Nook or Kindle?

Sorry I disappeared all of a sudden like that. I was really sick--like emergency room sick. There were a couple of times over the last three days when I wasn't particularly lucid. I guess the body reaches a certain point where it shuts down all but the most essential functions. Coherence was the first to go. (Not that it was a stretch for me. :grin:)

I had a laugh when I kept hurrying Greg to throw out the garbage, afraid we would miss trash pick-up. But pick-ups are on Fridays and it was only Tuesday. Evidently, time is not linear when you're in la-la land.

I feel better today, weak but better than Monday anyway. I came down with a serious bronchitis infection. (never had one before) My fever spiked so high I couldn't get warm and Greg fed me hot water to keep me from dehydrating too quickly.

He was about to lug me to the emergency room, but I knew it would be daylight soon and I begged him to wait so I could see my doctor.

He made an appointment for me when her office opened. Unfortunately, the earliest was late afternoon, and I steadily kept going downhill. As soon as my doc listened to my lungs she put me on a breathing apparatus and gave me some meds with codeine in it for the pain. It was bad. Even worse than the flu. But all's well that ends well, and I think I turned the corner today.

Thanks for all your concern. It meant a lot to me.

***

Despite my scary jaunt through the Underworld, I did have some good luck on the weekend. LASR held a Valentine Weekend bash with a whole passel of authors. They held drawings throughout the weekend and I won the grand prize! (If I'd known I was going to be that lucky I would've played the lottery.)

I get my choice of a Kindle, Nook, or a gift certificate. But which do I choose? I am really torn. My first instinct was to go with the Nook, since I'd heard so many good things about it, but one thing keeps nagging me. After Border's bellyflop, is B&N in danger of going out of business too? Didn't they reorganize recently because of financial woes? What will happen to the Nook, if they ever file bankruptcy?

Nonetheless, deciding which machine is a pretty sweet problem to have. I can't believe I won. I've wanted an e-reader for so long. 

If you were to choose, which would you pick and why--Nook or Kindle? Will the Nook read Kindle books and vice versa? I'm so excited. I can't wait to have my very own e-reader.

I'm going to attempt to visit your blogs today. No guarantee I'll make them all in one sitting, but I'll try. I am still pretty weak, but at least I can read again.

Comments

Angelina Rain said…
Oh you poor thing, I’m so, so sorry to hear about the bronchitis. I had that when I was a kid and it was scary, they weren’t sure I was going to make it. My doctor recommended keeping some sort of plant at the foot of the bed that’s known to help clear up bronchitis, and it helped, but since I was like two at the time, I really don’t remember what the plant was. I asked my mom, but she doesn’t remember either. All I can say is try to rest and get better.

Congratulations on winning the grand price. I wanted to participate in that but other things came up this past weekend. I’m glad you won, though. I can’t say which one to choose, but I would personally go with the nook. E-readers are so popular that I think even if the store were to close down the e-reader might still stay on the shelves. On the other hand, only the kindle reads kindle books and since Amazon offers sales and discounts on books that are just too good to pass by, the Kindle might be the better choice. It’s a hard decision to make.


PS: Stay warm and get better, honey! :-)
Maria Zannini said…
Angelina: I will have to Google plants. That's interesting.

I've never had bronchitis before. I was shocked it hit me so hard and so fast. I was fine all weekend, but Sunday night I took a nosedive.

You're right. It was very scary. I couldn't figure out what was happening.
Angela said…
I'm glad you're feeling better. How horrendous to be that sick. Nook or Kindle? I couldn't tell you since I've never really owned either. Sorry I can't be more help.
Unknown said…
Yikes, that sounds awful. Hope you're soon back to normal - um, that doesn't sound quite right, but you know what I mean. Take good care of yourself!

I think I'd go for the Kindle. I use the iPad for eBooks, but I have been gazing longingly at the Nook lately. However, I think Amazon, unlike Borders and possibly B&N, is here to stay. What a difficult choice to have to make. :)

Congratulations on your win!
Margo Benson said…
Oh, bronchitis is horrible! Wishing you better and sending virtual lemon and honey.
Congratulations on the prize! here in the UK the Kindle is everwhere (we don't have high street B&N)although I've seen a few Sony e-readers too. What a prize!
Maria Zannini said…
Angela: It sure surprised me. :)

Shirley: That was my thinking. Amazon is unlikely to go under. But B&N is still in the fight.

Margo: I couldn't believe it. I kept reading the email, thinking I had to have misunderstood. It still feels unreal to me.
Joanne said…
I'd pick the Kindle, because it was first. It was innovative, it opened the doors.
Mike Keyton said…
So glad you're well, Maria

Ref E reader - I'm really happy with the kindle. Very eye friendly and easy to use
Sarah Ahiers said…
ugh, that sucks being so sick!

