Ok, here’s how we will proceed I’m rifling through this book lover’s raffle basket — half expecting just a fancy mug and possibly a paperback I already own — and boom. There it is. This curious little object of wood, a thumb book holder. Kinda looked like a fox. Or a bat. In fairness, for a second I thought it was some sort of kind of rustic knuckle duster (not the vibe I was expecting from a book-themed basket, but hey).
But then I saw… it was a thumb book holder. And I don’t know why, but that just knocked me into the nostalgia.
You Ever Use One of These?
If you haven’t, let me explain. A thumb book holder is this little, typically wooden, device that has a hole in the middle. You insert your thumb through it and bam—you hold your book with one hand. No more struggling with recalcitrant paperback spines, or begging a stiff breeze not to turn your page just as you’re getting into a plot twist.
I had one in college. Discovered it in some indie bookstore doubling as a soy candle-and-bizarre-bumper-sticker purveyor. It lived in my backpack beside a mechanical pencil I used to never use and way too many gum wrappers. But that little thing? It worked in a pinch during tight subway rides or late nights when I was balled up in bed with one hand under the covers and one hand clutching a book.
It’s All in the Little Things, Right?
Rediscovering this thumb book holder reminded me how tactile I once was reading. Like, back when screens didn’t dominate our lives and everything wasn’t digital. I love my Kindle, don’t get me wrong — it’s light, it holds a billion books and it lights up in the dark (which is perfect for reading under the covers, don’t judge me).
