I have the Asus 1000HE and read quite a few books on it so I'll try to address some of the questions. It really does everything I need it to. I use it for documents, internet browsing, taking notes, reading, music, movies, and TV.
One poster asked about flipping the screen. This can be done by pressing Ctrl+Alt+arrow key. I use it this way sometimes while reading pdf books or comics.
This is what it looks like with a page open. Also it does come with a matte screen and screen brightness can be adjusted with a function key. It also has 2 programmable function keys and I keep one set to open my ereader.
I'm currently running XP and I primarily use MobiPocket for reading books. I have tried most of the other programs out there (besides the kindle app that just came out) and this one so far is my favorite. You can change the layout, font, and just about everything else. I'm attaching a
Screenshot of the fullscreen layout I normally use. Use arrow keys to flip the page.
I'm still trying to find the perfect solution for PDF's. I've read some books just using Sumatra and I've read some using Adobe Digital Editions. Sometimes I can get a decent conversion to text and just use mobi.
All that said I've been using my eee to read since my iPod Touch met its untimely demise. I still miss having that tiny reader everywhere. I am thinking about buying a nook right now just to have a lightweight, dedicated reader. Sure I get great battery life on this but the extended life of an eink reader is quite alluring.