The Vekkia Hands Free Neck Book Light Makes Reading Easy

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By Jancee Dunn

It's no secret that, as The Wall Street Journal newsroom has reported, many of us are sleep deprived—and sometimes the source of that deprivation is right next to us in bed. I’m happiest when I’m snuggling into the covers at the end of the day with a book, but my husband is the world's lightest sleeper. He also tends to fall asleep before me, so I must employ a book light to maintain marital harmony. (I read to get sleepy, and getting up to read in another room wakes me up.)

Over my 20-year quest to find a decent book light, I’ve churned through countless models, all of which failed in some way or another. Most were way too bright, prompting my ultra-alert husband to complain, forcing me to switch off the light and fume in the darkness. Clip-on lights tended to sag, particularly on paperbacks, or rip the pages; bulky clamp versions often fell off. Some lights had a beam so weak that it left the bottom half of the book dark, so that I had to constantly reposition the light. One grew alarmingly hot, like a sunlamp. Others weren't rechargeable, requiring futzing with lithium batteries.

I had long since given up on finding the perfect book light. I had sadly resorted to reading using a flashlight under the covers (like I did as a teen, reading "Flowers in the Attic" on the sly), when my search ended with the Vekkia Hands Free Neck Book Light. I was alerted to it by Belinda Carlisle, lead singer of the Go-Gos, who raved about her Vekkia in an article about her favorite things. Although I had been burned many times, I compulsively ordered it.

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The black, U-shaped Vekkia, covered in soft, flexible rubber, wraps around the back of my neck; two bendable arms extend from the front with LED lights at both ends. You can toggle the lights among three varieties: white, natural and warm (that one is my favorite, a yellow light that gives off a soft glow versus headache-inducing brightness). Each offers three levels of brightness, too, for a total of nine options (a long touch of the button changes the varieties, a short press adjusts brightness).

My Vekkia brings me nightly joy. It leaves my hands free. It's lightweight (3.6 ounces). It's under 20 bucks. The neck piece, slim and supple, doesn't dig into the back of my neck; most of the time I forget it's there. And it's rechargeable via a USB charger—which I prefer, as the custom chargers of booklights past have been swiftly absorbed in the domestic maelstrom of my house, never to be seen again.

Best of all, it emits two small, concentrated beams, like headlights from a tiny clown car, while the rest of the room stays wonderfully dark. And it's versatile: When I head to the bathroom, I keep it around my neck, and it discreetly illuminates a path while my husband snores away.

Yes, the lights protrude from each side of my head like mandibles, which is perhaps not the sexiest look, but it's not an exaggeration to say that it has saved my marriage. Although now my sleep is lousy, because I stay up too late reading.