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It’s not that I don’t appreciate a good reading light, oh I do, believe me. It does eventually get too dark for me to read comfortably and when that happens I turn on a light. I have, as yet, been unable to achieve any kind of see-in-the-dark superpower. I’ll keep trying though. I used to have a banker’s lamp for years that I adored and then the chain broke in such a way that it could not be repaired. I was heartbroken. For the last several years I just had a plain, utilitarian lamp that gets the job done. But a few weeks ago it began marching toward a slow death, the switch on it becoming increasingly difficult to turn. I was dreading the day it ceased to work and would send me into a frenzy searching for a new reading lamp. In spite of my continuing attempts to ruin my eyes by reading in the dark, I am very picky about my reading lamps and a satisfactory one is so very hard to find. Is this the case for you too or I am just weird?
I don’t know what I did to make the reading gods so very happy, but they smiled upon me. Last week I received a fortuitous email from the folks at OttLite wanting to know if I would be interested in reviewing a reading lamp. You crafters out there might be familiar with Ottlite already as their lighting for craftmaking has a fabulous reputation. My reading lamp was dying so I had nothing to lose and said, sure, send me a lamp.
I’ve been using it for a number of days now and I must say I am quite pleased. At first I thought, uh-oh a 15 watt compact
fluorescent bulb? How is that going to be even close to bright enough? Was I ever pleasantly surprised when I turned the lamp on! Wow, it practically lights up my whole living room! Even better it has a flexible neck so I can shine the light exactly how I want it for hours of comfortable reading after the sun goes down, which is pretty early these days and getting even earlier. Soon I will begin to forget what the sun even looks like.The lamp itself is small and takes up hardly any space. If you have a little reading table, nightstand, or even desk, this lamp will fit there and leave room to pile up books beside it. The lamp has a nice “tulip” shape, simple and pleasing. As I said, there is a flexible neck, but it not only bends, but the length can be adjusted too. You can even push the neck all
the way down into the lamp and use it as a torchiere for diffused room lighting. I’ve not used it this way, when I have a lamp on I’m generally sitting under it reading or writing or knitting or doing something else I need light for, I’m not one of those ambient light people; it’s all or nothing for me.I’m really happy with the light and very thankful to the OttLite folks for sending it to me and sparing me the frustrations of a lamp shopping frenzy. Bookman is grateful too. He tells me I have no excuse for reading in the dark. Silly Bookman, as soon as the days begin to grow longer many months from now, I will again be trying your patience and smiling at your sighs as you switch on the light to keep me from ruining my eyes.
Now here’s how nice the OttLite people are, not only did they give me a lamp, they will give one of you lucky readers a lamp too. Unfortunately, you have to have a U.S. address. If you are interested in a Tulip Desk Lamp of your very own, please leave a comment saying as much. I will draw a name on Saturday morning. Good luck!
Oh, I almost forgot! The lamp comes with a wonderful accessory if you have cats:
A little something for everybody at my house.
I’m always looking for the perfect reading light.!
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What a wonderful giveaway idea! Always looking for the right light to read by.
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I’m always interested in another reading light. I’ve so far never found the perfect one. I have a lot of lamps for ambient light, because I love light, just in general. Sammy, who is snoozing on my lamp, says he would like the box.
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What a coincidence. Most nights, (not always tho) when I read, I’m at my desk/sewing table
where there’s an Ottlite—the floor model kind, with a flexible neck. I love
it, too, because you can control the lighting—get rid of any glare. That’s
nice of you to offer the free lamp—someone will be very happy. (I don’t
need one, but I do recommend it!)
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That looks like a great reading lamp! I’d love to try it out 🙂
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I am a long-time fan, an avid reader, and a quilter — I would love to receive an OttLite!
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In a few weeks I’ll be 51, and I have found that with the years, so hath gone the vision! I need lots of light now, and 1.5 magnifier-spectacles. I got a real neat-o wall-mounted lamp from IKEA that I have just above my desk, where I do 90% of my reading when I am at home. It’s perfect, aside from the fact that it is inordinately tanning my [again, with age] monklike tonsure at the top of my head.
Dang nab it, I’m Canadian, so I can’t even enter your giveaway so I could possibly have even more, additional light!
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Sorry for not being able to enter your name Cip. It sounds like you have a good lamp. We have a double wall-mounted light from IKEA for reading in bed. One flex light for me and one for Bookman. It’s quite nice. I have to wear glasses for reading too, not because I ruined my eyes but because my eyes are well into their 40s!
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You can never overestimate the value of a good reading lamp. Boy, what a stilted sentence. I would still be more than happy to win the giveaway. I do ‘t have cats, but I could challenge the kids to reuse the box in some way. 🙂
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I’m definitely interested (as would be both cats!). As my eyes get older and older, they have more and more trouble seeing in the dark. I’m always in search of good reading lamps, which are hard to find..
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It’s a shame I don’t have a US address because the lamp itself looks beautiful.
I wonder if reading in the dim light is a bookworm thing because I do it all the time. I also get a bit obsessive about lamps and finding the perfect ones for the room. They can really make or break the atmosphere.
I do, however, have a Banker’s Lamp and all I will say is that if the apartment went on fire, I would rescue the lamp.
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It looks to be a pretty cool reading lamp and great to see (I think) Dickens enjoying it too! I quite like reading in the dim too but no question but that a good reading lamp is one of the reader’s best friends.
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Ian, yup, Waldo is actually in the box though you can barely see him and Dickens is “sneaking” up on him. If I had waited a few more minutes for a photo I could have gotten one of both of them crammed in there.
