Kindle vs. Nook

Wow... another birthday is fast approaching and as is customary for my wonderful, awesome, out-of-this-world husband, I could pick anything I wanted to get. Well, this year I wanted a Kindle. This wasn't a willy-nilly decision. I've spent about a year mulling over whether or not to even convert to an e-reader. My concern was the strain on my eyes and, well, I wouldn't be reading real books anymore. There's something so organic with the look and feel of books... even the smell cannot be replaced. But thanx to a Kindle demo done by my sister, I got over that fast. THE SCREEN LOOKS LIKE THE REAL THING!!! She also purchased a super special cover (I'll be going into that quite a bit in a sec) that REALLY helped me decide to venture into the digital world of reading. And when I said a moment ago that I will not be reading real books anymore, I mean it. With the $200-$400* pricetag on these e-readers, the 'ORGANIZATIONAL' aspect of this item was a huge driving factor on my decision. You don't go spending that kind of money if you don't intend on replacing pricey books AND the furniture to house them. For me, NOT filling bookshelves (and having to clean them) is just SO attractive. Just about the only book that I WON'T be replacing is my Bible. That's only because NO E-READER IN THE WORLD can simulate the Bible reading experience. Well with THAT business out of way... why did I choose The Kindle?

Yes, it's true, the Barnes and Noble Nook has some pretty great and functional features that The Kindle does not have. One of those features being that you can share books. That's a pretty valuable feature. Another great feature (at least for me anyway because I spend quite a bit of time at Barnes and Noble) is that I can "pull" any book off the e-shelf and read it for free while I'm in the store...only with The Nook. No longer do you have to leave the reading chair that took you an hour to find to put a book back only to return to your seat and it's gone. Also, the digital color display on the bottom of the e-reader might be an attraction for some, but was more of a distraction for me. Finally, the screen on The Nook DOES appear to be slightly bigger to me, over the screen on The Kindle, but The Kindle's screen also appears to be slightly more crisp. The screen alone was not a deal breaker for me.

The deal breaker: Going back to the loss of reading real books, The Kindle has an option of "locking" the e-reader into a case. And for me... a leather case. DING, DING, DING! The makers of The Kindle BRILLIANTLY thought to integrate the e-reader into a case making the reader itself be a "page" so when you "open" your e-book, fold the case cover back and hold it in your hand, it feels like the real book-reading experience. Add to that brilliance the fact that my case is leather and I can ALMOST pretend I have a real book in my hand. Even the timing on the page turn mimics the rhythm of actual page turning. The Nook takes a bit longer, and for me that made a difference.

So, while The Nook certainly has more value-added features and a smaller price tag, something seemingly simple and VERY aesthetic won me over in the end. But honestly, either way you go with an e-reader, it makes perfect sense to this reader for no other reason than the cost savings on books and the space savings with less stuff to have to dust! Woo Hoo... no more bookshelves! Guess who will be taking an ENTIRE LIBRARY with her on vacation this year packed in the size of a small paperback???

* The only other e-reader that I know about is made by Sony. This reader has never seen one in person and didn't want to when I found out the screen on it is back lit, therefore, the Sony was not included in this comparison.

***I did however see, hold and use The Kindle (my sister's) and The Nook (at Barnes and Noble).

UPDATE: I may have spoken too soon... THERE'S MORE YOU PROBABLY SHOULD KNOW.