People on my Facebook may have seen this on my status last night — I learned a new word, librocubicularist, which means “someone who reads in bed.”
Because I am an unabashed librocubicularist, I often read in the dark, because I like drifting off to sleep in the middle of a book. In the latter half of 2010, though, my nocturnal reading was severely curtailed (maybe this explains the drop in last year’s reading figures) because I was without a book light for some period of time: my Lumos lightwedge went out of commission (batteries leaked and stuck in the narrow terminals, and their customer service could not give me any advice on how to get them out!); the Really Tiny Book Light turned out to be the Ridiculously (Expensive but) Flimsy Book Light that conked out after a less than a dozen uses; and the lightwedge clone turned out to be, well, a dud.
My book club friends and I were making our rounds of the bargain bookstores one day when I spotted a row of little rectangular boxes on a shelf full of toys and school supplies. It was labeled: Mighty Bright Flex II and when I saw it was a book light at an amazingly low price, I quickly called everyone over and we happily trooped to the counter with at least one box each.
The Mighty Bright Flex II is a compact book light with 2 LED Lights, and it really is mighty bright!
It comes in different colors (at the store there were black, lime green, and pink lights to choose from), and it has a standing base with a built-in clip (the kind that won’t ruin the pages of your book), a flexible neck that bends in any direction but holds its shape when you adjust it, and a power switch that gives you the option to use two LEDs or just one LED light. The device is powered by three triple A batteries, but there is an adapter jack so you can also plug in with any AC adapter.
Here it is in action:
I’ve been using it for about three weeks now, and I must say I’m loving it so far. The light is bright and even, and I like that it stands on its own so I don’t have to keep adjusting it every time I turn the page. It feels sturdy, and the push-button power switch presses firmly, so I don’t have to worry about accidentally jostling it in the middle of the night and turning it on by accident.
I love that it offers different options in terms of lighting (one light – two light) and power source (AAAs are so much easier to find than round batteries, plus I can get rechargeable batteries, too; and I simply adore them for the AC adapter option!). I also love that I can fold it down into a compact size that I can easily slip into the pocket of my carry-all when I travel.
Not bad, for a bargain bin find! Must remember to get some spares next time I’m at that store.
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The Mighty Bright Flex II book light, 4/5 stars
I want one! Never had a proper book light. At boarding school I did the usual reading under the covers with a flashlight or sneaking to the toilet with a book to read until I got caught. Otherwise I use a regular desk lamp, which does annoy the hubby when he wants to go to sleep.
P65 at Book Sale Farmer’s :)
Not bad! Thanks for the info, now I know I too am a librocubicularist :)
I have a similar looking book light from Energizer. It’s around P300-400 and has LED light also. The replacement batteries(round, flat ones) cost around P40 something per pack. Bought it at Ace Hardware. I love it cause the long thin handle of the book light is very flexible!
Pero now, that’s something cheaper and looks like it can perform as well. I keep on changing batteries because I wear them out easily so I might need something cheaper. :P
I’ve seen the energizer too, and was considering buying that, but I found this first :)
I wanted to get this too because it was so darn cheap! But I was turned off by the color. They only had pink! But yeah, I think I’ll get it anyway some time.
I like the sound of that word: librocubicularist! :D
Lucky I love pink. Haha.
We’re to blame, actually, we swooped in on the black, green and purple ones.
I gave my spare black one to my cousin :D
P65 only? Wow! I wish there will be booklights in Book Sale branches here! I’ve been using the word librocubicularist haha thanks for the info, Bloo!
:) glad a lot of people are using librocubicularist now.
I havent seen any in other branches… Hehe, I’ve checked the MCS, Cash and Carry, MOA, and HP so far.
I love that word! I tend to fall asleep with the light on, so I have needed a book light for some time. I only think about it though when I wake up with the light blaring in my eyes…never when I am actually at the store.
I’ve been rolling the word on my tongue for days now :) A book light will save you electricity — because it’s within reach, it’s easier to turn it off when you’re headed into la-la land
Thanks for the info. I’ll try to get one too. Thanks ^__^
happy reading, maricar
My friend uses a head lamp :D it works just as well too and you don’t have to keep removing it when you flip the pages :)
I’ve tried that too, but I prefer a nice even light on the page… I’m nearsighted so I can’t angle a head lamp in such a way that the light falls evenly on the book.
ung energizer marami ako nakikita sa NBS best sellers .. i have been thinking of buying that too. pero catchy tong find mo ha
It’s the brightest book-light I’ve ever used!
Me too! :)
I have yet to try the mighty bright light given by my uncle last Christmas. Although me+bed+reading is not such a great combo. Five minutes or so into reading, and Mauie goes to sleep. Hehehe :D
I have the exact same problem — I keep leaving the book light on overnight!
Thanks for the post. Really helpful. I am looking for locally available book lights when I found your blog. I read the review on LightWedge knockoff and I saved P100.
I guess I have to go hunting for this Mighty Bright booklight. San pa kaya available to? Baka naubos na. :D
Hi there! No more in stock at the store we bought from, and I haven’t seen this brand locally since then.
More types of booklights are making their way to the local book stores, albeit still pricey, around P400 and up. I’ve heard good reviews of the Energizer book light, in case you want to try it out.
I managed to score a pink one yesterday. It was the last one the branch had in stock. I hope they restock these, because if they do, I’m picking up one in a different color as a spare. ^_^
Kim, what branch?!? I want another one too. I gave away my spare.
Sorry, I missed your question. I got mine at the Central branch, but I was hoping for a restock and wala na talaga. Oh yeah, this post linked to your post about the Light wedge clone. Would you be interested in getting a new Light Wedge? Because I saw lots for sale at True Value hardware in Trinoma. The price is pretty steep though, 2000+ for the original size.
I am, but waiting for one on sale. I got my Lumos book light for only P1000 I think.
I’m pretty happy with the mighty bright book light, though.