The perfect booklight
May 16, 2005 4:51 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for the perfect booklight. Any suggestions?
I currently have one of those clip on models from Barnes and Noble and just don't like it. I usually come into a dark room and can never find it as someone's moved it or my kids have taken it from my bedside table. Or else five minutes into a book, the batteries will die. So I'm looking for something that runs on AC power and ideally attaches to the headboard. I thought I found it with this but the glow is so ambient that it lights up the whole room and wakes my wife no matter which way I point it.
Does anyone know of a good AC powered booklight that shines a direct and targeted beam so as not to disturb a sleeping partner? Or, is there a way to adjust the halogen light I have to better focus the beam and reduce the ambient glow? I know halogens get hot so I was worried about wrapping something around it. Would electrical tape be OK?
And for AC purposes, I'm in the UK. Thanks.
I currently have one of those clip on models from Barnes and Noble and just don't like it. I usually come into a dark room and can never find it as someone's moved it or my kids have taken it from my bedside table. Or else five minutes into a book, the batteries will die. So I'm looking for something that runs on AC power and ideally attaches to the headboard. I thought I found it with this but the glow is so ambient that it lights up the whole room and wakes my wife no matter which way I point it.
Does anyone know of a good AC powered booklight that shines a direct and targeted beam so as not to disturb a sleeping partner? Or, is there a way to adjust the halogen light I have to better focus the beam and reduce the ambient glow? I know halogens get hot so I was worried about wrapping something around it. Would electrical tape be OK?
And for AC purposes, I'm in the UK. Thanks.
I'll second the telescoping LED light, though I got mine at Borders for way less than $24. I should but another one and put it in my glovebox, for some reason I always forget it on road trips.
posted by andrewzipp at 10:44 AM on May 16, 2005
posted by andrewzipp at 10:44 AM on May 16, 2005
I'm with rolypolyman on the LightWedge. It comes in paperback size and hardcover novel size, and has two intensities of light. You can leave it right in the book as a bookmark. I started out switching it from the left-side page to right-side page as I read (mildly annoying) until I figured out that I could leave it on one side and it gave off enough light to read the other side. Still, you have to pick it up and move it whenever you turn a page.
posted by Joleta at 7:13 PM on May 16, 2005
posted by Joleta at 7:13 PM on May 16, 2005
I believe I built the perfect booklight.
My wife hated all the models which attach to the book you're reading- she tends towards paperbacks and they don't have the rigidity necessary to make the light stable. So I took a cheap ikea articulated desk lamp that had stopped working and tore off the reflector. I bought a cheapo white LED flashlight which uses an easily replacable AA battery and strapped it to the bulb housing with a hose clamp.
It is easily the most elegant and functional thing I have ever built, and works far better than any of the alternatives we tried. The battery needs replacing every 6 weeks or so- and that's with my wife leaving the thing on all night every now and then.
posted by carterk at 7:21 PM on May 16, 2005
My wife hated all the models which attach to the book you're reading- she tends towards paperbacks and they don't have the rigidity necessary to make the light stable. So I took a cheap ikea articulated desk lamp that had stopped working and tore off the reflector. I bought a cheapo white LED flashlight which uses an easily replacable AA battery and strapped it to the bulb housing with a hose clamp.
It is easily the most elegant and functional thing I have ever built, and works far better than any of the alternatives we tried. The battery needs replacing every 6 weeks or so- and that's with my wife leaving the thing on all night every now and then.
posted by carterk at 7:21 PM on May 16, 2005
for the LightWedge what size would you guys recommend?
the HC size or the PB size?
I read both sizes of books.
posted by Iax at 8:57 PM on May 16, 2005
the HC size or the PB size?
I read both sizes of books.
posted by Iax at 8:57 PM on May 16, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rolypolyman at 7:06 AM on May 16, 2005