Amazon has that lending library for Prime-account-having Kindle owners. You can take advantage of that.

Oh yeah! I totally have Prime. That's only one book a month, but that's not bad, though, especially if it can let me read some really recent books that I wouldn't be able to get at the library.

Do I need to get a screen protector and a case and all that? What do people recommend?

Library lending is easy. You go to your library's website, find where it is (edit: navigate to the digital library or whatever they call it), enter your library card number, search the catalog, and find books you like, and check them out. Unfortunately, Kindle library books are new, so there aren't as many of them as there are epub, but it's growing pretty fast (caveat, here, may be different where you are).

Edited to make a little more sense.

Do I need to get a screen protector and a case and all that?

How are you going to be carrying it?

I'll probably have it in my backpack. Or maybe in a cargo pants pocket. Or tossed in a bag.

I don't think you need a case. Maybe an envelope if you're going to toss it in your bag with a bunch of scratchy things, but I've stopped using mine. They're pretty durable in recent iterations. I don't think a screen protector is necessary either - scratches are way less of a big deal on a non-backlit screen.

I was never on the "I like real books and don't need a kindle" bandwagon but I've seen plenty of people who were change their minds after using a Kindle for a while. I would encourage you to buy one book that you think you will really enjoy reading on the kindle (or borrow one from the Kindle Prime library, or your local library which may have a better Kindle selection than you think), maybe something kind of addictive, so you really read the whole book on the kindle, quickly. I've seen a few people get "that book they always meant to read" but didn't really want to read, and blame their lack of interest in reading it on the kindle. If you avoid that, and read a real page-turner, I think you might be surprised how much you enjoy the experience.

I'd be happy to lend you a Kindle book, to get you started. I can e-mail you a list of what I've got available to lend.

me too! I am happy to loan as well.

Ooh, thanks! I'll see what's available and let you know.

It's also really useful for books that are just difficult to read physically because they're too big to carry around--like War & Peace, or Jonathan Strange.

I'm looking at replacing my Kindle (it's a 1st-gen one) with one of the new ones: let us know how you like the Touch, would you? I've seen some mixed reviews about it.

I've almost bought Anathem on my kindle at least three times for the physical issue. I already own Crytonomicon that way. Honestly, I think the late HP books are also physically uncomfortable to read, and am ready for some HP e-books already.

I've played with the touch some, Consuela, on a co-worker's device. I liked it a lot - enough that I would get it instead of the Keyboard, which I've been using and loving for a year. The touch screen has better feedback than I would expect - plenty good even for long comments, though if I'm planning to really comment on a book I'll open it on Kindle for PC no matter what. I'm getting one for my wife to replace her Kindle 2, because the screen contrast is so much better.

I've almost bought Anathem on my kindle at least three times for the physical issue.

How easy is it on an e-reader to flip back and forth from the text to the glossary at the end? (That's both a real question and snark directed at Stephenson and his made-up words.)