reader.ly

Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom, reason, weaving, and somehow both peace and war. She famously protected mythological heroes like Odysseus and Jason, and inspired the people of Athens to build the Parthenon. So if you heard that the Barnes and Noble’s new eReader was to be named Athena, as was presumed from some early photos (look at the upper right corner, in faint gray letters), you would likely nod absent-mindedly and think, yes, that makes sense. It doesn’t evoke books exactly, but the association with knowledge is appropriate. We’re good so far.

Ah, but it doesn’t rhyme with “Book.” And that is the reason why the new B&N eReader, due to be announced today, is called nook. Perhaps the name Athena can’t be trademarked, and the domain name is taken for some spreadsheet software. We’ll also throw into the Nook pros column that you could curl up with a book in a cozy nook. And it’s not a made up word like Vook (in my head I hear the robot in a kids video who’s learning to rhyme, saying mechanically: “Vook’s not okay? Why I say?”). But still. Bloggers heaped scorn upon Simon & Schuster’s vooks. Did no one at Barnes & Noble notice?

Naming mis-conventions aside, the B&N reader does look cool with its dual eInk and touchpad LCD screens. And you can share books with friends for up to 14 days. With a price point of $259, I don’t see the nook pulling enough new buyers to dislodge Kindle from its overwhelming market dominance. It does, however, merit a trip to the bookstore, which I haven’t visited since we got the Kindle months ago.