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I've said it before, and I'll say it again – I love my Kindle. Love, love, love it. I get ebooks all the time from two different libraries, as well as buying ebooks on sale through eReaderIQ and other book deals, as well as purchasing a few books at full price. (You can also send long PDFs to your Kindle!) If you need a new one, or you don't yet have one, this is one of the best times to buy because it's an early Amazon Prime Day deal.
The pictured one is normally $134, but is now marked to $68, and you can choose from three different book covers. (There are also a ton of other book covers for sale on Amazon.) This exact Kindle is a bit different from the one I have, which is the Paperwhite (still for sale for $139), so the screen might be a bit lower tech than the one I have, but I kind of doubt it'll make a big difference unless you spend a lot of time reading outdoors in the sun. You can also go for the highest tech screen, the Oasis, also on sale today for $221 (down from $349).
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Sales of note for 9.19.24
- Nordstrom – Beauty deals through September, and cardmembers earn 3x the points (ends 9/22)
- Ann Taylor – Extra 30% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles — and 9/19 only, 50% off the cashmere wrap
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + 50% off sale with code
- Lo & Sons – Warehouse sale, up to 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Friends & Family 25% off
- Rag & Bone – Friends & Family 25% off sitewide
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Anniversary event, 25% off your entire purchase — Free shipping, no minimum, 9/19 only
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- Tuckernuck – Friends & Family Sale – get 20%-30% off orders (ends 9/19).
- White House Black Market – 40% off select styles
Cat
I like the older model with the physical keys on both sides of the screen best of all – the ability to read one-handed with either hand is great. (I know the Oasis you can flip upside down to achieve this, but it’s so much more $$$!)
Anon
I miss the physical keys so much – I had the model with the keyboard and side buttons, and after bricked, I replaced it with one of the base models about three years ago. The newer model battery doesn’t seem to last as long – it needed charging after a weekend trip, and my original one lasted weeks, even until the end of its life.
Curious
I’m tired, so all I want to do is revenge shop. Anyone else? Or we can all revenge dream of a cabin on a warm mountain lakeside…
Anonymous
I have been spending way too much time daydreaming of reading a kindle on the deck of a lakeside cabin in the mountains.
Anon
What’s the revenge angle? Those things are all I want to do always.
Curious
Lol truth. I guess because it doesn’t actually serve me right now. Like revenge bedtime procrastination.
Anon
My friend convinced me to get the basic version and I love, love, love it!
No Face
I was very anti-ebook until I read a hardcover 900+ page book. Now I get both ebooks and physical books from my local library fairly frequently. I love the portability of my kindle for vacations or when I need to wait around somewhere.
Anonymous
I love my Kindle because I have an open plan house with no more available walls for bookcases. The requirements for a paper book to enter my home are very selective.
Anon
I get all my paper books from the library. I read a ton but basically don’t own books.
Anon
I donate books the second I’m done reading them. I am anti clutter and mostly ready mysteries so they’re not very fun to re-read when you know the plot, so I give to friends or Goodwill right away.
I’m probably 50/50 on ebooks (library and Bookbub sales) and hard copy books (BOTM), and of course the ebooks I buy are always what people want to borrow…
Vicky Austin
I was anti-ebook when I was younger, but moving to a remote town with a surprisingly excellent digital library changed that. My in-laws just got me a Kindle for my birthday and it came with a few months of Kindle Unlimited, but I think I’m still going to lean primarily on the library where possible. If only my current public library used Libby! Sigh.
No Face
I think some big library systems let non residents pay a small fee for access.
Anon
New York Public Library is free for everyone, I’m pretty sure.
Vicky Austin
That solves everything in my life right now, ha!
Is it Friday yet?
Only if you live in New York State.
Anon
Yeah my bad I was thinking of the Brooklyn Public Library’s recent announcement but apparently that only extends to people under the age of 21. Looks like adults can get access for $50/year though.
Vicky Austin
Yeah, that didn’t work out, but as a TX resident it seems that I may be able to get a free card for the Houston public library even though I don’t live in Houston, so passing along!
eertmeert
You can also get a Brooklyn library card for $50 a year as a non-resident.
