Tag: ebooks

New Kindle, Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, eBook, Gadgets, Kindle, Nook, Products I Like, Reading, Tech1 Comment

Amazon has done it again.  They have surprised us with new Kindle devices.  Not just a replacement for their popular Kindle but 3 all new Kindles.

First there is the Kindle Fire (pic) which is more like a tablet and some people are calling it an iPad killer.  It’s battery lasts 8 hours which is pretty good for what it is.

The specs on the Kindle Fire is an 80GB hard drive for storing 80 apps plus either 10 movies, 800 songs or 6,000 books.  The Kindle Fire has a 7″ vibrant color IPS screen with multi-touch.

I had never heard of an IPS screen before so I had to look it up and I found some information on it on a message board.  This is what someone said it was.

IPS – in-plane switching…. the liquid crystals are aligned horizontally instead of on an angle. This process greatly increases vertical viewing angles. When coupled with the high brightness and contrast of the glaretype displays, color reproduction is almost perfect. Basically it becomes a 1/4″ professional graphics flat CRT monitor…. which is why the display is primarily for those in professional graphics.

Very interesting.

The new Amazon Kindle Fire is $199 and it is a WiFi only device.

The 2nd new Kindle is a smaller priced Kindle with no keyboard.  It is WiFi only, has a 6″ e-ink Pearl screen, 2GB storage for 1,400 ebooks and its battery life is 1 month.

The new $79 kindle doesn’t have a keyboard but it does have a 5-way controller at the bottom for navigating.  With no keyboard I would imagine that it would be a bit difficult to type in the name of a book you are looking for.

I noticed that it allows you to check out books from the library.  That was something that will make it easier on most people who can’t afford to buy a lot of books but don’t want to have to go to the library for their books.  I looked that feature up when I was researching last year and our library is not in the system so it wouldn’t work for me unless they changed that in the last year.

They still have their Kindle with the keyboard which they have 2 versions of, a WiFi only version for $99 and a WiFi and 3G version for $139.  That went way down in price since last year when it was $150 for WiFi only and $200 for 3G.

Now they have a new Kindle touch in WiFi only for $99 and WiFi and 3G for $149.

The battery for both the Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Touch lasts for 2 months which is longer than before.

All of the kindles use the Amazon cloud storage for unlimited amazon content and they have an experimental browser with the exception of the Kindle Fire which uses their new Amazon Silk cloud-accelerated browser.

I remember when e-book readers first came out.  I had just made my new years resolution to start reading in December of 2005.  I saw the Sony reader at Costco for about $500 or $550, I can’t remember.  I do remember thinking how cool it was that they were coming out with them but I didn’t think they would catch on at that price.

I started reading the Harry Potter books in January 2006 and got hooked on reading.  I was reading all the time after that.

Then Amazon came out with their first e-book reader which if I can remember was almost as high as the Sony Reader but eventually they lowered the price down to $250.  Then B&N came out with their Nook after a little controversy with another e-book reader with a color screen at the bottom.  The nook was also $250.

The war was on and every year these 2 rivals have come out with a new version of their e-book reader with a lower price.

The Kindle has dropped from a high $500 all the way down to a low $80.  I never thought the day would come and it has.  Before you know it there will be another Kindle or Nook on the market that will be as low as $50 and every kid will have one in school with their textbooks on them.

My question is, what ever happened to the Sony reader touch?  That was a good one and it’s a shame it’s gone because you could write on the screen.  I seriously thought that the Sony Reader would evolve into the Sony Trapper Keeper where you would have all of your textbooks in there as well as a notebook with tabs for each subject and you could write your notes on a notepaper screen and have it turn it into typed text that you could save.  That would’ve been awesome.

Maybe that will be the next evolution for the Kindle or the Nook, or who knows, maybe even both.  It would be much easier for a child to carry to school rather than a heavy 20lb backpack filled with books and a notebook or a laptop.

Reading is a Skill

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, Nook, Reading4 Comments

I talked to one of my aunts on Facebook this morning about reading a book that she and my uncle had recommended to me in 2006.  I read the first book in the series of a million books (over-exaggerated number) and it was probably the most difficult book I had ever read.  I told her, and I was just saying this as an excuse, that reading is like a skill.  I can’t read an advanced book as a beginner, or even intermediate reader.

