Joining the Dark Side with a NOOK

Photo credit: Yes, I'm a fabulous photographer

A few months ago I wrote a slightly hyper post possibly influenced by a sugar rush explaining why I didn't yet have an e-reader.

For those of you who didn't read it (or else don't click that pretty blue link up there), I came to the conclusion that the e-reader I wanted was out of budget, but we would see how I felt around Christmas.

WELL. As some of you most astute readers probably noticed, I did indeed write those summarizing sentences in the past tense there is indeed a reason for that.

I received a gift, you see. An e-reader gift. Specifically, a NOOK gift (the e-ink Simple Touch variety). So for those of you who still swear completely by print books, I suppose I've joined the dark side. And I'm not apologetic.

Firstly, I still love print books and just because I'm officially the owner of an e-reader and, naturally, a few e-books, doesn't mean I won't continue to buy print books. I will— in fact, that hardest part I've found is now deciding which books to buy for my NOOK and which to buy for my bookshelf. It's a much more difficult decision than you might think, but I digress.

Secondly, I have discovered that owning a NOOK (or any e-reader for that matter) is a dangerous thing for writers and readers alike. For anyone who's friends with me on Goodreads, you've probably noticed that in the past couple of days I've added about a bazillion books to my TBR pile (ok, I exaggerate— I've added a little less than ten in four days, but STILL). The reason for this is indeed my NOOK.

You see, having an e-reader is basically like having a bookstore on your lap. If you see a book that interests you online, you can whip out your e-reader and read a sizable sample. If you're bored and flipping through covers on the online bookstore on your e-reader and see something that interests you— download a sample and read it. One of your Goodreads friends finished a book you haven't read and loved it? Go get that e-reader and download a sample to read STAT.

As you can imagine, I've read quite a few samples. In fact, they're pretty much what determines whether or not I buy the book 100% of the time.

Because I came to realize it's not so different from what I do in a bookstore. At bookstores I walk through the shelves, pick up something that interests me, read the blurb—and if I like it—move on to the first few pages. If I don't like it, I'd put it down and move on.

Turns out, it's the same thing with e-readers. Samples that I don't like get archived. Samples that I read and love are left to torture me on my NOOK until I finally cave in and buy it.

I think I'll be reading much more this year.

So for those of you who are wondering, quick pros and cons of the NOOK Simple Touch.

Pros : It's affordable (only $99), the e-ink screen is very easy to read on (as opposed to backlit screens which can tire your eyes out), it's small and light enough to be easily portable and the battery life is pretty fantastic. I read online that it's something like 14 days with heavy use. I charge mine every couple of days once the battery starts dipping below 50%, but I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the battery's resilience. Also, you can add storage through an SD card which I suppose is always a plus.

Cons: There isn't any color! Yes, I obviously knew that my NOOK Simple Touch wasn't going to have color as it has an e-ink screen (which I'm finding more and more that I actually enjoy reading on), but it makes me a little sad inside when I flip through my little virtual bookshelf and everything is in black and white. The covers just aren't nearly as pretty as the ones sitting on my bookshelf (or my iPod, for that matter). And, you know, the new book smell isn't there when reading an e-reader. Which is a little sad.

I've also noticed that Barnes and Noble tends to have less promotional little things for their e-books (in comparison to Kindle books). I can't tell you how many times I've seen free or discounted offerings for a Kindle book, when the NOOK counterpart was, erm, not. That combined with Amazon's constant LOOK! SHINY KINDLE! DID YOU BUY ONE YET? on their homepage (I'm a Prime member, so I suppose I kind of asked for it) while I'm all noooo Amazon, I have an e-reader, kthanks can be a little irritating, but hey! It's a minor thing, really.

So that about covers it, really. I think I'm going to go read now.

Thoughts! Do you have an e-reader? If you do, what do you think? If you don't, tell us why you're holding out! There are e-readerish things to discuss!