My mom has a Kindle and i have to say it's pretty awesome.

BUT, the Nook is in color, which is a huge bonus. Also, i'm a bit anti Amazon and their cornering of markets.

However (though i'm not sure on this) i don't think you can have nook books on the kindle and vice versa.

I think you'll be happy with whichever you pick.
I am TOTALLY jealous!
Maria Zannini said…
Joanne: Kindle continues to be cutting edge. And they've been advertising aggressively. They are determined to make all of us read in digital.

Mike: I fiddled with a Kindle over Christmas and was surprised how easy it was to read. Plus you can enlarge the text!

Sarah: Doesn't Kindle have a color version too? If I take the gift certificate, I can just add the difference and get it in color.
Maria, I stopped by before to comment, but it looks as if that got lost on Blogger somewhere. Sorry to hear how ill you've been, but I'm glad you're getting better.

Right now, the Kindle doesn't have color. They don't have color e-ink yet, as far as I know. The color Nook is a regular backlit touchscreen.

I don't think you can go wrong with either reader. Ultimately, it depends on how important color or e-ink is to you. (While I envy color, I really love e-ink.) What I would do is go through some of your favorite authors/genres and see where they're available. I found more SF/fantasy titles on Kindle, so that's why I went with that.
Tony Benson said…
You poor thing! I hope you'll be fully recovered soon.

Congrats on the win! If I had to chose I'd probaby go for a Kindle. The overall choice of books is, as far as I can tell, much bigger.

Now, I see I have to type in the verification word 'upogritl' It's one of the better ones, don't you think?
Unknown said…
Sorry to hear about your emergency room non-adventure. I can't think of a place closer to one of the circles of hell.

On the other hand, have fun deciding on your prize. I'm sure you'll make a good decision and tell us about it.
Maria Zannini said…
Sandra: Thank you! I didn't know the Nook only had a backlight. I really like the e-ink. To me it looks like reading off a regular page. This was very helpful. Thanks!
Maria Zannini said…
Tony: I often wonder if the word verification slinks into the recesses of our subconscious to pull out these doosies. If that's true, I might worry about what that says about your subconscious. :)


Kay: It was not much fun. My whole week is messed up. Thanks!
Krista D. Ball said…
DO NOT GET KINDLE.

There have been repeated issues with amazon pulling works you've legally downloaded (in the last couple of weeks, a friggin dictionary of all things). True, Canadians might see it a little more than Americans, but that's not the point. I have a Sony ereader and NO ONE has EVER taken stuff off mine.

Also, Kindle is behind in accepting that epub is becoming the new standard. Everyone else has it. Also, some folks still struggling with pdf issue (i.e inlaws have new Kindle and not all their pdfs still are readable).

Folks have issues with DRM products purchased not on amazon.

I love the Sony eReaders (we have 2 different ones in the house). I've heard good things about Kobo and Nook, too.

DO NOT GET A KINDLE. Evil. :p
Krista D. Ball said…
To address availability of books:

See, with my Sony, I can buy from anyone and add it to the device. Like I said, I've never purchased from the Sony store - ever. And I have several hundred ebooks.
Maria, to clarify, only the color Nook is backlit. The regular one does have e-ink.
Linda Leszczuk said…
I lost a whole Christmas to bronchitis once. Never even knew it went by. Take very good care of yourself while you recover.

I have a Nook and it's great. (yeah, it's a color, my hubby bought it for me) This may not seem like logical reasoning but I feel we should support bookstores. Amazon is becoming this all-powerful thing, and bookstores are going out of business. It distresses me. So I say Nook over Kindle. I think the Nook and B&N eBook market will survive even if the retail bookstores fail, but wouldn't it be great if the one could save the other.
Cate Masters said…
Yikes, Maria, so glad Greg was there to nurse you! And thank goodness you're on the upswing.
Congrats on winning the LASR contest! I was envious at first, but you need lots of books to see you through recovery. :)
Sending you lots of healing thoughts (chicken soup won't fit through the IP line)
Maria Zannini said…
Krista: You do realize, I am half Evil on my mother's side twice removed, right? :)

I have a friend who feels the same way and has never bought a single item from Amazon, even when it costs her many times more to buy it elsewhere. My sister is the same way with Walmart. While I admire their ethics, it's a little like spitting in the wind.

In the case of my friend, who is wildly popular and never misses a chance to malign Amazon, she continues to see 'mistakes' and slights with her book listings on Amazon. Very suspicious to a conspiracy theorist like me.

I can't imagine a giant like Amazon would pick on one tiny author, but who knows? There comes a time to strike and a time to play the game--even if you don't like all the rules. You have to pick your battles, knowing that sometimes, Goliath wins.

