Welcome to MobileRead, ramjet44!
I have both a Sony 700 and an ebw1150 and love them both. Either one would be a great gift, but you might want to check out the
E-book Reader Matrix to compair other readers on the market. Also, there has been a lot of discussion of two potential new readers from Sony. You can find information about them
Here. Good luck and don't be shy about asking questions.
Happy Reading.