Finally Caved: Got Myself a Killer of the Art of Books (aka NOOK SIMPLE TOUCH)

Wanna skip the rant and get straight to the review? Scroll dooooown!

 
I feel as if I have failed. I've always (loudly) protested against E-readers. "Viva el Libro," I would yell indignantly. "Down with the E-readers!" Who in their right mind would give up the supple feel of paper and the risk of paper cuts? Give up the raw, sensual scent of Eau de la Old Books?

It was unthinkable for me. Yet, I was weak. I was lost. I was running out of space, dangit!

My bookcase is currently literally listing to the side against my wall. All FIVE shelves are packed tightly with DOUBLE rows of books, one in front of the other. I have additional books piled in the two drawers of my nightstand table. Even MORE books in two duffel bags behind my bed. And more YET in a tote bag on the shelf in my closet.

 

I went to Strands the other day, THE Strands, and didn't buy books (as in left a bookstore empty-handed. Me.) because I knew I had no more space. That is a travesty as far as I'm concerned. So, what's a girl to do if she needs more books like she needs air, but doesn't have space to put 'em? She starts thinking about an e-book reader, that's what. One that could hold thousands of books, in one teeny tiny package.

So, the battle began: KINDLE VERSUS NOOK SIMPLE TOUCH

   

I spent the whole day at work reading product specs, comparing prices, and reading endless reviews trying to decide. Here's the breakdown as far as I know:

1. They're practically the SAME DAMN THING! Both allow you to buy books and read books. As simple as that. And the quality of reading is pretty much the same, as well as the size (nook is slightly heavier and has touchscreen while Kindle has 5 way controller).

2. CUSTOMER SERVICE is a big big big giguantuan tie-breaker here. Barnes and Nobles customer service apparently SUCKS (and not in a very fun way), while Amazon is a company you can definitely count on.

3. A good selection of BOOKS are available both at Amazon and BN, but BN seems to have a slightly larger selection from what I've read. Also, the Nook ebooks are in the more widely accepted .EPUB format, while the Kindle is in a funky .AZW format. Both side of proprietary rights, meaning you can only read purchased Kindle and Nook books on their respective products (i.e. It's mine and you can't have it!), but you can get .EPUB books from other online retailers and read on your nook.

4. Kindle lets you STORE about 1,000, as does the Nook. But the Nook gives you the option of expandable storage with an SD card.

5. PRICE was an important factor for me as I'm broke. I happened to have a gift card, which is why I was thinking of a e-reader in first place. Amazon offers Kindle for $69 with ads (or Special Offers as they call it and these show up on Home screen and screensaver) and $89 for one without ads. The Nook is $79. While not mentioned, it has recommendations on main screen I've been told.

At this point, I was completely and utterly TORN between the two. I was leaning towards the Nook for it's ebook format and expandable storage, but towards the Kindle because of the reassurance of excellent customer care if I ever needed it.

THEN, (here's where it gets tricky) I went to BestBuy.com to see if they have both products because there's a BestBuy on my way home and I could play with both items and make my decision that way. And what do I find? The Nook Simple Touch for $50.00! I hemmed and hawed (the supposedly bad customer service was really worrisome), but I couldn't resist $50.00. Heck the was price was so good, my mother impulsively handed me her card and said, "hey, get me one of those too."

It's official. As of June 13th, 2013 (when it should arrive at nearest BestBuy store for pickup), I will be a proud (hopefully) owner of a Art of Reading killer, I mean e-book reader, the Nook Simple Touch.


I will write a more formal review after I receive it and play with it some.

EDIT (+ Review): 

I've had my Nook for 3 weeks and I like it a lot. It does everything as I expected. It's light enough for me to read for hours. I got a cute carrying case for it and can easily toss it into my bag. Navigation is easy enough and is buying books. I haven't needed customer service yet, so can't speak on that yet. My only complaints would be that the battery life isn't as long as advertised and I wish it had a light to read by at night. Now that it's summer, I read endlessly and it barely lasts about a week, let alone a month. So, they LIED! And I know that the Simple Touch GlowLight exists, but I read too many reviews about the light bleeding through when the screen rips that I didn't want to risk it. But I am otherwise very happy.

Thanks for reading!
Fatuma