Are you a bookworm and love to read at night? What’s stopping you?
For reading at night, you need a light source. But that can make your partner’s life harder when they are trying to sleep.
You can choose to read in the living room. However, reading in your own bed is a lot more comfortable.
So, Which is the best reading light that won’t disturb your partner?
Actually, there are lots of book lights in the market that clips onto books and give you the light you need. Some of these are either too bright or too dim.
We did some digging and found these 7 book lights to work best. They only illuminate a page or two and still are bright enough to read in the dark.
There you go!!
Images | Product Name | |
|---|---|---|
 | Glocusent LED Neck Reading Light | |
 | Vekkia Amber Bookmark Book Light | |
 | Vekkia Amber Rechargeable Book Light | |
 | DEWENWILS Book Light | |
 | FLBLUFlexilight LED Book Light | |
 | TOOZOON 3PCS Book Light | |
 | WITHit French Bull Clip On Book Light |
7 Best Reading Light to Not Disturb Partner (2023 Reviews)
1. Glocusent LED Neck Reading Light
Glocusent is one of the most versatile wearable lights ever. It is designed to wear around the neck and because of its narrow beam angle, it will illuminate only a specific area without illuminating the surroundings. This makes it perfect for reading at night when your partner is sleeping beside you.
There are two light heads on two arms of Glocusent. You can bend both arms to position the light as you want. As the light heads remain under your neck, the light doesn’t hit your eyes directly or anyone around you. Moreover, the LEDs have blue light filtering so they won’t strain your eyes even if you are using them for hours.
One of the reasons why this is considered the best book light for reading while traveling is the ability to adjust the brightness level and the color temperature. You can switch the color temperature between 3000K, 4000K, and 6000K. The brightness is adjustable in 3 levels. These help you to read on airplanes, buses, or anywhere without disturbing your fellow traveler.
The ability to recharge the light using a USB type-C is impressive. It’s far easier to connect and recharge. The battery has a 1000 mAh life which could run for days if you are using the light just for an hour or two a day.
The lightweight design of the light makes it practical to carry it anywhere and you can even use it to reach under dark cabinets or sinks. The arms around the neck could have been a bit tighter as a few female users complained. But works for male users without any issues.
2. Vekkia Amber Bookmark Book Light
Bookmark lights are pretty common these days. But not a lot of them can illuminate both pages of a book and still remain discreet enough to not disturb anyone else around. Vekkia Amber does that perfectly.
This is a clip-on reading light that you can attach to the bottom of your book. You can easily turn the pages without readjusting the light. Moreover, it has a big square light in contrast to narrow LED strips. So, the light reaches the edges of your book pages or kindle.
Vekkia is one of the top contenders for the best book lights that won’t wake a sleeping partner simply because it provides a gentle light with a changeable color temperature. When you are reading at late night, keep the light at 1600K, and other times, you can use between 2500K and 5000K color temperature settings. The additional benefit of adjusting the brightness makes the light even more suitable for night reading.
A small but significant benefit of using this clip-on light is that you can read your pencil notes better. Generally, book lights make pencil notes shiny and hard to read. But as the light on Vekkia comes from the top and illuminates the entire page, pencil writings remain flat and visible.
This light has a major limitation. It doesn’t have a moveable light head. So, it is fixed to one spot. Moreover, the clip of the light is made of plastic and this could make it vulnerable when you pack it along with other stuff while traveling.
3. Vekkia Amber Rechargeable 7 Led Eye-Care Book Light
Make your private lighting space with the Vekkia Amber and never ever disturb your sleeping partner again. Whether you want to read a book, work on your laptop or just sew a dress, this light will offer enough illumination.
The major difference between this Vekkia Amber and the previous light from vekkia is this one has a 360-degree gooseneck. You can adjust the light head as you want. It’s also super lightweight only 2.15 oz and also becomes compact enough to carry inside the pocket or a small travel bag.
One of the best things about this light is its brightness adjusting capability. When you want your partner to sleep without disturbance, keep the brightness at its lowest level. It will illuminate a small section of your page and that should be enough for reading. As you keep on reading, adjust the gooseneck light head. Alternatively, use the maximum brightness to light up the page completely and it still won’t be too bright for your partner.
