Anyone have a nook?

[Senoska]

lolipad

And here you got me all excited. My loli senses were tingling for nothing.

[Max™]

I was going to ask where loli senses tingle... but I really don't wanna know.

[Senoska]

Who are you kidding, you ALREADY know.

[Max™]

Only my common sense tingles.

[Ivve]

I don't have a Nook, but I have a Kindle and I like it a lot for a variety of reasons. I like being able to carry around a lot of books with me at once, and the ability to download new books immediately as soon as I run out of reading material is a fucking lifesaver in some situations. This may make me sound like an asshole, but I like that it affords me more privacy when I'm reading in public. I can't fucking stand it when people try to strike up a conversation with me about what I'm reading, so deflecting that shit by holding a device they probably can't even identify, instead of an actual book, is truly worth the price tag to me. (I don't want to talk to you asshole; that's why I have my face in a book.) I don't know why, but most people leave you alone instead of quizzing you about what an e-reader is like. I like it. I hope that trend never ever changes.

I digress. I've discovered a handful of new authors I like a lot via the free downloads, most of whom I probably wouldn't have heard of otherwise. There are a ton of free books out there, and the ones you do buy are often cheaper than the MSRP of most paperbacks, so it pays for itself relatively quickly.

Also, you don't have to stop buying/reading paper and ink books just because you own an e-reader. You can do both!

Oh, and most of these devices support content from newspapers and blogs as well.

[Max™]

<= probably the only asshole who would be more interested in your ebook reader than if you were reading a paper book.

[Ivve]

If the question is about buying a Nook specifically instead of another e-reader, and not whether or not you should get an e-reader at all, there are a lot of comparison articles out there. This is the most complete device comparison I found (and also the first google result, how nice): http://chamberfour.com/ereader-comparison/

I would also suggest reading support forums, user forums, and lots of user reviews. Some devices are more problematic/buggy than others, and you should probably wait until the next generation of those particular e-readers. Come to think of it, I think the Nook falls into that category. I would definitely look that up.

<= probably the only asshole who would be more interested in your ebook reader than if you were reading a paper book.

I honestly think if anyone ever tried to talk to me about my Kindle, I'd seriously tell them to fuck off. I'm trying to get absorbed in what I'm reading and forget that I'm waiting in the dentist's office for 3 hours, not make new friends with some fuckface with rotted teeth. Or whatever. The situation varies but the sentiment does not. If I'm looking to socialize, I will do that instead of reading. It's not something I whip out to stimulate conversation.

[Linliel]

I don't have a Nook, but I have a Kindle and I like it a lot for a variety of reasons. I like being able to carry around a lot of books with me at once, and the ability to download new books immediately as soon as I run out of reading material is a fucking lifesaver in some situations. This may make me sound like an asshole, but I like that it affords me more privacy when I'm reading in public. I can't fucking stand it when people try to strike up a conversation with me about what I'm reading, so deflecting that shit by holding a device they probably can't even identify, instead of an actual book, is truly worth the price tag to me. (I don't want to talk to you asshole; that's why I have my face in a book.) I don't know why, but most people leave you alone instead of quizzing you about what an e-reader is like. I like it. I hope that trend never ever changes.

I digress. I've discovered a handful of new authors I like a lot via the free downloads, most of whom I probably wouldn't have heard of otherwise. There are a ton of free books out there, and the ones you do buy are often cheaper than the MSRP of most paperbacks, so it pays for itself relatively quickly.

Also, you don't have to stop buying/reading paper and ink books just because you own an e-reader. You can do both!

Oh, and most of these devices support content from newspapers and blogs as well.

THIS. I have a Kindle too and I love it. I haven't tried a Nook but I've read some not-so-impressive reviews about it unfortunately -- though this was from release, maybe it's improved? http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/07/b...e-nook-review/

Also if there are books that haven't been e-readerified there are lots of irc channels you can go on to get e-versions of books (some better quality than others). But I try to buy them as much as I can, since they're not expensive and I like the idea so much that I want to support it.

