When reclining in the garden, lying on your back and reading a book, it's nearly impossible to get comfortable. You can hold the book directly above your head, also shading your face from the sun, but your arms will likely become tired very quickly. Mine do, anyway.

so how about a simple 30cm x 20cm foldaway table made of 30cm light but sturdy metal legs, perhaps telescopic to cater for people with different reading distances. You lie down with this table (or perhaps it should just be a frame) above your head, and slide your book through a loop which supports the spine. Then on the sides of the frame there are a couple of clips, like very large paperclips, which hold the pages open. To turn a page you just slide it out of one clip and under the other.

When you want to lie on your front, take the book out, put it on the lawn, and the frame/table thing (if it has a solid part, or a tinted glass/plastic pane, can act as a shade to stop the glare of the sun reflecting off the white pages into your eyes.

Best enjoyed by a riverbank with a jug of Pimm's and Lemonade.
-- sappho, Jun 19 2002

Bookholder http://www.bookholder.com/
Holder on a flexible stand (like an anglepoise light) which can clamp to a table or rest on the floor. [pottedstu, Jun 19 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Googling for bookholder produces a lot of hits, but most of them are just for standing a book on a desk or keeping a book open. There are one or 2 more promising models.

bookholder.com do a similar kind of thing to this idea. It seems mainly designed for use in a chair (standing on the floor) or another model clamps onto a desk. It has a flexible arm, can hold your book upside down and has soft sprung clips to hold the pages in place. Not sure if you can use it as a sunshade though.
-- pottedstu, Jun 19 2002


I once saw an ad for a simpler solution. It was a device you wear like a pair of goggles, but in place of lenses, it had a mirror at a ca. 45 degree angle, so that you could lie on your back, hold a book vertically on your chest, and read the book while your eyes are pointed straight up (is that description clear?).
-- beauxeault, Jun 19 2002


It must have had two mirrors; I've tried with one mirror and the text is always backwards. Of course if you just look at the pictures or have a specially printed book...
-- FarmerJohn, Jun 19 2002


You could also try sunbathing under a glass coffeetable upon which the open book has been inverted.
-- mrthingy, Jun 19 2002


FarmerJohn: Or just learn to read drawckab. I did...
-- StarChaser, Jun 20 2002


mrthingy - almost what I was suggesting except that I read very fast and it would be a hassle to turn pages if the book was on the other side of the glass.
-- sappho, Jun 20 2002


The biggest ergonomical problem I have with reading books is keeping the damn pages spread apart. Someone should invent a device to do that, with or without a book holder. Interesting idea, by the way.
-- polartomato, Jun 20 2002


Laptop. Solar powered charger. Books as Acrobat files. VR goggles. Voice command interface (VoiceWorks Pro ?). Sunbathe all day, any position, read books, surf the net. Battery never runs down.
-- 8th of 7, Jun 20 2002


Acrobat files are Evil. Having to say 'Turn the page' every minute would quickly get wearing. Better to have a little USB button to frob or something.
-- StarChaser, Jun 20 2002


Or you could learn Braille - then you don't even have to open your eyes. Alternatively do what a lot of blind people do. Use some sort of text recognition software that then reads the book to you from your laptop.
The coffee table idea sounds good to me though as I'm a REALLY slow reader. I'll get my Grandad on the case - he's always got ideas - he made a prototype prosthetic hand device for his work (Alvis), maybe it could be modified to hold books and turn pages?
-- aphidman, Sep 18 2002


There is actually a new product on the market now which can be located at: http://abookabove.com/

It is an affordable overhead book holder that can clamp to headboards to be used in bed, clamped to beach chairs to be used outdoors, and has other mounting options. Cost starts at less than $20, and looks like a swing-arm lamp with a clear reading plate where the lamp would normally be. Rest the book on the clear plate and it's hands-free reading at its best... And of course it shades your face when you're outside.
-- lit_nut2003, Sep 09 2003



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