A lot of the users have loved the warm color tone of Vekkia Amber. Even if you change the color temperature to something more whitish, it doesn’t emit any blue spectrum. So, this is just perfect for your eyes and your sleep cycle won’t get disturbed. Some users found this lack of blue light spectrum a bit limiting as it makes the light mostly suitable for reading.
This light comes with a 1000 mAh battery which is massive for a product like this. You can easily get 70 hours of lighting on a single charge. For a lot of you who hate or forget to charge your devices, this is really helpful.
The only thing that could be improved is the addition of a separate switch for brightness and color temperature. Currently, it has a single switch that does all the job. And it also makes a sort of loud clicking noise which could be annoying.
4. DEWENWILS USB Rechargeable Book Light
If you want something different compared to the gooseneck design, Dewenwils book light is perfect for you. It’s a low-profile clip-on light that can also be used as a stand-alone light. So, it offers a bit more versatility compared to other similar lights.
It doesn’t have a flex head. However, the LED head rotates clockwise and counterclockwise 90-degrees and downwards 45-degrees. This gives you the freedom to adjust the position of your lighting. It’s a great light for reading paperbacks at night as the light can illuminate both pages.
Dewenwils has a fixed color temperature of 3000K which is like soft white with a warm yellowish glow. It also has two brightness-adjustable levels. We think it’s one of the great reading lights that won’t disturb your sleeping partner as the light doesn’t spread away too much and the intensity is low enough to not strain the eyes.
This light has a few features that make it stand out from others. You can charge with the built-in USB from any device and use it for 8 hours. There’s a blue light that turns on when it’s charging and turns off when fully charged. That’s really helpful because you can be sure whether the light has enough charge. You can also fold the light to make it slim and portable to carry it inside your pocket and travel with it.
One issue that we noticed was it makes a loud clicking noise when you adjust the angle of the LED head. However, the noise can be reduced if you adjust the angle after clipping it on a book or anything else.
5.FLBLUFlexilight LED Book Light
The FLBLU Flexlight is perfect for those who need just a little more light when reading at night. Because of its slim profile and flex design, it can be used as a bookmark when you are done with your reading.
FLBLU has more than 19 designs to choose from. So, depending on your taste, you can get a light that you really love seeing. All of these designs have the same flex head that can bend forwards at any angle. So, you can choose to illuminate the whole page or just a small section.
This light doesn’t have a rechargeable battery. It comes with two CR2016 batteries. You can replace these once they run out.
The LED on this light is 8 lumens and it provides white light. The light isn’t harsh but it is quite bright compared to other similar lights. If your partner is super sensitive to light while sleeping, this could be an issue. In normal cases, the light won’t affect you or your partner.
6. Toozon 2PCS Book Light
Toozon brings a unique touch to book light design. It doesn’t have an LED head that shines a light on top of what you are reading. In fact, it’s a clear plastic panel that you can put over your book pages and the LEDs inside the panel will shine.
Because of this unique design, Toozon is the best book light to read in bed without disturbing your partner at all. The light remains within the plastic panel and doesn’t spread out. So, anyone sleeping near you will hardly notice what’s going on.
This light works best for paperbacks and lights up both pages when on full brightness. You can also use it for hardcover, but it won’t fit perfectly. It has a natural light yellow color temperature that’s soothing to the eyes. You can also switch between different brightness levels to achieve your desired amount of light.
You won’t have the advantage of rechargeable batteries here. You will need to use AAA batteries and replace them when they wear out. We recommend keeping the thin plastic on the panel as it can get scratched up with time.
7.WITHit French Bull Clip On Book Light
WITHit makes some of the most colorful and beautifully crafted clip-on book lights. Its flexible head is super adjustable and it also swivels. This gives you a lot of control over how you want to illuminate book pages.
This book light will not only attach with hardcover books but also with kindles and other ebook reading devices. The best part is it will light up both pages but won’t disturb anyone sleeping around you. In situations where you are traveling and don’t have an overhead light or can’t reach it, this light will definitely help.
