Comments on: Unitasker Wednesday: Thumbthing

By: Carol

Carol — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:13:44 +0000

Just when I thought “kindle” had superseded the need for such inventions.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi.....tterer-20/

By: Lisa D

Lisa D — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:29:30 +0000

This looks really useful to me, actually – due to tendonitis, my hands get tired holding books (especially one-handed). And thanks especially to the reader who recommended Nicola’s in Ann Arbor (from another ann arbor resident – how random is that!)

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:17:57 +0000

To the person complaining about the advertisement “for commuters”: a lot of us commute by train, and as someone else said in this thread, if you don’t have a seat, this gadget would actually help keep your book open (particularly a heavier hardcover, for which using the pinky is more painful) while using the other hand to keep balance.

Also for the person complaining about multitasking: you are forgetting the need to hold a grab rail if you are standing. If you need to spend 1 hour on a train going to work, it does make sense to “multitask” reading while you travel.

I would not buy something like that, but I’m actually liking the idea. I’m sure I’ll be able to find something flexible enough for me to use in my thumb to the same effect. Not a terrible multitask, especially since it can be also used as a bookmark, as others have mentioned.

By: Cortaflex

Cortaflex — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:36:08 +0000

I suffer terribly with arthritis in my hands but as soon as I stopped eating red meat it made a huge difference. I still eat fish and I can’t resist bacon (who can!) but I’m sure it is because I’m no longer eating the fats in the meat that has helped me.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:27:24 +0000

I like to read lying in bed on my side, so I hold the book with one hand, and support myself/ turn pages with the other. I had a crushing injury to my hand, which 4 years later still causes pain, and my hand gets very sore after awhile, so this would be handy for me.

By: Karyn

Karyn — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:18:12 +0000

Personally, I like to sit in a comfy chair holding the book in both hands, wholly focused on what I am reading. I get more out of it that way, and don’t need to worry about how to hold the book with one hand.

This product is a symptom of our cultural obsession with multitasking: that we can’t just READ, we have to be eating or cooking or nursing or jogging WHILE we read.

The cure is not another piece of cheap plastic crap driving the Chinese worker further into existential angst over the meaninglessness of his job. The cure is to learn how to be fully present to whatever we are doing, to be fully focused on one thing at a time–which is all we really can do, anyway: one thing at a time. But it’s much more pleasant to do that one thing at a mindful pace instead of flicking back and forth from one task to the next every 30 seconds.

If I’m reading, I’m focused on reading. If I’m exercising, I’m focused on exercising. If I’m eating, I’m focused on eating.

Try it. You’ll like it.

By: Shalin

Shalin — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:30:13 +0000

Alternative thumbthing – a pen

By: Jeanne Thelwell

Jeanne Thelwell — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:00:52 +0000

@Tony:

“Great for commuters” — some of us commute on buses, trains and subways.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:15:14 +0000

I cannot believe anyone would seriously think this thing is cool.

By: Karen Jones

Karen Jones — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:03:01 +0000

I think this is a brilliant gadget. I’d like one. I have a chronically sore right thumb from being a lifetime bedtime reader and possibly having some arthritis coming on… into my 40′s now after all

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:51:39 +0000

@ Rue, take a look at “Not missing the point”‘s flicker link. That is using the “thumb pinky method.”

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:07:04 +0000

I hold books in various ways: two-handed with thumbs on opposite pages, one-handed with my thumb and pinky over the pages, one-handed with my fingers on the pages curled over the top of the book, one-handed with my thumb in the lower center, etc. As my hand or hands become uncomfortable, I switch my holding method.

When you hold a book with the thumb and pinky, there are still three fingers supporting the book. If you can hold the book in the air with the thumb grip, you can do it with the thumb/pinky grip.

By: Not missing the point

Not missing the point — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:37:33 +0000

You need more imagination then
http://www.flickr.com/photos/l.....619580666/

By: Rue

Rue — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:02:08 +0000

I think some of you are missing the point – at least, those of you who say you hold a book open with your thumb and pinky. This gadget is for people who want to hold a book open with one hand while holding it up in the air, as the person in the picture is doing. (My mom does this frequently – she’ll have a book in one hand and be eating with the other.) Without the gadget you can pretty much only stick your thumb in the middle (I can’t imagine a way to hold a book up in the air using your thumb and pinky), and for books with stiff spines that doesn’t work so well. The idea of the Thumbthing is to put more pressure down on the pages themselves so the spine stays more open while you’re holding the book up!

Anyways, that being said (not to defend it, but to explain that it’s not quite as ridiculous as it sounds) – I’ll just use my thumb!

By: Philly

Philly — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:11:39 +0000

People, you’re on Unclutterer.com! If you have these things and hate them, throw them away! Or better yet, recycle them. Or even better, contact some of the people who say they want them and pass them on.