Last month I was in the middle of In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson and enjoying it when all of a sudden, it disappeared from my Nook right before my eyes. Every single book I had on this device vanished. Poof. It was an odd sensation -- like going to a magic show I didn't want to go to and having a prank pulled on me.
Of course, I'd like all 19 books to come back, but it's been difficult to retrieve them since I'm overseas. Even when I was home in Missouri last summer, I was constantly on the phone with Barnes & Noble's customer service for various issues. I had my Nook in one hand and my Kindle in the other, and in every situation, the Nook was Goofus to the Kindle's Gallant.
My patience with the Nook has played out. I regret ever buying it. As for In the Garden of Beasts, I want to finish it, but don't want to buy it again. Even if I could get my hands on a paper copy for free, I'm not sure I'd want it right now because it's all bound up with my B&N frustration, so I don't think the rest of my reading experience would be enjoyable. On the other hand, I hate having a DNF.
Grrr.
Oh, I would freak if that happened. While I have purchased many, many more e-books than I ever expected to since buying my Nook, I have periods of worry about the longevity of my collection and the ability of my Nook to survive. I still have a Nook 1st Edition, which no longer gets software updates and, I think, is no longer supported by tech support. Every once in a while, I consider getting another reader just for those reasons, but then I think "Well, it still works" and carry on my merry way. Until the next time I start to fret about it. I don't know what I'd get, though, other than not-a-Kindle, if only because my entire collection is EPUB.
ReplyDeleteThere you go, Susan. Another reason I refuse to spend money on e-books. I'll accept them as review copies if I have to (but even that is not my first choice), I'll download free classics, and I love grabbing a nice freebie every so often. But paying real money for fake books is not going to happen. I want ownership of the books; as it is now, I feel like I'm renting them at top dollar prices completely at the whim of Amazon and B&N. No thanks.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't B&N keep an account for you to keep track of books purchased like Amazon so you can dl them again?
ReplyDelete*wail* I'm sorry this happened to you! I love my Nook but I hardly ever buy books -- I get everything from the library.
ReplyDeleteWhat?!? That's outrageous. I used to have a nook. Now I just use the nook app on my iPad. But I've never lost a book. That's totally unacceptable, B&N!
ReplyDeleteLibrary Girl,
ReplyDeleteI have the Nook 1st Edition. That explains why I've had so many problems, even at home.
Sam,
I only wanted to transition to ebooks because it's difficult to own so many and not be permanently settled. Sigh. Now I'm feeling pretty gunshy.
Fantsmacle,
The books are there to be downloaded again, but the Nook is not overseas friendly. I should have looked into that before I jumped and bought one.
Jenny,
I've gotten free Kindle books, but never anything free with Nook. Sigh!
Softdrink,
Yes, it's unacceptable. I'd like to throw my device, but I don't want to hit some undeserving Korean. Better if I could throw it at the Nook designer.
I, like any reader, can completely empathize with this situation. Nothing is worse than losing a book before you finish. Losing 18 others is just that much worse. So sorry.
ReplyDeleteOh blankety blank indeed :( I do hope you get to finish In the Garden of Beasts at some point. I just finished it myself, very good read.
ReplyDeleteThe Relentless Reader
Ugh, what a bummer! If my ipad got erased, I wouldn't even remember what books i had on it, I so rarely remember I even have books on the darn thing. I am still attached to my paper books.
ReplyDelete