We are now home from our road trip and it can be revealed: my anniversary gift this year is a nook! So, "what's a nook?" you might ask. A nook is an ereader--a gadget where you can read books and other printed material. This is in place of reading an actual book. (I'm not trying to insult everyone, if you all know what ereaders are--it's just that some people don't have a clue.) There are several different ereaders other then the nook--Amazon, for example, has the Kindle and Sony has one, too. After much research, I decided on the nook--for various reasons I will only mention if someone asks. (I don't want to bore anyone.)
The nook is about the size of a paperback book--BUT it is only .5" thick. It has enough memory in it to store about 1500 books. And you can add memory with microSD cards. There are over one million books available for the nook from Barnes & Noble--and there are more than can be found online. This is quite a dangerous purchase for me, as I LOVE books! And, for the most part, all of the books that you can buy for the nook are a bargain: current bestsellers are about $10 each and there are many, many books for less than that or for free. With the average hardcover book selling for $25 or more, the prices on ebooks are outstanding.
I haven't gotten the nook up and running as of yet--I have to charge it first--but I KNOW I am going to love it. Being able to take numerous books with me at all times and being able to buy and download books WHEREVER I am at ANY time is amazing. I'm definitely going to have to learn the meaning of the word restraint. :)
Does this mean I'm done buying 'real' books? Absolutely not. I still will buy hard copies of my favorite authors and I have a few series that I intend to continue collecting. Then, of course, every once in a while there will be another book that is special for one reason or another, so I will buy it. All in all, I will have the best of both worlds when it comes to books--and I will probably bankrupt us with all of the books that I buy, in whichever form. :D