This was her response:

“Your analysis of reading being a skill is spot on, as the Brits say. It IS a skill, and the only way to improve that skill is to continually work at it.”

So, it is no longer just an excuse and the only way for me to be able to read those books is to continue to read my immature vampire ebooks to continue to grow as a reader lol.

I actually love reading.  I would say that I used the Harry Potter books as my beginners books and have grown from there.  The Harry Potter books were amazing because they didn’t have big words that I had never even heard in daily use, they were simple words that every person knows.

I think buying the Nook was the best investment towards my “skill” for many reasons like the built-in dictionary for example.  If I don’t know a word I can look it up by either typing the word into the Nook or by placing the cursor next to a word.  This helps me learn what those words mean for the next time I see it.  It helps me grow as a reader.

Eventually I will get to those Belgariad books.  Like I said, I read the first book and as difficult as it was to read, it was just as difficult to put it down because it was such a good story.  I’ve only read the first story and I can’t wait to get to the next one because I have to know what happens next.

I’m in the intermediate stage because the vampire books that I have read have had some pretty big words and I’ve been able to understand without having to look the words up so I feel like I’m almost there.

I was going to make up my own skill level names but I wanted some examples like beginner, intermediate, pro etc. but I actually found that there is in fact a reading level Wiki site.  Wikibooks: Reading Levels.

So here we have pre-reader which are the children’s book which I actually did read as a child until I was maybe 5.  Then there is beginner which is almost similar to children’s books but maybe without pictures.  I’m pretty sure Harry Potter is in this category.  Intermediate which are books that most adults can comprehend and I do believe that the vampire books that I read are intermediate.

The final 2 categories are advanced and professional.  I’m pretty sure the Lord of the Rings and Belgariad are both in the advanced category.  They may be somewhere in between though, I’m not quite sure.

It will take me a bit of time to get to the advanced stage because I haven’t really read that many books but I’m working on it.  The more I read the better I get at it and as long as I continue to read what I’m reading I’m pretty sure I will get up in the ranks and join the rest of the adults my age lol.

Cirque Du Freak eBooks

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, eBook, Kindle, Nook1 Comment

I started reading the Darren Shan “Cirque Du Freak” books late last year on Halloween.  I figured it was time to start a new series of books and since it was Halloween, I wanted it to be some type of horror book and I remembered the Vampire’s Assistant started out as a book so I figured it would be a good read.

The ebooks were only a couple bucks and I figured it would be a very good purchase.  I didn’t read them all right away, I read the first 3 then stopped to pursue other books.  But last month I decided that I wanted to finish them once and for all.

These books are small so it doesn’t take more than a day to read them, less for everyone else who doesn’t have dyslexia.  So it usually takes me 2 days at a couple of hours each day to read them.

The first book was very similar to the movie but with a lot more detail.  At first I thought the movie was all 12 books rolled into a movie but after the first book I realized it wasn’t the case because decades have passed in the book where only maybe months have passed in the movie.  But the movie also didn’t get to the war of the scars either and with Darren and Mr. Crepsley leaving the Cirque at the end of the movie, or rather the next day when Darren has had his rest, it leaves it open for more story which I doubt they will ever tell in movie format.

The books were very good to read and since I had most of the characters in my head from watching the movie I was able to visualize most of them for when I read the books.

I hate giving away plots or story lines because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone but if you do get a chance to read these please do.

I said the books were a couple bucks, well, unfortunately they raised the price.  eBooks are now $7.99 each but you can buy the actual books in a set for only $35 on Amazon.  That’s only a couple bucks per book and it is so worth it.  I don’t know if $8 is worth it since they are so small though.  I’m just glad I bought the whole series when I did lol.

If you weren’t aware of the story, here is a synopsis from the Cirque du Freak Wiki:

The Vampire’s Assistant is a fantasy-adventure based on the first three books of the series, The Saga of Darren Shan, by author Darren Shan about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares.

16-year-old Darren was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend Steve, got decent grades, and usually stayed out of trouble. But when he and Steve stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That’s the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley turns him into something bloodthirsty.

