Merry Wanderer of the Night:
nook

  • My Nook

    My Nook

    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?

    I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

  • Sunday Salon: The nook

    Sunday Salon: The nook
    The Sunday Salon.com

    Yesterday I actually went out and bought Barnes and Noble's nook. The nook and the Kindle are actually the same price, but right now Barnes and Noble is offering a $50 gift card to anyone who is buying the nook and that was an offer I just couldn't pass up. Plus I liked the fact that I could try out the nook in the store whereas with the Kindle I'm ordering it without trying it. And my local Barnes and Noble is offering a class on Tuesday night for people who want to learn more about their nooks. There are some features the Kindle has that the nook does not, but overall I'm happy with my purchase.

    Over Christmas my parents were really adamant that I take another look at e-readers, but I told them I just couldn't give up on having physical books. I just love the feeling of having a book in my hand, turning the pages, and books are my favorite way to decorate. I just love to be surrounded by them. That was all well and good, until I moved out of my dorm last month and realized that my book situation is a little out of control. I had two bookshelves in my dorm room and then I moved back to boxes and boxes of books here. So in May I decided that an e-reader might not be such a bad idea, especially for mass market paperback books that I honestly don't really need to keep. Really most of the popular fiction books I need, I don't need to have the physical book. I still wasn't entirely convinced though, so what made me change my mind?

    What actually made me change my mind was a Books on the Nightstand podcast with Melissa Klug who works in the paper industry and the company she works for actually makes paper for books. There was a really interesting exchange between Melissa and one of the hosts Ann Kingman about e-readers and paper in the age of the e-reader. What made me decide that I wanted to get a nook while listening to this podcast was Ann (I think) said there are some books she wants in physical form and some books that it's okay to have in digital format. This probably makes me look kind of stupid, but that comment really changed my thinking about e-readers. This whole time I've been thinking you either read everything on an e-reader or you read everything in book form, but it doesn't have to be that way. You can buy books in physical form and you can have an e-reader for the books you don't want to have forever. Essentially, you can have your cake and eat it too. This was a really exciting idea for me and so yesterday I finally took the plunge. I've had my nook for less than 24 hours so I still have a lot to explore on it. In a few weeks I'll probably post an actual review of the nook so be sure to check back for that.

    Just in case you missed anything this week I reviewed Just Kids by Pattie Smith, This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson. I also did my second post in my Summer Internship series, a May Wrap-Up, and I had a guest post about how to read and review graphic novels. Overall it was a pretty eventful week at English Major's Junk Food so be sure to take a look at what you missed!

    I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.