If I could have any wish, I would prefer a Sony, but only if it had e-ink. That is the one variable that I won't negotiate. I've held the Sony and I liked it very much.
Maria Zannini said…
Sandra: Thank you for the clarification. I'm going to spend a little time researching this weekend. Hopefully, I'll feel better by then. But your info has been very helpful to me.

***
Linda: Always the pragmatist. :) I noticed Amazon gobbling things up five years ago. I totally expected it to rise in power. But it's been limited too by other giants and loud lobbyists.

And while I don't want to see bookstores go down the tubes, they are just as responsible as publishers for creating the mess they're in.

In this country we have a bad habit of bailing people out. I say let them duke it out. Someone will buy those publishers and bookstores--hopefully someone with more vision.

***
Cate: I was so glad to see you at LASR. Most of the authors were new to me, but it was good to see a familiar face.

Yes. Maria needs books. Good for recovery.
Unknown said…
Holy Jeebus Maria - that's damn sick! I'm glad you're feeling a bit better. Yay for Greg too! (Don't mean to come across as patronizing, I really mean it. My dad is totally incompetent in such situations and often does more harm than good).

I'd choose the Kindle only because I've read a few things about the Nook having bugs. A drawback for the Kindle though is it only reads its own documents, not other PDF files and such. I don't know if the Nook is as exclusive. Dear Author (http://dearauthor.com/) & Smart Bitches, Trash Books (http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/) have a whole bunch of posts on the pros/cons of every eReader on the market. You might want to check them out if you have some time.
Jenny Schwartz said…
Bronchitis -- definitely a weekend in hell. I hope you're feeling better, staying warm and eating soup (well, the soup is optional, but I'm a big fan of homemade chicken soup).

Congrats on winning an ereader!
Nas said…
Hi Maria,

That sounds so aweful. I hope you're feeling better now. Congrats on winning the prize and I can see its a tough decision!

Thanks for swinging by my blog and the follow!
Sherri said…
Welcome back to the land of the living :)

Congrats on the win. I've been researching and drooling over getting an e-reader for what now feels like forever. My Nook is en route :Snoopy dancing:

Okay, reasons I went with the Nook --

I can get library books (currently you can't do this with the Kindle)

I've heard horror stories about people losing their books from the Kindle when Amazon pulled titles (true you can solve this by making sure you back up your books but really, I bought the book!)

In the end, the Nook is easier to download from other sources (I've been told you can reformat books for the Kindle you've bought elsewhere -- hmm more trouble than I want to deal with to read a book!)

I'm just getting the regular Nook which has the color touch screen at the bottom but e-ink for the reading area. The color Nook would be too much like reading on the computer.
Maria Zannini said…
Catie: I've been following the Dear Author posts, but I will definitely review them.


Jenny: This is the first bronchitis I've ever had and I never want to relive the experience. I feel so weak. I keep taking naps and that helps.

Nas: Hi, Nas. It was good to meet you. A very nice blog you have. :)


Sherri: The more feedback I get on the machines, the more conflicted I become. If only Sony came with e-ink, then I wouldn't hesitate which machine to get. I guess I could do all my reading indoors and forego e-ink, but I'd hate to.
Dru said…
Wearing my computer glasses....

I'm so glad that you are okay. Make sure you take care of yourself.

I have both the kindle and the nook.

I like my nook. The advantage with the nook is you can download books from the library and with a memory card, you can add more books to your collection.

I like my kindle. The advantage is a lot of authors have their works on Kindle that are not available on the nook.

My main book collection is on the nook.

I still want an iPad.
Mason Canyon said…
Sorry to hear you were so sick. Glad to know you're on the road to recovery. Congratulations on your win, that's great. I've wondered which is the better buy, Nook or Kindle so I'll be watching to see which you select and why. Take care and feel better.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Unknown said…
I have a Nook which I like very much. The deciding factor for me was the ability to borrow library books with the Nook. My teen has a Kindle which she also loves. I was just complaining that I needed to replace my batteries for my light and she's mocking me because her Kindle light runs off the Kindle battery. No reading in bed for me tonight. Mean daughter.
Glad to hear that you're feeling better. That sounds really scary.
Jackie said…
I cannot help with the decision to choose which e-reader but can truly say I am so glad you had Greg with you and hope he is still there now! Maria that old song off HeeHaw "if it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all, gloom despair and agony on me" fits your luck to a tee!

Get well and congratulations on winning an e-reader!
Kaz Augustin said…
When I hadn't heard from you for a while, I'd assumed you were getting jiggy with Greg! Soooooo sorry to hear you were poorly. Would have sent you one of my long-ass emails if I'd known.

