I write a monthly booklet for my church’s ladies’ group, and frequently I quote from or review good books. I’d have to set the stapler (and maybe an assortment of other desk accessories) on the book to keep it open while typing — but then often couldn’t see what I was trying to quote from, or would have to move it all around to see different lines or turn the page. Then one day someone in my family bought me one of these from the local Barnes and Noble. I wasn’t even sure what it was called: I searched on the B&N site and didn’t find it at first, then I Googled things like “book holder opener” and found a listing for “book weights,” searched B&N with that term, and voila! (Amazon.com calls it a weighted bookmark.) I love it because it holds the book open flat and is easily moved around.

As I was searching for this I saw various other devices for holding books open, but I still like this best.

I have a couple of cookbooks that tend to try to flop closed, and I have something like this in the kitchen for holding them not only open but propped up, but I rarely bother getting it out. There’s no good place to store it in our kitchen and I usually don’t want to bother with setting it up or going upstairs to get the book weight — so I grab a can of green beans or two instead. 🙂 The book weight might not work for a very big, heavy book (unless they make them in different sizes or you use more than one), but it’s great for most books.

Check out Rocks In My Dryer for a multitude of other great tips.