My new Nook

Ebook readers have come down to a price point where I finally considered them. I bought a Nook this week. The price, and the fact that our local library systems (Cobb where we live, and Fulton where I work) are offering Overdrive, an online system which allows the library patron to download digital books for two-week loans. But not for the Kindle, which requires that you enter a strictly monogamous relationship with Amazon and pay for everything you read from their online store, while the Nook is a bit more sympathetic to the licentious and free-loving public library. Thus, it was the Nook for me!

So I’ve actually read a book “cover to cover,” so to speak, for the first time on my portable device. It went quite well. The e-ink is easy on the eyes and while I rather liked the graceful page-turning simulation of the iPad, the short flash of the page transition on the Nook is something you get used to rather quickly.

Some things that don't transfer to the new way of reading books-- I miss gazing at the cover art on paper and ink books, reading the jacket flaps, and learning about the history of the font used on the last page of the bound volume. Sometimes I’m a lazy or distracted reader and have to page back to review something I’ve missed in a previous chapter. This is not as easy to do in an eBook, though something you probably could get used to. I also like taking stock of a book before I read it, sort of seeing the lay of the land—how long are the chapters? how dense is the text? Is there a lot of dialog, letters or diary entries? You can’t really glean this kind of info as easily from an eBook. But maybe it's just a learning curve.

Still, my virgin eBook experience was a pleasant enough experience. The Nook is not too heavy, one can read it one-handed and even balance it on a table-top or pillow (with its designer cover) as you recline on the couch. And I had it in full sun and could still read it. So maybe it would work on the beach. It certainly would be a better travel companion than 5 bulky hardcovers.

What was the first book I read? Star Island by Carl Hiaasen. I actually bought it from the B&N bookstore for $9.99. But now I’m reading a library book Julie and Julia. Gotta be disciplined though, because I only have it for two weeks, there’s no way to renew it, or pay late fines on it even if I want to keep it longer-- no librarian privilege or override on eBooks. If I’m not done when it’s due, it disappears from my device. Well not disappears exactly, but “expires” in every sense of the word. Too bad there’s no way to pay an overdue fine of .10 cents a day to extend it. This may come later. kvz