My New Nookcolor

What I'm reading: Espresso Shot, by Cleo Coyle

Since there's too much to cover in a single post, my 'review' of my nookcolor will be ongoing—especially since I'm still learning. I'm not trying to promote this reader over print books or any other readers; as my earlier post said, there should be choices in book formats, so why not choices in readers? I hope my notes will help you decide if the nookcolor might have the features you want.

My new nookcolor (hereafter abbreviated as NC, so as not to confuse anyone who thinks this is a 'regular' Nook) arrived on schedule Saturday afternoon. Aside from the usual difficulties in separating the contents from the secure packaging—the section with the cables was very hard to get at, and the spot marked "pull to remove" on the plastic covering of the NC itself didn't have an easy way to grab it so one could actually pull—step one, charging the unit was easy. And because you can use it while it charges, I didn't have to wait (although I did run through the simple user's guide that came with it.)

Now, I mentioned before that my primary reason for buying the nc was because it was getting harder to find content I liked for my eBookwise and because the NC was one of the only new readers with the back lit, LCD screen. Since I haven't used any other readers, my notes are based on comparing my eBookwise with my new NC.

Reading? It's About Choices

What I'm reading: All in Time, by Ciana Stone

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and pictures, Patricia. And if you ever want to send me another batch for a Friday Field Trip, I'd love to have them.

There's been a lot of buzz about e-books lately. The Blood Red Pencil Blog is running a series on all aspects of the digital world. The New York Times will be doing best seller lists of e-books. More and more authors are taking their back list titles and offering them digitally. More and more companies are coming up with e-reading devices. You can read a book on something as small as a cell phone, or as large as an iPad. Or, on your own computer, laptop, or netbook.

One thing that seems to hover at the base of all these discussions about "the future of publishing" is that some people seem to think it's all or nothing. There will be e-books OR there will be print books. But isn't everything about choice?


I have shelves and shelves of print books. I have boxes and boxes of print books, awaiting bookshelves. Even here, there are choices of formats. Hard cover? Trade paperback? Mass market paperback? And what about those newer tall skinny paperbacks? So why not a choice of electronic as well?

To E or Not to E

What I'm reading: Lost Among the Angels, by Alice Duncan

One of the on-line groups has been discussing e-books lately. It's been gratifying to see that a good percentage of the people responding are seeing e-books as an alternative, not an either-or.

There's nothing wrong with liking print books, but that doesn't mean you can't also appreciate some of the advantages of digital format. To those who say, "I will never give up print books," I say, "Why should you have to? But why does that mean you can't look at e-books as well?"

The e-book is still in its infancy. The e-book reader has a long way to go. And it's not just that e-readers are expensive. Until there's a 'one format fits all' approach, people are going to be reluctant to commit.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of lighthearted reviews of two of the big players in the e-reader market: Sony and Kindle.

Keep Reading...

The Smart Bitches blog had an arrangement with Sony to let a select number of readers test drive the reader in return for a review. This one reviews the 700 model.

For more, you can scroll the blog:

For the Kindle, hubby was reading Scientific American, and he showed me this article: (Note: beverage alert before you start reading it)



For the record: I don't own either. I have an eBookwise, a reader that I bought before the Kindle came out. It's a basic model, but I love it. As a matter of fact, I've loaded it up because for the next two weeks we're going to be gone more than we're home, and I expect to have plenty of time for reading. Rather than fill a suitcase with paperbacks, I can take my eBookwise and have the equivalent in what amounts to the space and weight of a single book.


This is a short post, I know, but we're getting ready to leave town, and there's plenty to read at the links in the post.

Tomorrow, author Lorena Streeter is my guest, and she's sharing what she learned when she decided to write in 1st person instead of 3rd person POV. Please come back and see what she has to say.