Not sure if anyone has seen this yet (I have been following this for a while), I didn't see any posts about it here but it looks like it could be a viable and arguably better alternative than the iPad if you are in fact considering buying an iPad as an ebook reader.
It seems to address quite a few of the caveats that people (me in particular) have with the iPad as a "tablet" and as an ebook reader while not being unattractively designed.
Slashgear hand on video
Company website with specs etc