apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

oh man, this is JUST what i need! i also do The Prop - on whatever's sitting on the table - a hoodie, another book, a pile of mail. my poor mother - because of her carpal tunnel issues, she can no longer hold the book open with her thumb. i'm so buying her one of these! and one for me, too :)

I like this type best because it slides to adjust; it will even hold a fat paperback.

I don't read while I eat but that would be nice while I'm cooking from a book!

I'm embarassed to admit that I watch TV when I eat at home. But I don agree with alyssazor about this being good for cookbooks.

i called chairlines to see if they ship to the states and it's a no go on the page boy. of every book stand i've seen whilst searching for the page boy, i truly realize it's superiority! ;)

Ah - they're in Canada? Here's another source:

Highsmith Library Supplies

I believe I bought mine at Barnes/Noble.

oh jeez, did you mention that resource in your post and i read right over it?? thanks much, i'm going to order some for me and my mum!

No! Just now edited to add. :-)

i'll read if i'm eating at home alone. i remember family dinners as a child- my stepdad and i always had books at the table, much to mom's annoyance.

Of course! I've loved reading while eating since I was a kid--picture books and cereal, baby! A while back, I read a really lovely article about it, available here:

http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/tables-for-one/

As the author mentions, A.J. Liebling's food writing (especially the essays in Between Meals!) are absolutely perfect for reading while you eat.

Always, unless another person is there or I'm on the laptop.

Here's another very cheap, very lightweight option--this has the holding open, but not the propping up feature:
http://tinyurl.com/39o7tf

I always just lay it flat (I'm a spine cracker if need be) and set it to the left side of my plate. I also read while I am at the computer the same way.

Yes! I read when I eat.......frequently, errr, cookbooks.....

I just sort of struggle to keep it open, though a lot of my well-loved books stay open on their own pretty easily. Or I sort of wedge one side under my plate's rim!

In my house growing up Sunday nights were Reading Dinner. It was the one night that we ate something less traditional (my dad would make peanut butter popcorn, or we'd have a dutch baby or nachos or something) and the lights would stay on and we'd all bring books to the table. It was so great!

I've read while eating for as long as I can remember. I'd just tuck my book under the far end of my plate. My whole family is like that. My parents read the newspaper over breakfast and talk about the news, and my brothers and I would read the paper, books, or magazines, talking about whatever we were reading when we came up for air.

OK, any tips on turning pages while eating? (You can see this is a topic close to my heart.) One reason I like that Page Boy is it doesn't clutch the pages too tightly.

But still, turning pages is one of the larger challenges while eating and reading, I think.

I've been reading the Joy of Cooking during breakfast since last December. And I'm only on grains!

Sofia, I failed to mention we usually watch TV when we eat dinner ;) So I am with you on that!

Faith--page turning was all in coordination (mostly dealing with time, not necessarily dexterity). Turn the pages while chewing, not while cutting your steak. ;)Master the one-handed page turn. With my plate, I'd just ease the page out from under the plate, and tuck it under the plate on the other side.

we had to make rules at my parents' house NOT to read at the table if we were having a family dinner - my mom and I would cheerfully sit and eat at the same table with our noses in our respective books, ignoring each other, but it drives my father and sister crazy.

sometimes, if I'm feeling adventurous, I'll use my water glass to prop open a larger book and move the glass as I get to the covered text, but usually I manage to eat one-handed.

things eaten with chopsticks (apart from noodles) I think are the easiest to eat while reading.

You really shouldn't read while you eat. You should focus on your food and be enjoying it. I understand reading while you're waiting for your food, but once it's there, you should really be focused on the food.

I read while I eat too! Unless dad's at the table too, then it's forbidden :(
Many times when mum and I are eating and reading, and dad just comes in/home, there's always this frantic hiding-the-books thing happening. I once couldn't find a hiding spot, so I just sat on it. :D

I prop it up with stuff that's nearest. Altough lately I find my purse is a pretty good choice for propping. I also shove the pages under my plate-rim if the book doesn't stay open on its own. And I know how to eat single-handed very well.

I have one of these that I bought from MightyBright.com for $5, although they're currently out of stock. I use it with an Amazon Kindle. It's perfect for me, and when it's folded it slips right into the elastic band on the Kindle's cover. Here's a picture - http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20658. - sheureka

For reading in the kitchen -- books & cookbooks -- I use an acrylic stand that shields the book's pages from whatever gooey food I'm preparing ;)