Pros: Fun reading-related items
Cons: …
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Note: Several items provided free for review. Visit GoneReading.com for gifts for readers.
The folks at GoneReading.com offered to provide several items for a review, and being as I’m a sucker for books and related things, I couldn’t resist. On checking out their web site I noticed that they pledge “100% of after-tax profits to reading-related charities”. I certainly approve of that!
The site includes all sorts of readers’ treats, including some cute t-shirts, action figures(?!), book-shaped plates and platters (now that’s just cool), cards, magnets, games, posters… a little bit of absolutely everything. There are some nice themed collection pages to help you find gifts for librarians, Shakespeare or Austen fiends, etc. Of course the “reading accessories” category is my favorite: bookmarks, journals, book lights, book stands and caddies, and even ear plugs!
Now to the specific items I received to review. One was a cookbook holder/reading stand. It holds cookbooks upright, with a clear plastic flap in front so you can hold the book open without obscuring the pages. My only problem with this is that there’s no stop on that plastic flap to keep it from going further than ninety degrees–in other words, if you have a book with stiff, non-flat pages, it can push the plastic holder forward such that the stand isn’t really holding the book open. That said, it worked for most of my cookbooks.
Cookbook stand, working
There’s a simple book holder called The Gimble Traveler. It’s a light plastic doohickey that nicely holds pages in place while you’re outdoors. You can put down your book in an instant without losing your place, and the wind won’t flip your pages around. It does take a little maneuvering to flip pages around it.
Travel Gimble
Finally I tried out The Really Tiny Book Light. I was the most psyched about this–it’s really light, clips easily onto a book’s cover without weighing it down, and has a nice, bright little LED light. The head also flips up and down so you can shine it on the current page or the opposite quite easily. Unfortunately mine stopped working after a short time. Judging by the web site they have no trouble taking returns when things don’t work right, so if I’d ordered the light I’d just ask for a replacement. (Note added later: they were kind enough to send me a second one.)
Tiny book light
If you love little reading-related gadgets, shirts, and so forth, GoneReading.com seems like a great resource. Everything that I received was packaged well. In particular, I really like the idea that any profits from purchases will go to reading charities.
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