The driver held the novel at the wheel for 10 miles while sitting in the middle lane.
Andrew Stonham, a builder, was travelling home on the motorway when he spotted the woman in a Nissan Micra with the book spread across her steering wheel.
He said he first saw her around junction 25 near Derby and continued alongside her until junction 27, ten miles away at Kirkby, Notts. It is not known what book she was reading.
Mr Stonham, 28, who was the passenger in a workmate’s vehicle, said: “We saw her about 200 yards back and my friend said he thought something was up.
“We caught up with her but we were struggling to keep up in the central lane. It’s not even like she was in the slow lane.
“We were beeping at her and I was waving at her out of the window. She finally looked over, smiled and waved before carrying on as normal.”
Mr Stonham from Kirkby, Notts, said the incident happened last Wednesday between 3.30pm and 4pm.
He said the woman continued reading until he pulled off the motorway at Junction 27.
He added: “We’re on the motorway all the time and we see people eating or putting on make-up, stuff like that, but this was unbelievable.
“It’s dangerous.”
Nottinghamshire Police said they had seen the picture.
A spokesman said: “Any images taken by a member of the public and provided to police will be treated as intelligence.”
