Since first writing book reviews at The Wytch's Mirror, I have been on and off again about ereaders. These little gadgets, like all technology, peek my curiosity and usually that is the extent of it. My eye sight is not the best and I was concerned I would have trouble seeing the text. Not to mention, there is nothing that can ever replace a real book. I know all book lovers do agree on that completely.
Although I love holding real books in my hands while reading, I have found a real need to be able to download ebooks and then to get all of those reads onto a portable gadget. There are many readers to choose from and with lots of different options, it all can make 'decision making' quite difficult.
It was unexpected, but so appreciated. On Mother's Day, my Husband and Daughter made sure I got my
Nook. I had considered other brands, less expensive and much less popular, but I am very fortunate they insisted on the Nook. All I can say is bless their hearts, they made their old wytch a happy one.
I was a bit disappointed to find no back light. Now that I have been using it for awhile I can say with confidence, I get along perfectly fine without a back light and it is not a bother what so ever. In fact, it reads beautifully outside on a sunny day, in the vehicle or any place I so choose. At night in bed, I use a small bed side table lamp and the screen absorbs that light nicely. It's simply wonderful, and I'm finding my Nook much more easy to read than book print.
My Nook is the 1st edition with a smaller memory than
Nook Color and of course, the screen where I read my book is black and white. However, the menu at the bottom is in color and shows the book covers beautifully within my Barns & Noble Library and I can buy more along with downloading tons of free reads at
Barnes & Noble NOOK Book Store! The World's Largest eBook Store with over 2 Million eBooks!
Registering Nook
A WiFi connection is absolutely necessary to register the Nook. Registration is absolutely necessary to really enjoy the Nook. What ever email is used to register the Nook must be the same email used to register Adobe Digital Editions. It is important to be able to sync these for transferring all digital reading.
The Nook can be used and enjoyed daily without a WiFi connection, however it really should be registered to use properly.
My Library
I have an account with
Barnes & Noble. I search books and ebooks that I am interested in of all genres. There are many free ebooks available for the Nook and several of those are my favorites with vampires, witches, werewolves, and paranormal romance that this wytch loves to read. Searching Barnes & Noble on my PC, I add the ebooks I want to my eWish List. On my trips out and I know I will be where free Wifi is offered, I simply hit the Wifi button on my Nook and I am connected. Once in My Library on the Nook, I click on eWish List and download the books I want. It takes only a few minutes depending on the Wifi Connection.
The books that are in My Documents that I have transferred from my PC do not have a 'show cover' option. If a cover is included with the ebook it is shown when the book is first opened but it will be in black in white on my classic Nook. For those that want color and need all that extra memory I would recommend the Nook Color.
PC Connectivity
The Nook comes with a cable that connects to the computer easily. There's nothing to download, I just plugged it in and my computer recognized my Nook. The Nook can charge while being plugged into the computer. The same cable used for the computer comes with an AC adapter to make it accessible to an electric outlet as well. The cable is really soft and compact, easily stored in a small pocket in my purse.
Although it is possible to transfer PDF's and other files from the PC to the Nook, a Wifi connection is necessary to download ebooks from Barns&Noble.
Once files have been transferred and you are finished, right click on the nook drive usually named nook(F:) and click eject, once it changes to removable, you can safely remove the cable from the computer or leave your Nook plugged in for charging.
Adobe Digital Editions
I use Adobe Digital Editions and it also recognizes my Nook so that I can sync my own ebook library. As long as the email is the same for registering the Nook and for registering ADE, everything will sync together.
Music
My Nook also has a music player. It is nothing fancy though and has no organization what so ever. If you put a dozen songs on it, they will not be listed in any order by album or artist. They simply are there and you click next or previous to get to the song of choice. The volume even on high still sounds low by most standards, and can be played without ear buds. When using ear buds the music is much crisper, nicer and louder.
Keep in mind the songs you want to transfer will need to be in MP3 format. If you have the latest version of Windows Media Player, go to Rip, format, mp3, and now ready to copy music. Just plug the Nook into the PC, open the Nook usually in nook(F:) drive, transfer the mp3's to the 'my music' folder. Photographs and other images can also be transferred along with wallpapers and screensavers. To disconnect be sure to select eject on the nook(F:) drive, then safely remove the cable from the computer.
I do not know first hand about audio books with the Nook and I can not share how to get those to work, however, supposedly the Nook should be able to support audio books. I am looking forward to finding out!
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The Nook is a beautiful thing I tell you. I have fallen in love with mine way more than I could have thought I would. This was something I struggled with for a long time and I was convinced that I would not like nor need an ereader. Now, I can truthfully say that I adore my Nook and though I could probably survive with out it, if I had too.... my Nook would be sorely missed.
