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actually in webdesign it's "best practice" *not* to force a new window, for reasons of accessibility mainly. in fact the code "taget=blank" which opens a link in a new window has been deprecated by the W3C (Webstandards Consortium). forcing a new window is discouraged because (as they mention in the article that alex linked to) it makes browsing much more difficult (and sometimes impossible) in certain conditions. for instance, a visually impaired person who is browsing using a text synthesiser relies on navigating using keyboard shortcuts. as long as he stays in one window, he has a reasonable idea where he is and can use the back button when necessary. if you force a new window this person will be disoriented and lost. i have a blind friend who browses using this method and believe me he hates it when a site opens a new window without warning.
if you want a link to open in a new window, it's not hard to do it yourself : you can click the center wheel on your mouse to automatically open a link in a new tab in firefox (this is what i do), or use "right click --> open in new window", or CRTL + click... there are plenty of options. so MobileRead is following best practices by allowing you to decide whether you want a new window or not.
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