I got a Nook for my husband for Father's Day. He absolutely loves it, he's probably read more books in the last month than he has in the previous three years combined as a result. Also as a result, he got one and gave it to me as an early birthday gift.
It is MUCH easier than dealing with a paper copy of a book. I like the changing fonts, text sizes, the linked bookmarks, the .epub compatibility...it's been great.
I have the version without 3G, and it's only been a very, very minor nuisance. The only problem I've ever really had is that when I ordered my cover for it, it took nearly two weeks for them to get it here. That's more a gripe on the post office, really, because all the tracking info said it hit Kansas City three days before it was in my mailbox. (Seriously. I could have WALKED to the nearest Barnes & Noble, taken a nap, bought my cover, and walked back, stopping for dinner along the way in three days! I didn't, because it would be boring, plus Google Maps has me taking shortcuts through three cemeteries and the part of town where the hookers like to be, but still!)
Anyway. One of my favorite things about the Nook is "Free Book Fridays". Every Friday, there's a new free book (or two). Sometimes it's a romance novel (which I'm not interested in), some times it's a murder mystery (ooooh shiny!), it's all over the board that way. One of their free books a while back was His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik.
Which leads nicely into my OTHER new obsession, which is that series of books. His Majesty's Dragon takes place during the Napoleonic wars, and opens with the capture of a French ship by the British Navy. In the hold--and as such, part of the spoils of war--is a dragon egg. Dragons exist in this alternative history, and are capable and intelligent creatures that are part of early aerial warfare. They speak. They learn. They are not the mindless, fire-breathing creatures that we have come to expect. The dragon that hatches from this egg is Temeraire, named after another French ship that had been captured. Temeraire had been intended as a gift for Napoleon, but is instead paired with a British captain.
It's been a fascinating series. After reading the first book, we purchased the second one, Throne of Jade. When I've read a few more books to try and catch up to the ones my husband has read, we'll get the third so we can read it together.
It would be absolutely interesting to see if textbooks will ever be available in such a format....it may have its drawbacks but its benefits could certainly overcome those.
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