After reading a few of the negative reviews I hesitated to buy this, but it was either spend a lot of money on another product that looked good, a $48 book holder that I considered, or try this and if it was lousy come here and tell everyone.
Well, I came in two days. I have tried it, and if you follow the directions it works great. No pages are ripped as one person claimed, and you can move it up and down to view the pages. Just follow the directions on the package and it is easy to use.
I am so glad that I found this because I have tendonitis in my hands and holding any book really hurts, especially paperbacks. I actually put a pillow on my lap in order to hold up the book at eye level and then lay the book on it. Now I barely have to use my hands except to lightly to hold the book on the pillow. Or you can put a kink in the pillow and the book will stay as is, that is, if you need a pillow at all; I do. The pillow was an idea from my physical therapist but he had no idea that I would still need a book holder. Book Magic Book Clip by Maverick Ventures
I read a lot. I was hoping to get a book clip that would help me with my hand pain, so that I wouldn't have to hold open books (especially large ones). I bought this clip and the FlipKlip to try both out since they seemed to have the best reviews for what I was looking for.
*Pros*
--The cheap price. Of all the well rated clips out there, this was the cheapest I could find.
*Cons*
--Will not work well with larger books
(1 of 2). Especially with larger paperbacks, I don't see how this wouldn't bend the pages so far back that the binding was damaged. I was afraid to try this on my larger paperbacks >300pgs. Some of the things I read are paperback commentaries in the 500-600 pg range, and there is no way I would try to use this for these. I'm almost certain the binding would be permanently creased if I was even able to get it in there.
(2 of 2) Sometimes it seemed awkward at times to try holding open pages for larger books and seems to slip out easily. I couldn't imagine trying to turn pages constantly with this product on larger books. It seems like movement of the book causes it slip out easier on books with the slick kind of sleeve covers.
--You'll notice a lot of the reviews say you have to be careful when turning the pages so they don't tear. I'm guessing this is because it seems like it's kind of awkward to use, and if your not careful I could see how they would tear. Also the points of the back prongs are pretty abrasive and I could see them scratching the cover of a book or pages very easily (you'll see this reflected in the reviews as well). One reviewer said it's worth having a few ripped pages to have this product, not for me. I'm glad this didn't happen. I think this reflects poor product quality.
--It seems like in most books the clip will cover some of the text (obviously it's not a whole lot and some will be ok with this).
*Compared to the FlipKlip*
The FlipKlip is a little bit more expensive (not much, only a few extra dollars as of this writing). It was the other product that seemed to have the best reviews for book clips. From the moment I started using the FlipKlip I knew it was a better product. I never really went back to trying the Book Magic clip because the FlipKlip was simply much better.
--It is much easier to use. It's easier to turn pages, takes much less effort to put on and doesn't have problems slipping off.
--The holding area is much wider than this Book Magic clip. This means it holds the pages apart much easier and more uniform (instead of having it be tight on the top and kind of bow out at the bottom).
--Works really well for even larger books. Even after nearly two months of using the FlipKlip, it still holds open even my large commentaries well.
--It doesn't have the problem of covering text.
--No sharp edges so I can't imagine book damage unless there's a serious user error.
Bottom line:
I guess if you want something really cheap for small books, and you don't mind risking damage to books then this will work ok for you. I normally wouldn't rate a product so low, I usually give it the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps there is something I'm missing in all this due to my low usage of it, but the only reason I could imagine someone buying this is simply not knowing about better products out there. I would recommend everyone to just spend a couple extra dollars and buy a FlipKlip instead, which is much more versatile, safer to use with your books and better quality product design. Maybe there is something even better that I'm not aware of. Oh, and also consider getting a book stand with your clip and you'll be set for quality, good posture hands free reading.
Hope this helps.
I love this item. I use it all the time at the gym for holding my book open on the treadmill. Unfortunately I'm always losing them. I have to buy a new one every 6 months or so, even though I try to keep a spare. It seems to be getting harder and harder to find them, however.
One note. You do need to be careful how many pages to put in your clip. If you put too many, it can damage the book. If you are too rough when you position it, you can tear pages too. But that's not really the clip's fault. If you don't force it, it won't do any damage.
It works best for paperbacks, I think.
A nearly identical item, the Easy Clip, is just as effective.
This is a great gadget that I was so happy to discover! I hate when my book won't stay completely open in the book rack. You just have to be really careful to pull the clip all the way up before turning the page because you can easily tear the page. Some books use thinner paper than others-- and if you are using it while on a cardio machine it is sometimes tricky to lift it up enough as your feet are moving. Overall, any slight page tearing is user error-- not product malfunction. I'd rather have the clip than cram magazines behind the book which is what I used to do. - Treadmill Book Holder - Paperback Book Holder - Book Tools'
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