unlike with a paper book, the pages from the left or right don't flop down, so you can hold it in a comfortable position.
posted by vogon_poet at 4:02 PM on July 18, 2012


Have... have you discovered a way to hold an e-reader in bed that doesn't suffer from the same problems? Because man, I would love to hear it. For me it's the same choice between butt-numbness or a slow collapse of the e-reader into my face, only one-handed rather than two.

...this is actually why I haven't touched my Kindle in two years and now do all my e-reading on the Kindle app on my iPhone. Just lock the screen orientation, fit the phone in your hand and lie down on your side in the "spooning" position. I can read like this for hours. Added bonus: white text on black background keeps the reading light pretty dim and doesn't disturb Mrs. Creature.

If I'm reading a physical book I'll probably do it at the kitchen table.
posted by Doleful Creature at 4:06 PM on July 18, 2012


Perfect explanation of why I love my kindle.
posted by mikeo2 at 4:11 PM on July 18, 2012


Lay on your side. Unlike with a paper book, the pages from the left or right don't flop down, so you can hold it in a comfortable position.

hmm, when I do this I always end up having to flip over a lot. Guess intermittent rotational adjustment is the best in human-text interface technology at the moment...
posted by vorfeed at 4:20 PM on July 18, 2012


Well, that has certainly done a great deal to reduce my hatred and contempt for today's young people.

Beyond pathetic.
posted by Decani at 4:25 PM on July 18, 2012


Glad I could cheer you up, Decani! :D
posted by vorfeed at 4:27 PM on July 18, 2012


Lay on your side. Unlike with a paper book, the pages from the left or right don't flop down...

You have to hold the device up, right? Just like the cover/pages of the book.

If anything, I find an ereader to be much harder to hold precisely because it is small and light. There's no mass to keep it still.
posted by DU at 4:45 PM on July 18, 2012


Boobs are nature's bookshelf. I haven't had this problem since before puberty.
posted by troublewithwolves at 5:05 PM on July 18, 2012 [2 favorites]


The thing about boobs is true. They can also serve to hold the book open if you set it lower on your chest, solving page floppery.



I used to be able to get pretty comfortable reading when I was a kid, but I couldn't get too sucked in or I would fall out of the tree.
posted by louche mustachio at 5:47 PM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


Am I the only one with the perfect position?
Lie on your front. Shove a pillow or two under your chest. You'll get enough height off the pillow so it doesn't bother your shoulders.
posted by stoneegg21 at 7:19 PM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I have long dreamed of a bedside device that would hold my book, turn its pages, and project those pages onto the ceiling in a size and font of my choosing. I figured that with the boom in e-readers, such a thing would now be cheap and commonplace.

Alas.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 7:20 PM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I am having this same problem trying to read a new coffee table artbook sized biography of Dante G Rossetti. I think I will try stonegg21's advice.
posted by Isadorady at 7:32 PM on July 18, 2012


I don't understand this video at all, what next? How To Drink From a Cup? I am very short sighted, which is, I think, an advantage in bedtime reading, because I must hold the book pretty close to my face to be able to see it (I agree, glasses in bed are uncomfortable), the book and the wrist supporting it, are supported by the bed. Yay bed! Yay bad eyes! I find the kindle even easier to read in bed, alas, which I why I almost never get to sleep on time anymore. I lie on my side to read. Or if the book is too huge, I sit in a chair...or at the table...why is this a video again?
posted by woolly pageturner at 9:42 PM on July 18, 2012


The main problem with reading books in bed is that usually it takes me two pages of anything and I'm gone. Occasionally I have the opposite problem and I'm still reading at three AM on a school work night.
posted by MartinWisse at 12:34 AM on July 19, 2012


Lie on your front. Shove a pillow or two under your chest. You'll get enough height off the pillow so it doesn't bother your shoulders.

I can do this for a while but eventually my back starts to hurt from bending it backwards for so long.

However, a long, pillowed ramp might be perfect. you could lie "flat" on it but still be inclined enough to fit a book in front of your face.

The other problem is that while I like to read lying down, my wife only likes to read sitting in a chair. That puts us in different rooms unless I lie on the floor (hard) or the couch (impossible due to longitudinal mismatch).
posted by DU at 6:11 AM on July 19, 2012


Boy, people come up with some really lame excuses for not reading.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:29 AM on July 19, 2012 [1 favorite]


I bought an adjustable bed frame almost solely for the purpose of reading. Perfect angle every time.
posted by MangyCarface at 7:38 AM on July 19, 2012


I hope this is a joke I'm too old to appreciate. I've been reading in bed for close to a half-century now with no problems. (Also, in chairs and at tables and desks, standing at bus stops, in doctors' offices, on planes, trains, and in passenger seats of automobiles.) If you really want to read, you'll do it regardless. (Stop whining about physical books and get off my yard, Millennials.)
posted by aught at 9:36 AM on July 19, 2012


Yes, it's a joke. She's a book reviewer -- she does not actually have problems reading books.
posted by vorfeed at 12:50 PM on July 19, 2012


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