You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Reading by Candlelight
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Alison
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Aug 25, 2011 07:55AM
More candles? Or a glass lantern over the candle? I read a few years ago about teenagers in Africa who had no electricity at home but who were so determined to study that they walked to the nearest airport in the evening to sit outside and use the free lighting. Now that's dedication.
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Lanterns are the answer. I lived without electricity once for 4 days! A hurricane on the east coast. Our small town was one of the last to get power returned. I did not own a lantern since I'm not a camper. But my neighbors had a great beacon that you could see from across the street. It was the lantern they used for camping. I don't even know how they work but they don't have wicks like a candle has. The glow is similar to lightbulbs. You can certainly read by that light.
My grandma had the kind of kerosene lamp you sometimes see in children's books in pictures of parlors, on the little side table with lace doilies. I think Laura Ingalls Wilder did, too. Before that? Well, remember, Benjamin Franklin did say "early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" - yes because he wasn't breathing soot or spending money on candles and he was getting enough sleep!
I've read by kerosene lamp which is what they used back in Lincoln's day. It throws off quite a bit of light. We've got an ornamental one that we use when the power goes out and it's a lot smaller than the ones they would have used.
They're not fun to clean though. You have to adjust the wick carefully so it burns with minimal soot. And buy the highest quality kerosene you can, too. And watch the cat and the rugrats. With all those considerations, it's not cheaper than electric, esp. if you use flourescent bulbs.
Sorry. :( Still, if you're subject to power outages, they're way better than candles.
I live out in the country and power outages are a fact of life here. If it goes out, we know it will be several hours before it's back on again. We can get the living room quite light with the hurricane lamp and candles. It's nice for a change with soft light and no white noise.
