Nook Over Here!

If you're a long-time reader of my blog, and have an incredible memory, you may recall that it was about this time last year that I was contemplating the purchase of an e-reader. I outlined the pros and cons of it in that earlier post, and won't rehash them here. Suffice it to say, I decided at the time to "wait for the next generation" and check back.

Since then, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble have released a new Kindle and Nook, respectively. What's more, a couple of my friends had picked up one or the other device and were happy to discuss what tipped the scales for them.

Here's what did it for me:

First, my own buying habits have changed. At this time last year, I was still buying CDs more than MP3s, ripping them for my player, and then preserving them on my ever-growing shelves so I could "physically own something." These days, the only CDs I buy are limited run soundtrack albums from online sites that don't offer MP3 purchase options. I've gotten over that feeling that you only really own an album if you have something taking up space in your house. And that in turn has made me come around to thinking that if I find owning a relatively light, relatively small CD so burdensome (hell, "compact" is right there in the name CD), why am I so keen on having a much heavier, much bulkier collection of books?

The stalwart counterargument in my mind continued to be, "ah, but you can't loan an e-book out as freely as you can a real book!" (Most e-books can't be lent at all; the few that can are typically "one time only, for two weeks only.") So I decided to really challenge that point and see just how often I really did loan out books to people. In this calendar year, I have tried to loan out books three times, and was actually rejected in all three cases. Twice, the prospective reader decided they didn't really have enough time or interest for my recommendation; the third time, the person just went out and bought his own copy of the book. So that argument now had a fairly gaping hole in it.

Meanwhile, on the hardware side, the newest Nook was basically "just what I was looking for" and couldn't get this time last year. The "Simple Touch Reader" is basically all touch-screen, without dead space for a keyboard you'll rarely use at the bottom. It's small -- roughly the size of a paperback. And it's made a lot of strides in improving the "page refresh" issue of the last generation e-readers. Page turns on this device are significantly faster, fast enough to keep up with my reading speed. Plus, the full screen "black flash" only occurs maybe once every four or five page turns, rather than with every page turn.

So, just a week before I left for my Orlando trip, I took the plunge and bought myself a new Nook. Just a short time (and a few books) later, I'm already completely hooked. I've completely adjusted to reading on the Nook as opposed to the printed page. (In fact, I'm wondering how the book experience will feel to me when I go back to it -- to read the next Wheel of Time book, for example.)

I should also note the great battery life on this thing. I've had Wifi enabled on it since I opened the package (except for the days of my Orlando trip), and I've been using it quite regularly. It still has a quarter of a charge left.

Oh, now you want to borrow a new book from me? Sorry bud, but "I got mine." And I would definitely recommend it for you too, if you're an avid reader.