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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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BookGem

I’ve been making more of an effort to finish reading my To Be Read pile of books, many of which are paperbacks. Some of you may already know that I enjoy knitting while I read--usually something super easy like stockinette stitch socks or a garter stitch baby jacket. I typically can only knit when I’m reading an ebook, because I can prop my ebook reader up in front of me and simply swipe to change pages.

For a while I tried to find some way to be able to prop a paperback book up and turn pages easily (one-handed), but couldn’t come up with any particularly good method. Then I did some Googling last week and found the BookGem, an invention that seemed very innovative after I watched their instructional video. It wasn’t expensive, so I ordered one. I was willing to try anything to be able to read paperbacks hands-free and turn pages with only one hand.

I tried my BookGem this weekend and really liked it. The option of putting the pages in a temporary slot really helped me be able to turn the pages one-handed.

Here is my book in my BookGem with one of the books I read this weekend, The Fortunate Marriage by Meriol Trevor:




Here it is without the book in it:




Here it is with the little shelf folded/flipped back up.



I know I’m probably unusual in needing to read my paperbacks hands-free, but I really do like knitting while I read, and I have an unfortunate (and favorite) habit of eating while I read. A hands-free holder and a knitting project in my hands helps me not to eat while I read, so that hopefully I can lose a few pounds this year!

Any of you have any favorite hands-free gadgets for reading?
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Comments

Unknown said…
Ohhh I just love this! Does it adjust for smaller books?
Wed Mar 20, 04:29:00 AM 2013
Camy Tang said…
Smaller than a mass market paperback? I think it could. I've been using it for all my paperbacks and it works great!
Wed Mar 20, 12:29:00 PM 2013
Camy Tang said…
Totally works great! Altho at the rate you read, you'll probably need to turn pages too fast and it might end up being annoying.
Wed Mar 20, 12:30:00 PM 2013
readermom said…
I ordered one! Can't wait to try it out!
Wed Mar 20, 01:08:00 PM 2013
Camy Tang said…
Awesome! I've been using mine today! :)
Wed Mar 20, 06:58:00 PM 2013
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