Anon
I used to love owning books. Moving back and forth across the country several times and additional moves in between changed my mind. Now I almost exclusively read ebooks, mostly from the library. They’re also easier ergonomically, come with their own light, can easily be adjusted to make the font bigger or otherwise easier to read, and are much easier to transport- I’m a fast reader and it’s so much better to travel with a tablet than an entire suitcase of books.
Anon
Ha I still travel with a suitcase full of books. I understand on a rational level that a Kindle would be better, but I just can’t get on board with the ebook thing. Physical books are so much better.
Anon
I have soooo many books. I finally ran out of bookshelf space (and I have a LOT of bookshelf space) so I donated several boxes of books to the library thrift store a few years ago. Wouldn’t you know it, I’ve recently found myself looking for two of those books, and I had to re-buy one of them.
My Library Thing app says I have 916 books!
Curious
I was anti e-book until the Kindle Oasis. I don’t know what it is about it, but I love it.
Anon
Is someone buying that green dress from the NAS shown in the banner? (or at least it is on my computer) It’s so pretty but it doesn’t come in plus. Let me live vicariously though you!
PolyD
I really want it, but I am only a peon in the Nordstrom scheme so cannot buy it until… I don’t even know when, but probably it will be gone.
I have no use for it in my life as it is now, but I really want it!
Anon
I just love that color and the side tie looks so flattering.
MagicUnicorn
I love the color and would also look dead in the color. So hopefully someone out there snatches it up and rocks it for the rest of us.
Anon
My kindle is old and needs replacing. What model does everyone have? I assume something will be on sale for Prime day.
Anon
I just did the basic $89 version with ads. It’s bright enough I can read on the beach in direct sunlight, which is what I wanted. I think it’d also slightly water resistant? Battery lasts weeks. It’s been a life changer.
Anon8
Pro tip: If you email Ama zon and request it, they’ll remove the ads for free! That’s what I did, and I was shocked it worked. It’s been a while now but I’m sure you can find the specific steps if you google it.
Anon
Ooh I need to do this. Thanks. I got the one with ads too because I didn’t think I cared, but they advertise the most smutty looking bodice ripping books constantly and it looks to a casual observer that that is what you are reading. I’ve had at least a couple of situations where that has led to embarrassment.
Anonymous
My deal-breaker demand for my kindles, it that they have page turning buttons. As a fast reader, I don’t want to flick and flick and flick all the time.
Currently that would mean the Oasis for me, so I might try to get an older Voyage in good nick instead since that’s a nicer model, but IMO the buttons are worth it.
Cat
I commented above but the physical buttons are a non-negotiable for me. I tried the touchscreen one when my original (the one with the keyboard at the bottom) gave out, and hated it – didn’t like having to move my hand to tap the screen correctly, was forever tapping in the wrong spot so a word would highlight instead of the page turn, and couldn’t read with either hand holding the Kindle.
So- I got a refurbished older one and am much happier going back a generation!
Is it Friday yet?
I have an approx five-year-old paperwhite and just got an Oasis (the pre-Prime Day essentials bundle is only like $200). I had a Nook like ten years ago and have sorely missed the physical buttons that it had, so I am LOVING the Oasis. The ability to flip so you can read with either hand is great, and it’s very light. The self-adjusting backlight is also super nice.
Anonymous
Stuck in this weird in between that I’ve never had before. I want to live my life in the form of a better job, traveling, socializing. Yet so much is stopping me like the ongoing pandemic, laziness and all so it’s easier to just sit here on the couch with a mind numbing job that pays the bills and spending time with DH. DH has always been go to work and come home kind of person so living life has never mattered to him and he thinks this is just fine for the next few decades. I OTOH am vacillating between “this is comfortable” and years are passing us by here, we’re already 40 and have zero fun or fulfillment (though are happy with each other so that counts for something). How do you get past this? FWIW DH doesn’t need to be on board here – he can keep his job or sit and watch TV and he’d be fine with me doing stuff, that’s how it was pre pandemic and then we just connected in the evenings.
Naina
Why do you feel that there is zero fun or fulfillment? What would make you not feel that way? Looking forward to going on a trip? Meeting more friends after work? Volunteering with a charity?
Anon
The pandemic is making traveling and socializing tricky for me still, but applying for jobs seems like an easy “first step” towards some kind of change?
I’m pretty happy with the lifestyle you describe insofar as I always enjoy spending time with DH, but when I think of where I would be if he were suddenly out of the picture (as sometimes happens in his family with cardiac events), it doesn’t look great to me!!
