Do you have permission to waltz?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I bought a dedicated ereader last week, the Sony Pocket 300 (the one in the illustration isn't mine, but I do have the passionate purple model). So far it's working as promised--a bare bones, small, lightweight device that reads ebooks and related files. I'm liking it. It won't replace print books altogether in my house, but I do feel better about buying books I know I'm not going to keep. No trees are killed to produce ebooks, and with as many books as I buy each month that's a green move I can support.

It doesn't read every single format but it reads enough of them that I've only found two works on my computer--one is a novella--in non-Pocket formats.

Some of the reasons I went with the ebook reader now: 1. the price was right, under $200. 2. I'm reading more ebooks 3. some authors are producing only e-works, such as novellas or short stories you can't find in print. 4. With luggage restrictions I'd rather fill my ereader than my suitcase with books.

We haven't quite hit the Holy Grail of ereaders, one that can be dropped from six feet onto the concrete or into your bathtub without harm, one that work in all light conditions, and one that costs under $100, but we're getting closer.