I use my palm Treo as an ereader, using mobipocket (mobipocket.com). There are various versions of mobipocket that work on different devices, like Blackberries and other PDAs. I'm sure it is not nearly as nice as the Kindle, but the software itself is free, and if you already own a device, then it costs you nothing to try it. I have never actually bought a book for it, but my DH has. It does let you highlight and bookmark, and it keeps your place for later.
One of my favorite things about it is that it has an enews reader built in. So you can put in any RSS feeds and it will update them and download them to your device. For example, add the feedburner link to Cathe's blog to it (
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/cathe) and you can read it whenever you want. I have several blogs and news feeds that I follow (including Lainiefig's blog) that way. Mobipocket also has listings of enews feeds to try. (Some feeds work better than others...the formatting can sometimes not come out right.)
Another thing you can do with it is add your own text/html/pdf documents. So if I see an interesting article that I want to read later, I can copy it into mobipocket. This also works great for books that are in the public domain. I've put in F.Scott Fitzgerald short stories, Louisa May Alcott books for my daughter, etc. Many classics are available this way.
It has become a handy way for me to have reading material wherever I am. If I'm waiting in line, or sitting at the playground with the kids, or whatever, I can just pull out my phone and do a little reading.
So like I said, it doesn't sound quite as nice as the Kindle, and the screen is pretty small depending on the device. But it didn't cost me anything and if you have a device that you can use it on, it's a good way to give ereading a try. I got my DH started with it, and I think he uses it more than I do now! But I can say that it really is nice to have a ready reading supply handy...as long as I keep my phone charged up!