No Face
The “no fun or fulfillment” thing is a flag for me. Any chance you could be depressed? Not saying one way or the other, just something to think about.
Start looking at job listings and apply to anything that strikes your interest. Worse thing that can happen is that they can say no.
As for doing fun stuff, just do it! Getting back to having a life after the early pandemic years was like working out again after an injury. I was just out of practice. I cured it with trips to see my oldest friends and season tickets to theatre.
Anon
Pre pandemic I learned French and then went to France by myself. I will never regret doing that. My husband would have joined me if it had worked with his schedule and was cheap, but it was neither, and he was not upset about it. In fact he was very excited for me!
Health Anxiety?
Does anyone else suffer from health anxiety? I’ve been anxious for some time, and have been a bit of a hypochondriac for a long time, but lately these two facets have merged and it’s been off the charts, and constant symptom checking and analysis are affecting my life really negatively. I have a therapist, and we’re working on it, and I’ve got an appointment soon with a psychiatrist for anti-anxiety meds. The therapy is helpful, but it feels like constant work — like I’m having to assess my anxiety level and implement a strategy for dealing with it many times every day. I think what I’m looking for is reassurance that others have experienced this and that it can get better? And does anyone have great strategies for eliminating Dr. Google from their lives?
Anon
I had significant health anxiety when my underlying autoimmune disease was undiagnosed and progressing.
It was strange because when I started treatment, it was on a trial basis and I had no optimism that it would help. It was a total “might help, can’t hurt, not much to lose” intervention. But within days the anxiety just vanished, long before my other symptoms did.
In retrospect, the health anxiety wasn’t even disproportionate to the condition; we just didn’t know.
Anon
I seriously had to ask myself whether I wrote your post. Exactly the same here. But then it all blew up, I know what it is now, and now they’re treating it and I feel so much better. In fact, I didn’t realize how bad I felt until I started feeling better. I’m sure you can relate to that!
Anonymous
I know someone like this and IDK what to say besides – don’t go down the Google/WebMd road to begin with because it becomes an obsession. Since you’ve already opened the door, each time you want to symptom check and just can’t stop yourself from getting on Google and it tells you something crazy that then makes you worry, can you maybe think back to those times where Google was totally wrong and you were totally fine?
Also big picture, what are you really doing about this info anyway? So you feel symptoms, check Google, it tells you something awful and then what? You can’t be running off to a PCP each time right, simply given how hard it is to get appointments usually. My guess is you tell yourself to keep an eye on the symptoms and you’ll call your PCP if x, and by then they’re gone anyway. So then what’s the point of even checking with Google for every symptom?
Anon
I think Google/WebMD are not the greatest tools, but I think finding out who the really good diagnosticians are locally can be a worthwhile approach if there’s something actually wrong. I wish we could trust PCPs to test for the right things and make the right referrals without our help, but I’m not sure that’s the world we live in.
Anonymous
Medication will really help. I say this all the time, but Lexapro changed my life when my anxiety went off the charts.
anon
I just started Lexapro for anxiety last night after lots of handwringing and letting it sit in my drawer (too anxious to start it, I guess), so this is encouraging.
Peach
I love my kindle, too. I have the Oasis, but I wish there was a bigger version (think A5 paper size.) I find that have to hit the page button way too frequently and my eyes are getting older…
anon
what about reading newspapers and magazines? are they still not available on the kindle? and Kindle is really a “books only” device
Anon
You can read newspapers and magazines on the Kindle. I don’t know where you’re getting that information.
Philosophias
In part. For instance, “The Kindle Edition of The New York Times contains articles found in the print edition, but will not include some images and tables.” https://www.amazon.com/The-New-York-Times/dp/B000GFK7L6
Anonymous
What’s the most random thing you’ve learned recently?
Mine: I was listening to DARK MONEY by Jane Mayer on a drive and she thinks she found the root of the Koch Brothers’ hatred of authority: their German nanny, who made all 4 brothers “produce a bowel movement” at the exact same time every day or else she’d make them drink castor oil and submit to enemas. WOWZERS.
New range
I have never had a stove/oven that worked well. I just got a new Range – not fancy, but fancy to me honestly. My old one had broken old fashioned elevated electric burners and the oven only baked (broken broiler, no convection). My new GE range has the choice of regular bake/convection/air fryer and the stove top is glass flat burners.