Newly undead, he joins the Cirque du Freak, a touring sideshow filled with monstrous creatures from a snakeboy and a Wolf Man to a bearded lady and a gigantic ringmaster. As Darren flexes his newfound powers in this dark world, he becomes a treasured pawn between the vampires and their deadlier counterparts. And while trying to survive, one boy will struggle to keep their brewing war from devouring what’s left of his humanity.

There is a lot more about the story than in this synopsis but you can find out about it by reading the books.  This synopsis says the movie is based on the first 3 books but that isn’t exactly the truth because so much happens in the 2nd and 3rd book that you never even see in the movie.  If I were you I would just get the books and find out for yourself.  I double dare you.

True Blood Season 4

On By Michel McDonaldIn True Blood2 Comments

I have been watching True Blood since the very first season in 2008.  Let’s just say that any tv show with anything that is supernatural is my cup of tea.  Well, this isn’t just any supernatural show to me, it’s an obsession.

I didn’t actually start reading the books until last year at the end of the 3rd season because I couldn’t afford to spend $60 on the book set at the book store.  It just so happened that a couple of months later I bought a Nook so I was able to buy the ebooks 1 at a time.  They were oddly still $60 for ebooks 1-8 (although I’m sure they’ve gone up by now) but I could still only afford one at a time.

I read the first one and was shocked at how different it was from the first season but kinda glad in a way because it was giving me an alternative to the story.  There were some characters and storyline that the show didn’t have and vice versa.  It was like I was watching one show while reading about an alternate dimension of the same show.

Then I read the 2nd, then the 3rd and the 4th and so on.  Well, this is the 4th season and now that I’ve already read the 4th book and I’ve seen the first few episodes, the feeling that I’m having about that alternate world has totally changed for some reason.  Now I’m thinking, hey, that person isn’t supposed to be dead, they were in the 6th book.  It’s just like how Lafayette died at the end of the first book but they kept him in the show, well, there are people being killed off who were supposed to still live in future seasons.  I wonder how they will get around all of that.

I’ve been asked if I like this new season because of how Jason is being bitten by Crystal and her fiance/brother/cousin Felton.  Well, that happened in the book.  The same with Eric losing his memory, or having them taken away from him by witches.  Those are the 2 parts of the story that were supposed to happen.

The thing with Tara sort of shocked me but it wasn’t a bad thing.  I just wasn’t expecting that to happen.

Andy being addicted to “V” really threw me for a loop.  I remember at the end of the 3rd season when he looked at the blood in the bottles and then put them away again in a hurry but I never expected him to become such an addict.

Jason becoming a cop was totally unexpected for some reason but he looks good in a cop uniform.

Bill becoming King of Louisiana and how he became the King really shocked me.  In the books he’s not the King because Sophie Anne is still the Queen but he is an authority figure, don’t ask me to remember what he does lol.

Then finally, the whole 12 1/2 month passing was kinda strange and Eric buying Sookies house.  That was totally unexpected.

Well, no matter how many changes they make, I will still be obsessed with the show and I will continue to read the books and watch future seasons.  When I am loyal to a show, I will continue to watch no matter what curve balls they throw at me.  In fact, it’s the curve balls that keep me watching so keep it up Alan Ball (get it?  curve balls… Alan Ball… no?).  Thanks for making such an awesome book into an awesome show.

Oh and did anyone notice how whenever they show someone reading a book it’s always by Charlaine Harris?  I don’t know why but I always get the chills and I wonder what book that was so I can read it.  I know she’s not reading the Sookie Stackhouse books.  Wait… she’s not right?  Just checkin’.

Borders Sad Chapter 11 News

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, News1 Comment

I was watching Attack of the Show today and they spoke for 10 seconds about Borders filing for chapter 11 and closing some of their famous book stores but they didn’t go into as much detail as this email that I got today did.

Click the image to see it full sized to read the sad news.

My guess, and this is just an uneducated guess, is that they are doing poorly because of the rise of eBooks via the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook. Borders does sell their own eBook reader called the Kobo as well as many other e-book readers like the Sony and Velocity Micro Cruz (which I have never heard of).

