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There is no comfortable reading position
- bobsmooth 9mo agoI've never understood the common media trope of a teen on their bed reading a magazine on their stomach prompted up by their elbows. Never in my life has that been a comfortable position.
- nish__ 9mo agoThat literally how I read every day. Pillow under my chest helps too.
- triceratops 9mo agoI took all manner of outlandish reading positions when I was young; including that one. Now my body can only handle "lying flat, book on the chest".
- cka 9mo agoMy kid usually sits perched on the floor and holds the book open with his foot. It looks so uncomfortable but he seems fine with it.
- aitchnyu 9mo agoKids dont get fatigue or aches. I remember 12 year old me joining Karate after a sedentary year, exercising till my heartbeat hurt my eardrums and the instructor remind me to not skip classes when I ache.
- PaulDavisThe1st 9mo agoWeirdly true. A year ago, I bought perhaps the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in specifically for the purpose of reading. And it really is incredibly comfortable to sit in. Yet ... it doesn't solve either of the two central problems of actually reading: having to hold the book/ereader and the head/neck/shoulder angle. The only solution I can imagine is an "overhead" mounted ereader with voice control, and I don't actually want that.
- abecedarius 9mo agoThe Screen of Damocles: could be a market for it.
- Insanity 9mo agoIt would really stress me out so much that I wouldn’t enjoy the reading though lol. Maybe good to pair with a thriller or horror book for the extra jolt of adrenaline if it shifts slightly.
- wjfuu32984 9mo agoMy Apple Vision Pro is perfect for this, especially with the dual knit band. It really helps me just focus on reading as well, unlike a laptop or something where alt-tabbing is super easy and the (enlarged) book isn't taking up most of my FOV. It's an expensive solution, though, and not for everyone (for example my wife's neck is way slimmer than mine and it would injure her over time). (And the pinch the page to turn it like a real page is the most fun thing in the Apple Books app).
- pmg101 9mo agoPlease share, I've been looking for such a chair for so long!
- PaulDavisThe1st 9mo agoThese things are incredibly subjective/personal, but for me the chair was a Stressless View (large size). It was not cheap.
- littlexsparkee 9mo agoVarier Gravity might be up your alley
- Matticus_Rex 9mo agoMy wife uses this stand with her Kindle (there are more flexible/adjustable ones available): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXPJWMNY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXPJWMNY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_... and a page-turner for the Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVWZWX56?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_9&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVWZWX56?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_...
- WesolyKubeczek 9mo agoSome people ask me why I prefer audiobooks. It’s the question that some people ask.
- catlover76 9mo agoBut that's different from reading, so it doesn't solve the issue
- browningstreet 9mo agoAdding audiobooks when you're not reading books at all (for all the reasons) is still better than not having audiobooks and not having books.
- washadjeffmad 9mo agoThey didn't say listening to audiobooks was bad (unless they edited their comment), just that it's a different activity than reading.
- em-bee 9mo agoit does when the goal is not reading per se but consuming books that are available in audio format as well as printed. and increasingly with better TTS tools any text can be converted into audio.
- 47282847 9mo agoI read hours most every day for decades but audiobooks never worked for me. After ten minutes, I notice my mind has drifted elsewhere and I didn’t listen to anything that was said. Funny how it takes me lots of effort to concentrate on listening but seemingly no effort to read (or watch movies). I hope my eyesight stays with me for a long time.
- em-bee 9mo agothat happens to me if i have lots on my mind or if the story is not very engaging. the reading style can also be factor (sleepy voice :-) i believe part of the issue is that our eyes are our primary source of input. we can control what we see by the direction where we look, or we can close our eyes. we can not control hearing in the same way, and therefore we instead learn to focus or not focus on specific sounds. but that happens much more subconsciously than how we control our eyes, therefore it can happen even if we don't intent to. (ok, when you are deep in thought you can also gaze into nothingness without closing your eyes, but that's less common)
- manbitesdog 9mo agoUsing an ebook and a bluetooh page turner solved it for me
- progbits 9mo agoWhat page turner do you use?
- manbitesdog 9mo agoA cheap one from Aliexpress with only forward/backward keys
- progbits 9mo agoKindle makes this easier. I read lying in bed, on my side, same as if I was sleeping, and prop the kindle against a second pillow. This doesn't work with a paper book as you would have to flip between sides and keep holding it open. The only thing I would like to improve is to have some small remote to flip pages, so my hands could be in more comfortable position and not have to touch the kindle.
