I have been hemming and hawing over getting an e reader for the last 2 months. I need to just bite the bullet and get one, now I need help deciding which one! Essentially cost is not a factor, I will be using my credit card points to order one. Since I have 32,000 points, these are the options that are available to me with my credit card points:

13,500 points nook simple touch
25,700 points nook color
31,900 points nook tablet
29,500 points Kindle Fire (no other Kindles are available through my Thank You network).

Obviously the main reason I want one is to read books. I also have a Netflix account that could be used with all but the original nook. I do not have any other sort of tablet. For those of you that have one, how often do you find yourself using the other features such as watching movies/email/using the internet? Do you feel that it is worth it to have those features, or would you have been just as happy with an original e reader? Do you find that reading on the tablet screens is a strain to your eyes? I am worried that I won't want to read on the tablet, obviously this is all about reading for me and the original nook has the nice screen for reading. I just don't want to get the original and then find myself wanting a tablet somewhere down the road.

My only technical concern is the speed, I want it to be like literally flipping a page of a book. I want my e reader to be fast. Yes I can read the specs of all of these, but honestly I don't know if the processors in these things are fast in regards to reading a book.

Of course everyone says great things about the Kindle Fire, but I am worried that it is just because it is the newest, and everyone likes new. For anyone that has a nook, do you wish you had a Kindle? What made you choose the nook in the first place?

What is the deal with lending books on each of these readers? My mom has the original kindle and my sister in law has a Kindle Fire. Is there a (free) option where we can lend books to each other? The Amazon site is confusing me about this. I already know that if I got a nook that I could not share any books with them and if I can understand how lending works on a Kindle that just might make the decision for me. I also intend on borrowing books through the library, but I believe both the nook and Kindle offer this service. I might be interested in listening to audiobooks on it as well, so that is another reason why I would be leaning toward the tablet style.

I know this topic has been covered briefly before, but I had a lot more questions. I am like that girl in the commercial, I like so many things about an actual paperback book, but at this point I really just can't keep adding books to my shelf, it is getting ridiculous.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the reason I put in how many points these are is if there is someone that wants to talk me out of using them and does not think that the value of the points correlates well to how much the readers cost. I think the only other thing I would possibly use the points on in the future would be to just get random gift cards to places that I frequent, or continue to save them and use them for travel. I have usually always used the points for travel, and honestly it takes a lot of them to do anything significant. If you can talk me out of using the points and spending cash on the reader, I am open to hearing that.

I don't have a Kindle or a Nook, but I do have Kindle for Android for my phone and I LOVE all the frequent free book options available through Amazon! I check out freestufftimes.com to find out which books are free at the moment; some of them are best-seller level even, though a lot of them are crap. I don't know if that's available through the Nook.

Wish I could help with your other questions, but I thought I'd throw that out there as another point to think on. Have fun with your reader, whatever you choose!

I have the Kindle app for my Android and I hate it, the screen is far to small to read on and I got frustrated. Otherwise it would have been a great option. Now that I keep talking about this and thinking about it, I want one like RIGHT NOW! haha.

I have an original Nook and love it. The main reason I got it was because at the time you couldn't lend books with Kindles, and 2 of my friends had Nooks. At the time I purchased my Nook Kindles couldn't borrow books from the library. Unfortunately the lending mechanism is more restricted than I first anticipated. They almost always match Amazon prices for most books, but they will never beat them...so if cost is a factor Amazon wins out, but every Friday there is a free book download from Barnes and Noble, and there are a lot of free books and .99 cent books to download.

I also liked the fact that it has wifi and I could access the internet if I needed to and at that time no Kindle would do that. I don't have the money for an ipad, but I recently got a lap top and we have a portable DVD player, so I don't need a tablet that does it all. It would be nice, but not necessary in my life.

My Nook doesn't have the backlight and I've actually used my friend's Color Nook thinking I was going to be jealous, but it drains its battery so much faster than mine, and I like the way mine turns pages better. For night reading, I just have a clip on light. Seems to work just fine and my battery life is really good. I love how portable my Nook is, and how I can read it anywhere hands free because I don't have to fight with it to stay open while I'm eating breakfast or drying my hair. Hmmmm does that help at all?

