A desk including a book holder positioned at a predetermined angle relative to the surface of the desk. In one embodiment the book holder is deployable, and the desk surface includes a recess into which the deployable book holder fits when the deployable book holder is in the closed position. The recess optionally includes a rubber surface to avoid slipping of the bottom edge of a book (such as a text book) when the book is being held up with the deployable book holder. In another embodiment a deployable book holder includes an aperture, and a recess includes an island. In various embodiments, a proximal end of a desk surface, closest to where a user sits, may be wider than the distal end to provide adequate arm room for the user.