- woleium 9mo agothere are a bunch of clip on page turners for about $30 on amazon
- g947o 9mo agoAnd for the longest time I don't understand why Amazon never provided something like this first party
- SirFatty 9mo agoHow about someone to feed you grapes as well? :-D
- DuperPower 9mo agoand someone that brings a bottle to pee
- lelandfe 9mo agoStrongly recommend the package that includes removal too
- progbits 9mo agoI just wish to enjoy my favorite hobby without making my constant back pain even worse :(
- abdullahkhalids 9mo agoI occasionally read or watch videos on my laptop by "lying in bed, on my side, same as if I was sleeping, and" propping the laptop on its side. The L shape ensures it remains stable even without a pillow.
- dalmo3 9mo agoI could read all day on a hammock. Unfortunately that just moves the goalposts to "there's no place to install a hammock in my house".
- triceratops 9mo agoYou can totally install a hammock on goalposts /s Jokes apart there are free-standing hammocks. They take up slightly more space so that may not work.
- gs17 9mo agoI've seen standing desks that let you hang a hammock from the frame, but I have a feeling it makes for the worst hammock experience ever.
- toast0 9mo agoMy previous house had hammock hooks installed by a previous owner. I'm sure you've got somewhere that could work. Or enough floorspace somewhere for a metal hammock stand.
- tclancy 9mo agoYou should try the Hammock District, they may have some ideas.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- _diyar 9mo agoNot sure if it‘s meant to be, but your comment is a great joke.
- asdff 9mo agoStud finder and some screw eyes
- deafpolygon 9mo agoI kind of solved it with epubs and sending it to my TV screen.. lean back like watching TV and set the font size to a comfortable size and tap arrow right on a wireless kb.
- pmg101 9mo agoThis is completely true. I've spent decades, ie my whole adulthood, looking unsuccessfully for a properly comfortable reading chair.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- randcraw 9mo agoMy perfect reading chair: the "Skye" model designed by Tord Bjorklund for Ikea in the 1970s. Its shape is essentially like an Adirondack chair connected to an ottoman, but padded and leather covered. Insanely comfy and perfect for reading. Similar but more famous is the LC4 Chaise Longue designed by Le Corbusier.
- pmg101 9mo agoLooks nice to lounge in but to read a book one needs arm rests, surely?
- vunderba 9mo agoI spend a great deal of time reading on an e-ink tablet, and solved this problem years ago by buying a Levo tablet floor stand on wheels (5-axis, adjustable height). It’s heavy enough to be very stable, and I just roll it over to the couch or bed whenever I want to settle in for a long reading session. Works perfectly.
- warmjets222 9mo agoI read books on my phone while lying flat on my back in bed. I have a stand that holds the phone directly over my face, and a bluetooth page turner so I don't have to tap the screen. It looks ridiculous but I can read for hours like that.
- nmca 9mo agoI put a 5 dollar phone-holder-ring on the back of my kindle, problem solved.
- Nevermark 9mo agoI cracked that code. Google "brancaster accent with swivel egg chair" and note the enclosing high-backed versions with wide winged tops. With a matching footstool (search "brancaster egg chair footstool"), you can put your feet up, tilt back. The best reading experience I have ever found, by far. You can rest you hands and book on your thighs and read without any neck strain or posture effort. The tilting and swiveling also enables continuous posture adjustment, which helps when reading as for sleeping. Comfortable enough even for studying with highlighters. (Amazon, "Wood pen holder desk round walnut" square bottom, round top + "Mr. Pen- Aesthetic Highlighters". Such a great combo I have them in several rooms.) I am sure I sound like an ad, but when you find combinations of basic things that each work "better", it is great. I bought the chairs and respectively matching stools for their style (I have light leather and velvet Jack versions), and was surprised at how much of a practical upgrade they were.
- paularmstrong 9mo agoAh yes, I too have $2,000 to spend on a chair for reading in. /s
- LargoLasskhyfv 9mo agoI've heard stuff like this is much cheaper to come by used, auctioned by liquidated companies. Not necessarily the exact above mentioned models, but 'trendy' stuff like Herman Miller chairs, and similar. Let's say 500 bucks.
- Nevermark 9mo agoThis. I didn’t spend anything like $2k. I found the velvet flag version on Amazon for $1150, which is still quite a bit. It’s something to keep a look out for. They are iconic enough to pop up randomly in unusual places or furniture stores that you wouldn’t think would sell something like this.
- jesterson 9mo agoBut you do have thousands to ~spend~ waste on chiropractors, medical insurance, doctors visits, don't you?
- SilasX 9mo agoYou can get prism glasses, which let you see at an angle (head forward = looking at your feet), which avoids neck strain in sitting or lying positions.
