[mr_magicfingers]

I've been lurking here for a while now, following the threads and watching the development of the e-book readers, learning from all the incredibly helpful advice here. This year, the urgency to get one has shifted gear for the following reasons:

- I'm building a 100 square foot house, out of recycled materials, to live in for the next couple of years (see jaystinyhouse.com). There is no room for more books.

- Due to my recent divorce I've had to slim down my life (moved into a shared house) and the hardest thing to do has been get rid of my book collections. Hundreds have been given away, and some sold at a car boot sale, although there's not much market for them these days apparently. My book collection now resides in two cardboard boxes, waiting for the house to be finished and put on some of the very few shelves that will be in there.

- I'm only working part-time and tomorrow I find out if I'm being made redundant at the end of the month, so buying one just got shifted further down the list of priorities.

- I have a reading addiction that needs feeding, and holding up Waterstones with a banana in my coat pocket won't make me any friends.

- I spend far too much time at a computer already and my back will thank you for letting me read in a comfortable chair.

An ebook reader is on my list of things to save for once the house is complete, as it'll be the only way I can continue owning books for the next couple of years.