I’m a homebody. I love nowhere better than my favorite reading chair. I was “bed rotting” before the youths these days used the term. Over the years, I’ve collected a few creature comforts: a devotion to one particular lightbulb, fingerless gloves, slides for the warm months, slippers for the cold months, and the prettiest teeny tiny tea light candle holders tucked in every surface I can find to add warmth and sparkle.
But by far the most used item in my creature comfort arsenal is my lap desk. We picked up the two we have (my husband found himself reaching for mine so often, he got his own) from Barnes & Noble. They’re somewhat interchangeable in our house, but officially mine is the wooden top, which I happen to like better because of the way I primarily use mine, and his is the marble top. The wooden grain provides just enough friction to hold a book or my Kindle in place so I recommend shopping in person if possible because the textures really do make a difference, depending on if you’re primarily using these for writing, reading, working, or something else. If I were going to splurge and upgrade, I would get this one because of the extra features, like the tiny drawer, though I truly love the beanbag nature of ours which means I can readjust, even if sitting unevenly. It’s very forgiving of adjustments in bed or a favorite chair. I’ve even propped it on my lap for extra desk space when sitting at my computer desk.
I actually picked up the lap desk on a lark, during a prolonged season living in a hotel between moves, when I found I was spending more time than usual in the three limited spaces a hotel usually has to sit. I needed a little extra desk space. I fully expected I’d get rid of it once we finally settled into our new home, but I found it so invaluable, I now never wish to be parted from it.
My lap desk holds whatever I’m working on at the moment—my book, a laptop, a Kindle, even a drink or snack. It’s got the best parts of a pillow and the best parts of those gorgeous but less comfy trays I see sitting luxuriously on the bed in every Pinterest photo of a proper guest room.
The handle means I pretty much carry it from room to room—my emotional support lap desk, if you will. It goes with me everywhere; but if you’re trying to store one, they’re slim enough to fit in so many places. I especially love it this time of year when I inevitably feel under the weather or just want a duvet day.
Are you looking for a gift idea for someone who seemingly has everything? I’d be willing to bet that a good many of those on your list do not have a lap desk. It’s the item I never knew I needed, but after living with a lap desk, I now never want to know life without one.
Are you a lap desk devotee? Please share in the comments.
P.S. Add joy to your reading life with these favorite bookish accessories, Elevate your reading experience with these favorite bookish things, and Unconventional packing tips for your next trip.
About the author
Ginger Horton is our Book Club Community Manager here at MMD. Her go-to genres are literary fiction and classics. You can find Ginger on Instagram at @gthorton or the MMD Book Club account @MMDBookClub.
47 comments
I love my lap desk! I also bought mine at Barnes and Noble, it has a cat laying on a bookshelf full of books. It’s such a help when, like Ginger, I want to bed rot but also use my laptop, Kindle, or iPad. My best friend from college introduced me to the joys of them when we were just out of college and writing letters to each other regularly. We won’t talk about how long ago that way! 🙂
Writing letters from a lapdesk sounds so lovely!
My mom never had a desk when I was growing up. She had a lap desk she slid underneath the couch, and she kept her planner in the end table drawer. The end table had a lamp, the phone book, the telephone, and her other stationary.
She gifted me with a lap desk during COVID shutdown to make WFH more comfortable, and I still use it weekly. For a while my young son was borrowing it so often to make origami that I got him his own for Christmas! I love how each generation finds a new use for the trusty beanbag lap desk.
Well, I WILL talk about how long I’ve had my lap desk: I got it as a high school graduation gift. I was required to sign up for Medicare this year. !!! The beanbag is just now starting to pull away from the faux-wood laminate top on one side, but it’ still hanging in there. Like Ginger’s, it has a handy carrying loop, and mine has a pencil-catcher at the bottom. Not quite as large as I’d like, though. Ginger, I too wish they made that leather one with the drawer in a bean bag version! I might have to offer that idea in the ratings for the leather version. Perhaps we can manifest it!
I had one of these years ago and had forgotten all about its many uses. I am now reading a heavy print book and have been propping it up on a pillow!
Going to my Barnes and Noble today to pick up a lap desk. Thank you for the great idea.
Yay! May there be a run on lapdesks today. 🙂
Still have my B&N lap desk from over 30 years ago. Love it!
