I’ll admit, I’m seriously tempted. Especially now that Sony’s upping the ante with a $199 device. These babies can hold something like 200 non-illustrated titles, and with a memory card, upwards of 1,500. 1500 books on one small device! There may be more upside than downside to owning an eReader, but for me the downside is still fairly steep. It’s this: I habitually mark my books.
I’m not one of those purists who rage against eBooks, and wax eloquent about the smell of paper and the unmatched euphoria of holding an actual 
hard copy in my hands. Dissenters often downplay the convenience of having that much reference, reportage, and/or reading material at your fingertips. For me, it’s more practical than philosophical. You see, I’m one of those people who cannot read without writing. My ritual is (1) Find writing utensil and (2) Open book. I just never read without a pencil or highlighter. This way I can draw a book from my shelf (like my copy of Culture Making in the picture above), randomly flip through its pages, and immediately find quotes, concepts, and trains of thought that I deemed noteworthy.
From the research I’ve done, there is not a simple way to actually underline, highlight, and make notes in the margins of eBooks. Yes, I have seen something about saving eText in PDF format, but it doesn’t seem common or very user-friendly (if anyone can point me to contrary info, I’d appreciate it). So at this stage, I probably won’t consider purchasing an eReader until I’m able to easily highlight/underline passages and write notes in the margins.
Love your confession, Mike. I realized, recently, that up until now I had placed books in a "holy" category and hated underlining or highlighting. Then while reading a book for discussion purposes, I started taking notes, underlining things, writing in the margins, etc. In the process, I realized that I was learning much more about the writer's voice and technique by doing this. Now I'm hooked.