I’ve never been one to advertise on my blog.* Well, anything other than books. But when Gone Reading reached out to me I did a little research and liked what I saw. GoneReading.com sells “Brilliant Products for the Reading Lifestyle”.   The site carries a wide variety of reading accessories, as well as decorative & novelty items.  100% of their after tax profit goes to charities like READ Global & Ethiopia Reads – literacy programs that build libraries, community centers and work to put books in the hands of people – young & old – around the world.  What kind of practical difference can increased literacy rates make in developing countries?  Several reports have been released by agencies like Unesco, The National Endowment for the Arts and The National Literacy Trust with findings such as: increased literacy rates can contribute to GDP growth.  In individuals it can be linked to improved quality of life, better job performance and more community participation. Literacy opens doors and creates opportunities.

Which was enough to convince me to peruse the site and pick-out a few items that I thought my readers might like.

I’m a gadget girl.  I love stuff that does stuff: bags with compartments; Swiss Army pocket knives; e-readers; I don’t discriminate between high or low tech – good design is good design. And my new Gimble Traveler is good design.  I hate trying to keep a book open while I’m typing up a review. There are leather book weights but they costs a fortune and lay on top of the page, obscuring the text.  The Gimble, though, costs under thirteen dollars and works like a charm.  The sturdy plastic arms obscure only a small portion of the page, it works with paperbacks or hardcovers, and adjusts to fit different sized books.  The Gimble isn’t very pretty, but it does comes in different colors. And, most important, it works.

Another item that I knew I could use was a new booklight.  Most clip on book lights, in my experience, are too big. They’re bulky and heavy and  can  damage the pages. The Really Tiny Book Light is a big hit.  It gives off a bright, direct light.  Attaches to the book without leaving marks.  And TRTBL is greats for traveling – I used it on the late bus back from NYC and can attest that it only lights up the page. Not the person sleeping in the seat next to you.  I’m ordering some for stocking stuffers in December.

Next: The Oh-So-Handy Bookmark Pad. Who doesn’t need more bookmarks?  25 bookmarks come per pad, printed on a heavy stock paper. The quality is unexpectedly good.  If you like writing notes on stuff (I don’t) they’re also lined with fields where you can fill in the title, author, date started & finished of the book you’re reading.

I left my favorite for last. The Book Rest Lamp by Suck UK.  A gorgeous design.  I bought mine a few years ago and it  sits in my living room: looking sharp and holding my place in style.

So whether your looking for a silly novelty gift; something for yourself (the My Bibliofile book journal has a Reading Tree/flow chart you can use to track your reading); or a gift that’s a little more special (the Library Collection author themed scented candles and fragrance diffusers  scream host/hostess gift) – you’ll find it at GoneReading.com.  And every one of your purchases builds good karma by helping to fund programs like this:

 

*Just a reminder – this blog is completely non-profit.  No paid advertisements will ever appear on BookSexy Review (the notable exception being the videos WordPress sometimes puts at the end of my posts. Over which I have limited control & for which I receive no money).