Nanette

by Ang

When e-readers first came out, I was interested, but slightly hesitant. I didn’t know enough about them to decide if I wanted one. It was a whole new concept for me…I mean, reading a book electronically just seemed…weird. Wouldn’t you miss the feel of an actual book in your hands? Turning pages?

I was intrigued though. So I started researching, and it came down to the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook. It didn’t take me long to decide which one I wanted to go with. The Kindle was cheaper, but it doesn't come in color. Also, it didn’t have the ability to check out e-books from your local library, which was the main reason I decided that I wanted the Nook (that came in color AND had the library feature).

So I mentioned it to my husband and said ‘one day I want one of these!’ and added it to my mental ‘wish list’. And a little over a month ago, he surprised me with a Nook Color from Barnes and Noble.

I was SOOOOOOO excited. I got it all set up and registered, created an account at BN.com, downloaded my first book and was ready to try reading a book electronically.

And I fell in love! (I’m so cheesy and dramatic)

But seriously. I love it. It’s almost addicting. I’ve always been a gal that reads more than one book at a time. Because I don’t know what I’ll be in the mood for, you know? So I like having a selection. But there’s no way you can carry around a selection of books in your purse (even if your purses are as big as mine usually are). But on the Nook…..wow. You can download books in about 4 seconds. FREE books too. They have a really good selection of free classics, and tons of books that are 4.99 and under. They have ‘Free Fridays’, where they pick a book to download for free (usually it’s a newer book too). And if you friend ‘Nook’ on Facebook, they have other free book offers during the week sometimes.

You can preview any book if you can’t decide if you want it or not (they usually give you a couple of chapters).

In my College Writing class I’m taking, I have to write an essay on another essay (sort of ‘my take’ on what the author was writing about). Anyways, in his essay he mentions 3 books that changed his life when he was learning to read in the 40’s. I was curious about them, and within 2 minutes, I had downloaded all 3 of them on my Nook (for free, none the less). I mean, without the Nook I would have had to drive to the library (or the bookstore), check them out (or buy them), etc. Instead, within 3 minutes I had all three books at my fingertips for FREE and will now be able to write a more well-rounded essay on the topic.

Oh but that’s not all she does. You can play Sudoku:

Or do a crossword puzzle:

Or play chess: (which I don’t do, because I don’t know how, even though my nephews repeatedly tried to teach me):

Or browse the internet:

And of course, the best part….read! I have set a $20 per month limit on the books I buy for my Nook. Because it would be very easy to get carried away. So $20 can get me anywhere from 2-10 books (depending on how new they are, the brand new ones are usually from $7-$12), which is plenty for the month. Plus, all of the free ones I download!

Oh, and you can also download documents and magazines:

I can understand why some people might be hesitant about an e-reader. A lot of people like to build up their actual libraries with ‘real’ books. But I’ve never been one of those people that hang on to books. I don’t keep it unless I absolutely LOVE it. Which is why I only have maybe 15 (fiction) books on my ‘keeper’ shelf. And I’ve decided that if I read a Nook book that I fall in love with, then I will buy the real thing to add to my collection. But it’s rare that I love a book so much that I HAVE to have it in case I want to read it again. There have only been a few (Gone With the Wind, The Poisonwood Bible, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride & Prejudice, The Pull of the Moon, The Shadow of the Wind, to name a few) in the YEARS that I have been reading that I loved so much I had to keep them.

So the Nook works for me. Thank you sweet husband for buying her for me! Yes, I said ‘her’. I named her Nanette. And it’s caught on. That’s all my husband and I call her. It’s even caught on at work (I bring her with me to read over my lunch break). The two ladies that sit closest to me always ask me what I'm reading on Nanette. :)