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Sorry novelproject. I am glad to know I am not the only one who enjoys reading in dim light! Oh I envy you your banker’s lamp! I tried to find one I liked when mine broke but at some point all those lovely glass shaded and heavy bases turned into plastic. Horrid stuff. So I understand why you would grab you lamp in a fire!
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Pooh a reading lamp PLUS cat accessory?? Pick me. Pick me!!!
btw, what FUN way have you decided to do the drawing???
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That was SUPPOSED to say ooooh not Pooh. Darn auto correct!!
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Helen, I have not decided how to hold the drawing yet. Perhaps I will let one of the cats chose a slip of paper from a bowl.
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I don’t need a light, but can I enter to receive just the empty box for my cat Turtle?
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Heh, Joan, what is it with cats and boxes, right? They love them so much but I don;t understand the fascination. Still, it makes for cheap entertainment!
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Looks like the perfect reading lamp, would love to try it. And Barnie, the cat, says an intriguing box would be most welcome too.
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Not in the US so no entry from me, but I did enjoy your lamp story. We have wall mounted lights with dimmers over our bed, which means that when Mr Gums wants to sleep earlier than I do, I can dim it down to as low as I can still read by and reduce the bother to him. In my other main reading spot, the family room sofa, I have a two-light floor lamp. I can direct the two lights in various directions or just have one on. I usually point them up and use the more diffuse light. I spread out on the sofa to read: in the daytime my head points to the window and I use natural light, and in the nighttime my head points to the wall so I can use the lamp light. Of course, now I have a new lovely daybed on our verandah where the natural light is all the go. So many places to read …
PS I have been telling selected friends about your Being Wrong book. They all have a rueful chuckle!
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whisperinggums, so many reading spots you have and a light for every one! Your daybed on the verandah sounds divine! As for Being Wrong, I myself am still thinking about and enjoying it. It’s definitely one of those books in which we can all recognized ourselves and you have to wonder why no one wrote a book like it sooner.
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My daybed is beautiful … For years I thought I wanted one of those outdoor reclining loungers but could never find one comfortable enough and then it hit me – that’s not what I want, I want a daybed. I’m so happy!
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It’s so wonderful when you get the perfect place for reading, it truly does make you happy just thinking about it 🙂
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I love my Ottlite! I use it in my studio for my embroidery and clay work. I should get one for my reading nook as well. And what better gift for cats than a new box!
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Ooh, always in need of better reading light. (Could also use a better reading nook, too!)
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It sounds like a cool lamp. I’ve got a few dim corners that could use some illumination. Enter me, please!
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Cool, yes, put my name in! I could definitely use a good reading lamp too!
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I’d post a comment anyway, but throw my name in the hat while I’m at it. But more importantly, where did you get that great wall art? That is very cool…and perfect for a librarian or any reader.
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Grad, glad you like the wall art. It was an IKEA find a couple years ago. The writing in the background is a dictionary page from the w’s.
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Your comments about being told that you’ll ruin your eyes reminds me of those times when someone comes into a room and starts switching lights on when you’re reading. I guess their eyes haven’t adjusted yet. The same thing often happens when a group of people arrive in a meeting or study room prior to a discussion or lesson and sit waiting – sooner or later someone (often the group leader) will arrive, switch the lights on, and ask why everyone’s sitting in the dark. A good reply to confuse them with is ‘because we’re realistic about our chances.’
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Jeff, it’s a funny thing, isn’t it? I bet it would make an interesting sociological study about who likes dim rooms and why and why others feel compelled to turn on lights.
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Yes, I suppose this plugs into the debates over ink screens and backlit screens. My needs are simple. I just want a book, time, any light, and the world shutting up if you don’t mind too much seriously thank you very much just for a couple of hours. Great button / app there for someone to develop! Trouble is that reading is effectively non consuming activity. Perhaps there’s an untapped market in product placement in books?
Sorry. Cans and worms there!
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product placement in books happen but they generally don’t go over well, just ask Fay Weldon who wrote a novel featuring Bulgari and now apparently William Boyd is writing a story for Land Rover and being greatly criticized for it: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2835964/James-Bond-author-product-placement-row-William-Boyd-defends-decision-accept-six-figure-sum-Land-Rover-new-novel.html
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Oo, I’d love to try out a new reading lamp! I’ve never had one that I truly loved, just a variety of ones that satisfied me reasonably well. I’d really like to have a good one.
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Hahhhahhaheeeee…Stefanie…”little something for everyone in the house” …brilliant!!! My sister always said I needed to see a therapist because of the way I go on and on about lamps around my apartment. After books and food, lamps are my obsession…just the right kind, with the right angle of inclination, the brightness…
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Lamps are very important things! Books, food, lamps, yup, seems about the right order of importance 🙂
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I’ve got a couple of spots where a light like that could come in very handy! It might even get me reading in bed again! And my cat Sophie has been ill and could use a comforting new box.
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Very nice! I have always wanted an Ottlite for my needlework, but I have never quite budgeted for one. I need a good lamp for my bedroom for reading–since I moved things around my night table is now next to my rocking chair and I have no little table next to my bed, and so no lamp now. I also don’t like the bright overhead light in my room and so just use whatever illumination is cast from the lamp–will have to work on that one! The tulip lamp looks like a great reading lamp–enjoy!
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Danielle, the little tulip lamp is small but mighty and very affordable. I don;t like overhead lights either. I only ever turn them on if I am desperate.
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I’d absolutely be beyond thrilled to be the lucky winner of a Tulip Desk Lamp for my very own! 😀 Thanks a bunch for the chance to win! 🙂
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