Abstract: A hand held book holder comprising an elongated trough like frame for supporting the open pages of a book and having an elongated handle extending axially therefrom. A rod is arranged to extend longitudinally of the frame for engaging the book along its binding to hold it in the trough with one end of the rod being detachably connected to the free end of the trough and the other end of the rod attached to the handle. A pressure plate is mounted on the handle to engage and hold a common edge of the open pages of the book and is biased into the pages by the other end of the rod and/or a suitable spring means.