Enter nearly any room in my house and you'll likely see a pair of reading glasses somewhere. Kitchen? Check. Bedroom? Check. In the study where I work? Of course. In the bathroom where even my magnifying mirror needs a bit of a boost? Yep.

I have lots of reading glasses because I need them for lots of reasons. I go through them so often — scratching, losing, or tiring of the style — that I buy only inexpensive ones, typically those that come in batches of four or more for a relatively low price.

So when Readers.com invited me to try out their new Signature Collection of handmade yet a smidgen higher priced readers free for review, it didn't take much coaxing for me to take them up on the offer. It took just a few bullet points, in fact, on the fine features of the Readers.com Signature Collection, including:

• optical quality with aspheric lenses
• high-quality, polished acetate frames
• wide range of rich tortoise and solid colors
• scratch resistant
• come with a protective case
• $59.95 price point for all readers in the collection

I had no doubt there'd be a difference in style compared to my cheapo readers, but would there really be a difference in quality? I soon found out.

Readers.com sent me three pair of readers from the new Signature Collection, two for me and one for Jim. 

The day the package I arrived, I was swamped and forgot about it until dinnertime. So I grabbed the package, opened it at the table as Jim and I ate (you can do such things in an empty nest). We both were immediately impressed with how attractive all three pair were. Rich colors, pretty styles for me, a rugged one for him, all with surprisingly crystal-clear lenses.

We first spent a few minutes being impressed with how stylish we looked in our new spectacles, of course, then sought stuff to see if the readers were as functional as they are fashionable.

As Jim practiced reading the smallest line possible on the literature included in the box, I was astounded by the food on my dinner plate. Sounds weird, I know. But my serving of quinoa — baked chicken and green beans rounded out the meal — looked like, well, quinoa. Not an indistinguishable mound of something similar to oatmeal as it had without glasses on. I could easily make out each pearl-like grain. 

I don't normally eat dinner with my readers on, so I wondered if my old ones — which are the same power, +2.00, as the new — would reveal the same. Put 'em on and nope! The Signature Collection pair provided a far superior view of my dinner. I urged Jim to do the same. He agreed, and we marveled our way through our meal.

That was just the start of our satisfaction with the Signature Collection selections. In following days it became clear (har, har) there truly is a difference in optical quality. I tested a few things with my old readers then my Readers.com readers. The Signature Collection bested my other pair when...

• perusing social media on my iPhone
• following sheet music while (trying to) play piano
• following a cookbook recipe
• doing my daily devotions (ah, the notoriously tiny print of the Bible)
• tweezing eyebrows... okay, and a few chin hairs, too
• working too many hours on the computer (eye strain actually seemed less)

... plus other things one typically does while wearing readers. Jim's biggest Signature Collection aha was how much clearer the pages of his Reader's Digest magazine seem. (We sound old, don't we?)

The distinct difference with the Signature Collection led me to seek more info on what "aspheric lenses" are. Seems they have a more consistent magnification throughout the lens, which provides higher image quality. Better peripheral vision, too. As well as less bulging of the lens for slimmer profile — of the frames, not the person wearing them, unfortunately.

I no longer have reading glasses strewn about my house, I've simply gotten better about carrying a pair from room to room. One of the pairs from the Readers.com Signature Collection. I've stashed all my others in a spot for safekeeping for just in case scenarios, but going forward The Getty and The Astor are the only readers for me.

And Jim? Well, he's donning The Chandler more often than he ever wore his other readers — though it may have less to do with how well he can see in them and more to do with me regularly telling him how hot he looks wearing them.

The Readers.com tag line is "happy eyes, happy wallet." The Signature Collection readers I received free for review certainly made for happy eyes for my husband and me. The price point of $59.95 per pair in the collection certainly supports the happy wallet reference, too, as the high-quality, highly attractive reading glasses seem to me worth every penny.

Find out more about the Readers.com Signature Collection and the numerous styles available at Readers.com.

Disclosure: I received the product(s) above free for review; opinions are my own.