First of all, there's the battery issue. My Nook requires that I charge it every other day on average if I want to be sure I can continue reading without my device shutting down in the middle of a chapter. This is especially an issue if I know I'm going to be reading in the car or somewhere far from an outlet or my charger. A book never needs to be charged, and I never need to worry about where I'll be when it loses power.
Also, I'd never considered before this month how important location is when reading my Nook. I went on a trip to Europe and took my Nook with me so I could read on the 8-hour flight. However, I remembered after taking my seat that until we got to a certain altitude, I wouldn't be allowed to use my device. I was literally sitting next to a girl who was reading a book during take off while I had nothing to do but stare out my window. This may not seem like a huge issue when you think about how long it actually takes to reach a safe altitude and how often I fly, but at that moment it was a big deal. Are there other places a person would be restricted from using an e-reader but allowed to read a book?
My next complaint is primarily about the Nook and not necessarily about other e-readers. The Nook has a nice feature called "LendMe" where you can share books you've bought with your friends. One problem is that your friends also have to own Nooks (not Kindles) and therefore if you're the only person who owns a Nook in your circle of friends, you cannot share or borrow books, which is something I've relied on heavily as a reader through the years.
This raises another question. Is there a system set up yet that will allow you to borrow books for a few weeks in a library format? Until that happens, I may have to continue using printed books simply because I can't buy every book I want to read, and therefore must go to the library.
Now, of course the Nook and other e-readers have some positive traits that books don't. They can hold tons of books, cutting down on weight and space. E-books are less expensive than printed works because publishing companies don't have to pay for ink and paper costs. I've noticed it's easier for me to sit in virtually any position and still comfortably read (one handed, I'll add, since I don't have to hold a page open). There are other benefits that come with having a tablet, which is what most e-readers essentially are.
So who wins the competition, Nook or book? I'm still not sure, but I think there are changes that need to be made before the world can completely switch from printed books to e-readers.