CONGRATS on the ereader! Get whichever one is NOT e-ink. If both are e-ink, well, just because it's Amazon's, I'd go Nook. And so what if B&N goes belly-up? You can still load ebooks from other sources. If Kindle format goes belly up, though, you are screwed. And not in a good way.
James Garcia Jr said…
I so sorry to hear that you were/are ill, Maria. Please get well, okay? I prefer that you see ghosts than actually becoming one!
We have two Kindles at my house, if that tells you anything. If I had to hedge my bets as to which is the safest choice, I guess it would have to be with Amazon's gadget.
Enjoy whatever you choose and get better soon, my friend.
-Jimmy
Meghan S. said…
Wow, so sorry to hear about the bronchitis! But I'm glad that you're feeling better and I hope you continue improving.

I have a kindle and I like it a lot. But that's b/c I buy most of my books on amazon. I wouldn't worry about B&N closing, if that's your only reason for not getting a nook. Also, try googling "kindle vs. nook" and I bet you will get a TON of reviews to check out!
Anonymous said…
So glad you are getting better, so am I gradually, too. It's funny what you worry about when you are sick. I ually fret about dusta and the settlement cracks in the walls!

I so prefer reading from hard copy page. Maybe it's my funny eyes, but I also love owning books and if I lend them out to friends who then don't return them I'm ready to commit murder! LOL! :O)
Kim said…
I'm glad you're feeling better!

I'm in the Kindle corner, even though I don't own one. We gave my mom one for Christmas and as soon as I can figure out a way to steal it without her finding out...

Get lots of rest and plenty of tea (or coffee.) :)
Maria Zannini said…
Dru: I'm afraid that's what's going to end up happening. I'm going to end up with two machines eventually.

Mason: Nice to see you. :) I think it's a conspiracy to make consumers buy both.

Eleri: The one thing that is definitely in the Kindle's favor is battery life. A big plus in my book.

Jackie: I know it seems like bad stuff keeps happening to me, but it's so par for the course, it doesn't even register as bad luck. LOL. It's very inconvenient though--especially since we've had gorgeous weather all week.
Maria Zannini said…
Kaz: If I don't answer an email or comment with 24 hours, you can safely assume I am either slightly dead, really dead, or my internet is out.

Jimmy: Thanks! I am better than yesterday.

Meghan: I have googled Kindle vs Nook and found some very in depth discussions, and strong arguments for both machines. Le sigh.

Madeleine: Glad you're getting better, hon. E-ink changed my mind about reading from a reader. It really does look like a printed page. No glare.

Kim: You're just going to have to distract your mom. :) Either that or tell her: Kindle? You never had a Kindle, mom. lol.
Bookewyrme said…
Yipe! That sounds really bad Maria. Glad you're feeling better now though.

I would personally go with the Nook. I've heard good things about it too. Also, I don't really like Amazon much, and would avoid supporting them by buying a kindle and then books. Finally, even if B&N goes under, you can still load e-books into your Nook from your computer. Besides, I don't think it would be a quick process for B&N to go under completely.

Anyway, congrats on the new e-reader, whichever you choose. I love mine, and was ecstatic to get it.
~Lia
Dorothy said…
So sorry you've been sick! Take care of yourself.

I have a kindle and like it fine. However, the nook looks good to me too. B&N seems to be in pretty good shape.

daw
Marianne Arkins said…
You already know I'm a Nook fan -- I wouldn't take a Kindle if you gave it to me (except to sell it and buy more books for my Nook).

I love that I can borrow books from my library. I love that I don't have to reformat anything in order to put it on my Nook. ePub (which is what my library has) goes right onto the Nook without issue.

I can buy books anywhere -- the publisher, Fictionwise, All Romance eBooks -- and I don't have to reformat them to put them on my Nook. Easy Peasy...

RE: Barnes and Noble going out of business -- i suspect that even if their brick and mortar stores had problems, they'd maintain an online presence. Borders does (and they have their own eReader too).

Re: Sony eReader -- we gave those away for our first anniversary and I hated them. I couldn't get them to talk to my computer, and didn't think they were worth the money -- they're more than either Kindle or Nook. Another eReader I wouldn't get.

The regular Nook is eInk and is actually EASIER to read than a print book for me. Font is adjustable (and not just size, but you can choose from various fonts as well) and Nook also allows you to surf the web ON the Nook if you have WiFi. I posted on Facebook from my Nook at the dentist's office once and when my mom's computer died, she used her Nook to stay in touch until she got it fixed.

Yeah ... I'm a Nook fan. :-)
Maria Zannini said…
Bookewyrme: I don't know why I'm fretting about it. I know I'll love either one. I guess I just want to choose wisely the first time, in case it's my last time. :)

Dorothy: Hiya, Daw. Thanks for stopping in.

Marianne: Sometimes I wonder if it would've been easier not to get the choice. I've found compelling arguments for both.

They are truly neck and neck in the items that are important to me. I will admit, B&N ticked me off because for the second time, they've been slow at putting my book on their web site.

I know that has nothing to do with the Nook. But as a customer, I'd like to see my book represented at the same time as Amazon. BTW--thank you again. :)