For someone who has never used a modern stove/oven like this, any tips/warnings? Will I damage my stove top if I am making popcorn in a bot and shaking it back in forth? Any favorite ways to clean it and/or not damage it? Do I throw away all pots/pans that aren’t perfectly flat? When do I use convection for cooking instead of bake vs air fryer? I don’t have a lot of time for experimenting so would love any advice to give me a head start.
THanks!
Anon
I don’t exactly know the answers, but I just made this transition with an oven last year, and my advice is to experiment with convection because I feel like it makes nearly everything better! Sometimes stuff cooks faster with the convection setting, so you may have to check earlier. I don’t have an air fryer setting and don’t know how it differs from convection, but I bet it’s awesome too.
I don’t know the glass stove top answers though I’m jealous since my new nice stove is gas and a pain to clean.
anon
if it is ceramic top there are glass cleaners that you use to clean and buff it…these cleaners take care of little scratches so don’t worry about that…I have heard of people dropping something very heavy on these cooktops and cracking it but you would have to be using something extremely heavy and that is rare. Convection is just “fan cooking” in EU and cooks 25-50 degrees higher than regular. So adjust your team accordingly…I like to use convection for things like a big turkey or you might try it if baking a couple racks of cookies or veg at the same time.
Anon
Checking in as someone who cracked the glass top. I was holding my espresso machine up while cleaning underneath it and it slipped. Only holding it a few inches above the stovetop, but it hit at the exact right angle to shatter the entire top. :|
Anonymous
I would get a Whirley Pop for your popcorn. No shaking. I do think you will damage the glass top doing that. There is a particular cleaner, like a soft scrub, that I found worked very well for a glass top when I had one years ago.
aBr
I do nearly everything on the convection but it takes time to learn how to modify cooking times/temps. IME, most chefs cookbooks for savory items assume that you are cooking with a convection oven. Also, no matter how fancy it is, put an oven thermometer in there because I have yet to find one that does not run (just slightly) hot or cold.
Anon
I can only answer the convection thing. I cook as much as I can using convection. It just cooks so much more evenly and quickly. I don’t use it for baking or long, slow cooking. It does dry out food more, so use it for things you want to have a roasted character.
I got my GE Cafe range in 2008 after all of my years of having crappy ones that only partially worked, and I still love it! So I feel your joy.
Anon
Can anyone speak to taking a self-funded sabbatical to travel, learn something new, and/or just take a break from corporate life? I really want to do this for 3-6 months, but I’m scared about having a rough re-entry when I do try to get another job down the road. Also worried about health insurance and lack of income and benefits. But I also feel like, if not now, when? I’m youngish and healthy and I won’t always have this chance.
Anon
I did this to deal with pandemic burn out. It sounds like you are assuming that you can’t go back to your current job, but it may be possible. Ask for unpaid leave for x months. Now that I am no longer burnt out, I love my same job.
Anonymous
Me! Sorta. I stepped away from corporate (in my case, law firm) life. It’s been over a year and I rarely miss it. I got insurance through COBRA. Marketplace plans were also available to me (leaving your job is a life changing event so you can get insurance through open enrollment). It’s about double the price I paid for premiums while working fulltime, but I had significant savings set aside for this so I could eat the cost.
I was initially planning to travel but Covid derailed so much that instead I spent time hanging with family/friends, writing a book, and starting a small online consulting business. The business goes on my resume so it’s not blank for the last year, but if you’re only planning a 3-6 month gap, I wouldn’t worry about it. Especially in the time of Covid, a gap is very common! I recently decided to start hunting for a new job, and this time away has been a complete non-issue. Ultimately, I think it depends on how you can explain the gap and how hiring works in your industry. As for me, I can see myself doing this type of thing again in a few years once I replenish savings and map out a plan to take the traveling sabbatical I really want.
anon
I did a compromise/hack where I got another job (so I’m not completely off the grid traveling) but it’s much less stressful and the job involves trips to our national parks. It pays enough to cover expenses, I still have insurance, and there’s no gap in my resume. There’s barely any disposable income now so any personal trip I take comes out of my savings. But because of the generous leave and healthy work life culture I can actually go away for weeks without anyone giving me a hard time. If and when I decide I need to start making more money again, I can look back and treat this period as a semi sabbatical.
