Having owned or trialed almost every main-brand ereader out there, I can happily say the NST w/Glowlight is by far my favourite. I have 2 myself, ones a spare as I couldnt stand to be without it should anything happen to my main one, and I have bought 6 for various family and friends. I am not a fan of the Paperwhite and can be positively scornful of all Kobo's. Sony's I can take or leave, not that theres much there to choose from now anyway.
Its hard to choose, isnt it? When you read reviews online you get so many conflicting opinions. I've read some scathing reviews of my Nook, but I've also read just as many, if not more, positive reviews. And the same goes for the Kindles and Kobo's etc.
If your friends have ereaders, I would suggest you ask if you can have a play with theirs. If they wont let you take it home, even just using it for an hour or so should give you an idea if its the right ereader for you. Or if you can go into stores that sell them, do so and take your time checking out all the features. Ask to be somewhere dark to check the lighting properly. Even just covering the ereader with a jacket or something is better than nothing.
Good luck with your decision making
