I really don’t consider myself a “gadget” person. But after holidays I started to notice a lot of eReaders and I was wondering what was all the hoopla about eReaders. I love to read, ask my husband, I can read through a stack of books like it was the Sunday paper. One of the things I love about reading is holding the book itself, and turning the pages in anticipation of what will happen next. Then I started looking around the house and realized with the stack of books I have piling up...”that’s going to be a heavy load to carry on the airplane!” And so I figured what would it hurt to check into these eReaders.
So I jumped on the internet and started to look up the various eReaders that were out there and tried to figure out what was so “cool” about them. In the process, I found out that my sister received a Pandigital eReader and she said it was pretty good, she was able to download books from Barnes & Noble (B & N), and since it had WiFi she was able get online to check her email and Facebook. Sounds easy enough...but I couldn’t find it anywhere to check it out hands on.
Then I stumbled on Amazon’s Kindle and B & N Nook and Nook Color and they all seemed pretty much the same to me so I did what any other person would do and I turned to my Facebook friends! At first, it was a lot of back and forth Nook - Kindle Nook - Kindle. But then a friend said that she liked her Nook because she was able to download books for her kids and they had the option to have the book read to them or they can read it themselves. Hmmm...that sounds interesting especially since I think my daughter has inherited my love for books and before we left for San Antonio she was really getting into audio “read with me” books. As much as I love reading to my kids, sometimes it nice to allow them to be able to “read” to themselves. Not all of the kids books are “Read to Me” books but you can find a nice selection of them.
Finally I went out to the stores and started checking them out. I liked the fact that the Nook Color was well, in color, duh. I also like the fact that it was lightweight (perfect for traveling) and with the WiFi I, too can access the internet to check my email, Facebook. It also came preloaded with Pandora (similar to a XM radio for the internet) along with Suduko, Chess, and crossword puzzles. There was even a place for a USB to hook up to my computer to download any books that I might choose to purchase from other sites other than B & N and I can download photos. With the Kindle, I was really turned off when the one I looked at was slightly bigger and the keyboard seemed small too if you wanted to do any typing and I didn’t see anything about audio book reading.
If you haven’t figured out by now I went with the B & N Nook Color. I absolutely love it!! I’ve had it about a month now and I’m still finding out some of the cool things it can do, such as sorting my books in my library by creating different shelves. I can also lend & borrow books from friends on B & N, I can also borrow books from local libraries that offer eBooks. Another thing I found out was that if you go to B & N with your Nook you can read a book for free (on your Nook of course) for an hour a day. An automatic timer will turn on and shut off once the hour is up and then offer you the option to purchase the book. I love how I can download samples of books with not obligations to buy especially since I’m not always so sure I will want to continue to read the story. Nothing like getting stuck with a stack of books that you couldn’t get into the storyline. What truly sold it to me was the fact that I can download the “Read to Me” books for my kids. As much as I love to read to them, it’s been nice to take it with me to doctors appointments and click on a book and have them sitting around the tablet (like story hour or circle time) while they are listening and looking at the pictures.
The ONLY thing I do not like about it is how B & N has set up their eBook purchase system. You MUST have a credit card/debit card on file even if all you do is use their eBook gift cards in order to download any books. I really don’t like having to do that. I would enjoy it so much more if it were like iTunes and the iTunes gift card. Once the the balance is too low you have to go out an buy another one or wait until someone gives you one...it forces you to budget yourself. But with B & N if you have a eBook gift card on file then they will bill the gift card first and if your balance is too low then they will automatically withdraw the remainder from your credit card on file. Seems simple, and easy to avoid getting stuck waiting until you get another gift card, right? BUT when you check the balance of your gift card you have to make sure that you still have the card and pin number from the card otherwise there is no way to know how much you have left...AND the balance is NOT updated immediately. I found that out the hard way. I knew I was getting close to my balance on my gift card when I purchased a book and was looking to buy another one so I checked my balance on the gift card (thankfully I kept my card normally once I load a card I toss it) and thought “Hey I can still get another book!” Wrong! The next day while checking my bank I saw a B & N charge. “Dammit!” I know, “what’s the big deal?” Well, I just find it somewhat of an inconvenience because I did the right thing and checked the cards balance before purchasing another book. And I don’t understand why I HAVE to keep a credit card on file?
Here’s another thing that I found to be odd about the B & N set up, you cannot reload your eBook gift cards. If I have to keep the dang thing in order to check the balance then why can’t I just keep it and keep reloading it? It would make Greener sense don’t you think? And that would solve the whole keeping a credit card on file. (Just saying)
Also, if you receive a plain ole B & N gift card those can ONLY be used in-store or online. However, if you receive an eGift card you can use it for in-store, online or eBook purchases. Or you can just get an eBook gift card which is for eBooks only. Another thing I found out that if you are a B & N member ($25 annual fee to save 20-30% of your purchases) it does NOT apply to eBooks for their Nooks but I hear they are working on changing that.
WOW I’m starting to sound like I work for B & N. I truly do love my Nook Color and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an eReader, I just don’t like how they are handling their gift card/purchase system. However, I’m sure I’ll change my tune about having to keep a credit card on file when I’m overseas, but hey I’m a mom of three and I like to budget myself!!