I have a Barnes & Noble Nook (not one listed, I have this one: Nook e-reader.

I really like my Nook, although I do acknowledge my bias. I'll start by saying that I didn't compare the stats between the nook and kindle because my Nook was a present and that seemed wrong. However, I do believe my fiance did look at the stats and went with the nook, so I know at the very least it doesn't suck.

I like the online interface on the B&N website, which shows my library and shelves, and I love scrolling through B&N for new books. I do wish there was an easy way to go to amazon for my nook-books, but then again I'd probably be saying the same thing if I had the kindle about B&N. Plus, you CAN lend books to others for free with the nook (and if you get one, you can be my friend and borrow anything I have if you think it's interesting).

As for a tablet. I was always one to think I didn't have much use for a smart phone. Then I got a smart phone and I use a lot of different elements on it. Same thing with a tablet. My nook is not a tablet, but funny enough bf set up one of his really old tablets to work for me, so I just experienced new-tablet-ness. And, I do find that I use it often. I put my nook app on it (and have read a book on it already), I use it to surf the net, to reply on DDN, check e-mails, check-in on foursquare, and other things. I think I use it over my smart phone only on games (angry birds is better on a bigger screen) and for web surfing (because the yahoo! app is easy to check my mail, but DDN is not easy and is best done on a larger screen). Plus, I also have a Neftlix account and it's far better to be stuck at the airport able to watch something on a 7 inch screen than a 3 inch screen.

I do not find that reading on a tablet is a strain on the eyes, but if that is something that you have a problem with, you might hate a color tablet but love the e-ink simple touch (which is basically the new version of what I have). I like the e-ink, although sometimes wish that I could read in the dark and not have to get a lamp...with no backlight it requires me to have a reading light.

Plus, Jane Lynch is the spokesperson for the nook. <---lame argument, I know, but aren't the commercials awesome!?!?!?!

Other questions:

Do I wish I had a Kindle? No. Remember, I do admit my bias...it was a great gift from a great guy.

Page flippage: It took me getting used to pushing the "flip" button differently than I'd flip a page, but I got used to that in about 30 "pages" of reading. I have to anticipate a little so that I can read the last word on one page but still not wait for the first of the next page. In my mind, a non-issue because you'll adjust to what you have.

Re: Paper books: I still buy tons of paper books too. It doesn't destroy your shelf. In fact, I usually say that if I see myself reading a book 3 times per year or more in the future, i'll get a paper copy even if i already have a digital copy. Any book that important to me deserves some shelf presentation as well as digital access.

I have a normal Kindle (not a high tech one.) and I absolutely adore it. Of course, it can never replace the feeling of holding a real book, but it's pretty nifty anyway.

I read very fast, so to be able to have many books available and with me all the time is a huge plus.

I also love the 3G so that I can buy books all the time (and usually cheaper than I can get them where I live).

And I really like the Kindle's screen, that you can read it in the sun. I'm not sure if the nook and/or kindle fire has that? But it's superawesome anyway.

Yes Renae that totally helps. My mom says the only thing she doesn't like about hers is that it isn't back lit, like you mentioned. It is something I didn't think about too much at first. I am totally going to love the hands free reading. I break the heck out of the spines on my books to try to get them flat.

saaammie, thanks for bringing up the 3g issue, I don't think I originally gave that enough thought. I think I have knocked NOOK Simple Touch out of the running. While I like the e-ink factor, I am thinking that I don't like that it only has Wi-Fi, not a 3g network. It also does not support audio files (this is different from the first gen nook). I tend to read books at the pool or beach, so the whole LCD thing might become a problem, but I think that the need for 3g/4g might outweigh that issue. I don't think I would have a problem with eye strain, but then again I have never read a large amount of text on one before so I really don't know what to expect.

AlwaysOnStage, I am glad to hear you are happy with your nook, I love Jane Lynch too! The Kindle commercials aren't too bad either though. I am just a bit worried about committing to a specific platform. This is a bigger decision than I had anticipated, just thinking about switching platforms and trying to transfer my books from one to the other (if necessary in the future) is daunting. At this point it seems like (although I like the actual nook itself) Amazon is the preferred platform. This has nothing to do with the devices themselves. Their system seems more seamless and easier to synch content on multiple devices if necessary. I also read that Amazon is easier to use when it comes to uploading any book that may have been purchased from somewhere other than the Amazon bookstore. I don't know if that will be a factor for me, but it might.

