[LVWolfman]

First Post to MR.

I've been an avid or voracious reader since I was about 9 or 10. Both of my wives were/are as well. In fact, neither of us are allowed anywhere near a used book store.

As for Kindle, I don't own a Kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc and won't. We've been down that road. In a box in the shop I have a lot of old eBook readers that are basically bricks. They're mostly REB1200 and REB2400 (the small B&W and large color eBook readers.)

We're done with buying DRM'd eBooks in proprietary format that are useless when the hardware company goes toes up. We're done with having to swap hardware readers just to share a book and not have to buy two copies.

I have a few books that are around 100 years old. I can still read them. I have purchased eBooks that I can no longer read. Even if non-DRMd... the media they are stored on do not have anywhere near the life of paper.

A close friend called to find out which eBook reader I'd purchased for my wife, Kindle or Nook. I told her "Neither, I got her an iPad".

It can read books from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google, Apple and pretty much anyone else. In addition, she can do email, web surfing, play music, audiobooks, games, etc. When a new format comes out, the iPad can easily be "upgraded" to handle it. Plus, if there's a book you want, you can shop all of the above mentioned places for the best price, and read it on the same exact device.

Not everyone wants to spend $500 or more on an "eBook Reader" though. I myself, use an 8" Vizio VTAB100 ($189 at CostCo) Android tablet for eBooks amongst other things. Ditto for my iPhone 4 (business) and HTC EVO 4G Android phone (personal). Even though the Vizio is a new toy, I still do most of my non-computer eReading on one of my phones. I always have them with me and the readers are very good.

Linda (my wife) didn't like reading on the iPad. She much prefers doing it all on a 32GB iPod Touch. Easier to hold and "less threatening" she claims. Then again, she didn't like the bigger Rocket eBook for the same reason (harder to hold), preferring the smaller version.

Yes, LCDs are hard(er) to read in bright light. eInk is harder/impossible to read in dim light or darkness. Everything has a downside.

As far as a man-bag... I wear a Scott eVest "lightweight vest". It is so light even in Las Vegas summers (110+) it is cool. The various pockets hold a phone on each side, my pens, a full size tablet, eyeglass case, wallets, cigarettes, diabetic kit and a lot more. All organized and readily available.