…Reading

Not surprisingly, there aren’t a whole lot o’bookstores in Bangladesh. You can buy school books, blank books, and paper at the stationary stores, and there are some guys that walk between the cars selling books in English, but the selection of 7-10 books usually isn’t what I’m looking for.

So, I had a Kindle. And I read a LOT of books. A lot of free and bad books, and a lot of cheap, bad books, and a few good books that I paid a bit for. (With Kindle, there are no used books stores offering steep discounts on paperbacks.)

But then, one day, the Kindle broke. The screen just went all streaky and weird. But, luckily, the Kindle was under warranty, and Amazon would send me a new one to replace it.

I waited.

I waited some more.

Finally, I wondered what happened.

My Kindle had ended up in the not-lost-but-not-going-to-ever-make-it-to-Dhaka hell of the regulations on DPO, pouch and other mail. It was eventually sent back to Amazon, but I’d lost my chance on the free replacement. They credited me some random amount of money (Kindle cost – use cost?), and said I could buy another. So I did… and got it here, a different way, a legal one, but one that Amazon doesn’t recognize due to the vagaries of the DPO’s ever changing regulations.

It arrived today. I am very excited to load up some of those books that I had already bought but never got to read, and to search out some new ones to fill these summer nights in Dhaka.

Thank goodness I didn’t have to fly back to the US just to pick it up. Because you know I would have, eventually.

…Ordering Online

Recently I got a subscription to Amazon Prime (it was free for students). And… true to its intent, I have been ordering more of my necessary stuff online, since the shipping is free and easy. However, my last two deliveries have been misdirected! The first one only arrived a day after the estimated date after wandering around in central Virginia for an extra day or two. The second one, which was supposed to be delivered yesterday (and was even “on the delivery truck” in my neighborhood), somehow ended up in central Pennsylvania by late evening. It’s now on the way back to NoVa, but now it won’t get here until Monday! Three days late. *Shakes hand threateningly at UPS*

I guess I am just getting a taste of what life will be like in an APO system, no more online package tracking.

And, in case you’re wondering why I am following this particular package so closely, it’s my new 3rd generation 3G Kindle. I recently sold nearly ever book I own online through bookscouter.com and am really looking forward to downloading all the free titles available online (and a few paid ones).