I can't use the 3G on mine though because I bought an American one and am in Europe, but I don't really miss it; I just load new books on when I buy them and charge the Kindle in the process. I probably put new books on about once a month, which is about how often I need to charge it lol.

Overall I think e-readers are great. They'll never totally replace books but if you do like I did and move 15000 km away they're a huge saving in luggage space.

[Fistandantilus]

ITT: Ivve displays just how antisocial she can be!

I kid, but is it really that bad? I've never struck up conversation with some random guy/girl that was reading, but if they were reading one of my favorite books I think I would definitely say something. I can see being annoyed by people just randomly trying to start pointless bullshit conversation however, because I hate it when people try to talk to me when they really don't have anything interesting to say.

Linliel, was it a typo or do you really only need to charge your kindle once a month? How often are you using it, and what is the battery life? Unless you rarely ever use it that is really impressive, you guys are slowly selling me on getting one :3

[Linliel]

Linliel, was it a typo or do you really only need to charge your kindle once a month? How often are you using it, and what is the battery life? Unless you rarely ever use it that is really impressive, you guys are slowly selling me on getting one :3

I usually read when I go to bed for about half an hour a night, then also on occasional train trips and Saturday afternoons and things, and yeah, only charge it about once a month! I rarely run it down to fumes too. It's really quite energy efficient -- that's the e-Ink for you

ETA: I run it without the wireless on though, if you leave that on it'll definitely not last that long!!

[Max™]

Well, I am a social retard anyways, so knowing that you wouldn't be wanting to strike up a conversation is not what would occur to me, just fascination at your neat toy.

[aers]

I've had 1 person ask me about my Kindle in the past ~8 months, and I read it on public transportation quite a lot; I just think a lot of them don't know what it is, heh.

Ksandra: If you read as much as you do there is absolutely no reason not to invest in an e-book reader, unless you just happen to hate the concept. It's so incredibly convenient to be able to pick up new books on the road or in other such situations.

re: Kindle battery life; there was a software update (2.3) a few months back that improved the battery life quite a bit. With wireless off (and there's no reason to have it on while reading a book..) it does last a very long time. Also, the charger is a USB cable with an outlet adapter, so you can charge it using a laptop if you really need to.

[Linliel]

Also, the charger is a USB cable with an outlet adapter, so you can charge it using a laptop if you really need to.

This is the only way I charge it -- I'd forgotten there was an adapter! but it is useless to me anyway since it's US the kindle is quite quick to charge up too!

As for people asking me, I think I've had 2 people ask me since I moved here. Back in AU I had a couple more people ask me, but Aussies are a bit more likely to start up conversations with strangers than Belgians I think lol

[Julian]

Man, I really want to get an e-reader, but the devices out right now seem so.. primitive, and I just know that within a little while they'll just come up with newer generation ones which will blow the older ones out of the water, so I'm waiting for those, but while I wait I can't read.

I'm not a big reader, so the device would actually take quite some time before paying for itself, which is probably the main reason I'm so hesitant. :/

[Ivve]

ITT: Ivve displays just how antisocial she can be!

I kid, but is it really that bad? I've never struck up conversation with some random guy/girl that was reading, but if they were reading one of my favorite books I think I would definitely say something. I can see being annoyed by people just randomly trying to start pointless bullshit conversation however, because I hate it when people try to talk to me when they really don't have anything interesting to say.

Linliel, was it a typo or do you really only need to charge your kindle once a month? How often are you using it, and what is the battery life? Unless you rarely ever use it that is really impressive, you guys are slowly selling me on getting one :3

The thing is that if I'm in the process of reading the book, I really don't have much to say about it yet. On top of that, Americans don't read. We all know this. The majority of people just bother you to ask if the book is any good and make you talk about the plot that you've only read a portion of anyway. It's never a good conversation, and if it even had the potential to be a good conversation, it's kind of fucking ruined by the fact that I haven't finished the goddamned book yet so I can't really have some kind of meaningful conversation about the symbolism and character motivations. What's more -- I don't care if it's someone else's favorite book. If they seriously pull me out of reading just to pay it fanservice, what the fuck is that and why should I give a shit? How would you feel if every time you stopped at a stop light, someone came up and tapped on your window just to let you know that they've driven the same car you have and they really enjoyed doing so? At first it would be amusing but weird, and then after the 5th or 6th stop light, you'd be like FUCK OFF ALREADY.

