To Kindle or not to Kindle?

I have been thinking about this off and on since these electronic book readers were first introduced.  I don't mind reading stories off of my laptop. But, would I really want to read a majority of my books as electronic text?

I love the feel of the paper as I flip through the pages. I enjoy the different fonts that publishers choose to use.  I like glancing at my bookshelves and seeing a physical manifestation of all the books I  have read or the books that are still waiting for me to get to them.  Each book has a personality based on such simple things as color, size, cover design, and even the author's name.  Do I want to lose all those sensory feelings to a single device?

As much as I love the convenience of my mp3 player it just isn't the same as pulling the CD from it's case and reading the liner notes.  Or the memories of each different format that I owned the music in originally.  The record, the 8-track, the cassette, the cd, and then finally the mp3 version of that same music.

Of course an advantage of mp3s is that I no longer have to worry about an 8-track or cassette flying out my car window to shatter on the pavement.  I know that I shouldn't place things on the dash it only took about four or five times of replacing Bonnie Tyler's Faster than the Speed of Night before I quit doing that.

In the long run will one of these devices save me money, or will I continue to buy a tactile copy of the book.  What happens if I go camping?  How long is the battery life?  Sure I can store a couple hundred (?) books on this device, and it weighs about the same as a single book, but what good would that do if I was camping for a week if my battery died?

The main three devices seem to be the  Kindle from Amazon, B&N's Nook device, and Border's has the Sony Reader.


What I would like to know from my
readers that have used each of the devices are what pros and cons have you discovered with your choice?

In the meantime I will continue to ponder on how important is it to be able to flip to the next page and see the progress I have made with the book.


Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends.
What Could be Better?