I gifted one of these from B&N to my then 9 yr old granddaughter, who was precocious and already a reader and early journaler. I remember feeling uncertain about it, but went ahead and a gave it to her anyway. I felt such joy coming into her room one day and seeing her in her top bunk bed, head bent over some writing project or other on her lap desk. I felt her to be such a kindred spirit in that moment and I was glad I followed my instincts when I gave it to her.
Such a good gift!
Aww, I love this @Mary Lou! Thank you for sharing.
100% agree – I love my lap desk, it beautifully supports my “on the fly” approach to computing – working on lists, notes, etc. on my iPad from my rocking chair or the couch without walking back to my desk to do it.
Did you know that Thomas Jefferson used a lapdesk that he designed and built from solid mahogany? It is in the national museum of American history (https://www.si.edu/collections/snapshot/thomas-jeffersons-desk).
Ooh! While Monticello is one of my favorite places to visit, I had somehow forgotten this (if I ever knew it). I’ll have to make a pilgrimage to the Smithsonian very soon (just up the road from me!) to pay homage to TJ’s lapdesk. Thanks for this intel, Lois!
Thank you for sharing that link Lois! It is so fun to see how some basic items stand the test of time.
I need a Thomas Jefferson lapdesk with the drawer but on top of a beanbag. Thanks for sharing the link!
This is perfect timing! I ordered 2 to try out (they should arrive today) and then plan to gift to my book club! I would like one for myself to make it easier to read in print books. I am almost exclusively a kindle and audio book reader, but some books are better enjoyed in print… I’m looking at you The Mythmakers, also recommended by Ginger!
Love this! Graphic novels feel especially important to read on a good comfortable surface because I find myself looking at each page for much longer. Hope you enjoy!
I really appreciate this. I work in a home office when I’m at home, but my husband works on the couch. He turns to his laptop to his left when he needs to type. It looks so uncomfortable. He’s starting to have back issues, which may or may not be related. I tried to get him a laptop tray that is similar to one that you’d see for breakfasts in bed, but he never actually used it. This might be the ticket. Thank you!
Lapdesks are the best of both worlds, we’ve found – infinite comfortable positions. I hope he likes it, Carrie!
One of my sons has spent most of his homeschooling career in a recliner with a lap desk. Loves it.
I love to think about all the things that were learned in that recliner and upon that lap desk.
I bought a lap reader maybe 8 years ago from Amazon–yes, it’s just black plastic. (it says “Mind Reader” on it). But it has nice padding, it has a flip-up or flip-down ledge, and a handle, and it also has a snap-open slim space inside to keep papers or pens! I use it on my lap in my big cozy chair whenever I’m taking notes from some informational video I’m watching on TV, about once a month.
Oooh, a space to keep papers and pens would be so handy!
I love my lap desk! I asked my husband for one for Christmas the first year I went back to school (19 years ago!) and he bought it for me thinking I would use it a few times and never again. It came from Staples, solid wood, the shape of a kidney bean, and has a black velvet beanbag backside. I’ve taken it everywhere – the size enabled me to have a textbook and my notes open at the same time – and it’s gotten so much use even in my post-college years. Even now, it’s always next to my side of the couch, waiting to be pressed into service when I’m writing Christmas cards, eating, or just painting my nails!
I love hearing how many of us lapdesk lovers there are out there!
I have seen them but never thought about getting one. When I try to write notes while I am reading my writing gets horrible. I am going to look into this Thanks!
Just the perfect mix of comfort and support—I hope you love it!
I am in my mid-50’s, and I have had a lap desk since I was given one when I was a child (early 80’s or late 70’s), and I have not been without one since. My most recent and favorite is the one my daughter picked out for me a few birthdays ago from B&N. It features a bookish print on top, and the beanbag pillow is just right. I use it when reading, grading papers on my sofa, and most recently, addressing Christmas cards! I will never be without a lapdesk.
That sounds so cute with a bookish print on top!
I love a lap desk! After years of trying to balance a book on a pillow, I saw my son’s lap desk from high school and decided to try it out. I use it every day now. It holds my tea, breakfast and a book. I can’t imagine not having one now.
Tea, breakfast, and a book – what could be more perfect!
