pink moon gonna get you all
So a new Temeraire book came out. In fact, it has been out for more than a month and I am a librarian and I didn't know this. Oh god, fail. (Okay, so maybe the rural redneck appetite for dragons-in-the-Napoleonic-era is not as large as I would have hoped.)
So I found out at work today and obviously flipped out, for I must have it! And of course my county library doesn't have it anywhere, and the next county over has all their copies checked out with a waiting list, because apparently Cincinnati is cooler than I thought.
Okay, so my library options were out. I would simply have to buy it. I didn't really want to get the Kindle edition, since my other six books are in print and you can't just change format in the middle of a series! Plus, I saw that the Kindle price was $13 and I physically recoiled. The actual physical hardcover copy of the book (with deckle edges!) was only $15.50. And I have gift cards, so that should work, right?
Oh, it won't ship until Monday? And then the cheap shipping is an extra 5 days on top of that? Well, boo.
Next step: Check Walmart, because it's the only place within 20 miles I can actually purchase a book. Listed price: $14.40! Woo! But it's online only, and it would take a full week to have it shipped to my store. Ugh.
How about Barnes and Noble? Sure, it's like an hour-long round trip, but it's also right across the street from an ice-cream shop, and that's never a bad thing...
The website says $15.50, same as Amazon. So I call and ask them to hold a copy for me, figuring I can run out after work and get it. And just as I'm about to hang up, I get an itchy feeling and I ask her to confirm the price for me.
The in-store price is $25.
So to clarify. I am supposed to pay Barnes and Noble an extra $10 for the privilege of driving 30 miles each way on $3.80-per-gallon gas, paying to park, and browsing the goddamn store where I might have bought something else as well!
Yeah. That'll keep your brick-and-mortar stores in existence. Good job, guys.
So I found out at work today and obviously flipped out, for I must have it! And of course my county library doesn't have it anywhere, and the next county over has all their copies checked out with a waiting list, because apparently Cincinnati is cooler than I thought.
Okay, so my library options were out. I would simply have to buy it. I didn't really want to get the Kindle edition, since my other six books are in print and you can't just change format in the middle of a series! Plus, I saw that the Kindle price was $13 and I physically recoiled. The actual physical hardcover copy of the book (with deckle edges!) was only $15.50. And I have gift cards, so that should work, right?
Oh, it won't ship until Monday? And then the cheap shipping is an extra 5 days on top of that? Well, boo.
Next step: Check Walmart, because it's the only place within 20 miles I can actually purchase a book. Listed price: $14.40! Woo! But it's online only, and it would take a full week to have it shipped to my store. Ugh.
How about Barnes and Noble? Sure, it's like an hour-long round trip, but it's also right across the street from an ice-cream shop, and that's never a bad thing...
The website says $15.50, same as Amazon. So I call and ask them to hold a copy for me, figuring I can run out after work and get it. And just as I'm about to hang up, I get an itchy feeling and I ask her to confirm the price for me.
The in-store price is $25.
So to clarify. I am supposed to pay Barnes and Noble an extra $10 for the privilege of driving 30 miles each way on $3.80-per-gallon gas, paying to park, and browsing the goddamn store where I might have bought something else as well!
Yeah. That'll keep your brick-and-mortar stores in existence. Good job, guys.