I want The Nook. I want it bad. It's pretty and sleek and holds books, books, books.Many rooms in my house look like they belong on an episode of Hoarders. There are books everywhere. And I keep getting more. Because I have an addiction.
When ereaders first came out, I made one of those demon-warding symbols with my fingers. I thought digitlizing books was evil and icky because nothing beats the feel of a book in your hands. Except maybe oxygen. And considering the amount of trees that have died thanks to my book addiction (seriously, I could probably build a new Amazon forest with these suckers), I fear oxygen will become depleted. Which would be bad for the mortals, yah know?
The Nook is so slim. It's the size of ONE book. But I could store ALL of my books in that. The thought of all the space (and trees) that would save is pretty happymaking. I've been dreading The Move (as I'll be moving in the next couple years), which would include boxing up all my books, etc. This would involve A LOT of boxes. (But then again, on the bright side, it would probably also involve a lot of hunky moving men, right?)
I would hate to switch completely from physical books to digital books, because the thought of books becoming strictly digital is slightly horrifying. But it's so handy and dandy and, okay, the handiness isn't the only reason I want the Nook. It has games! And email! And I like new shiny toys. But do I NEED it?
Basically, I blogged to ask your advice...
$259. Is it worth it? And what are your thoughts on ereaders in general?
I've pretty much gone through the same feelings about ereaders as you have. I love love love the nook, but alas do not have one due to being a poor college student.
ReplyDeleteTwo main reasons I lean towards eventually getting one is that it is more environmentally friendly and most ebooks are WAY cheaper.
Some reasons I know I'll never get away from "real" books is that I love the smell of books, I'm going to be a teacher and ereaders cost way too much for schools right now, and how would an author sign an ebook?
I eventually plan on getting one, but I think I'll wait until it costs less and the tech. geniuses come up with even cooler features to add...like being able to check out ebooks from your local library, textbook ebooks, and sharing ebooks with friends for more than 14 days.
In Canada, Chapters and Indigo are coming out with something similar called the Kobo. I've been reading things about the Kindle around the internet book space and it got me wondering about the entire thing.
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea is a great one; storing hundreds of books in one small place that you can hold in your hands. And to travel with it would be absolutely amazing.
But what happens if you damage the Nook or Kobo or Kindle? Would you lose everything that you've paid for or would there be a back-up system? Then what if it gets stolen?
As convenient as it would be, I would rather lose one book some way somehow than losing a hundred books.
I agree with Devan too; if I were to get one of these I would want to wait until they offer a bit more and are more affordable. It is a lot of money to potentially throw away if something goes wrong.
Ohh, I was going to tell you about the Kobo, but K beat me to it. It comes out in the US this summer, costs about $160. A little less fancy than the Kindle or nook, but if you want a bare-bones and functional (and still pretty) e-reader, you can't beat that price. I know that later this year B&N will be coming up with a new version of nook that's supposedly better, and I think also a cheaper version.
ReplyDeleteI was going to get the nook a few months ago for my birthday, but ended up not because after trying it out I felt it could've used a lot more improvements. So I'm going to wait until one that's both pretty AND affordable. :)
I have the same book hoarding condition as you. Only problem is, I pretty much move once a year. (College and all.) Next month I'm moving from the big room in my apartment to the small one. I'm losing a bookcase, and I already have books piled up the wazoo in boxes in my closet. *sighhh*
I actually recently bought a Nook and I love it especially since they updated it. I have no trouble reading books on it and I love playing the games and the new web browser is awesome. I definitely think it was worth the money. =]
ReplyDeleteI got an ereader specifically for travel. If you travel at all or have space issues then they are well worth your cash. Though, for the space/cash issue borrowing books from library is a great alternative. They're also great if you read a lot of tech books or reference books because e-books are way cheaper than the print ones for those and you always have them with you.
ReplyDeleteI'm a book in my hands kind of a person so I don't use an e-reader for everyday, but it's amazing for travel. So great to just take that on the plane or train or in the car instead of 3-4 bulky books. It's also great for day trips to the park.
We're an e-reader plus books kind of household. E-readers have their place and are wonderful additions to any book lovers life.
I sadly know nothing about the Nook. I trust BN so I'm going to trust the Nook, but we have Kindles at our house.
I've been considering a Nook too, but I'm still waiting, because I've heard rumors of some new versions, including a possible Nook lite, that would be a bit cheaper (hopefully!?) and maybe a bit smaller (?)
ReplyDeleteI've been experimenting with reading ebooks on my iPod touch, and have found that I don't really miss the experience of a "real" book -- even if the screen is a bit small, and backlit.
One other plus to the Nook -- it works with Overdrive, which lots of libraries have for their ebook downloads!
