An Upgraded Reading Setup
/
In my relentless pursuit of the Most Optimized Life, the topic of this blog post has ranked pretty high on the to-do list in recent months. As you may know, I love reading books. Now let me introduce to you the fact about me that I LOVE my bed. I’d imagined a very particular vibe for my adult homeowner bedroom- a warm decor style involving a rustic four poster bed and handloom prints, that I’ve occasionally playfully labeled midcentury modern maharaniᵀᴹ for lack of established terminology- a long time ago. And so, to have it be my reality now and not savor it as much as possible seems… criminal, y’know? So on weekday nights, and on weekends not only at nights, you can catch me doing one of my favorite things in the world- reading in bed.
Being the bookish elder-ish millennial that I am, I’ve been on a quest to make reading in bed the most comfortable and ergonomic thing it can be. Think handsfree, straight lower back, elongated neck. If you’re a fellow reader in bed, you know what I’m talking about. A little bit of researching and a lot of product testing later, I think I’ve cracked it! It’s a two product system. It’s not perfect. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing and kind of messes with my MCMM vibe tbh with its trying-to-be-high-tech look. You could out-optimize this even further, but I’ve made peace with it for now.
Note that this entire setup hinges on the fact that I exclusively use an e-reader. If you read physical books, I commend you and please carry on without my help. If you aren’t a reader at all, this setup also applies just as well to extensive tablet and phone users for other purposes at other locations- maybe you’re a content creator looking to avoid carpal tunnel, maybe you’re a teacher grading electronic submissions at the kitchen table, you get my point. The Amazon listings for these products have a whole world of applications in them, so go crazy if you’d like!
This product is what took me so much trial and error to find, because as I discovered pretty quickly, several factors need considering. Firstly, the width of my bed frame is wider than most, and I had to find a holder with a clamp opening wide enough to latch on to it securely. The other consideration was the length of the gooseneck arm, which determines the distance and angles at which the tablet sits and hence, the ergonomics of the whole thing. Lastly, consider the weight of your device. A longer gooseneck arm may have trouble holding up a weightier device vs. a phone.
All three factors considered, this holder I’m using beat several others by a mile and a half, but because it’s so specific to my needs, check out others on Amazon if it makes sense. The one disadvantage to the clamp holder in general is that at the end of my reading session, I do have to unclamp it each time so it isn’t hanging above me all night with it’s dangers of accidental injuries. If you’re someone that falls asleep while reading, you may want to look into floor holders that can simply be turned away.
I love this little thing so much! I’ve been using it everywhere, including on travels where I don’t have the holder. It’s just so convenient and portable and easy. It slips on like a ring, has the simplest bluetooth setup process, and makes page turning such a simple, handsfree experience. I first tried it out in the Spring when it was still cold weather, and imagine my delight at not needing to have a single arm outside of my comforter cocoon! A little luxury that I’ve enjoyed everyday since. 🥰
And that’s my new and improved reading setup.👵🏽
I’m curious- do either or both of these handy contraptions make sense for your life? Let me know in the comments below!
Happy reading, and as always, thank you for being here. Hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
XO Sushmitha :)
