I, too, love to read so I asked for a Nook for Christmas. Just reading everyone's posts has me really excited about getting it!! My son in law, who is an IT, compared the Nook to his Kindle and said he likes the Nook better, so that is the one I am going with.
The Kindle has the capability to read to you if you want to listen to your book, the Nook does not. The Nook does let you loan your books to someone else for a month, the Kindle does not allow sharing. If you are in a Barnes and Noble with a Nook, you can download ANY book free and read it while you are in the store. If you want to take it home, you have to buy it---but it is a great way to "browse" books.
There is a comparison chart on the Barnes and Noble web site that will let you see the features of each. I think both are pretty equal and it will be a matter of personal choice.