Reader Contribution

One of the subscribers to this blog, we'll call her Nicholas (in favor of keeping her anonymous), is the inspiration for this post. So Nicholas and I talk regularly, and during one of our first conversations I confessed that I enjoy reading, especially books that everyone else praises. Nicholas assumed I must spend a lot of money on books. "No, I just borrow books that people claim I have to read," was my response (read: frugal miser). Nicholas, the eternal student spending the majority of her life in school and recently graduated with a Masters, confessed that she loved reading as well, and the following dialog transpired (to the best of my recollection):

Nicholas: Do you do the Barnes & Noble policy?
S.A.: Yeah, in the past I've bought books there, but I prefer Borders. They send me more junk mail and coupons.
Nicholas: No. Barnes & Noble has a 7 day return policy [often overlooked]. So you buy a book and have 7 days to return the book to put the credit toward another book. No questions asked. So you buy a book once, and you essentially have access to every title.
S.A.: This works? They never give you they eye?
Nicholas: Works every time. Maybe it's because I'm a girl.

At that moment I knew what it felt like to find the Rosetta Stone. It's like I had been living years in the darkness, and then Nicholas showed me the light. I immediately had a soul mate, a girl who was literate, aware of details posted on the back of the receipts, and a student for her entire life.

Don't kid yourselves, we are living through a Depression. Nicholas and I just saved the three of you (readers) mucho dinero and provided you with hours of entertainment, so now you can have a break from your pedantic lives and enhance it with some culture. You're welcome!