That's true. I certainly gave up trying to read, the last time we had a power cut. I found that I *could*, if I sat with the candle about 50cm away from the book (so in practice, just over my shoulder.) But that meant there was no light for the rest of the people in the room. I'm sure having lots more candles lit at once would have helped, but think of the expense.

I find that for me a single candle shows enough of what's around me so that I can find doors and not bump into walls, which turns navigating around the house into a much simpler matter than it would be without the candle. I guess that you can knit and sew pretty much by touch, just bringing the piece up to the light if you need to check something. But you certainly need lots of candles to make a light that's really useful, and even then it will be brown.