Kindle vs Nook

I have the Nook. My sister and mom have Kindles.

I prefer the Nook because they offer free books every Friday. I've found so many new authors that way. As far as I know, Kindle doesn't offer anything like that. They do have the free library of books published before 1929, but Nook has that too.

I tried the Overdrive library, and I was unimpressed with the selection. But that might have something to do with the area I'm in, I'm not sure.

I bought a nook color last Christmas and absolutely love it. I like that I have access to the internet and apps, along with the books.


ajbeans- I didn't know about the free books on Friday. I'm glad you posted that!

I've got a Kindle, and LOVE IT.

There are a few sites where I get my books.

I have a kindle and love it. Amazon offers tons of free books actually on an every day basis. Just search free kindle books in Amazon's search box. I haven't tried to borrow books from the library on mine though so I'm not sure about that.

I will say one of the big deciding factors for me was the screen. I sit in front of a computer all day so the last thing I wanted to do when I read is stare at another back-lit screen. I prefer the kindle's screen because it looks like paper and because it doesn't have a backlight is much easier for the eyes. The way the screen looks is an important factor to take into consideration for the health of your eyes, especially if you wear glasses or contacts (as I do). The other plus side to the kindle screen is that you can read it anywhere and there is no glare. Because of the back-lighting on other devices this isn't always possible.

All of this being said, I don't know as much about the Nook as I do the Kindle but when making my decision the Kindle just made more sense for me.

I bought a nook color last Christmas and absolutely love it. I like that I have access to the internet and apps, along with the books.


ajbeans- I didn't know about the free books on Friday. I'm glad you posted that!

If you "like" the Nook Facebook page they remind you.

I will say one of the big deciding factors for me was the screen. I sit in front of a computer all day so the last thing I wanted to do when I read is stare at another back-lit screen. I prefer the kindle's screen because it looks like paper and because it doesn't have a backlight is much easier for the eyes. The way the screen looks is an important factor to take into consideration for the health of your eyes, especially if you wear glasses or contacts (as I do). The other plus side to the kindle screen is that you can read it anywhere and there is no glare. Because of the back-lighting on other devices this isn't always possible.

So does the Nook.

Exactly right. But not the NookColor. The NookColor is backlit. But both the regular Nook and the Kindle are black-and-white only.

I have a Nook and absolutely love it! The deciding factor for me between the Nook and the Kindle was the additional memory slot on the Nook. My sister, and two of my friends both purchased Nooks and love theirs as well. Nook allows you to 'lend' your books (up to 14 days) to other 'Nook' owners. I am not sure if Kindle has this feature. Barnes and Nobel offers Free Nook books, granted, 95% of them are not anything I read, but depending on your choice of reading material, there is usually something there for everyone.
The only slight possible draw back regarding the Nook, is I can't get my textbooks from Barnes and Nobel in ebook format, whereas Amazon makes them available. However, I doubt I would want an etextbook, I like writing notes and highlighting in my textbooks.
I have had zero problems with my Nook and have never had to contact tech support, however my sister has. Although she did tell me that their customer service was incredible and resolved her issue immediately.

Best of luck to you!!

I've only ever read on a Kindle, so I can't make a comparison of the two...but...I absolutely LOVE my Kindle. I love the size/weight and the screen in amazing! I've had mine for over a year and read daily, using it anywhere and everywhere. I love that I can read outside at my son's soccer practice in the sun and still see the screen.

You can loan books with the kindle too.

I always thought I'd NEVER go with an ereader-- I love the feel, smell, weight of a real book too much. Surprise! DH hoisted a Kindle on me about 2 years ago, and I am in love. I still read hard books, from the library mostly, but I miss my Kindle when I'm not using it-- the complaints I might come up with are more than made up for by the ease of the ereader.

Anyway... I use a Kindle, and I do love it. I'd recommend trying them both, b/c it's probably going to come down to personal preference. The only thing I'd advise against is the Nook Color (presuming you're using it for reading, not like a mini-computer. You can hop on the web with a Kindle et al, but it's not super-intuitive). Color requires backlighting, whereas as the other posters mentioned, the Kindle and the (non Color) Nook use e-ink. It's way easier on your eyes (at least my eyes), AND you can read in any light.
I have an iPad (also hoisted on me by my techno-type hubby, who normally hates Apple products), and I like it, but I am not in love with it like I am my Kindle, b/c of the backlighting. I could never sit and read it at the park, like I do my Kindle, in the sun, for instance.

RE: Library-- I've just started using my library's Kindle options. I'm reading a book that way now, and I like it fine. There were a few dozen available options for books to lend to Kindles, I choose a few, and I also put myself on the 'hold' list for some books that were all 'checked out.' I do this all the time with print books, so it's not a big deal to wait. I assume the wait might be a bit shorter-- at my library, the Kindle check-out is only 2 weeks, AND the book is returned and given to the next person in line at that point-- it's not like a hard copy where they have no choice but to wait until the person manually returns the book. You know, eh, most big-title and best-seller books were wait-listed; there is a finite number of copyright usages the library has for any given title, so that's going to be as true of the Nook or the Kindle, as I understand it (there seem to be some books that have NO limit, too, which must be a choice of the author/publisher, I figure).

There are a million free books available on the Kindle, and 2 million on the Nook. The second million on the Nook are shared in a way the author/publisher didn't agree to, so honestly, I wouldn't be DLing them anyway. I wouldn't take the book in a way that wasn't kosher / legal, so whether that's technically stealing or not, I wouldn't be doing it, so for me, all those other books you might be able to get on the Nook for free didn't really play into it for me. But your milage may vary.

Good luck! I bet you love it.


eta: that million/2 mill are made up numbers.

Nothing beats the feeling of a nice new fresh book in my hands. Sorry...nothing can compare to the real thing. Just something about that feeling............

That's what I said for several years...until my boss gave me a Nook. I love it so much.

I don't have a Nook so I can't say anything about it. I do have a Kindle though and love it, never had any problems. Also, I agree with what most have said in here - it'll all come down to your personal preference. Good luck!!