This may be a stupid question, but the more I read here, the more confused I'm getting.  I'm completely new to ereaders and am considering getting one in March (birthday gift.)

I do not have wifi at home and will not be getting wifi at home anytime soon.  I understand that you can download books using the computer and USB connection with the ereader.  Is there a program that ends up on your computer for either the Kindle or the Nook that facilitates this?  Again, I know nothing about this, so in my head, I'm picturing something like iTunes but for books only... is that the case?  Some sort of program that you go into and download books and smoothly send over to your device attached via USB?  Or do you have to go into all sorts of files on the computer and find them and work magic?

I am so lost in this... I've spent hours now reading the posts here and in CMT on Kindles and Nooks, and now I can't even rememer what I've read or who recommends what.  Every time I think I'm set on Kindle, I see something that makes me question Nook again (especially the whole battery thing.)  This should NOT be a big, time-wasting decision for me, but it's turning into that!  I like to research things thoroughly before purchasing, but sometimes that can backfire on me.

I have a nook and I don't download with the wifi feature, I just download the books to my computer, open them with Adobe Digital Editions and when I connect my Nook to my computer, I drag the books I want to transfer to my Nook in the Adobe Digital Editions program.

I have only purchased a couple of books, but the Nook allows me to borrow ebooks from the library for free (that was the selling point for me). 

I am very lucky that my local library system has over 11,000 EPUB titles available. 

There are all sorts of programs you can use to read ebooks on your computer.  Before I got any ereader, I used Adobe Digital Editions to read ebooks.  Each ereader has its own software.

If you get a Kindle, you would want to install Kindle for PC.  If you get a Nook, there's Nook software you can install.  Even if you don't have a Kindle or a Nook, you can still download and install the software for free and read your ebooks that way.  I know there are different verisons of the Nook and Kindle.  If you get the cheaper Kindle, the WiFi version, and you don't have WiFi,  you'd have to transfer the books from your Kindle for PC software onto your Kindle with the USB cable.  If you get the 3G version, you could download your ebooks that way, no WiFi required.

I have a Sony ereader.  It has no WiFi or 3G capability.  My only option to put books onto my ereader is to transfer them from my computer to the Sony with the USB cable.  There is Sony software but I do not use it.  I use a free program called Calibre.  You can use Calibre with the Nook or the Kindle also.

I had a Nook WiFi found it takes the Adobe Digital Edition to transfer the books simple to use  BUT  they end up under Documents !! 

I now have the Kindle WiFi...transfered a few books using Calibre those books went with my other books!  Easier for me to find LOL 

Both were Very Easy to use & are FREE programs!  

IF your planning on the Nook for library downloads Check your lib to see how many & what kinds of titles they are offering!  My Library had Zero!  Big dissapointment for me....    And Nook doesnt download WMA audiobooks either. 

Thank you for the responses.  So it sounds like there would be some guidance for getting books onto the device through either Kindle for PC or the Nook software.  That's reassuring.

I know that you can put the books on your computer and read that way, but I'm not interested in that.  The draw of the e-reader is that it's not backlit like a computer screen.

I am taking the library thing into consideration.  My local libraries are not well stocked, even with paper books.  But I'm aware from reading this board that you can access ebooks from libraries elsewhere for a fee.  That, plus the ability to get a new battery, are draws for the Nook.  Yet I hear great things about the Kindle, as well.  I'm hoping to get to some stores to play with them this weekend.  The threads here have been VERY informative!

I've got some decisions to make now!

I've had my Nook for a couple of days.  You can download Adobe Digital Editions (from Adobe) or Nook for PC.  Then you connect your Nook to your computer with a USB hub.  Each of those programs has a way to copy the books to your nook.

You might like to do what I did.  I downloaded Kindle for PC and Nook for PC to get a feel for how the books look and how to work with them.

The battery was one of the things that sold me on the Nook.  The other was the fact that Kindle uses a proprietary format for it's books.  It doesn't use ePUB--the universal format.  So, if you have a Kindle and buy Kindle books and later change your ereader, you won't be able to use them.  You may never want to change from Kindle, but you never know.