I abhor small talk in situations where it's clear that someone else is just bothering you while you're actively involved in something else, just to relieve their own boredom. There are plenty of situations where I have no problem mingling and being sociable, but the simple fact is that I fucking hate being disturbed while I'm reading. I brought a book so I can read that instead of chatting about the weather with Small-talk Sam in the dentist's office. You can call it being an asshole, you can call it antisocial, but the truth is that dentist waiting room lobby conversation are 9.99 times out of 10 not worth having. It's that simple.

Rant off.

As for Kindle battery life, I charge mine less than once a week and I often forget to turn the 3G service off for hours at a time. I agree that the e-readers are somewhat "primitive" in a way, but I also don't need to to perform 500 functions in color on a touch screen that I can navigate with my hi-tech stylus or something. I bought it to read books on, and it performs that task excellently. I already have gadgets that cover every other need I may have. I like that the screen is book-sized, unlike the display on my phone. I like that it doesn't strain my eyes, as reading on a computer can. I like that you press a button to turn a page; scrolling through a .pdf file with your mouse or hitting the spacebar is pretty awful since it's just not really natural posture for me to leave my hands in either of those positions for an extended period of time. I like that I can adjust the size of the text, as some books have print that is either stupidly small or stupidly large. I like that I can move the cursor to any word on the page and it will pull up a dictionary definition at the bottom of the screen. That saves me an incredible amount of time. I like that I can make notes as I read, just like writing in a real book. The customer service is beyond fantastic. Overall, it's just a nice piece of hardware to have for a variety of situations.

I only have a couple of complaints. I have the Kindle 2.0 and I hate the placement of the previous/next page buttons on the left side of the device. I wish there were an option to alter the function of those buttons. (If there is a way, someone point me in the right direction.) I wish the library was larger. There are some older books I'd like to have that haven't been made available in an e-book format yet. The selection of skins/cases is somewhat limited.

[Keria]

I like real books with pages

Also thought this thread was about alcoves.

[Norellicus]

I like the concept of an e-reader but I'm rather afraid of the loss factor involved...if I carry a book on the train, and I lose it unrecoverably, that's $7; if I lose my Kindle, that's $300

It's a silly argument because I have probably close to $1k in tech on my person at all times, but I still have a hard time shaking it.

Plus an armada of books looks impressive on my shelves at home >.>

[Ksandra]

http://chamberfour.com/ereader-comparison/[/url]

hmmm ty for the review. It does look like I really gotta think about this lol.

I don't like how the kindle can't read anything but amazon exclusive so that would sill make me lean more towards the nook., but it definitely seems people still aren't sure whether the nook is worth it....orz XD

[Zeb]

I posted a thread in the tech forum asking for some people's thoughts on the Nook and no one responded. =/ Guess I should have done it here. Personally I'm waiting on Spring Design's Alex ebook reader (which should come out any day now) before I make a purchase. It's $100 more but it may turn out better. The Alex was what the Nook was going to be until they allegedly stole a lot of the design from Spring Design and made their own. It has a lot of cool shit and runs on android so you can put apps on it as well. http://www.springdesign.com/

Edit: You might want to check out www.mobileread.com/forums/ also

[Linliel]

hmmm ty for the review. It does look like I really gotta think about this lol.

I don't like how the kindle can't read anything but amazon exclusive so that would sill make me lean more towards the nook., but it definitely seems people still aren't sure whether the nook is worth it....orz XD

That's not actually true -- it can read PDFs and things like plain text files natively, but it can't read DRM'd ePub files (which you can buy on sony's store and a couple of others). There's some good software you can get to convert most sorts of documents (non-DRM'd) into a format that the Kindle can read, but PDFs are pretty good these days. I use Calibre for that, it's a pretty well maintained app for managing books and runs on a variety of systems.