Paper or Plastic?

The book club I joined is still going, despite losing several members and having one cancelled meeting. I'm still enjoying it and am looking forward to meeting again next week. Somehow, membership in this club (which only requires that I read a book every 6 weeks) has re-ignited my former love of reading and I'm actually reading other books in-between the official Book Club Books.

Even better, I've been getting all these books from the local public library, which is something I never did before. For some reason I had always wanted to own my very own copy of every book I read. I no longer feel that way, probably because I have (a) so many other things to spend my money on, like day care, and (b) so much less storage space after the home renovation.

So Tai and I have been enjoying the library. He quietly walks through the stacks to help me find my "grown-up book" and then he gets to pick a book, or CD, or video for himself. As long as Quynh is not with us (standing on rocking chairs, climbing on tables, banging at keyboards, and just generally wandering off) it's a pleasant outing.

So here's the thing. I want a Kindle. My friends have them, my boss has one, my mother has one, even Darryl from The Office has one. I want one!

Presumably, if I get a Kindle I'll start reading even more, just so I can use my new toy. And at $10/book, that could get pricey. So what I really want to be able to do is get free e-books from the library. And, apparently, this type of thing exists. The local network of libraries has almost 1,00o fiction titles available digitally, for e-readers. But you can't use a Kindle. It has to be another kind of e-reader if you want to use the e-library. Because Amazon.com is just that snotty about things.

So the dilemma is this -- do I get any sort of e-reader? If so, which one? How do I decide between a Kindle, a Nook, a Kobo, or all the others? I find this task overwhelming, to say the least, and I'm terrified of unknowingly purchasing the BetaMax of e-readers. And part of me really just wants the Kindle because that's the one All The Cool Kids Have. Or do I just stick with the Old Fashioned books made out of actual paper, so that Tai and I have a shared reason to venture out to the library?

Thoughts?