By Book or By Nook

I love the smell of books, I love the feel of them in my hands, how they look on the shelf, okay let’s face it, I just love books, but I also own a Nook. That’s why I was interested in Barnes and Noble’s new campaign that encourages reading. “By Nook or by book, I will read.” The love of books something that I took from my childhood, many people of my generation grew up in the booming time of electronics. The niftier the device the more attracted to it and the Nook is no exception to this, none of the e-readers are. The Nook combines the love of technology and love of reading, making over two million books, magazines, and newspapers available at people’s finger tips. People who had originally lost interest in reading have picked up a Nook and started reading again. Busy moms, single parents, business men, traveling people, and those who just thought that books were out dated have rediscovered the escape that lay with in the words of books.

As an avid reader and owner of many books, I was weary of the Nook, but I can’t help but to love the convenience of it. I can take with me with me everywhere, and though I still like the feeling of a real book, I love the fact that I can buy a book without getting out of my Pjs. I find that I tend to read longer when I read on the Nook than if I have a physical book. E-books tend to run a little cheaper than your average paper back and you can find fantastic deals, saving you money for well, more books. Buying the Nook has even led to some discovery of new, little known authors, some of which are from small presses and have outrageous prices for their paper backs.

Why did I choose the Nook? The Nook has it’s advantages and Barnes and Noble has done a fantastic job with marketing it, including things that bring people into the store. Yes, ladies and gentlemen Barnes and Noble has managed to tie their brick and mortar store with their digital. One special offer that they have for bringing your Nook in store is the feature to read any Nook book for an hour for free. Now I don’t know about you, but I have often come across a book where I want to read a bit of before I take it home. It is similar to Amazon letting you download the first chapter of some books as a trial, but really it’s rare that you can judge a book by just the first chapter.

Unlike Amazon, who pushes the Kindle, Borders who jumped on the e-reader train a little bit to late, and Sony who has seemingly been swallowed in the e-reader market, Barnes and Noble’s new campaign isn’t just to sell the Nook though, it’s about getting people back out to reading. The commercial shows children, young adults, elderly people, and people our generations reading either by the Nook or with a physical book. So grab your Nook, head to the store, grab a cup of coffee and read. And you know what, if you’re still against the e-readers, grab a book, grab a cup of coffee and read. The point is that the Nook and other e-readers have brought reading back into style. By Book or By Nook, I shall read.