I got the Nook for the same reasons you are talking about. While I don't plan on doing away with the piles and piles (ok mountains) of books I already have, I'm hoping that when I buy a NEW book I might maybe get it on my e-reader instead. I've had it for about a month and while I don't think I've used it as much as I would have liked I do like it. Also they just came out with some updates like sudoku/chess, and a beta web browser. You can also take it into the store and read a book for up to an hour or something. So I would say go for it! I'm also hoping it's the only book I take on my 2 week trip next month!
ReplyDeleteDo it!!!!!!!!! I have one and I LOVE IT!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a nook and love it. I recently moved and let me tell you it was hell with all the books I had! I use my nook now to get most of my books and just buy the hardbacks of the ones I love or am really excited about. It really does save space. I totally recommend it. Plus, it's pretty!
ReplyDeleteooooooh...the way you feel about the Nook is how I feel about the iPad. I really really want one. I think ereaders in general are the way of the future for books anyway, and it's only a matter of which one floats your boat personally.
ReplyDeleteI was a (relatively) early adopter of Kindle. My Kindle 1 is two years old and I adore it. 20 minutes into my first Kindle reading session, I forgot that I was using an ereader.
ReplyDeleteI tried out nook and found that the page turn function is slower than on Kindle, which would annoy me. The color miniscreen is very very pretty, though. I'm hoping for something like that with an eventual Kindle 3.
My husband bought me a Kindle for my birthday in Dec and I love it! I thought at first that I would miss books but I still read plenty of paper books too! So I don't feel like I miss out on the experience of having a book in my hands. Also the e-books are a lot cheaper!! It pays for itself in the long run! I don't know about B & N but Amazon backs up all your books so if anything ever happened to my Kindle everything I paid for will still be online.
ReplyDeleteI think they are very worth it !!! :D
As a proud Nook owner, I echo what the other peeps have said. It's absolutely fabulous, and I have totally stopped buying paperbacks (totally relate to the hoarders comment). I thought I might miss the physical turning pages or book-ish stuff, but nope. None. I'm totally in lurve with my Nook, and frequently recommend it to avid readers.
ReplyDeleteThat looks really cool, but wow it costs a lot of money. I guess I like old-fashioned books!
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday!
Melina
I have had a Sony eReader for a few years and it is very simple. It stores a lot of books. If you want books you have to go to the Sony store online, then transfer to the reader. I have recently purchased the Kindle. I debated between the Kindle and the Nook and went with the the Kindle. I really like it, you can access the internet without a wireless connection. It has a lot more features than the Sony. As far as anything happening it is just like with any other gadget, if you buy an extended warranty you are safe and you have a warranty for the first year anyway. Hope that helps, oh yes, I still but books as I love the feel and smell of them but I am being very selective.
ReplyDeleteWell I dunno why, but I preferred the Kindle.. maybe just because the advertisement on amazon sounded better. but the general idea about Ereaders isn't bad at all. I download some Ebooks on my phone myself. so my parents won't know that i staying late reading books and they come in handy while traveling...etc
ReplyDeleteEveryone always thinks they are better for the environment because they don't use paper, but a lot of the materials that are used in our digital devices can not be recycled. Just something to think about. There are a lot of great articles and films available on the topic. : )
ReplyDeleteThis is one electronic I haven't latched onto. I'm a hard-core reader, but I love the feel of a book in my hands, and pages to turn. Besides, when I read during the school day, it's in super-short-sneaky increments, and I imagine it would be obnoxious to turn the ereader on and off all those times. Not to mention my tendency to lose anything electronic.
ReplyDeleteCreatingdiscussion mentioned the enviromental aspect. That's fair consideration, but also remember that if we get all books online...why would we need librarians? Librarians should never be obsolete.
So I'm aware they exist, but I don't care to get one myself.
Lauren - if there were ever a point when books were becoming obsolete and everything was digitilized, I think there would still be libraries. Ebooks still have to be purchased, just like regular books, and we would probably have the right to borrow OR rent them. My library has an online option to download ebooks right now, but also has its actual library. You only get to keep them for two weeks and then they're deleted. IF all books became digitilized, they would still need librarians to pick and purchase books, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut I really don't think it'll get to that point. People still want paper books. But, yeah, the thought is kind of terrifying.
Creatingdiscussion - valid point. But most of our electronics don't NEED to be recycled. Paper does and when it IS recycled, factories produce TONS of pollution. Biodegraton is an entirely different topic, but I assume in a couple decades there will be masses of ipods and laptops refusing to rot in garbage heaps. It's kind of lose-lose. Regardless, I think we really need to start treating Earth better.
I'll bring up more discussions in a later post because I did decide to buy the Nook. :)
I adore my nook. I think it's the perfect gift for readers. You can store all of your favorite books and carry them around wherever you go without loading your purse down with more than one book.
ReplyDeleteI think it's worth the money as well because well, it's just pretty awesome.