One Week Later

Last week, I ventured into the e-reader world. I debated it for a while, and then finally took the leap and ordered a Nook Color. When the box arrived, I could hardly contain my excitement. I was a little bewildered, because the box was huge. You could have fit several outfits in this box. My first reaction was 'this is NOT going to take up less room than the stack of books I currently pack.' Fortunately, it was a case of a box in a box in a box, and finally, several boxes later, I arrived at the Nook box.

I opened the box, looking for the manual. There was just a small pamphlet. How was I supposed to know how to use it? The pamphlet showed which button was the power button, and when I turned it on I found the manual was actually downloaded ON the Nook. Novel. Good thing I figured out how to turn it on so I could read the manual! The first instructions told me to charge my Nook to a full charge before using it. Apparently a full charge takes 3 hours. This was disappointing. It was already after 6pm, and charging the Nook for 3 hours would cut into the evening, leaving me little time to figure it out before bed. But charge it I did, although I cheated a little and went only about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Then the next step was getting it to recognize our WiFi network. For this, I needed a password. And Erich could not remember the password. He kept coming up with passwords, and none was the correct one. He asked 'what happens if I can't remember the password?' I checked the support website, and in the FAQ, it said 'if you don't know the password, ask your network administrator, or the person who set up the network'. Helpful. Our network administrator IS the person who set up the network, and that person is Erich. After reading the various notes around his desk, he gave me a list of several possible passwords, and the first one worked. Whew!

So after my Nook Color was charged and hooked up to our WiFi, it was time to start looking for books! I knew there were a lot of free books available, so I started there. I downloaded about 30, and then decided I needed to start reading and stop downloading. I have yet to actually buy a book, but I'm sure I will before long. I did buy the solitaire game pack for it, and enjoy trying to figure out the different games.

I showed Erich's Mom my new toy. She is a retired librarian, and avid book lover. Her reaction was 'I'm so glad you went with the Nook Color and not a Kindle'. She doesn't have an e-reader yet, but her plan is to get the Nook Color. Erich's Dad didn't know what it was, so we were trying to explain it to him. His question was 'how do you get books on that?' I explained that I download them directly to the device, and he just shook his head as if it's too much for him. I suspect my own Dad (and possibly Mom) will react the same. All that new fangled technology!

There are a few reasons I chose the Nook Color over the other e-readers. I had researched each of them. I listened to my friends- there seems to be an equal number of Kindle owners and Nook owners. I read numerous reviews, compared the pros and cons of each. The things that pushed me into the Nook Color were:

1) It is in full color. The book cover is my first impression of the book, and many times it is what draws me to the book to pick it up and read the overview or the jacket.

2) It is WiFi. This means I can connect to the network at my house, or even at Mom's. I don't need to have a computer available.

3) You can surf the web on it. Don't laugh, but knowing that I could connect to facebook on my Nook Color was one of the things that sealed the deal. Due to my frequent travels, I find myself sitting in airports a lot, and yes, there are times that I think 'oh, I wish I could put that on facebook right now'. I am a facebook addict. I'm trying to get help.

4) It is Barnes & Noble. My family can buy me gift cards for B&N, and I can use those for books. My Mom doesn't shop on Amazon.

I have to say, I love my Nook Color. My friends are now saying 'we knew you would!' There are some drawbacks. The touchscreen took some getting used to. When the Nook Color is off, I see all the fingerprints on the screen and it's annoying. But if you have the Nook Color on, you don't see the fingerprints. It is a little heavier than I expected, and so I can't hold it as long as I might a regular book (unless of course, that regular book is one of my Civil War tomes- then they are about the same). If I have WiFi enabled, the battery wears down quicker than if I have WiFi off. And, since it is basically a small computer screen, my eyes get more tired looking at it than a paper book. Also, it is ONLY a WiFi device. I cannot hook it up to my computer, something I realized this week. A friend kept sending me links to free e-books, and I couldn't figure out how to get them onto my Nook. She told me to just hook it up to my computer, and I told her I can't. In fact, it says that in the manual. But, there are still 2 million books available, and there's no chance I'll read them all, so I'm not wanting for books.

The things I love about it are that it is really a little computer. I can read books, play games, and it even has Pandora-which came in handy the past few nights. I need noise to sleep. I usually fall asleep with my TV on. The cable connecting my TV and cable box is bad, and there's been no signal on my TV. The cable tech is coming this afternoon to fix it. Thankfully, my Nook Color has Pandora- I just logged into that and fell asleep to my Nook Color playing music! And since it's backlit, I actually could do some reading in bed in the dark. Another bonus.

I have browsed the web with it. In fact, I checked out my cousin's wedding registries the other day. It is not the best thing for browsing the web long term, for example, I won't be writing any blog entries on it or spending hours at a time on the web on my Nook Color. But for a few minutes, it's not bad. It will be perfect for those airport hours. When I look at the size of the Nook Color and think how many books I can fit on it, I see a lot more room in my suitcase! I see room for shopping trips and souvenirs. Of course, some people think 'my suitcase will be lighter', but I'm a realist. It may be lighter on the trip going, but coming back, it will most likely be full. My mother was thrilled that I won't be leaving stacks of used books at her house. I can even download children's books and games to use when babysitting Sydney and Drew. I don't know that I'll do that though, I'm a little weary of handing over such an expensive electronic device to the two of them. We may just stick to reading books the old fashioned way.

So yes, I love my Nook. But I'm not giving up on traditional books. In fact, I ordered four traditional books just last night!