apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

And first prize for clutter you absolutely do not need goes to.......

apartment thereapy hates the spines of your books.

Single-use products make me SO tired. Couldn't you just use a stapler, or a spatula, or a serving spoon, or SOMETHING you already have to hold your book open?

Darcidoodle -

I really like the spatula idea - maybe I can screw a bolt through the middle to add some heft and sell them for $30.

You cannot use a spatula or spoon if you're a full-time student like myself, who literally deals with thousands of books a year; they're simply not heavy enough. The problem of course is that new books, or old books which haven't been cracked open very often, or irregularly shaped books/bindings tend to snap shut when you try to prop the pages open with anything other than a pig iron in order to copy lengthy passages. You usually can't even use other books to do the job. The best solution I have found thus far is my girlfriend's extremely heavy stapler, but then I don't own the stapler...

If you're dealing with cookbooks or pleasure reading then a page-holder isn't necessary. But that doesn't mean the object isn't universally unnecessary. I just wonder if it's heavy enough.

david: this one is very heavy.

page holders are totally necessary if you are cooking. there are so many book stands, and this is a way better idea than any of those. most things are not shaped correctly and/or not heavy enough, especially for paperbacks. i mean, i haven't bought one of these, but i think it's a good idea.