Hello Reddit,
I'm currently unsure wether I'm cognitively disadvantaged or if this is a real topic to be talked about. Most of my books (both hardcover and paperback, mostly from the US or Germany) lay perfectly flat when placed on a table, but now I started collecting books from the UK and noticed they have very stiff pages that stand up like a hedgehog and the books shuts close when I let go off it.
Am I doing something wrong or do you really have to hold it with both hands to read it comfortably?
Example: Abbadon's Gate (Book 2 of The Expanse) Collectors Edition (Orbit, UK Print)
by csDarkyne
6 Comments
Finally! It felt like I was the only one who is annoyed by this.
If you check my post history, I’ve been mentioning this through the years (especially when people seem to hate anything American-made by non-Americans).
This is the reason why I prefer US versions of hardcovers.
UK hardcovers couldn’t lay flat.
There’s nothing you can do but hold them on the sides. My UK hardcovers have sweat stains because of this.
Living in Poland, where UK versions seem to be the default international versions of hardcovers, I have to pay more for US versions. And if it’s something like special editions (like signed or something), I could only get UK versions.
I switched to ebooks 10 years ago.
I’ve never used one so I can’t speak to its practicality, but if you google page holder/book holder/book opener you’ll see various devices people use to hold books open with one hand or hands-free. You’d have to move it every time you turn the page.
I only have a few hardcovers from the UK and i never noticed this, but now i checked and i cannot unsee it. Why would you tell me this. It’s so annoying oh my god???
So far i’ve just not noticed or felt slight annoyance with my books when they wouldn’t properly stay opened, but i always hold my books in a way where it wasn’t that noticable, i guess.
You can hold your book with both hands, or you can put your thumb where the two pages join, or you can put an object there. You’ll find shops selling items specifically made for that purpose — they’re often kite-shaped with a hole for your thumb.
Personally, I often just put the book on my lap and rest one hand on it to keep it open.
I’ve found some success “breaking in” a book’s spine before I read it. Doesn’t usually make it lie completely flat, but usually makes it easier to hold open with one hand – https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/7sry7v/open_a_hard_cover_book_without_breaking_the_spine/ (Sorry for ugly link; I’m on mobile)
But I also have a book weight that usually does the trick for larger books (like coffee table book vs. mass market paperback, not necessarily page count).