I've listened to shortwave for years...still love it...for more than 40 years now...used to have a world map over my bed as a kid with colored pins in it at all the points where I DXed and sent for and received QSL cards. Always had a simple little portable and an alligator clip, a flat insulated wire through the bottom of the screen and a bare copper wire to the nearest tree (and a ground arrestor). Just clip the wire onto the built in antenna at night and it's like looking through a powerful telescope of sound and the world of radio is out there!
Aside from crystal radios I built in my youth (in the 1960s), I think that I've only had 3 portable SW receivers and I currently have a Sony portable ICF SW-30 with digital presets and battery operated. I've taken it around the world with me (built in alarm and time zone clock too!). I'd love to have a great old SW receiver someday....ah someday.
A great site for reports on SW is Glenn Hauser's World Of Radio
http://www.worldofradio.com/ . You can hear his broadcasts live on various SW stations (and even on WPKN in Bridgeport, CT 89.5 MHz on Saturday afternoons!).
Enjoy!