Avid readers prefer to stay at ease while reading a book. Sitting comfortably in a small space shielded from any distraction, a reader can focus on the words on the page of the book on hand. That small space is a nook of comfort. Can Barnes and Noble’s eReader – the nook – provide the same sense of comfort to readers? Let me take you to THE nook to find out.

Barnes and Noble’s nook is a bit heavier – by 54 grams – than Amazon’s Kindle 2. At half an inch thick, this eReader is handy to hold, not flimsy or bulky; just approximately the same size as a pocket book. You can personalize your nook with covers and frames to suit your taste and style – a personal statement of your preferences.

The clarity of letters and the appearance of words on a page are elements all of take for granted when reading. Our eyes can immediately tell us if words on a page are worth reading or not. Like all the other eBooks available today, the nook is designed to make eReading easy on the eyes. With a capacity to store 1,500 books, newspapers and magazines in its memory, nook can show the colored cover what you may want to read; a feature not available in other eReaders. If you want more space to handle your ebook collection, you can add a memory card. You can literally take your library with you anywhere you go.

Owning a nook gives a reader access to 500,000 ebooks for free – courtesy of Barnes and Noble. As well known book publishers, B&N has a wide array of free eBooks to choose from. Aside from the free eBooks, there are more than a million titles available a nook owner can download wirelessly. You can sample an eBook for free anywhere you are, and browse eBooks, magazines and newspapers on AT&T’s 3G Wireless Network or on Wi-Fi. Every Barnes & Noble bookstore has free Wi-Fi, so you can download what you want to read fast at their stores. Most best sellers and new releases are available for $9.99, which you can buy and down load in seconds.

Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary is the pre-installed dictionary of choice with the nook. This eReader also allows you to lend books to others for up to 14 days at a time. In lending a book to someone else, your copy is removed from your collection. With nook, the book sharing tradition of continues.

With the nook, you can read for 10 days without recharging with wireless access off, which is more frequent compared to other eReaders. All other nook features are similar to what other eReaders have.

The nook may have some software issues, but these can be easily addressed by the Barnes & Noble team behind this product. There will always be room for improvement on any electronic device.

But what really separates the nook from the rest of the eReaders available now is – Barnes and Nobles support and reputation. The availability of 500,000 free eBooks and millions of book titles makes the nook THE eReader any avid book lover should have. Having a large book collection available makes a nook owner instantly contented. This alone can bring reading to a new level of comfort to eReading.

The nook is available for pre-order at BarnesAndNoble.com for the affordable pricetag of $259 USD.  It is expected to ship on Feb 12, 2010.