I am disappointed with all of the restrictions to sharing a book. I don't get that. If I buy a darn paper book I can share it with whoever I want. My brother said that setting up to lend from the library is confusing (great, he has a PhD in computer engineering). Maybe this is where the Amazon Prime subscription would be beneficial...? It is a book subscription service that is just like their subscription for movies (like Netflix). I don't know if it would be worth the money, but if I end up reading a lot it could pay off.

So the Kindle is now higher in the running, which is odd because it didn't start out that way for me. Once I decide that I am going to get a Kindle, the rest of the decision will be easy, as the fire is the only option available to me. I am going to sleep on it and order something tomorrow!

Well, I have a Nook Color. I love it. I picked over the regular Nook and kindle because the set up and the touch screen. It made more sense to my brain. With Nook you can lend books but I've never done it.

As for library books, I know my library offers several different file formats for different e-readers and tablets.

We (actually my wife) I gave it to her...got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and we just took it out of the box yesterday so I'm in a real learning curve. I have nothing to compare it too but for the price I'm rather impressed so far. I did download one "free" book so far and speed is not a problem. It downloaded from Amazon almost instantly. It flips pages as fast as I can read...and I'm a very fast reader. It took me a bit to hook up to my wi-fi router because I had to crawl under my computer desk to read the numbers. You need to enter a "WEP" number which was on a sticker at the bottom of my router. Then it worked right away.

I would suggest being near a real computer when you set it up so you can read the various "How to's" on a large screen and be a bit more interactive with it. Now I suspect that those of you who are familar with iPhones and tablets would have an easier time of it than my wife and I who so far don't have much experience with those (people our age don't check their email on an iPhone every five minutes. Some friend our age, if they even have a computer, are still using AOL. Actually the hardest part was getting up off the floor after I obtained those numbers LOL.

One thing I did learn. If it seems to freeze up and doesn't respond when you turn it on, hold the "ON" button for 30 or so seconds and that cured whatever problem it had. Don't blame me...my daughter did it...she has a conventional Kindle...the original kind and did something to crash it.

Jon

Out of those? The Nook Simple Touch, hands down. Don't touch the others with a six foot pole. You don't want anything with a backlight. It makes it more difficult to read, and if you ever want to read at night, a backlight isn't good (the same reason sleep experts say to stay away from cell phones/computers/TV for an hour before bed). Sure, it doesn't have fancy color apps, but I've found all of those unnecessary.

I have an original Nook, and I'm getting the Simple Touch tomorrow (and passing my original on to my mom), happily. I have zero complaints, and I am a passionate book lover who swore I'd never use such a thing. Because there's no backlight, it reads exactly like a real book. I have a little bendy light to use in the dark. The pages turn quickly. The battery life is amazing.

Usually, I'd say kindle, as Amazon has the largest collection of books, which are quite a bit cheaper than the physical copy. However, I'd stay away from the kindle fire-if only for the back light. I have a kindle with a keyboard, which I prefer to the original kindle.

If you're going to be using it for books with a lot of pictures or diagrams (such as a textbook), I wouldn't get it-same with books with a lot of footnotes. Trust me, I learned the hard way.

It is just as fast as reading a book, once you get used to turning pages.

I have the Kindle Keyboard and I love it. I can't fault it on speed or user-friendliness and the books are much cheaper than buying actual books. What is also really good is that besides buying from the Amazon Kindle store, you can also upload any PDF (there's also other file types...) onto it. There's no backlight which I love and it's so light and portable. I like that there's no touch screen (everyone presumes it is when I show them!) so it doesn't matter if I sit it face down or drop it on my face, it won't be affected. The battery life is amazing too!

So I realized that I can use my credit card points to buy Amazon gift cards (9,000 points for $100 card)... in which case I could use those gift cards to purchase any Kindle. Which means that my decision is now more difficult because there are more options. Oy vey.

I finally made the leap and purchased a $100 gift card with my credit card points and I am using that towards the regular Kindle. I also want to order a cover... maybe a lighted cover, the decisions never end!

