After several months of research, I went ahead and ordered the B&N nook in November of last year and finally received it early January. Prior to purchasing it, I looked at competing devices like the Amazon Kindle and some newer eReaders which had been announced. Ever since I got it, I’ve been reading books on this cool little gadget. During my recent 3-week jury duty, I used the nook daily during waiting periods and lunch breaks. When I received the device, it had firmware 1.1.1 pre-installed and just two weeks ago, the nook updated itself to 1.2, which made it even more responsive and addressed a number of minor issues.

Overall, I’ve really come to appreciate the nook. Here’s why:

1. •It’s sized like a paperback, light and can easily be held in one hand while reading. It’s very thin too.
   

2. •Due to it’s light weight and small size, it’s easy to slip into a backpack and hardly adds any extra weight - unlike most “real” books.
   

3. •The screen is awesome, like all e-ink displays, and is easy to read even in sunlight. It refreshes fairly quickly too, faster than I thought it would.
   

4. •The color display at the bottom makes for easy navigation and allows for displaying book covers in full color. Similar to the iPhone, one can scroll with one finger.
   

5. •It can connect to online content via 3G or WiFi and new books can be purchased and downloaded within seconds.
   

6. •The nook can store up to 1,500 books (without memory extension), so it’s like a personal library to go.
   

7. •Speaking of library, the local libraries have started to offer ebooks to lend and so I can get free books on the library web site without ever setting foot in the actual library. This is great for vacation reading.
   

8. •I can read ebooks purchased on my iPhone, PC or Windows PC.
   

9. •The nook supports the open EPUB format.
   

10. •The battery lasts me up to 1.5 weeks, which is awesome!
    

11. •Ebooks are pretty cheap - usually under $10.
    

12. •One can look up definitions of words in the built-in dictionary.
    

Anyways, I’ve gotten really used to reading on my nook instead of using regular books. The convenience and extra features make it well worth the upfront investment. Go check the nook out in your local B&N!