Tag: Amazon.com

Why Would Anyone EVER Pre-Order a Book?

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews

I am anxiously awaiting the release date of the final book in the Inheritance Cycle (called Inheritance) by Christopher Paolini as a lot of other fans are on November 8.

So, I go online to Amazon to pre-order it.  Well, as most of you know, you have to spend $25 or more to get free shipping so I thought I’d order some other books I’ve had in my queue.

I go through the whole process to the end where it says, “Your books will not be shipped until November.”

What?!

I thought books from Amazon were shipped when they arrived so I’d get separate orders.

I cancel that order and hop over to Barnes and Noble.com and see what they say.  I call a physical store to ask,”If I pre-order this book along with others, will it be shipped separately?”

“Oh, yes,” the employee assures me.  “You’ll get your other books first.”

Once again, I go on-line to order my books along with pre-ordering Inheritance.  Again, same message:  “Your books will not be shipped until the pre-order is available.”

Of course, I don’t believe the young man on the phone and I just cancel my order.

In the end, I don’t order Inheritance (much to my chagrin for I really want the book) and just order the stuff I need now (some are workbooks for homeschool) along with a book my daughters really want (the new book in the Magic Tree House Series called Dogs in the Dead of Night #46 by Mary Pope Osborne) to get myself over the $25 mark.

Why would anyone ever pre-order? I wonder.

Amazon has changed the price on Inheritance THREE times since I’ve put it in my cart.

I decide to just order the book when it comes out.  Easier. Safer.  Less hassle. And confusion.

And if I pay shipping, so be it.  But by November, I’m sure I’ll have something else I need (all books are a need, ya know!).

Somewhere More Holy

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews

I order most of my books off of Amazon.  One, it’s the cheapest out there and two if you order over $25 worth of stuff, you get free shipping.  So, last week I went online to order Glenn Beck’s book, “The 7 Wonders That Will Change Your Life” but I needed another book to get me over $25.

Amazon has a wish list that you can save books you want so when I find one I think I’m interested in, I save it so I’ll have some books to choose from when I’m ready to order.

One book I saved was one mentioned in Sarah Palin’s new book, America by Heart, called Somewhere More Holy by Tony Woodlief.

God knows what I’m struggling with and at this point in my life he also knows exactly what to put in my hands.  It was these two books.

Somewhere More Holy is a book about Tony’s life.  He lost his first child when she was 3 to a brain tumor and he dealt with it by cheating on his wife.  It’s about how he was broken and through God’s grace his marriage was saved and him and his wife are now raising 4 boys.

I can’t imagine ever burying a child (it’s both me and my husband’s worst nightmare).  This book will make you cry and laugh.

At one point last night, Tony tells the story of not wanting to play with his daughter because he was watching a basketball game before he knew she was sick and the guilt and shame he feels over it.  “I was unable to see how the things we love can banish like breath.”  Then, the next page, “she (his daughter) forgave everything, and so does God, and that the only person still keeping accounts is me.” P.48-49

I looked up at my two youngest children who were playing happily on the floor with dolls and cars and started balling.

You see, I tend to think sometimes I’m a bad mother.  I think I don’t spend enough time with them.  I tend to think I could be better.  I tend to think I am scarring my kids for life with all my junk.  I even think I am unworthy of them.

This book will make you feel like you’re not alone, remind you how God does forgive and how much He does love, and make you see how important your family truly is because one day they may be taken from you.

It’s not an easy read but I got up this morning and couldn’t put it down until I finished it.

“I think it’s time to just accept it (the love of his wife), to accept the love of these children and this God I don’t understand.” P.201

I have been moved more in the last five days than I have been in a long time.  Moved to deal with my past. Moved to accept it.  Moved to follow my true north.  Moved to follow God’s.  Moved to be all God has called me to be, to be more like Jesus but to know I will stumble in the process.  And moved to love and to accept love.  And to know all things work together for my good.

I cannot recommend either of these books enough, especially if you think you have more to give to this world and something is hindering your progress.  I guarantee you will learn something.  You may even be moved like I am to see what’s important in this world and what is not and to pray for the will and fortitude to make life changes for the betterment of all.

Shopping Online

by atozmom, posted in Homeschool

So, being that my husband has moved me far, far away from civilization (ok, a bit of an exaggeration but we all need it sometimes), I have entered the world of online shopping in earnest.

So, early this morning I am shopping on Amazon.com.  I logged into my account and they informed me that the price of two books in my shopping cart had jumped by $5 combined!  Now, I was a bit upset, but what can I do?  Amazon is still the cheapest place on the internet to get books and the nearest Barnes and Noble is 3 hours away (just not a viable option with 3 kids and little time).

So I ordered my books and one gets free shipping (for orders over $25) which seems like a great deal, right?  Well, the only catch is that your order gets less priority so it takes about a week longer to receive your books if you had actually paid for it.  But, being a mom on a budget, I can wait (just not patiently usually).

As a home schooler, I am looking for curriculum books on line.  There is one book in particular that I need (ok, so I WANT it really bad) to teach my daughter how to read.  Brand new from the owner’s website, it’s $90 plus shipping.  However, I can get a used copy online at Amazon for $70 so I will save money.  However, I’d have to buy it from Amazon’s marketplace which is basically anyone who wants to sell items online can go through Amazon (I’m sure there’s probably some vetting process).  But, the complication here is you never know what you’re gonna get and if you don’t like it, the return policies on some are dubious to say the least.  In essence, I don’t know these people from Jack and I’m hesitate to buy from them.

So, now the question becomes, “Do I spend the extra $20 and buy the book from the publisher directly?”  I have been wrestling with this exact question for the better part of an hour and so I’ve finally decided to spend the extra money and buy from the people I know (who by the way, are incredibly nice and helpful) rather than some guy in his garage.

The book by the way is from the Riggs Institute, a non-profit agency specializing in explicit phonics.  Explicit phonics is where you teach your child to read and write through learning the sounds rather than through learning sight words and memorization.  I LOVE this method and is part of the reason I didn’t enroll my daughter in the kindergarten when we moved.  Also, they are not a Core Knowledge school either, which was unimpressive.  I highly believe every child needs the same knowledge from year to year plus it’s just overall good stuff that everyone needs to know.  I myself enjoy reading “What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know” by E.D. Hirsch, Jr, and my kids definitely love it.

The book entitled “Writing and Spelling Road to Reading and Thinking” by Myrna McCulloch is highly rated and I’ll have to keep you posted on my daughter’s progress once I begin this program after the first of the year.  I will order it once business hours occur (I’m an EXTREMELY early riser.  I work best alone in the morning hours and am most productive.  It works out great because my husband works nights.).

Please feel free to comment (especially if you’ve used any of these aforementioned books).  I’d love to hear from you!