I must admit to being squeamish about the state of some second-hand and library books. If I read one in bed, I have to wash my hands before I go to sleep.
I would like to try an e-book reader but they seem to be an expense I can forgo when I get free library books easily. If I were still going travelling, that would be a different matter!

I enjoy the feel and the smell of a book, but my Kindle is so light and easy to hold that it makes up for not having an actual paper book in my hands. It also works so great handsfree, unlike a real book with a binding. So, I still read both the e-book and the real thing. I use the library because it gets expensive reading strictly on the Kindle.

I'm with you, Yoyobon, although I haven't tried the Kindle. I read mostly library books but have several authors whose books I collect. I wouldn't like to pay for the e-books.

I recently got a Sony ereader and have not purchased a book for it yet. I have not found a book I want where the cost is any better than an actual book. I did get "His Majesty's Dragon", the first in Naomi Novik's series, for free from one of the ebook shops so that was a bonus. I have also been downloading free domain books such as White Fang, Treasure Island and so on.

It is great for reading in bed as I can never get quite comfortable with a book and have to move frequently; however, to bring a topic over from the "what are you reading in July" thread: I still am having trouble 'sinking' into the stories on the ereader and, like Carolyn, I usually 'run a movie' in my head. The format and the process of turning the pages is still too new for me and I cannot get the movie rolling before it is time for me to turn the page again and I am snapped out of it. Hopefully that will go away in future but I would say now I definitely love actual books more.

It depends very much on the book.
I found my way to RP while considering the purchase of an e-reader. I was getting frustrated with the limited selection of books in the small town I am living in. With the alternative being paperbacks which I would read once and then discard the Amazon Kindle is a better alternative. It`s a bit like going from vinyl to CD and then on to iPod.
I work in a camp situation. The Kindle lets me carry a library in a small convenient package. The Kindle also lets me get books which are out of copyright free or at very reasonable prices. I am currently reading Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay on the Kindle. This is a book which had interested me for some time but which I never found before.

On the other hand I am reading the Annotated Alice by Lewis Carrol with notes by Martin Gardiner as a hardback. It has the original John Tenniel illustrations and is a pleasure to open up at random. I suspect that I will pass it on to my sister`s children and that it will be enjoyed for many years to come.

I think that I purchased the Kindle in March and the use of it has become completely natural. When I am immersed in a book I don`t notice the mechanics of how I am reading it. By the way I got The Country of the Pointed Firs on the Kindle and read it both in the standard way and also listened to it via the text to speech mode on the Kindle. Reading the story myself and having it read to me gave a different feel to the book.

I got my Nook in February, after being concerned about the switch from book to ereader. I found the first book was a bit of a novelty on the Nook, but after that, I go back and forth without thinking about it. I should mention I'm not really a hardback person, because I find them uncomfortable to hold, as they get heavy.

The nook is more comfortable to read, as I can sit it on my lap and use it hands-free (as someone mentioned above). If it weren't for the Green Valley Bookfair, were I can get books cheap, I would likely migrate to only eBooks except for a few authors, whom I collect.

I read both "real" books as well as on Kindle. I often enjoy the cover of a regular book. On a recent vacation I took a book rather than the Kindle. I was afraid the K would get broken. There are free books for Kindle, mostly romance or religious fiction, but many classics are available free too. I enjoy the K, but I also like regular books.

I added the iKindle app to my iPhone because I was flying alone on business and had to lug my carry-on suitcase, computer-in-case and my purse-I liked the idea of having several books available in my hand without more juggling. I found lots to download for no cost: Complete works of Agatha Christie-free. A collection of Mrs. Henry Wood's books-free. All the Anne of Green Gables books-free. The novels of P.G. Wodehouse-free. I took so many books with me on that trip! (not that I had time to read...it was a business trip!) The phone screen is small and I do have to "turn the page" every 12 lines or so but I find I very quickly fall into the story and don't remember the technology. Now that the Kindle has come down in price, I am dropping hints all over the place in preparation for Christmas!

I have a Kindle (a gift from my very tech-savvy DH) and I have to say I still prefer the experience of reading a "real" book over reading on the Kindle. There is something, as Yoyobon says, in the the smell of the paper, the sound of the turning page, the experience of the printed word that the Kindle, IMO anyway, simply lacks.

That said, I have had great fun downloading all sorts of free books and I'm going to try to go Kindle-only when we travel later this summer. Perhaps I just need a full immersion to appreciate the Kindle. We'll see.

I've been wanting to buy an eReader for a long time. I'm looking at the Kobo at the moment as it is the cheapest. But I expect that I want it mostly for it's novelty. I can't imagine walking by a book store and not wanting to browse through and purchase the real thing. I do think the portability will be huge though. I'm often taking a book with me in my purse and some of them are big; often too big.

I do not like hardcovers either. I'm a paperback fan. The small trade paperback are what I like the most. So the ease of a Kobo would be great. I guess I wont really know until I have one. :)

I've always preferred paperback to hardcovers too. I rarely ever buy HC. I also read a fair amount of genre fiction that gets published only as paperback.

I did get a Sony eReader back in the spring and really like it. This was partially spurred by the fact that the bookstore near my office closed and the one in the neighborhood near where I live and do my shopping also closed. My county's library system sucks, so it seemed inevitable. Very recently, my husband bought me an iPad, so now I can also read Kindles on it. Must admit, instant gratification is dangerous! I have taken a chance and purchased some of those $9.99 ebooks for new HC fiction and have been pleased with the books I've read so far.
That said, I expect to be reading print books along with ebooks for a very long time to come. Clutter is taking up too much space at home, so having an eReader really fits with my need to eliminate the accumulation of more clutter. I do miss browsing in my local bookstore.