Tag Archives: Shopping

Bookish Talk

It’s beginning to feel a lot like…

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Christmas?

My brain is saying no. The mild weather in Southern California agrees with me. No, I am not quite there yet but Christmas is a mere seven weeks away. Did you know that? The Hub and I got into a heated discussion about it. He prefers to let it creep up on him, but he’s not the one who does the buying, or the cooking or really any of it. Okay, he handles the Christmas lights (and has fallen off the roof twice). I do all the rest and I don’t complain because I LOVE Christmas.

I love Thanksgiving, too. I’ve been compiling my gluten-free recipes as this will be my first gluten-free Thanksgiving meal. This year though, I don’t want to wait until Black Friday to get the shopping started. I have two reasons for this. The first, is that it’s just easier to buy a little at a time and I tend to make better decisions when not pressed for time. The second, is that the family business is still teetering on collapse so I have to shop in small spurts in order to afford things. There, I said it.

This year, there may be more bookish gifts than in previous years. I’ve already bought this for The Boy:

Steve Jobs
The Boy is a visionary so there was no way for me to pass this one by without the opportunity to wrap it up in red and white and stick it under the tree. The tree that I know will be attacked in some way by the Otter Pup.

I haven’t yet, but I would love to buy The Girl these books. She also wants a Kindle. That is a discussion for another time. They are affordable enough, but I really don’t want her to download books willy-nilly. Not unless I become-famous-from-some-reality-TV-show-get -married-for-only-72-days-and-then-file-for-divorce. Smirk. I could probably afford the willy-nilly downloading of books then.

Ivy & Bean: No News is Good News

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cabin Fever

Judy Moody Girl Detective

Of course, with every trip to the bookstore I feel as if I must pick-up a little something for myself. Except, this bookstore is in London.

Saplings

Little Boy Lost

There is something very special about Persephone books. I find that I seem to crave them (yearn for them?) only at Christmas.

Are you thinking about the holidays yet? I can’t wait to read King’s new one over Thanksgiving break. I have it all planned.

Bookish Talk

Fancy That! I’m a Traitor! (didn’t mean to be)

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Okay, so you know how I got a Kindle for Mother’s Day? I didn’t say too much about it because I was speechless and not able to fully express its awesomeness. I did all my research and when The Hub asked me which e-reader I preferred, I went back and forth between the Kindle and the Nook.

BUT, when Kindle announced file organization and Facebook and Twitter integration with its 2.5 upgrade (which still hasn’t downloaded by the way), I decided to go with the Kindle. Plus, to be honest with you, I just liked the clean lines of the Kindle over the Nook. It fits better in my hand, and just seems to fit me better.

What I didn’t consider was this…

…that I would be betraying my beloved Barnes and Noble.  Yep, I am a traitor.

Now, I get that most of these devices are proprietary in nature and I knew that choosing the Kindle over the Nook would mean doing business with Amazon, but what I didn’t consider was the “pretty” factor. In between my long hours at work (definitely not during work, ahem) I like to browse B&N’s website. Their e-book site is so much easier to navigate and much prettier than Amazon’s e-book site (my opinion).

Now don’t get me wrong, my purchases are done wirelessly. I don’t purchase online and then sync up later, although I know that you can do that. BUT, I didn’t realize how much I would miss browsing B&N’s site. Also, when visiting a B&N store, I feel like a bit of a loser. Everyone is walking around with their Nooks looking cool and I am Nook-less. This is an entirely strange feeling for me because I LOVE my Kindle. Even with all this loser angst I am experiencing, I still wouldn’t trade my Kindle for a Nook.

So what am I saying? I am sorry Barnes and Noble. I didn’t buy your Nook, but I LOVE your website and still shop in your brick and mortar store. I can hope that Amazon does something with their site to pretty it up a bit. Visually, it’s BLAH. Do you hear me Amazon? Do something with the Kindle Books section, please!

Amazon

Amazon Kindle Book Section

Versus…

B&N

B&N Ebook Section

So if you are in the market for an e-reader, consider your shopping habits too. Where do you purchase your regular books from? Are you loyal to a particular store? Browse each site’s e-book section and see which one you like best. For now, I am happy to browse one site and buy from the other, but it’s still a bit weird for me.