And once more - that was a side issue. My main point is try before you buy. Whether you love or hate an interface depends both on objective and on highly subjective factors. You really can't tell whether you will like using it without trying. And these days you can try anything. Kindle is in target. Nook is in B&N. Borders carries most of the off brands. So you really can physically handle just about everything before you decide which to buy.

My main point is try before you buy.

Yes, agreed.

I never in a million years thought I'd love my Kindle so much. What I love is that I just read. No bells or whistles or web (the web interface is painful, and I have the iPhone for that, anyway) to distract me. It's incredibly easy on the eyes. I read it for 5 hours straight on the plane back from Philly and didn't feel the eyestrain I would get from a book. Like Gud and Gris have said elsewhere, I'll still buy the hardcopies for my home library if I love a book and want to have it on my shelves. But I love all of the free classics and not having to buy "throw-away" books. I also love being able to read the first few chapters as a sample before I buy the rest.

Yeah, I definitely can't disagree with getting your hands on one first. Keyboards and monitors are the same way for me, I like to go to a store where I can actually see/touch them.

Have Nooked. I'm not much interested in the ability to browse the web, so I didn't test that. Page refresh was...well, that's e-ink. Page display, nice and crisp. Feel in hand, very nice. Fits in purse very well, and now I just have to buy a small sleeve for it that doesn't take up much more real estate.

Neatly, it charges with the same mini-USB as my phone, so it's charging in my trunk right now.

Oh, and again Ipad will be in target in a few days, so you will have a chance to try that too if you don't have a friend with one.

Since I'm not buying a Kindle, and I don't want an iPad's extra stuff, it's pretty much Nook or offbrand. The Nook will have to do something extra-surprising over the next couple weeks to go back.

Yay, ita! I hope it makes your ER visits a little easier.

I've never seen a Nook up close. My Kindle was a birthday gift.

I'm a weirdo and have a Sony PRS-600, I haven't used it for a purchased book yet. Just for looking over and editing my and other people's stuff, and library books. The ability to take notes with a stylus was the big selling point for me. For just reading, the Sony e-Readers just don't seem competitive to me anymore.

It was so nice not to be loaded down with books and magazines for the cross-country flight. New Yorker and San Francisco Chronicle are both delivered to my Kindle as well.