I still have and use my lap desk I received for Christmas years ago – like mid-80s. It’s seen better days and the bean bag filling is kind of deflated but it’s still in heavy use. The top is made out of something like paperboard (imagine the back of an IKEA bookcase). My sister picked it out of a school holiday sale (where kids could buy presents for parents and siblings). I also really wanted one that was wooden with a top that opened to store your stuff but didn’t get quite the right one.
One with a storage cabinet is the dream!
I have had the same lapdesk since elementary school (circa 1980). It has a red gingham pillow, which I can tell is full of those tiny styrofoam balls. When I first pulled it out for my kids (when they were school age), they could not believe that such a thing existed. The pillow lapdesk is a design that stands the test of time!
It really is amazing how much use ours get and how well they’ve held up. I love that you’ve had yours since elementary school (and counting)!
I’m a lap desk girl from WAY back. I’m 55 so I’d bet I’ve been using one for 45 years – my mom got me one when I was around 4th grade. In college I had what was called a “study board” which was a lap desk but much larger and homemade by your sorority big sister. 😉 But now I’m back to the old school lap desk purchased from a store (though my 15yo son uses my old study board with sorority letters for homeschool!) I think my mom still uses the four decades old lap desk.
Homemade! I love that that’s still in use.
Like so many of the people who responded, I have been using a lap desk for over 50 years. Growing up, my lap desk was a board – just this rectangular board. We put a Clemson Tiger sticker on it and it became known as “The Tiger Board”. The Tiger Board has moved with me wherever I have gone. About 5 years ago, I updated to the more comfortable bean bag style although I have been remiss in adding stickers to it – thinking an MMD sticker would work beautifully. I love them both for all things reading, writing and laptopping (is that even a word?)
Ooooh, don’t give me ideas now. I have a larger sticker collection than will fit on my kindle + computer so now I think the lapdesk might be my next canvas!
I have a beanbag bottom lap desk as well which works great for the uneven sitting you mentioned. Mine has a handle at the top which makes it easy to grab from that narrow space between the couch and the side table. It also has a small ledge strip towards the bottom to stop things from sliding off. I typically only use it if writing is involved. For reading I have a three sided Flip It pillow that holds my iPad or kindle at just the right angle.
The handle is clutch! (Pun always intended. :))
I love my lap desk too – it’s great for those heavy books but I often use it in the evenings to work on small projects while my husband is watching tv. I made dozens of teeny tiny books for my granddaughter’s dollhouse and I just finished embroidering a needle book and sewing wallet I made for the older granddaughter. I clip a really bright light to it which makes it easy to work during these long winter months when it’s dark at 4:00.
I adore that yours is used in service to teeny tiny books for granddaughter’s dollhouse. Adorable!
I still use a hand-made lap desk I received as a high school graduation gift 50 years ago! It was certainly a wonderful gift!
The lap desk love is real! Our household is similarly obsessed with an Ugg-branded tablet pouf. It’s a miniature beanbag that’s lost part of its stuffing – making it more maleable to support any lap accessory – covered in soft fleecy fake fur. It’s so handy for working at home on my laptop or watching something on a tablet or reading. Unfortunately, I don’t think Ugg is making or selling them anymore and the other tablet poufs I’ve tried or considered are poor imitations.
I was given a B&N gift card 3 years ago, and I bought a lap desk with it. I still have it and use it every day. I’m using it right now as I type this comment on my iPad.
Well, you (and the comments) sold me. I read this on Monday and yesterday I pulled the trigger. I bought four lapdesks – one for me and each of my girls for Christmas. Hopefully everyone will love them – and we’ll wonder how we got 13 years into homeschooling without them! 🤪 Thanks for the inspiration!
Love a lap desk! I write this comment while using my laptop on top of my wooden lapboard – it’s a handmade, decoupaged piece of wood created by the grandfather of one of my law school classmates. He took up making them in retirement, and it gives me such joy that he, a grizzled Texan, spent time cutting up magazines and creating collages (mine has gems like “The Experts Agree.” “Love at first sight!” “Some like it hot!” “The Legend Unfolds.”). On the back “A lapboard needs a lap . . . Keep this lapboard handy Never know when you’ll need it . . . This is a lapboard by Hank.” Hooray for Hank!
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