Re Blameless: my theory is that Floote was a Templar, and had a change of heart. From what I remember in the previous books, he's not *thrilled* with supernaturals, but he's very, very uneasy about Templars.

Also, I got unexpectedly teary at Lyall's reaction

Yes. That got me, as did the realization that Lord Akeldema and Biffy really did, and still do, care for each other.

The plot point I'm most excited about for the future books is Lord Akeldema, Potentate! Whoo, that is going to be fun.

I considered getting that Reapers book that Gris mentioned upthread, but paying $10 for a 250ish page book isn't sitting well with me right now.

Unfortunately, I doubt it will ever be much cheaper (except used, I suppose) as it's not really being marketed as a genre book - it's literary fiction that happens to take place in a post-apocalyptic world with zombies - and so will likely never get the mass market paperback treatment.

On that note - I just read Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion in mass market paperback form and the contrast in readability between them and my more common Kindle reading was stark. When dealing with a long book like that the teeny mass market paperbacks are so annoying! Incredibly thin paper, tiny print, hard to hold in one hand (especially near the beginning and end, when the weight is unbalanced), ink that rubs off on your fingers - wow. In fact, I read Catching Fire and Mockingjay in hardcover from the library, and kind of hated those too - so heavy and REALLY impossible to hold in one hand! I used to be one of the people who said "Oh, but I will miss the feel / smell / look of real books if I switch to eBooks" but I have to say... I don't. I mean, i like having books on my shelf, and will always buy some books I really like in hardcover or nice paperback form for that reason, but I'd rather READ any of them, these days, in Kindle format.

In fact, I read Catching Fire and Mockingjay in hardcover from the library, and kind of hated those too - so heavy and REALLY impossible to hold in one hand!

Imagine the day when books and other media are just beamed directly into our brains -- the Kindle, et al., will seem positively unwieldy!!

I feel exactly the same way, Gris! I debated getting a Kindle for a looong time because I loved the feel/smell/look of real books just like you. But it seemed like the text on some of the mass market paperbacks was getting teeeeeeny tiny (or possibly I'm just getting old), and that's what prompted me to make the switch. Now I feel odd reading an actual physical book.

There are times when I do miss books though. When I go to bookstores now, I actually make a point of seeking out the recent books I've read on my Kindle, picking them up, looking at the cover, flipping through the pages.

What's really pissing me off about ebooks is how much the publishers are fixing the prices. I was fine with most books being 9.99 and under. But that price just keeps rising. I saw something on the Kindle bestseller list that was selling for $14.99! That's ridiculous!

And total tangent here - I can't believe Harry Potter isn't available in e-book format!

And total tangent here - I can't believe Harry Potter isn't available in e-book format!

The only books I've been willing to get from... less reputable sources. JKR could have made ANOTHER $70 or so from me if the books were on Kindle, as I would have gladly bought them again to be able to re-read the series without having to cart 30 pounds of books on vacation. Oh well, her and her publisher's loss.

Imagine the day when books and other media are just beamed directly into our brains -- the Kindle, et al., will seem positively unwieldy!!

I would want the books beamed onto my retina so I could still do the whole "reading" part, and it'd need to have a transparent/windowed option so I could sort-of-read-and-sort-of-watch-TV like now but otherwise... yeah!

I'm over the price-fixing. It's annoying but capitalism is the financial system we have - if they're making more money at $14.99 a copy, which for bestsellers I'm sure they are as the books are selling anyway, they have every right to charge that, just as I have every right to decide if it's worth it to me at that price. Same reason I've rarely bought a hardcover bestseller (HP being another exception). Lately, I've been voting with my wallet reading some 1.99 - 3.99 pulp fiction from indy publishers, and frankly I find them just as enjoyable as something like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so there's that.

Right now, what's the evaluation of the Nook vs. the Kindle vs. the rest of the market?

I'm not sure there is much of the rest of the market aside from the iPad which really isn't the same sort of thing. You can get a Kobo EReader with WiFi for $139, but it's hard for me to think of a good reason to choose it over the Nook since the Nook supports Adobe Digital Editions (library E-Books!) and that's what the Kobo unit uses for DRM.

These days I've seen Kindles in Target, along with Sony's. Nooks are in B&N. The offbrands are all carried by Borders. Ipads will be in target in few days. Interface,screen and how you manipultate the pages is really subjective. I cannot e mphasize how important it is to look and actually try it out before deciding.

The Kindle is lighter and the text possibly crisper than the Nook (haven't seen the new one to compare). It's surprising the difference a few ounces makes. I think the Kindle buttons are a tad more responsive for page turning than the Nook, but I found the Nook a little more intuitive. I like that the text can be resized to huge.

Both use e-ink, so need an outside light source in the dark.

The Kindle reads mobipocket/kindle format best, but can read PDFs (and the big Kindle can read PDFs quite well, I hear). The Nook can read its native format and epubs very well, and PDFs at about the same quality as the same-size Kindle.

The Nook can read library books, which is why I chose it over the Kindle. Now I hear there's some sort of hostile takeover going on at B&N, and if the current owner loses, it may be sold off piecemeal, so who knows how long the Nook will be a viable choice.

iPad, touch, and iPhone books are read on a backlit screen. Like a laptop, they can be used in the dark without an outside light source, but it's supposed to be bad for your eyes. They can read epub format with the various reader apps, like Stanza and the ibookstore. They can also be used to read library books. I'd like an iPad but the cost and the fact that it has no USB ports bothers me.

The kobo is supposedly a good solid epub reader. I haven't seen it in person. You'll find it the reader of choice at Borders (Borders is also pushing the new Android tablet.), though they don't limit you to that one. They have a nice little comparison matrix on their website. [link]

Books A Million ebooks are also served up through Adobe Digital Editions, as are those at Powell's. You can see a chart of ebook readers that support ADE here: [link] There are several new ones coming out in the next few months. I've read about them, but unfortunately don't have links.

Edit: figures I'd post this long after the need.

It's not a sickness to scour thrift stores for hardback 1st edition Anne Rice books, right? Especially if it means I'll give away my paperbacks?

Also, who here was the person who read Blood Canticle and hated it like burning? I'm trying to decide if I want to track down a copy.

(My brain is stuck in fluff-reading mode at the moment.)