I have a Kindle and love it. I prefer reading on it though I still have many paper books. I have nearly 200 books on it and am able to take my library with me wherever I go. I also prefer reading without a backlight- It's easier on the eyes and if I want to read with a backlight, I can use my Blackberry or laptop. I rarely do that though. I have a Kindle cover that has a light in it and I love that too. It runs off of the Kindle battery so I don't need to worry about batteries for the light or a way to carry it. The battery life on the Kindle is excellent. I remember reading about the people that were stranded on that cruise ship last year- the IPads, laptops and mobile phones were quickly without power while those with Kindles were able to read the whole time they were stranded. There is a wonderful online board called Kindleboards for the best information anywhere.
We are a 3 Kindle family by the way.
Good luck.