[SOSAGES]

ive used a lot of external hard drives (i use them at sites for extra backups of servers) cant say ive noticed a lot of difference between them all - have used many makes no issues yet.
have also made my own up but its probably not worth it.
i suggest u look for the biggest disk you can get for the money.
if u dont need firewire then save some money and go for the usb2 only option.
dont get anything flash with ethernet ports or a wireless option etc.

the ones that look like books are good i have had a few of them cant remmeber who makes them but as there are only about 4 people that make hard drives it wont be hard to find.