- crazygringo 9mo agoI solved this for myself when I discovered "prism glasses": https://www.amazon.com/s?k=prism+glasses https://www.amazon.com/s?k=prism+glasses The comfortable reading position is lying on your back on your bed (or long sofa) with a pillow under your head. You're looking upwards at the ceiling while holding the book upright on your belly. There's even a clip-on version you can attach to existing prescription glasses. So simple. Zero strain. You look absolutely dumb, of course, but it lets you read until your brain gets tired, not your neck or lower back or whatever. If you want to go for truly infinite comfort, use an e-reader held upright by a stand sitting on a breakfast tray with legs placed over and around your belly, with a Bluetooth clicker for page turning. At that point, you basically might as well not even have a body...
- nozzlegear 9mo ago> So simple. Zero strain. You look absolutely dumb, of course, but it lets you read until your brain gets tired, not your neck or lower back or whatever. Having had a CPAP machine for nearly a decade, I'm used to looking absolutely dumb in bed. Thanks for the link!
- smusamashah 9mo agoDoesn't that feel weird? I am not into books much but I know that I can't watch TV or phone while lying flat if the screen was right above my eyes. It will feel wrong. I sometimes use phone while on my side such that phone is also sideways. I use it but it doesn't feel normal. I don't know how to explain it, its similar to not standing straight.
- crazygringo 9mo agoDoesn't feel weird to me. The book still looks like it's the normal distance away, similar to arm's-length. This doesn't make it feel like the book is right up against your face or anything.
- MitPitt 9mo agoIt increases visual distance to page which strains the eye.
- atzmzt 9mo agoI'm reading books on my TV by mirroring my mobile device, I found no position more confortable than sitting on the couch and reading instead of mindlessly watching shows. It gives a new meaning to watching TV.
- frizlab 9mo agoI would be much too afraid to have burn-ins!
- nabbed 9mo agoI found a very comfortable position, but it depends on a reading app that supports continuous scroll (fortunately, both the Kindle app and the Apple Books app have this setting). I lie down with my head slightly propped up on a pillow and the tablet on my lower chest (or upper abdomen) and keep my eyes focused on the top of the reading view area. Instead of moving my eyes or my head to progress through the book, I scroll up in chunks of 2 or 4 lines, as needed. I have to hold the tablet steady and also scroll the content, but somehow there's no strain to my arms or hands in that position. I am a slow reader, but I can make tons of enjoyable progress through a book using this method.
- QuadmasterXLII 9mo agoAs a kid, I would lie on my left side on a bed, and lie the left side of the book flat and the right up at 90 degrees. Then, only minimal effort is required to keep the right half balanced. As you can imagine, without further innovation this only allows reading the right pages- the trick then is to, twice per page turn, rotate the book 180 degrees- and read the left pages upside down
- browningstreet 9mo agoI've struggled with this mightily, and the best I've found is reading uncomfortably more often, in shorter increments, in coffee shops. It's an effort, but it's one I can stick with because there's a secondary upside. Mixing coffee benefits, a bit of people watching, and my book/kindle is a routine I've kept up with. Also, library books.. I don't end up reading all of them, but I do skim and read sections of more books when I bring a couple of library books along.
- LargoLasskhyfv 9mo agoO RLY? Did they ever hear about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergonomics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergonomics ?
- worksonmine 9mo agoI usually read on my back, with a pillow on my stomach as a makeshift stand for the cheap Android tablet I use. Sometimes I like to spice it up and read while doing some yoga positions on the floor. All of them very comfortable.
- aidenn0 9mo agoTwo positions that work for me: 1. On my side; the matching arm is completely supported by the bed, so only the opposite arm gets tired, at which point I switch sides. 2. Book on floor, lie crosswise to bed on my stomach. Doesn't work if bed is too high, but if your arms are longer than the bed hight it's perfect.
- rodface 9mo agoI’ve wondered if there is some similar solution that will allow you to rotate your viewing angle, so that you can browse library stacks without bending your neck at a completely awkward angle. The idea of just crouching to a certain height and reading titles horizontally… what a dream
- h-c-c 9mo agoI built an acrylic shelf that could swing out over my head in bed. I would only have to slide the book out to turn pages. Acrylic was probably 12mm thick. Worked great.
- since7 9mo agoAlthough I usually happen to read in all circumstances and positions, I've cracked the most comfortable reading position for me - on my desk, in my chair, e-reader propped in front of me, all other screens black.
- tefkah 9mo agoi use Storyteller to sync an audiobook and ebook, then prop up my phone/ereader and have it navigate automatically while reading/listening. very comfy
- amai 9mo agoAs a kid i used to read lying on my stomach on a beanbag.
- amai 9mo agoSee lazyreader: https://youtu.be/H89lKq__sjQ https://youtu.be/H89lKq__sjQ