If you prefer softer light, you can also dim it. The on/off button functions as a dimmer as well. To power up the light, you will need CR2032 batteries and in most cases, you will get this with the light itself.
Overall, the quality of the flex head is quite good. It doesn’t wiggle and feels solid. The clip could have been made better as it tends to move a bit when you attach it to books.
How can you buy a book light that won’t disturb your sleeping partner?
You can’t just buy any light for reading books at night. The following factors should be considered when buying reading lights to read discreetly in the dark:
1. the Size of the Light Head and the Amount of Light Spreading
The most important thing about buying a book light that won’t wake up someone sleeping around you is the size of the light head. A larger light head will illuminate lots of light and provide more area coverage.
In normal conditions, you would expect a lighting device to spread light as far as it can. However, in this case, you need a light that will cover only a single page or two at most.
Also, make sure that the light head isn’t too small that it only focuses light on a single point.
2. the Intensity of the Light and Brightness Adjustability
You also need to know the intensity of your book light. If the light is too bright and hits the eyes, it will disturb you and your partner’s sleep cycle. It should be just enough bright to let you read. A lot of the book light these days comes with an adjustable brightness function. So, when you need to have a look at something in more detail, you can up the brightness. And when reading in complete darkness, you can lower the brightness. You can check out Glocusent and Vekkia Amber rechargeable.
3. Color Temperature and Blue Light Emission
Even if you have a book light with low intensity, the color temperature of the light can cause issues. Ideally, you should look for a light with a warmer color tone in the 3000K-4500K range. Lights at this range emit less blue. When you go up, the blues in the light will also go up and this is not great for sleeping. Some book lights have a 90-95% blue light reduction. These lights offer maximum comfort and don’t put any stress on the eyes.
You can look for adjustable color temperature which will give you more freedom. You can use the white light for tasks that are detail-oriented and the warmer tones for reading or just typing on your laptop.
4. Design and Functionality
A lot depends on the design of your book light. Most book lights are designed to clip onto your book and have adjustable flexible light heads. However, there are variations as well. The Glocusent neck light is one of a kind and you won’t have to clip it onto your book. It hangs over your neck away from your eyes and offers great private lighting. Other booklights like Toozon have a plastic panel that remains over the book pages and shines light on them. The result is similar, it doesn’t spread light and your partner won’t get disturbed.
How to Read at Night Without Disturbing Your Partner?
1. Get a Light Designed to Remain Discreet and Spread Less Light
The book lights we reviewed should give you the best experience in the dark and also allow your partner to sleep undisturbed. Remember not all lights are suitable for this purpose. You should look for a light that spreads less and also have a warmer color tone.
2. Encourage Your Partner to Wear an Eye Mask
If you have a bright light and there’s no alternative, you can encourage your partner to wear an eye mask. There are tons in the market that can totally block away from light and give a dark sleeping experience. Your partner might not like it at first, but they will get used to it soon.
3. Make Your Own Private Space With Curtains
It’s best to make yourself a private space inside your bedroom for reading late at night. You can hang a black and heavy curtain from the ceiling to the floor at any corner of your room and use a low-wattage warm lamp. The light won’t spread away and your partner can sleep in peace. When you are done, you can shoot yourself off to sleep.
4. Read Under a Blanket
This is a pretty old technique that works all the time. Get under the blanket, light up a torch or a small lamp, and start reading. Make sure that you are using a separate blanket and that the light is not escaping in any way.
5. Maybe Shift to an Audiobook Instead of Hardcover
Audiobooks are fun and easy to follow. If your partner really hates you reading at night and any kind of light irritates them, it’s best to shift to an audio version of whatever you want to read. There are lots of apps these days that can help you.
Final Words
The Glocusent neck light is the best reading light that won’t wake your sleeping partner. It’s doesn’t have a clip-on design like so many other book lights. You can wear it on your neck, move and travel with it. So, it’s a lot more versatile book light. As the LED light head remains below your eyes, the light doesn’t hit you directly. The light is kind of focused and illuminates just a small area which is enough to read. So, your partner can sleep in peace without any disturbance.
