Cracking Up

I love my nook! I've had it for almost a year, and it's still working great. You can't beat the convenience of being able to download books with just a few clicks on the computer. Considering the closest Barnes & Noble is nearly 40 miles away and that I'm a bookworm, it's saved me a lot of trips to "the city."

The prices of the new-release books have gone up $3 since the nook was released, but it's still a good value. I just did a comparision-shop and got the new Patricia Cornwell for $12.99 at bn.com -- the hardcover was almost $20 at WalMart. And I'll let you in on a little secret: Watch for the new releases, because if you pre-order them, you can often get them for $9.99.

I don't have a case for my nook -- I repurposed an old datebook that the nook fits in perfectly! It works great for traveling. But recently, I was wondering if maybe I didn't take good enough care of my e-reader. Two books ago, I got it out and noticed that the plastic case had developed a crack right on one of the buttons you use to turn the page.

I couldn't figure out what had happened...I think I would remember if I'd dropped the thing! I just wrote it off to wear and tear -- until today! I ran into a sideloading issue with my newest purchase, and was searching on the bn.com nook users forum for a solution. (Sideloading just means transferring the book's ePub file from the computer to the e-reader via a USB cord.)

Skimming the posts, an entry titled "nook case develops a crack" popped out at me. Turns out the crack in the case is due to a design flaw in the early editions of the nook. And--the best part--Barnes & Noble will supposedly replace nooks with cracks! I'm waiting to get an email back from B&N, so keep your fingers crossed that this is true. That would be pretty good customer service, if you ask me.