Thanks for the help, it was indeed not charging. I *really* wish Sony's Connect software was a little better. It's not unfathomable that a developer like myself might want to install the software on Win Server 2003 - it's my daily work machine where I work.
Got home and charged off the wall to give it a good solid charge and I'm back to reading today

Thanks for the tip!
(HarryT - it was a matter of just being stuck at work with a dead Reader, I use my PSP charger at home for regular charging, I think my Reader charger's still in the original box, hehe).