Remember when Amazon was the scrappy, upstart bookseller going toe to toe against the mammoth Barnes & Noble? No? Well, that’s ok. It definitely happened, though. I lived through it, and there was a weird sort of schadenfreude floating around fans of the independent booksellers that Barnes & Noble had put out of business throughout the ’90s and 2000s when Amazon began to blot out the sun and put the squeeze on B&N.It happened first with physical books made out of real, dead, flattened trees, and then, when both companies made a huge push into e-reader devices, it happened again. Nowadays, Amazon dominates the e-reader market, but a blast from the past is still quietly being sold today.(opens in a new window)Barnes & NobleNook GlowLight 4 Plus(opens in a new window)Available at Barnes & NobleBuy Now(opens in a new window)still hereA while back in the 2010s, it looked as if the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook were neck-and-neck in a race to dominate the e-reader market. Barnes & Noble was so all-in on the Nook that I felt its stores were transformed into displays for the Nook, with everything else—magazines, books, and all—just an afterthought.The Kindle most comparable to the Nook GlowLight 4 Plus is the Kindle Paperwhite. Both have screens about 7″ and use E Ink technology to make the words on the display look as close to real paper as a slab of pixels can look, which in turn is easier on the eyes during long reading sessions.The Kindle Paperwhite’s screen is sharper, with better contrast, and it’s also compatible with Amazon’s Kindle Books, a massive platform for e-books. At least the Nook doesn’t make you pay extra to not be pestered with on-screen advertisements. Thanks for that, Amazon.Those who like physical buttons also have a buddy in the Nook. The Kindle’s entirely on-screen controls turn off people who, although they may be reading on a screen, feel the complete absence of tactile controls is a step too far.(opens in a new window)Barnes & NobleNook GlowLight 4 Plus(opens in a new window)Available at Barnes & NobleBuy Now(opens in a new window)The post Hey, Remember the Barnes & Noble Nook? They Still Sell It, You Know. appeared first on VICE.