So it has been one full week with my nook, and how does it stack up? Are books in paper form dead? Well, I don’t think so, but we’re getting to the point where they’re becoming less…necessary.

First, let’s begin with some product design. As reported earlier this week, I received the nook – the name is not capitalized – as a gift for Christmas. Barnes & Noble did not account for the demand of their new product, and as such I was stuck high and dry for two months waiting on mine to arrive. (Through various sources – i.e. someone who bought one this week – they are now shipping at an expedient rate.) The device comes in interesting packaging, housed in a thick, clear plastic container that displays the nook like it was an artifact dug from Tutankhamun’s tomb (I’m sure Howard Carter would have loved to find this thing in there; Lord Carnarvan, not so much). Once inside, the nook comes out with some effort, and you will find a USB cable that can be used to plug it into your PC or to the included wall charger. The unit also has a headphone port for listening to MP3’s/audiobooks/whatever and a pair of speakers on the bottom. I have yet to play any audio through the speakers, so I cannot attest to how good they are. But enough of all of the stuff that was covered in the video, how does it feel?

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Yeah, you heard me. We need more Twilight to come to the big screen so that the fourth book in the series can be make into a film. From what I understand, the third is supposedly being made right now, but just in case the Manhattan Project 2 comes around and they decide the best test site should be on the lot where these films are being created, we need to make sure movie execs know we want to see the fourth movie.

“Why oh why would you ask us to take part in such crimes against nature?” you ask. Well, I can’t really do it justice, so you’ll just have to read it yourself, but the guys over at Chud.com have a great understanding on why there needs to be a fourth Twilight film. A quote:

Breaking Dawn opens with Bella Swan, the lacteal heroine of the series, finally getting married to Edward Cullen, the mopey vampire hero. They go off to honeymoon on Isle Esme, a Brazilian island the Cullen clan owns (this is already ridiculous beyond belief. Imagine a vampire going snorkeling; it basically happens in this book), and Edward is afraid to fuck his new bride. The reason: he’s super strong and she’s just a human – Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex type of situation here. But Bella wears him down and Edward throws it in her – and knocks her the fuck out, leaving her badly bruised.

Let’s go over that again: Edward fucks Bella into unconsciousness. This alone should have you running to Fandango to pre-order your tickets, but it only gets better.

Head over to Chud for the full article.

So not too long ago I may or may not have written a fairly gushing preview of the Barnes & Noble Nook, a portable E-Reader machine that has a color touchscreen that sits along the bottom. I mean, really, it does look sexy. Look at that thing. Who wouldn’t want one? How it could it be anything less than pure awesome? As it gets closer and closer to its debut, review copies have now been sent around, and Engadget has weighed in. Here’s a snippet:

Throughout our testing with the Nook we vacillated between being completely charmed by the aesthetics of the reader, and completely frustrated by the way it actually works.

Oh my. Head over to Engadget for their full review.

Over the passed couple of years the eBook craze has all went nuts. While some early adopters went to Sony and others, picking up their respective readers, it wasn’t until Amazon kicked open the door like Steven Seagal with their Kindle that eBook readers became really popular. And truth be told, this writer has had a nerd crush on the Kindle since its inception but has never had the extra monies to pick one up. The Kindle dominated market, however, may be up to some stiff competition if Barnes & Noble has their way. Last week, to confirm many rumors, B&N unveiled its take on the eBook reader, and it is one sexy piece of plastic.
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