What magifying tool have you found most useful for reading books?
September 12, 2021 5:28 PM Subscribe
Right now, I am having trouble focusing my eyes. This makes reading difficult. I want to know what has worked for others in terms of magnifying books specifically.
I am able to increase the font size online, and in my kindle reader, for instance, to a size I can read. I also listen to audiobooks. There are certain books I like to read—older academic books, for instance, or out-of-print books that have not been, and are not going to be, released as ebooks or audio books. Or in large-print editions, for that matter.
I'd like to read some of these books, but it's just impossible. I have a small magnifier, but it's too awkward and distorting near its edges to read a page of a book with. I use it more for things like medical bottles and other labels.
What have you found most helpful in this kind of situation? Those page-size magnifiers? The kind of round lighted magnifiers on floor stands that people use for crafts and the like? Really, really strong reading glasses? Something else? Please tell me about your experiences as an avid reader whose sight has become significantly impaired.
No medical advice, please. Assume I'm getting the medical attention I need, and, if this doesn't resolve, probably some time with an occupational therapist.
I am able to increase the font size online, and in my kindle reader, for instance, to a size I can read. I also listen to audiobooks. There are certain books I like to read—older academic books, for instance, or out-of-print books that have not been, and are not going to be, released as ebooks or audio books. Or in large-print editions, for that matter.
I'd like to read some of these books, but it's just impossible. I have a small magnifier, but it's too awkward and distorting near its edges to read a page of a book with. I use it more for things like medical bottles and other labels.
What have you found most helpful in this kind of situation? Those page-size magnifiers? The kind of round lighted magnifiers on floor stands that people use for crafts and the like? Really, really strong reading glasses? Something else? Please tell me about your experiences as an avid reader whose sight has become significantly impaired.
No medical advice, please. Assume I'm getting the medical attention I need, and, if this doesn't resolve, probably some time with an occupational therapist.
My grandmother had macular degeneration for the last 10ish years of her life, and she found a lighted magnifier similar to this helpful in reading, doing crossword puzzles, reconciling the checkbook (remember those?) etc.
I imagine that you might want to upgrade to a floor-stand model though if you find yourself getting fatigued by holding up the magnifying glass, though. She never did but then again she was still lugging laundry up and down the basement stairs at the age of 93 no matter how much my mum yelled at her about it :)
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:10 PM on September 12, 2021
I imagine that you might want to upgrade to a floor-stand model though if you find yourself getting fatigued by holding up the magnifying glass, though. She never did but then again she was still lugging laundry up and down the basement stairs at the age of 93 no matter how much my mum yelled at her about it :)
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:10 PM on September 12, 2021
If you can not read regular print then you can be what is considered "print disabled" (it's okay if this is temporary) which means that in many cases you can qualify for services that serve print disabled. If you are in the US this might mean your local library, worth asking them. I work with the Internet Archive with their service and people who qualify can get access to any scanned book the Archive has (sometimes these are older books that don't otherwise have an ebook) and you could get a PDF of that book which you could read using whatever screen magnification would work for you. I work with many print-disabled users and many of them who are still reading books in print as opposed to audio books often like those full-page magnifiers combined with a very bright reading light and a stand to hold the book steady because at high magnification small movements can seem like big tremors when you are trying to read. If I can help you via my work with the Archive, please drop me a PM.
posted by jessamyn at 6:41 PM on September 12, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 6:41 PM on September 12, 2021 [4 favorites]
There are certain books I like to read—older academic books, for instance, or out-of-print books that have not been, and are not going to be, released as ebooks or audio books. Or in large-print editions, for that matter.
You might want to look into "CCTV magnifiers." Well, at least "CCTV" is where they started.
Here's a primer on them from the AFB.
They used to be giant, clunky affairs (we have one in our house that's an Optelec CRT model, and it's a beast -- we once had burly movers who looked at it with suspicion: "What is this and why is it so top heavy? Does it come apart?" Answer: "No, but we've moved it on our own. It's possible. Just be careful with it.").
But they've come a long way in form factor, functionality, and portability owing to better cameras, flat screens, and smartphone/tablet/desktop computer integration, and even OCR text-to-speech capability.
Here's Optelec's product site.
It goes without saying that some of these are very expensive devices. Depending on your diagnosis, insurance, or government benefits situation, some or all of the cost can be covered or defrayed - that's going to depend on your situation and jurisdiction.
But look at this thing as one example of the various types of serious magnifiers for people with reading requirements that sound like yours: Traveller HD and Traveller HD Reading Stand.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:53 PM on September 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
You might want to look into "CCTV magnifiers." Well, at least "CCTV" is where they started.
Here's a primer on them from the AFB.
They used to be giant, clunky affairs (we have one in our house that's an Optelec CRT model, and it's a beast -- we once had burly movers who looked at it with suspicion: "What is this and why is it so top heavy? Does it come apart?" Answer: "No, but we've moved it on our own. It's possible. Just be careful with it.").
But they've come a long way in form factor, functionality, and portability owing to better cameras, flat screens, and smartphone/tablet/desktop computer integration, and even OCR text-to-speech capability.
Here's Optelec's product site.
It goes without saying that some of these are very expensive devices. Depending on your diagnosis, insurance, or government benefits situation, some or all of the cost can be covered or defrayed - that's going to depend on your situation and jurisdiction.
But look at this thing as one example of the various types of serious magnifiers for people with reading requirements that sound like yours: Traveller HD and Traveller HD Reading Stand.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:53 PM on September 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
I think by "page-size" you mean something like this fresnel lens right?
I think those are definitely worth a try. They don't work like a traditional magnifying lens, they are compound lenses with lots of little lens fragments (pics on the WP page here), and they don't have the same distortion issues. Also they are relatively inexpensive, so not much risk.
Good luck!
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:08 PM on September 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
I think those are definitely worth a try. They don't work like a traditional magnifying lens, they are compound lenses with lots of little lens fragments (pics on the WP page here), and they don't have the same distortion issues. Also they are relatively inexpensive, so not much risk.
Good luck!
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:08 PM on September 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you, everyone! Feels like lots of helpful information.
posted by Orlop at 4:16 AM on September 13, 2021
posted by Orlop at 4:16 AM on September 13, 2021
A trick I've started using for reading tiny-print labels is using my phone as a magnifier. I don't think it would work well with small paperbacks (because you can't really hold them open flat enough with one hand), but it might suit you better than your small magnifier. You can zoom to whatever level you like before you start, and then as long as you don't touch the screen (maybe set it never to turn the screen off, so that you don't have to!), it'll just stay set.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:11 AM on September 13, 2021
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:11 AM on September 13, 2021
If you are in the US, the Lions Club in your state will have resources and may be able to rent/loan various magnifiers, perhaps until you find the one that works, or work with you to find that device.
posted by cobaltnine at 9:16 AM on September 13, 2021
posted by cobaltnine at 9:16 AM on September 13, 2021
« Older Is there ever healing from a bad childhood? | Menswear inspired suiting for 16 year old Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by whatevernot at 5:52 PM on September 12, 2021 [2 favorites]