The main reason I bought a Nook was because of its online store ability as well as it’s ability to allow me to upload epub files from other websites which the Kindle would not allow. The Kobo and Sony readers were in my pro and con list but unfortunately didn’t meet my criteria due to the lack of an online store which I’m finding out now that the Kobo has. I don’t think it had it when I was making my decision.

Well as far as I knew they were doing great because we’ve been to the Borders over on Stockdale Hwy here in Bakersfield and they are always busy, then again it could’ve been that day but who knows. I’m almost positive that this is just a temporary economical setback and that they will eventually recover from it and be as strong as they always have been because they are a great store to go in to.

It is sad news to hear because I love to read and I think it’s very important for parents to teach their kids the joy of reading at an early age so they enjoy reading in their child, teen and adult years as much as I love to read today. Maybe knowing that they aren’t doing so great people will make the trip to their local Borders store hoping for a sale which might end up boosting their business causing the opposite of what is happening now.

Don’t let your local Borders store go out of business, go shop there for some books, movies, video games, toys and whatever else they sell. Install the Borders app on your cell phone and start buying e-books from them too.  Show them that you want them to stay by giving them some sales and keep those people from being out of a job. Times are tough and the last thing we need is for more people out of work.

Cirque du Freak

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, Movies, NookLeave a comment

(This is not a book review)

I have wanted to see this movie since it was first released in theaters but since one us in the house doesn’t like horror, the other (me) never gets to see it until it’s either on DVD, HBO or Showtime. Although, I still have yet to rent it from the Red Box at the grocery store. I seriously don’t know why I haven’t seen it yet. But right now at this very moment as I sit here typing this out, I’m glad I haven’t seen it yet.

This morning I wanted to start reading a book and I had chosen to start reading the 2nd book of the Belgariad but then I decided it wasn’t going to fit with the theme of this very day, Halloween. I mean sure it has witches and lots of magic but is it Halloween worthy? I think not. I have a queue of books that I want to buy and read and so I searched through the queue and remembered Cirque du Freak.

I got on the Nook store and found the first book for $1.99 for the e-book version. Perfect! I don’t have that much money in the bank for another few days but I have just enough that if I could buy a few of these volumes at $2 each. But I only bought the first one which is called Living Nightmare.

I started reading it after breakfast. It has fewer pages than the paperback version does as mostly all ebooks do but it also had way less than my regular books do. I can usually read 50 pages of a book which probably equals out to 75-100 regular paper back book pages and since this one was 149 pages, I thought, this is going to take 3 days, no problem. If I read half of it then I can shorten it to 2 days no biggy. But, after the live Ghost Hunters investigation was over I figured I’d at least give it a shot and see if I couldn’t just finish this book. And you know what? I did.

The story reeled me in, hook line and sinker. Whatever that means, some fishing term I don’t know. Anyway I was immediately hooked.

Here I am typing this out so late at night after spending so many hours reading, my eyes are tired and blurry and I’m having to squint to read, closing one eye making it easier lol. But I want to make my point before I go to bed and forget about it in the morning.

It was the most awesome $2 book I have ever taken a full day to read. Actually, it’s the first book that has taken me a full day to read. I love it and I can’t wait for the next one.

I wonder though, should I just go ahead and rent the movie or read the next book tomorrow and can I read the whole thing tomorrow like I read today? And is this a new trend for me? Reading these books one a day? How many are there? Do I need to read the entire series before seeing the movie?

Ok I’m too tired for all these questions since it’s 1:30am. I need to rest my eyes. I just wanted to let it be known that my dyslexia, ADD and learning disability didn’t prevent me from getting through this book, well, it was touch and go but other than that it was pretty easy to read and that is the kind of book I like.

I will start with part 2 tomorrow and hopefully the DVD will either be at the red box tomorrow or I can go into the HBO or Showtime on Demand and find it. I like to watch the movie first, it makes voices in my head for each characters easier so I cam impersonate their accents easier.

To be continued…

Our Sacred Balance (eBook)

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, eBook, Gay, Kindle, NookLeave a comment

I am sad to say that I finished reading Our Sacred Balance. I’m sad because it is the final book in the Triquetra Trilogy. I guess all good things have to come to an end, this being my first gay e-book series I was hoping it would last longer. It did take me 3 months to read since I read 1 book each month so that’s something I suppose.

