You are absolutely right that there is something magical about a book. And i love spending hours in book shops browsing too. But the Kindle is fantastic! Its light and lives in my handbag without weighing my bag down, so i can read my current book whenever i get a few minutes, and its so easy and quick to download books from Amazon, and cheap too.
Im thrilled to bits with the kindle, it wont stop me buying books but its just so convenient to have and use. The only thing that i dont like is that it isnt backlit, but then neither is a real book. It would just make reading it easier in poor light if it was. I guess that would be a big drain on the power though, so would be a useful option to switch on and off as required. Battery life is very good though, i think i read that the battery should last a month before needing to be recharged. I certainly havnt had to recharge it yet and ive had it a week.
I read a lot on holiday, so its going to be a big advantage to be able to take a dozen books with me, without having to worry about the baggage weight.