Skip to main content

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?
Labels:

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
Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Window shopping

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.14.2005 Knee update: I went to the doctor today for a checkup, and saw his assistant. I’ve been concerned because there’s still inflammation in my knee joint, and it’s been almost 4 months since the surgery. She said she’d talk to the doctor about it tomorrow and call me. Sometimes he suggests laying off the PT to see if that causes the inflammation to go away, but I don’t know if that will work because lately I’ve been pretty active outside of PT. At PT today, the therapist did ultrasound and some sort of electrical current on the joint. Hopefully that will make the inflammation start to go down. I’ll know by tomorrow, probably. Writing: Mt. Hermon conference starts this Friday! On Thursday night, I’ll be at the Santana Row Borders bookstore to help out (and hopefully learn a bit, too) at a booksigning for several of the ACFW authors who are attending Mt. Hermon . That should be lots of fun. I had a good brainstorming time at ...
Post a Comment
Read more

New book idea a la Captain Caffeine

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.14.2009 So my husband, Captain Caffeine, had lunch with a few friends a few days ago. And they asked about my writing, and if I’d been on Oprah yet. (Yeah, right) They then discussed NYT bestselling books, and why can’t Camy write a NYT bestseller. (Sure, let me just open a vein over a blank page and it’ll come right out.) So Captain Caffeine came home with ideas for my new NYT bestselling novel. First it starts with vampires, because Twilight is so hot. But not just any vampires. This one’s an Amish vampire. And he’s not just an Amish vampire, he’s a cop in disguise, infiltrating the Amish community to protect a witness. (Hmm, that storyline sounds familiar ...) But wait! There’s more! To add more conflict and stick with my brand of Asian fiction, we introduce the Tibetan monk! Who joins the Amish community to get away from the pressures of monkhood. But in reality, he’s protecting the Chinese princess on the run, trying to escape from her father’s Hong...
25 comments
Read more

Japanese language learning process in more detail

I blogged a few weeks ago that I’ve jumped back into my Japanese language learning after being lazy and letting it slide. I’ve been keeping my Japanese language study habit for about a month now, and I wanted to blog about my process in more detail. One thing I had noticed about my Japanese is that I tended not to do it if I left it to do at the end of the day. I realized that it was just like my exercise—if I didn’t do it first thing in the morning, it never got done. So I started doing my Japanese right after my exercise in the morning. I treated it like one of my “frogs,” as I read about in the book Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time . The book is based off of a Mark Twain quote: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” It suggests doing your “frogs”—your important things that you’re likely to procrastinate doing—first thing in the morning in order to get it done, and ...
2 comments
Read more

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...
39 comments
Read more

I GOT A CONTRACT!

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.29.2006 I had a wonderfully funny blog post planned for today, but I got sidetracked by some news yesterday! Zondervan has offered me a three-book contract on my Asian chick-lit series ! I’m still stunned by everything that’s happened. The series is actually a 4-book projected Asian chick-lit series about four cousins who fall under the infamous family title "Oldest Single Female Cousin," and their ruthless, wealthy grandma applies pressure on each of them to improve their lack of love interests. I think the first book is tentatively scheduled to be released in August 2007. The blurb on the series is on my website here . Brandilyn Collins posted to the ACFW loop about my writing journey, and Tamara Cooper asked that I share it. And since you all know how much I like to talk , here it is. My writing journey: Like most writers, I have wanted to write since I was very young. (In high school, I wrote a fantasy novel that will never see the light of day ...
32 comments
Read more