I'm going to start this comment by saying...I didn't think I would like my Kindle. At all.

When my parents gave me a Kindle for my birthday I sneered. It was a great gift for a reader they said. I love to read BOOKS. BOOKS not SCREENS.

But within the first five minutes of reading on my Kindle I forgot I wasn't reading a page-turning book.

And a big bonus...once you finish a book in a series you can instantly by the next one. No driving, no waiting for packages, no lines. It's amazing.

I have the old Kindle, not the fire. And I love it dearly. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone!

I'm a little late, but I got the Kindle Fire for Christmas, and I love it.

The only thing I don't like is that it does not play nice with books that don't come from Amazon. You can convert formats using another program, but I keep getting blocked by the DRM. You can check out some books from the library, and I am seeing more of them at my library with the kindle format available, but I haven't been able to get the other formats to work.

I do read at night with the backlight, I turn the brightness down and use the white on black setting. It doesn't bother me, but I had been playing with or reading on my android phone at night prior so whatever damage I'm doing I had already started.

I like that I can do facebook chat while reading.... so if I'm chatting with a friend and reading between messages, I dont need to sit by the computer. I also like being able to look stuff up online any time I want. I see someone mentioned a book title on facebook, I can look up the authors website, and check the local library for a kindle edition, and check prices on amazon and get it downloaded in just a couple minutes, all on the same device. You finish a book and want to read the sequel - now!? no problem, just 1-click order it from Amazon. Lots of free books and deals too. "Like" publishers and authors pages on facebook, and you'll see updates when Amazon (and other sellers) have deals on their books, you can pick things up for $1.99 or .99 pretty often too.

Anyway, if you mostly want it for reading, any kindle will do. If you're a facebook/internet addict, a tablet like the ipad would probably be even better, because you can use apps to read ebooks in any format.

^ Awesome tip about liking the publishers on facebook! I got my Kindle Touch on Tuesday and so far I love it, I know I made the right decision. I don't care about apps or facebook or anything on it, I really just want to read! I don't have my case yet, so I am forcing myself to only read at home until I find a good one that I like (and doesn't break the bank). I am (finally) going to get my library card on Tuesday so I can start borrowing books from there. My mom and I are going to do our first book trade next week since she has the new Stephanie Plumb book, fingers crossed we can both figure it out!

I have a Kindle Keyboard that I got on sale for a steal. I was out on black friday, but after everything was done (I thought), but when I dropped by Target to get some new running pants (which I didn't get because they didn't have my size...) they had a few Kindle Keyboards hidden away in the back that were still on sale!

I will say that I was set on getting the Kindle Touch but there were several things that at that moment turned me off big time:
1) No 3g
2) I didn't find the interface as responsive as it should/could be. I think in the next generation or two of Kindles they will get it right but I personally did not like it.

I never thought I would use the 3g as much as I do because come on wifi is everywhere. Expect when its not haha. The experimental browser is not meant for heavy web surfing or watching youtube videos, and as long as you understand that you are golden!

When I was in China a few weeks ago, rather than having to pay to use the internet cafe's or the business centers in the hotels, I simply used my kindle to send my parents: "I'm alive and still have both of my kidney's!" messages

I also use it when I am at the store if I want to buy some item that I think might be cheaper on line, or if I want to read reviews before buying it (even if its not a book. I look up makeup, nail polish and hair product reviews all the time).

I knew that I did not want a Kindle fire because I would be to tempted to just surf the web, play games and watch videos. So I am glad with my choice.

Reading is great, I love how easy it is to make notes and highlight things I want to remember. I LOVE that it doesn't have a backlight because I can read it outside and not have to worry about glare.

I love that I can also borrow books from the library and it is SOOOO easy! I don't even have to go to the library I can do it all online!

I have gotten a lot of free books from Amazon as well. And 99 cent ones. I've found some really good ones I never would have read otherwise.

Also, there are places that you can get like a yearly subscription to like the Free Philadelphia Library. libwww.freelibrary.org . . .

Though I think it is a bit pricy though it all depends on how much you spend on books vs. how often you would borrow books.

Have fun with your new kindle!

I use the Kindle app on my iPad, and I love it because I can get my textbooks on it for a lot less. I can also rent them and it is so much less than buying/renting physical copies.