What are you reading right now?
Many of us are reading more than we used to do.
I wonder how many of you are reading Unorthodox – the story that has been a huge hit on Netflix.
You can easily get the Kindle version but try and buy the book. Most places are out of stock and it’s unavailable on Amazon which I imagine amounts to the same thing.
Amazon, where many of us head, without even bothering to look anywhere else, has recently started asking silly prices. By silly, I mean inordinately expensive. I wonder why? Could it be because the book is so popular and sought after that Amazon have decided to hike up the price? Like all those unscrupulous shops who have tried to make a fortune out of selling 50 ml bottles of antiseptic for fifty times the normal (ie pre-Covid) price.
I decided to look elsewhere and found a much cheaper copy which I happily ordered. But then, looking into it further, I saw that I had accidentally purchased the German version! My friend Mel also made the same mistake. Fortunately, I realised my error quickly enough to cancel the order and get a refund.
Another book I looked for on Amazon was the novel, Normal People. Again, Amazon have hiked up the cost. £199.99 for the hardback. No, that’s not a typo. This is pure, unadulterated greed and profiteering at a time when many people are having to rein in their spending.
Then I turned to Google. Don’t ask me why I hadn’t looked there first. Google led me to the bookseller Blackwell who are selling Unorthodox, Normal People and other popular books at normal prices. What’s more, unlike with Amazon where, unless you meet their criteria, you are charged postage, Blackwell are not even charging for postage. So Blackwell is now my new go to place for books.
It’s very exciting when a parcel or post arrives – except for having to go through the procedure of disinfecting everything that comes through the door with antiseptic wipes. OH (other half) the other day joked to his friends at a Zoom “lunch” that when I come in the front door he has to wipe me down with antiseptic. But nobody laughed.
The other day I received a letter from the Co-op. Why the Co-op you might ask?
Well, many years ago I had some savings in the Co-op Bank. Things changed and I decided to move my savings elsewhere. I closed down the account but left one penny in it because that seemed the easiest thing to do at the time.
A couple of decades later that penny is now worth 3 pence! What is so silly is that every now and then I receive a letter from the Co-op telling me how much I have in my account. So they are spending 76 pence in postage each time to tell me I have three pence in savings!
Their latest letter made me laugh out loud. “The interest rate on your savings account is reducing”, they said. Can someone please tell me what the interest would be on three pence? Fortunately, they have said that I can close my account without charge and without any loss of interest. So that’s all right then!
On the other hand they write, “With the impact of corona virus our phone lines are exceptionally busy so we politely ask you only to call us if it’s absolutely essential.” Oh well.
Happy reading. See you tomorrow.
© Andrea Neidle, My Life in Poems
© Book image from philshaw775 (Instagram)
My Life in Poems 
Thanks Andrea, I have been reading you fairly regularly, and liked this piece on books particularly. I also avoid Amazon where possible, they always try to draw you in to something you don’t want, and you sometimes have to be very careful before the press the wrong button.
I had an e mail today from our theatre ticket supplier saying she had been advised no theatres would be open before the end of June at the earliest.
Sandra xx
LikeLike