Thursday, September 23, 2010

I Broke Down and Bought The Nook!!

I finally did it after much himming and hawing I broke down and bought the Nook.  It took me over two years to finally make a decision. I always said I would not buy one. I like the physical beauty of a book. I like the touch, smell and roughness and actual turning of the pages. 

I did see the Kindle on Amazon. But I did not like the idea that you could not see it until it was sent to you. Or you could set up a meeting to meet someone that had one. I talked to a few people that owned electric readers. They all told me that the Kindle was great. But, I also heard that your files were easily lost. You could not share download for each of your electronics( phone, e reader, computer etc.)  between your computer and the Kindle.  That what turned me off.

I did see, up front and personally the Kindle in Best Buy but it did thrill me.  For the past year I have been bugging the employees to show me the demonstration of the Nook.  But I just did not want to pay the price of $358.  But when all the devices went down in price when the ipad came out to $199 for the WiFi and $149  without WiFi. I knew eventually I was going to get it. The only thing I thought would I keep using it? Or would it end up being a novelty? I will find out in a couple months and I will let you know.
So far, I like the Nook.  I like the idea of bringing a slender device to read at a doctor's office.  Like the idea you get get free reads, you can listen to music while you are reading too. But I have not tried that out yet. 

The best thing I think is the best employees at the Barnes and Noble in Myrtle Beach. They have great support staff, and they have trained everyone if anyone has a question. Even the employees that work in the cafe. If you don't understand something you can bring it in.  They will give you individual attention and they have patience. Where the Kindle you can either talk to someone over the phone or email. 

The only thing I wonder is what will happen to my reading habits. I still have a reason to go to Barnes and Noble. I study and sit in the cafe. I like the idea that you can sit in the cafe and read a book for free. I do have to verify that I understand though you can only read for a hour. But I need to make sure. You also get free perks when you bring in your Nook while you are in the store.

My Nook is not a virgin any longer. My first down load was by Joyce Maynard, The Good Daughters.  It was pretty easy to down load.  Just love the idea it looks like a book. Not like when I am doing research for school and it just looks like reams and reams of paper never ending.

What I am wondering is what will happen to the book stores with all the technology. I am in the older 50 crowd. I don't know if my age bracket will go that way.  What will happen? Will it be like Blockbuster, that the written word will be phased out? In some ways I like this because of ecology and going green.

I still like the written word. What are your thoughts? What do you have a Kindle or a Nook? What are your feelings about the Kindle Or Nook?