In which our heroine becomes hooked on eBooks

My first foray into ebooks didn't go so well. Reading them on my laptop wasn't comfortable, cozy. or practical: you can't curl up with the laptop and it's not extremely portable. I tried a few on my iPhone, but the pages were tiny and I had to turn them way too often. Since I had a baby three months ago, that's all changed. EBooks are now my go-to read. The nursing mother spends 40-70 hours per week nursing. That can last from 7-40 minutes, every 2-3 hours around the clock. I've thought about buying a real ereader, but my phone is small, light, and more durable than the regular Kindle. (I once borrowed a friend's Kindle and was paranoid the whole time about breaking it. I couldn't casually toss it on the bedside table or take it in the bath. Paperbacks seemed so much tougher! Not two weeks after I returned it, my friend dropped it on the carpet and the screen cracked. There went his reader. There went his books. Sob.) My phone is also backlit, which is a necessity. In the middle of the night I can't turn on the lights, since DH is still snoring next to me and I want the baby to go right back to sleep. Lastly, I carry the phone everywhere anyway. With all the baby stuff I need to carry around these days, the last thing I need is an extra gadget!

Every time someone mentions on facebook (the nursing mother's other time crutch) that an ebook is available for free on the Kindle, I rush to download it. So far I've got "Mistress by Mistake" by Maggie Robinson, "The Scent of Shadows" by Vicki Pettersson, "The Irish Warrior" by Kris Kennedy, and "Cry Sanctuary" by Moira Rogers that way. (Thank you Book Binge!) Recently, I've bought and read "Something About You" by Julie James, "Rebels and Lovers" by Linnea Sinclair, "Tsunami Blue" by Gayle Ann Williams, "Soulless" by Gail Carriger.

Do you read eBooks? What kind of reader is, in your humble opinion, best? With the Amazon Kindle, Sony eReader, Barnes & Noble Nook, and now Apple iPad there are many options, but still, I think, quite a few kinks to work out. I'm frustrated that not all the books I want are available for the Kindle, and some are available but at a ridiculous price. Why would I pay $10 for an eBook when I can buy the print book for $8? An eBook doesn't have as much economic value as a print book: I can't loan it to my friends, re-sell it, or donate it to the library. Sigh. I think I'll stick to the free Kindle app on my phone for a while longer. I wish all books were available in all formats. I looked into buying "Clockwork Heart" by Dru Pagliassotti, but the publisher hasn't allowed a Kindle edition.

What's the best eBook you've read recently?