A Finished Throw

  

I finished my knitting project!  A few weeks ago I was close to being done and then I checked out a bunch of new books from the library.  The new books have to be returned in a week.  I had been knitting in the evenings and now it was taking me TWO WHOLE days to finish EACH book.  So I HAD to put my knitting aside to finish the books.  And then I just didn't pick it back up again.

I don't mind the clutter of a knitting project when I am working on it.  But having the clutter when I am NOT working on it bothers me.  I can't put it away in the craft room or I'll forget about it and never get it finished.  So I put aside the books, I only have one left from the library, and made the big push to finish it. 

Only ONE library book, you say?  Aren't you nervous?  No, because I have a bunch of purchased books from the used paperback bookstore and I have a BUNCH of books on my Nook ( some from the Free Friday and some from the Deal of the Day from Barnes and Noble) that I keep as my emergency back-up books (EBUBs).  And that does not count the books on hold for me, at last notice I have 20.  Gotta stop requesting so many at a time!

I loved the color and the soft, silky feel of the yarn.  It was nice to knit and should feel great as a throw.  The yarn tends to unravel, though, so I had to tie a knot in each end.

  

This project worked up pretty fast, notwithstanding the whole stopping part.  The throw is reversible.  This made it hard to remember if I was working on the right side or not.  I occasionally had to refer to the picture on the pattern to figure it out.

   

I have a tip for knitting that I learned years ago.  Write out each row of the pattern on a 3X5 card.  When you are through with a row, slide that card to the back so the next row is showing and you know which row you are on.  Otherwise you have to keep a counter or notes and then you may forget where you are.  I even keep the cards from year to year and have gone back to a favorite project and don't have to write them out again.

Lee asked what I was going to do with THIS one.  All the other knitting projects have been gifts.  I think I am going to keep it.  If will be the first decorating item for our new set of rooms in the basement.

Barnes and Noble Disappoints

I got a Nook Color last February. I love it. I love it so much that I used to take it to work with me at the library and make people see what it could do. I probably convinced 30 people to buy the Nook Color over the Kindle or any other e-reader. I buy a book now and again, but mostly I use the Nook for Internet use at the other end of the house from the computer and I check out books for trips. I read a LOT and it is nice to carry a lot of books on trips with just one slim e-reader . The games are fun, too.

A few weeks ago one of my daughters mentioned wanting to read Hunger Games. It had been reduced in price last time I was browsing the Steals and Deals section of the Barnes and Noble site. I thought it would be fun to buy for my daughters to read over Christmas and maybe I would get to it one day. When I went back to the site, the price had gone up and so I thought I just would check it out from the library sometime.

Last week I went to Barnes and Noble. THIS time I remembered to bring my Nook. Lots of times I forget and I know that I am supposed to get an occasional good deal when in the store if you bring the Nook. So I powered it up and was glancing through it. I decided to look again at the Hunger Games. To my surprise, it was back to the lower price. Now we're not talking a lot of money here. The low price was something like $4.69 and the high price was $7.49. Not a huge difference, but I was going to see the girls again in a few weeks, so I decided to buy it, right there in the store.

The next day when I checked my email, there was one from Barnes and Noble and they had charged me the higher price. I immediately contacted them and mentioned the different price I had seen in the store. They said I was wrong and there would be no correction.

Now I understand why they cannot "return" an ebook. Obviously a person could copy it to another location and so there is no "returning" of a book. What I don't understand is why a customer service department wouldn't make it right.

I used to work for FedEx, back in the days when it was Federal Express. At one point I worked in customer service. We prided ourselves on fixing whatever the problem was the customer had. I remember one time Lee and I went to the LAX station after it had closed on a Saturday. He was the manager at the time. The package had not been sent for Saturday service and was not to be delivered until Monday, but the customer had called and was desperate. We looked through thousands of pounds of freight to find the package and then drove about a 50 mile round trip to deliver it to the customer who needed it that day. We did what it took to make the customer happy if it was at all possible. That is the mind set of a company that wants to be known as the best at what they do.

It is not the less than three dollar difference. It is the fact that I no longer trust Barnes and Noble. Did I see it wrong? Maybe, but I remember looking closely at it because I was surprised. Did it pull up a previous search somehow? I don't see how, but maybe. Would it hurt Barnes and Noble to credit me the small amount to keep a customer happy? One that convinced others to buy this e-reader? No. I don't think it would.

