The first day back to school after a glorious two-week holiday break brought streams of students to the library gushing about the ereaders they had received for Christmas. From
Nooks
to
Kindles
, to
PanDigitals, it seemed everyone had an ereader. Then the kids started asking about what I had, and I was forced to admit that though the idea of an ereader really excited me, I had yet to take the plunge.
"The NookColor is awesome!" they squealed. "I love my Kindle; you should get one," they said. Students even brought in their ereaders to school and encouraged me to play around with them, in hopes that I would deem their ereader best and immediately run out and buy one. Three weeks back to school, and I've yet to commit.
So what's holding me back? Uncertainty. I know that I want an ereader. But after all of my research and test driving, I'm still at a loss to figure out
which ereader I want. Here's my thinking:
Barnes & Noble Nook (specifically, the NookColor)
Pros:
- Nook loves libraries! You can borrow books from your library via OverDrive
- Ability to "share" books with other Nook friends
- Available in color = appealing for reading magazines and picture books
- Greater internet capabilities
- I'm always getting B&N giftcards
Cons:
- $249 is a lot of money
- What if B&N goes out of business or simply loses the ereader war?
- What if the next Kindle plays well with libraries and is color and is cheaper?
Pros:
- Attractive $139 price tag
- E Ink is perfect for beach and poolside reading (which I plan to do a lot of during summer break)
- As the dominating ereader, it probably isn't going anywhere
Cons
- I don't really buy books. I check them out from the library. Kindle does not like libraries.
- E Ink is great for outdoors, but bad for reading in bed, which I do every night. Buying a book light for a fancy ereader seems silly and kind of obnxious.
- I never get Amazon giftcards. What will I do with all the B&N giftcards if I buy a Kindle?
Pros:
- Compatible with B&N ebooks and OverDrive
- Available in color = appealing for reading magazines and picture books
- Greater internet capabilities
- $199 price tag falls right in the middle, and seems to offer the most bang for your buck
Cons:
- Less popular brand = doubts about winning/continuing to participate in the ereader war long term
- Haven't gotten to play with one of these yet, so unsure about pageturning, etc.
- Edited to Add: Reviews like this don't make it sound so nice. Yikes!
So that's where I'm at. A large part of me is sick of carrying a weighty separate bag of books every time I travel. And not being an active participant in the ereader craze makes me feel a disconnect with my readers (students) and fellow librarians. But part of me thinks I should just continue to wait and see what happens before wading into the marketplace, because I'm afraid of making a bad decision. What to do?
All opinions are welcome.
The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.
I knew that as soon as I got a Nook
, Kindle
would become library-friendly. And lo and behold, dozens of news outlets are reporting today that Kindle will be creating a feature to allow users to borrow ebooks from their libraries through Overdrive. EarlyWord has a roundup of articles.
Today marks the start of the LibrariYAn's thirty-first year on earth. I'm celebrating turning thirty-one-wonderful the best way I know how: friends, pizza, ice cream cake and board games (and perchance some adult beverages). Lucky for me, the LibrariMAn (aka my husband) showered me with some spectacular gifts, including a NOOKColor
cover/case and a screen protector
.
by Carrie Ryan* downloaded and was reading!