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 Post subject: Nook owners?
PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:20 pm 
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Looks like B&N slashed the price of the Nook (Amazon followed suit with the Kindle as well). WiFi Only is $149 and the Wifi + 3G version is $199 (basically $50 less).
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/inde ... ont-_-nook

I've had one for a couple of weeks. I really like it. I do a lot more reading than I used to. I find the screen very easy on the eyes. My only complaint is the frame is a bit shiny/glossy, and can have annoying reflections, but other than that I'm really happy with it.

My local library has digital ebook checkout available (book selection is a bit light, but should get better) via Adobe Digital Editions.

I also read that Orielly Books is publishing DRM free ebook versions of a lot of their newer books now too, which is nice.

Any other Nook owners out there?

Recommendations for digital reading material?


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:26 pm 
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Kaffis and I both have nooks (surprise, surprise). :D

I really like mine. I'm something of a gadget whore, so I wound up getting both a Kindle and a nook, and I prefer the nook. Admittedly, the iPad has supplanted them both, but the customizability of the nook won it the spoot of 'best dedicated e-reader" to me. Plus it had wifi, and before I moved to civilizatio...er Nashville, the 3G service in my area was nonexistent, so wifi was the only option for cordless ebook purchase transfers. The loaning feature is nice too, despite the archaic restrictions on it.

As per my usual, I highly recommend Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. I've also just begun Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, and it is superlative, even to someone like me who has tired of the high-fantasy genre.


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:59 pm 
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Yeah, I love my nook. I fell in love when I saw FarSkeee's, and no backlit LCD screen is going to supplant it anytime soon.

I'm still crossing my fingers that the loaning gets the once-per book per owner restriction lifted by the time it's declared out of beta, in favor of building up loans over time or something.

Since I got it in late May, I've been re-reading Dresden Files on it (surprise, surprise?), but I've also picked up a few of my favorites like Ender's Game. It's really rather cool, Tor is having new covers commissioned for a lot of their classics as they get converted to ebooks; the Ender's Game e-cover, for instance, is fantastic. And the nook's color navigation screen renders it beautifully.

I find the size to be just about perfect. It can slip into my pocket or the front pocket (though it's certainly not invisible when I do so) on my laptop case with ease, and yet the viewable screen area is about paperback size. The forward/back button placement is such that I can comfortably hold it in either hand one-handed, with the weight resting on the fleshy bit of my palm by the thumb, with my thumb extended up the side for page advancement and my fingers supporting the nook at the proper angle.

I hadn't realized that anybody had hashed out an e-book lending system for libraries yet, that's fantastic news.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:39 pm 
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Kaffis Mark V wrote:
I hadn't realized that anybody had hashed out an e-book lending system for libraries yet, that's fantastic news.


Once I hear these systems are working well, it may push me over the edge of getting an e-reader. (My wife has already been dropping hints about the Kindle. :)


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:45 pm 
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The first book I downloaded and read was a book called "Clapton's Guitar", which is about a guy named Wayne Henderson, who custom guitar builder that lives in Rugby WV (pop 20). The story is that he had never heard of Eric Clapton, but somehow Clapton stumbled on one of his guitars in a recording studio and insisted on having one. He eventually got one, but he had to wait several years, just like everyone else... It was a pretty fun read...

A also downloaded the primary Tolkien books (Hobbit + Trilogy), with the intention of re-reading them (it's been about 20 years). Just started on The Hobbit... I'll see if that motivates me to re-read the rest of them.

I'd also like to re-read the Shannara books (Terry Brooks), as I see there have been some new content added to the series.

I went looking for the Stephen R. Donaldson, Lord Fouls Bane/White Gold Wielder books, but haven't found digital versions yet. I also wanted to get a digital copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (for nostalgia reasons).

I also downloaded a couple of Lance Armstrong's books, both technical (cycling specific) and motivational (Cancer survivor stuff), but haven't gotten around to read them yet.

Here is the page with info on the Orielly eBooks.
http://oreilly.com/ebooks/

I've also been tempted to try reading some 'classics' from the google books cache, although I suspect those will just turn into insomnia cures. :p

http://books.google.com/


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 10:17 am 
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I've had the Sony Reader since September of last year, but have been off-and-on drooling over the Nook ever since it was announced a couple of weeks later. Placement of the page-turning buttons and direct downloads to the device are, to me, the only advantages the Nook seems to have over my device but they're looking like pretty strong advantages. When our finances get better, I might seriously consider switching.

Midgen wrote:
Recommendations for digital reading material?
Project Gutenberg is the place where you can download over 32,000 free ebooks to read on your PC, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone, Android or other portable device.

Between Google Books and Project Gutenberg, I've read 10 books in the past 8 months that I either had never read before or hadn't read since I was 14 and probably never would have otherwise. "Free" is a truly wonderful thing :D

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 10:34 am 
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The 1.4 firmware that came out last night made a dramatic improvement in load times when you first open a book. Definitely worth the price of admission (free!).

Now if they'll just add some improvements to library managment, I'd be a happy dude!.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 10:38 am 
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for anyone thinking about getting a Nook (or any ereader really), you might wander into your local Barnes and Noble and fondle one, spend some quality time looking at the screen, and getting a feel for the device.

Also, for nook owners (or those considering), it might be worth stopping in to a store and talking with the nook kiosk folks. At the B&N where I bought mine, they had a bunch of info on local libraries and digital book availability. They can also tell you about the in store features (ready any ebook while in the store free for 1 hour). They have also been giving out coupons for free ebooks (you supposedly need to take your nook with you to get this).


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:08 pm 
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Midgen wrote:
They can also tell you about the in store features (ready any ebook while in the store free for 1 hour). They have also been giving out coupons for free ebooks (you supposedly need to take your nook with you to get this).
...

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:14 pm 
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Yeah, they had one of Butcher's books for free last month.

Apparently there are also frequent giveaways for free coffee/pastries for Nook owners.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:01 pm 
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Also of note to anyone thinking of buying an e-reader in the near future : the Kobo from Borders comes to the U.S. on July 2nd.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:04 pm 
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At this point, however, with the Kobo still priced at $149.99 (and having fewer features) there's no reason to get it over a Nook.

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 Post subject: Re: Re:
PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:28 pm 
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Khross wrote:
Midgen wrote:
They can also tell you about the in store features (ready any ebook while in the store free for 1 hour). They have also been giving out coupons for free ebooks (you supposedly need to take your nook with you to get this).
...


Just to clarify, it's not any book... it's a specific book.. one each week for the last five weeks. I'm not sure what the current status of the promotion is. Last time I was in the store was two weeks ago, and they were still giving out the coupons for the books from weeks one and three (but were out week two). I don't know what books were given for weeks four and five.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:30 pm 
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Shelgeyr wrote:
Also of note to anyone thinking of buying an e-reader in the near future : the Kobo from Borders comes to the U.S. on July 2nd.


It was the promotions of the Kobo that got me looking into eReaders in the first place. I considered waiting for one, and also considered the kindle, but ultimately, all things considered, I think the Nook is the best thing going right now.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:39 pm 
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NephyrS wrote:
At this point, however, with the Kobo still priced at $149.99 (and having fewer features) there's no reason to get it over a Nook.
Agreed, but I don't think it'll be long before the Kobo drops to $99 to maintain it's "cheapest e-reader" position.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:49 pm 
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Probably, but I've heard people predicting Nook/Kindle price drops to sub-$100 by the end of the year.

Also note: If you've bought a Nook in the past two weeks, you can get a refund for the difference in price.

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