I like simple, minimalist designs like this. It has good colors and it doesn't have that "amazon.com" look with cluttered information all over the place.
It looks pretty, I would suggest a little bit lighter color, sometime if its too dark it can depressing. Most of the popular websites do have brighter colors. Good job though.
I just viewed your original and updated versions of your new design. I think the design concept is interesting and looks pretty neat. I do agree, however, that your navigation tool bar and back/forward buttons are difficult to read. In the first case, the font color was too dark. In the second, the font seems hard to read- perhaps its too narrow of a font? Maybe using a thicker font and/or making it boldface might help?
