J.C.
You can also buy, read, and store books on your iPad, or even your Iphone. I honestly would not get an ereader like the nook at this point because they are slow when you use them for things like internet. I love my iPad. You can sometimes find deal on line.
For me one of the biggest bonuses of the ipad is that it communicates with my iPhone and my computer, but you have to have all apple products for that to work.