Over the summer I purchased a Nook and promised I would write a review about it, but it's taken me until now to really figure out what I like and don't like about it. I'll just start this off by telling you all that I don't regret buying my Nook at all. I think most people know about the main features of the Nook. Mine isn't the touch screen, it's the original digital ink version. I really like the digital ink except for when you turn the page the screen turns black while the letters rearrange themselves. It's a minor thing, but I do find it annoying after long periods of time. Instead of talking about the features of the Nook, which you can find out for yourself on Barnes and Noble's website, I'm going to talk about how I use my Nook and why I'm glad I have an ereader.
I bought my Nook to read books I wouldn't necessarily want print copies of-- and since I'm pretty cheap when it comes to ebooks that is mostly what I've used it for. I refuse to pay price of a physical book for an ebook. I would rather have the actual book in my hands than have a digital version of it. Maybe I'll change my mind over time, but for now that is how I feel about it. Since I mostly buy copies of books I wouldn't necessarily want a physical version of my Nook has a lot of YA books, romance novels, and galleys. One of the ways I use my Nook is to read while I'm working out. I set it on the elliptical machine and all I have to do is push a button when I want to turn the page. It doesn't interfere with my exercise at all, and it's just one extra way I can zone out. Right now I'm reading Ninth Key (The Mediator, Book 2)
, which is a bit of a mystery, and I find myself wanting to work-out longer to read what happens next. By reading a book while exercising I can finish an extra book every couple weeks.
Reading in the car has always made me carsick, but for some reason reading on my Nook does not. I think it's because it's easier for me to control the movement of the book in my hands, whereas when I read a physical copy my arms jump around so much it's hard for me to focus on the words in the book. Reading in the car is the first thing that got me really excited about having a Nook because I've always wanted to be able to do it.
My favorite Nook story is from last semester. I decided I wanted to write a paper about The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee
and I needed the book in a few days. None of my local bookstores had it so my only option was to order the book online, which would take at least a few days to get at my house and put my paper writing off. I decided to buy the ebook version of it and had it in just a few minutes. I was able to finish the book in two days and got my paper finished on the day it would have arrived had I ordered it. If you need a book quickly, an ereader is a really convenient, fast way to get it.
I thought I would use my Nook a lot more than I have, but the truth is that I'm still extremely attached to physical books. I'll take a physical book over an ebook any day, but like I said earlier, there are books where having the ebook makes more sense for me. I do think I am able to read more books because of the ereader because I can read in places I wouldn't have read in before (like the gym) and I'm able to read books I wouldn't have otherwise read in public (like romance novels in my parents' house). An ereader is not an either or decision, you can have physical books and ebooks, and you can pick and choose how you want to read certain books. I personally like the Nook a lot, but it's really my only ereader experience so I can't compare it to other ereaders very well.
Do you have an ereader? Which one do you have? What do you like about it?
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