I wouldn’t want to give anything away but here is the synopsis according to the Rainbow eBooks website:

“Lovers Kristair and Jacob believe they’re done with the supernatural and on the road to a new life. But the supernatural isn’t done with them. A stalker is targeting vampires, tearing them from their sanctuaries and leaving them to burn in the sun, and when the vampires of Pittsburgh call upon the ancient Kristair, he cannot refuse them aid despite Jacob’s objections.

While their quest becomes more dangerous, tempers flare when Jacob tries to make Kristair understand the limitations of being human again. As they struggle to reach a balance between them, the other vampires become restless, eager to find the person responsible for the deaths of their own so they can vent their rage.

But the enemy is closer than they ever imagined and carries a personal grudge against them. Their mental link gone and spiritual strength halved, Jacob and Kristair must conquer Kristair’s newfound helplessness and learn to communicate with each other before their enemy destroys everything they’ve fought so hard to win.”

There is so much more to the story that I don’t want to give away but let me just say that it is very dramatic and interesting. That’s what I love about books, they have so many twists and turns and you never know what’s going to happen next. And this one had some twists that you will not expect.

Marguerite Labbe is my favorite author of gay ebooks forever. Not just because her books were the first gay books that I read but also because she really knows how to excite a person with her writing and I’m not just talking about the drama in the book.

If you like gay vampire novels then this trilogy is for you. Start with My Heart is Within You over at the Rainbow eBooks website. I looked and it’s not available in the Nook store. If you have a Kindle you can get it in Kindle format from the Kindle store. Amazon also has it in paperback format so if you don’t have an e-book reader then you can still buy it.

Information OVERLOAD

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, eBook, NookLeave a comment

I have been reading a lot of books lately, I’ve made it a point to read every day.  When I finish 1 book then I start another the next day. It can take me 4-5 days to read a book depending on the difficulty and/or length of the book.

The last 2 months I’ve been reading an average of 4 books per month and this month since I bought my Nook I’ve already read 3 books. Although 1 of those isn’t available in e-book format so I had to read it from the actual book but still. We’re somewhere in the middle of the month and I’ve already read 3 and I can see myself reading 2-3 more.

I wonder if I read so many books if they might blend together in my brain and then I won’t remember what I read from which book.  I might think that what happened in the David Eddings novel might have really happened in the Piers Anthony novel and vice versa.

Just as long as I don’t think what happened in the Marguerite Labbe novel happened in the Xanth novel, then I’ll be fine because that would really confuse me lol.

Tomorrow I start reading “Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn” by Piers Anthony. By the way, if you have not read any Xanth novels by now based on my past recommendations, you should.  They are so good.  There are 35 in the series although only 33 available for sale and only 17 available in e-book format.

And if you haven’t read any of the Rainbow eBooks yet you should start with “My Heart is Within You” by Marguerite Labbe.  Next month I will be on the final book of the Triquetra Trilogy which is sad because I kinda wanted that series to be longer but that’s ok, she has written other books.

Maybe since I’ve become such a Nook worm (get it? cause I have a Nook… no?) I should dress up as a worm with glasses for Halloween, although instead of reading a book, I’d be reading a Nook lol.

Barnes and Noble Nook

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, eBook, NookLeave a comment

Well I did it. I bought my Barnes & Noble Nook tonight. I bought the Nook WiFi for $149 because I really don’t want to pay $50 more just for the convenience of having 3G.

I haven’t read anything on it yet as I just bought it but I’ve been playing around with it while it has been charging. The guy at the store told me I should charge it for a few hours before using it but it’s charging very fast. The last time I looked it was at 88% and it’s only been plugged in for 30 minutes. I think they give you a 70% charge because it didn’t start off with 0%.

I didn’t do an “unboxing” video because how many of those are there on YouTube? Hundreds, I don’t want to add to it with more of the same exact thing.

It’s a lot heavier than I was expecting but it isn’t that heavy that it will cause an issue for me.

When I signed into my account and registered my new Nook I went to my library and was surprised to see that all the books in my account were already downloaded into the Nook. I didn’t have to wait at all.

