Thanks for all the advice. I caved & got a Kindle. The abundance of feedback combined with cool same-day local delivery from Amazon did me in. Totally see why folks are so passionate about it - it really is a wonderful, specialized device, lightweight & easy on the eyes.

However, it is Yet! Another! Device! My carry-on for recent work trip contained laptop, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Kindle, plus a couple Moleskines & magazines. For the sunny vacation mentioned in original post, intent is to get away from all this stuff, so I think I will just take the Kindle. And the iPad. Well, & maybe the iPhone.