Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-350SC (silver)

Pros: Very light weight. Responsive touch screen. Nice Pearl eInk. Can download library books, and read a variety of formats and from various sources. Good build quality.

Cons: None so far.

Summary: I love the light weight--less than 6 ounces. (The Kindle weighs a ton in comparison.) So, it's very easy to read for long stretches. At first I was a little concerned that the small screen size would be annoying, but it's not. It's plenty big enough. The overall small size (almost all screen!) makes it very portable. Battery life is very good.

Screen quality is great. The touch screen works very nicely. I often swipe to turn pages, but it's very convenient to use the page-turn buttons too. The buttons have a good feel--not too soft or too hard. I haven't explored all the functionality (making notes, using the stylus) yet, but everything so far is convenient and works well. Overall, it has a quality feel and look.

I'm a big library user, and this reader is perfect for that! Software setup took a small amount of effort, but after that, using it is very easy. I purchased one book from the Sony Reader store (it was a free one), and that was super easy. The Reader Store books seem to cost more, on average, than Amazon's but they have specials and quite a few books for no cost. Besides, you're not confined to buying only from Sony! There's no wi-fi or 3G, but I don't see that as a problem at all (and those are useless for checking out library books anyway). Connecting to my iMac and moving books to the reader is quick and easy.

If you don't buy a lot of books, want to read library books, don't mind the lack of color, and want a light, good-quality reader, this is it. And if you're a student or work for a school, you can get an additional 15% off if you buy your reader through the Sony site (I paid only $116).