People are always complaining about how long it takes to turn the page in these things, it’s really very fast. The time it takes to change to a new page is the same exact amount of time it takes for me to turn the page in a real book so I don’t see an issue. Also one of the videos I saw on YouTube said that when you change the font size it could take up to 20 or 30 seconds to do that because it has to refresh the entire e-book but that isn’t so with mine, it took the same amount of time as turning a page.

It finally charged to 100% so I plugged the USB cable into my hard drive and it installed the driver immediately. It even popped up the explorer window so I could add my own files to it. I have a few books that I’d like to add to it from Rainbow eBooks and it’s only taken a few seconds to do that. I’m also going to add some 4×6 images for the screen saver. Although they have to be 6×4.

I did the tutorial when it came up and it showed how to do things and one of the things I like was that when you turn the page you could either use those buttons on the right and left or you could just swipe the touchscreen with your finger. Yeah, swiping doesn’t work… That would’ve been cool but it doesn’t work for me.

I loaded a PDF file, that James Potter e-book… yeah… pdf files suck. I’m gonna have to figure out a way to convert that to .epub format so it’s readable. The only way I know how is to use calibre but that has issues but I will figure it out because I really want to read those.

It’s too late at night for me to start reading a new book so I’m going to just wait until I get up in the morning and start reading Dead Until Dark, the first Sookie Stackhouse novel.

My Final Decision – Nook

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, eBook, Nook, Products I LikeLeave a comment

I’ve made my final decision about which e-book reader I want to buy. I said in my last post about waffling that I really wanted the Kindle because it’s the iPod of the e-book reader world but then last night I found out that Calibre will convert many e-book file formats to the .epub file format.

I’ve literally spent the entire day today trying to figure that program out and came to the conclusion that .epub is the best file for the Nook. When I tried converting my ebooks to .pdb file format (which is Nooks familiar format), the table of contents were always screwed up. It worked but it wouldn’t just say chapter 1, it would have the word Calibre with the chapter title.

The .epub file format works so much better and it’s the first choice in Calibre when you are converting a file so it makes it that much easier.

Of course Calibre probably won’t work with DRM books, the books I buy from Rainbow eBooks don’t have that restriction on them (yet). Although if a book I buy from them is already in the .epub file format then I won’t have to convert any of their books for the Nook. I can just buy,download, upload and read.

Although the book “Fell” did come in epub but it didn’t work on the Nook for PC program. So there is a good chance that I will still have to convert other file formats for the Nook.

And yes, I know, I can do the same thing with the Kindle but I think I’m going to get the Nook WiFi despite the fact that it’s $10 more than the Kindle and if I buy it at Barnes and Noble, chances are I’m gonna pay even more with taxes. The issue that I’m having with the Kindle is how it’s sold out lol. I don’t want to buy a Kindle if I can’t get it for another month. I also don’t want to buy something that I can’t return to the store.

There are a few features of the Nook that I like and don’t care for. For example you can replace the battery, it has an Expandable micro SD slot. I’ve seen in a video how slow the color screen is when sliding your finger to find a book, that is a bit irritating to me but I think I can get past that. The lend feature won’t do me any good but on the other hand who knows what might happen in the future. The very fact that we can walk into a B&N and I can bring a Nook with me and be able to read a book for free for 1 hour is appealing.

The main thing is that I can convert my existing e-books to the .epub format that I can read on a Nook and be able to use the dictionary, look up words, highlight and annotate. That’s all I wanted. That’s all I needed.

If I do get one, I’m going to buy 1 copy of the Los Angeles Times so that Darrin can see if he likes reading it on the Nook. If he does then I’ll get him the monthly subscription.  I’m tired of having to pick up his newspapers lol.  I don’t read so much that I will monopolize it from him, although I can’t say that he won’t monopolize it from me lol.  If that is the case I will suggest he buy himself one with his credit card.

I think I was wrong when I said that the Kindle is the iPod of the e-book world because it’s not sold in stores, it’s only online.  My Dell DJ was only online and they screwed me over on that because I can’t take it to any store to have it fixed but the Nook has a store.  So I think the Nook is really the iPod of e-books.