It is only a small amount of money lost but a huge amount of trust. How can I prove what the price was when I clicked the button to purchase something? I used a gift card so I can't dispute it with my credit card company. Will it happen again? If so, THEN what do I do?

Book Review and eReaders

Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh! Scott Sigler commented on my blog. I would respond to him but I can't. So here is my response. I love the fact that he commented on my blog. I am glad he didn't critique it for glaring errors. Even better, he is coming out with a new book in the series, Pandemic. It is not for some time, though, so it gives you time to read the first two and build some anticipation. I sent both books via Amazon to my brother Roland for his birthday. He works for the Department of Energy and has a long commute by train into DC. He was also on the trip to Tonga and read The Puppet Masters quite a few times, so I know he will love it.

This series screams out to be made into movies. If someone hasn't optioned it, maybe they should. When I win the lottery (my fall back financial goal for retirement) I will do it myself. I took some screen writing in college! My English major daughter Trista (UCLA summa cum laude)who then went to England for her Master's could do the editing. Okay, this series screams out for a movie or two done by professionals. And I'll leave it at that. Except for the fact that it is written in such a way that I can see how it would be adapted to the screen very easily, hopefully WAY better than The Puppet Masters was!

While we spent 2 hours today clearing more rusty oil barrels and wires out of the gully..the Super Bowl starts late on this coast...most of this weekend has been spent researching eReaders. Every time I go somewhere on a plane I have to take a book a day and a couple extra. This is in case I get stuck in an airport or I don't like one or two I brought. In addition, it was just decided by the consortium of libraries in Roanoke and Botetourt counties that they will purchase ebooks that can be downloaded to just about every eReader except Kindle. Now that I can get free books I am getting excited about an eReader.

I read about a book a day. I get a lot from the library, but I buy a lot, also. Because I read in such volume buying new does not make sense. I spend $30 to $50 a month on used paperback books. I like to buy them because I read everywhere. I read while doing dishes and vacuuming. I read while taking a bath. (Is it bad that I read when I iron? I do it when I shift the item being ironed to a different spot or change garments. I know, the kids always tell me that I can do any job more quickly if I am not reading, but the fact is I like reading more than these other jobs and have a hard time putting down the book to get to it ...just one more chapter..) I read while Lee drives. I don't read while I drive, though. I like a small paperback to fit in my purse so I can read whenever the opportunity occurs. I like the books small and portable and cheap in case I ruin them in the water!

Now that I can get free books, an eReader makes sense. I will still buy a lot of paperbacks and get hardbacks from the library, but for travel I love the idea of an eReader. I also like the idea that I can keep up with email and my blog when out in California. I checked and found that my old library in California has ebooks, so I can fill up out there, also. Or even grab one from Barnes and Noble via the Internet.

My dilemma was, do I get an eReader or an iPad. The iPad was larger and therefore heavier, but way more versatile. On the other hand, I can't get interested in games or a lot of the options, so I can take or leave that. I went to Best Buy and tried out all the available options and spent a lot of time Googling (is that a verb, like FedEx a package or Xerox a page?)to find out what other people think. I heard that iPad will have built in camera in the next generation. I love that idea. Then it will be easy to Skype with Trista in England, Tara in Northern Virginia and Travis and Vanessa in New Orleans. So I will wait until then and get one next year or so. In the meantime I will get a Nookcolor based on the reviews and my needs. But I will NOT be using this for the books I read in the tub!

Here is what I really want. I should probably tell Barnes and Noble so they can get cracking on it. If libraries can lend you an ebook and have it magically disappear in two weeks, and I don't want to keep a book I download from Barnes and Noble, why can't they offer a service kind of like Net Flix? The books I only want to read I pay $2 or $3 for and the disappear in two weeks. If I need more time I "rent" them for more money. I want the author to be paid for his work. I want the publisher to be paid, but if I don't get the printed paper and I can't lend or resell the book then why should I pay more than the cost of a paperback? It is cheaper for the publisher, who gets the lion's share of the book cost.

When this happens I will buy tons more books online, kind of like watching a pay-per-view movie. Watch it once and then it goes away. This does not mean I won't buy books to keep. I still do that even though I work in a library and spend more than enough at used bookstores. Books are also a favorite gift to give and to receive. But I would use it way more if I could do so at a reduced rate for a one time read and I expect it will happen when all libraries offer free ebooks and the bookstores have to compete.