Lola's Lounge: Tablet Talk

 I would like to take a moment to discuss tablets. Several months ago, I made the plunge and bought my first ereader. After much deliberation, I finally decided to purchase a Nook Glowlight (pictured below). You can read my decision-making process here. There's a great article that compares ereaders here, if you're interested.

Photo found here

I can not believe how skeptical I had been up until that point. After just one book, I fully embraced the ereader. Books were cheaper, lighter, and I was no longer living in fear of being eaten alive by my endless stacks of books. I especially loved how I could easily organize my books (i.e. read, tbr, galley's, etc...) I knew it was only a matter of time before I purchased a tablet. There are three major tablets that I had my eye on...The Nook HD, The IPad, and of course, The Kindle.

Photo found here

 I won't lie, the main element I based my decision on was price. There is a great in-depth article here that compares all of the tablets. Barnes & Noble currently is running a special on their Nook's. So, I bought the Nook HD+ 16 GB for $149 (originally priced at $269). Here were some of the reasons why I chose the Nook HD+ :

1. Price

2. Size

3. No Adds

4. All of my B&N purchases are available

5. Expandable storage

6. In-house support

Photo found here 

Overall, this has proved to be a great purchase for me. My tablet is practically another appendage. The apps are fun. I especially love the word games. ;) I love reading magazines on the tablet, some of which are even interactive. I love how portable the tablet is...it's like having a mini laptop. I can go online, watch movies, check my email, play games, and more! The only downside is that I have been distracted from reading. I really need to get back to my reading roots. 

I would love to hear from you! Do you own a tablet or ereader? If so, what kind? Are you happy with it? If you could make your purchase again, would you get the same thing or would you get something different? If you don't have a tablet or ereader, why not? Which one would you buy...or should we all just stick to paper books? Let me know your thoughts!

Well, I finally did it!

 Yup, that's right! I finally took the plunge and bought an ereader. I've been tossing the idea around for a while after stubbornly abstaining for years. Initially, when they came out my interest was piqued. I knew that I wanted something that I could read for long periods of time without straining my eyes. The concept of a long life battery was appealing as well. I narrowed down my choices to a kindle or nook, something simple. But which one? I couldn't decide, so I put off buying one. Frustrated at my lack of decisiveness, I declared "I've been reading paper books for a long time, why change now?" Then all the colorful tablets came along with their allure of internets, apps, and games. I was tempted by their shininess. This added even more choices to my already difficult decision and once again, I couldn't choose. I just put off making a decision again. Then came along this tome:

 It weighs in at just shy of 600 pages. Holding this sucker brought back memories of all the hefty hardcovers I've read from time to time. Trying to get comfortable, in the right light, while staying on the right page. I finally thought "this would be so much easier if I had an ereader." Then came cyber Monday and Amazon's kindle fire on sale for $30 off the original asking price. I was ready to take the plunge but had yet to decide on which ereader I wanted. I asked my friends and facebook buddies for recommendations. With their input and online reviews in mind, I finally settled on either the kindle paper white or the nook simple touch with glow light (Neither of which came highly recommended. People really seem to like the color tablets.). So it came down to price. Which was the biggest bang for my buck? The final answer was the nook simple touch with glowlight. It had all the features of the kindle paper white for the same price. However, all the accessories were included. Plus, I have the option of bringing it into the store if I have any issues or troubleshooting. So I took the plunge and made the purchase. So far, I am beyond happy. I can't believe I waited this long. I plan to weed out a good portion of my paper books and sell them back (Keep in mind, I have enough books that the fear of being buried alive by them is a real motivator to thin the heard), then purchase what I want to keep on the nook. This will certainly lighten my book load when I move. I still plan on buying paper books that I want to keep/display, particularly those of beloved series. However, the ease of the ereader is making a marked improvement on my day-to-day reading.

What do you think? Are you a fan of the ereader? If so, which one? If not, tell me why! I'd love to know your thoughts!