anon
Doing it right now. I was on he edge of burnout from my erratic job and have saved to be able to keep my comfortable life for 5-6 years without any income. I am young, skilled at my job, speak a few languages and am mobile, so when I decide to go back to work, I can get a job quite easily. So I quit my job one afternoon Friday in mid May (it wasn’t a spur of the moment, I gave notice 2m ahead, waited long enough to get my stock options vested etc), packed my suitcase over the weekend and left first thing in the morning for a 2w trip to Mexico. I have 5 exciting trips planned over summer and other than that, I spend time with friends and family, exercise every day, go out for walks, and generally just enjoy life. After the first 1.5 month, without exaggeration, I feel amazing, like my old self. No frustration, no bad mood, no snapping at people, my physical and mental health is great, and I am glad I did it. I had zero doubts or regrets about my decision and looking back, I would probably end up burntout and/or depressed if I didn’t leave. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it.
As for insurance, I live in Europe and am citizen of Slovakia, so I am legally obliged to pay my healthcare contribution of 80€/month there (which I do). I bought 12m travel insurance so that I do not need to buy insurance each time I go for a trip.
As for re-entering the worklife – I was approached by a few headhunters he moment I left my job, I explained that I am not looking for a job right now, but if there would be a perfect match, I am willing to do the interview process and start from October. And I am in 2 such processes. The interviewing process is anyway longer than usual during summer as corpo people are on holidays, so nobody is shocked by my October starting date condition. Also, majority of people I talk to are shocked by my leaving a job without having another and often say it is a brave/courageous decision (which is funny).
Caitlyn
Going back to the relaxation question from earlier today –
Many times when people post here that they have a day off or want to do a staycation, what should they do, commenters suggest that they will feel more rejuvenated if they do some things rather than veg in front of the TV all day. That advice has been very helpful for me at least.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with TikTok/Instagram/Netflix/etc. But I do think some forms of relaxation are more “effective” at relaxing you . So even if I want to just veg and watch tv, I know that doing a puzzle would probably be better for me. I don’t think these hobbies have to be actually productive though – knitting for example seems perfectly wholesome and not screen based.
eertmeert
I love going to a thrift store and cruising the racks listening to a favorite podcast. If the store is big enough I can spend several hours just perusing the different sections, lost in my own little world and maybe finding an awesome new jacket or baking dish.
Another thing I will do is take an exercise class in the middle of the day, followed by a relaxing shower. Or kick off the morning with a trip to a local coffee shop to get a fancy coffee.
I’ll also pair a podcast with a knitting project, and maybe sit outside while I am doing it.
Anon
I think the mindfulness is an important aspect. If you are concentrating on one thing, rather than mindless watching or mindless scrolling, it’s a lot more refreshing.
Anonymous
I am just here to list feeling SO DUMB. I have been fighting an ongoing medical issue that has made me fairly miserable for the past 4 weeks. today I discovered it was something dumb, fixable, and could have been a total non-issue.
Anyway, it’s fixed now but man, I want my 4 weeks back!
Anon
I see you!
Signed,
Person who went to the ER to find she was dehydrated
In all seriousness, I’m glad it’s fixed now and you’re feeling better.
Anonymous
Don’t feel badly! It’s so hard to be diagnosed some times. It’s easy when it’s an infection or a broken bone, but otherwise it can be a long process. Glad you’re feeling better!
Anon
I’m so curious about what it could have been, if you’d be open to sharing.
Anonymous
I would, but trust me it’s kinda gross. It’s in the realm of nearly had surgery and turns out I had a contact stuck behind my eyeball that blinked its way out after I couldn’t see out of one eye for several weeks.
Anon
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the kindle app for the iPad, that’s my go-to. I can’t get into adding another device to babysit and charge so a separate kindle holds no appeal.
Cat
My case for buying the separate device:
-Kindles hold their charge for a long time. I charge mine maybe every 3 weeks.
-The screen mimics paper way, way, way better than the iPad does, so it’s gentle on the eyes.
-You can read easily in bright sunlight – perfect for beach trips.
-It’s lightweight so you can hold it in one hand.
-It’s small enough to fit easily in many purses
-No distractions from other apps!
Senior Attorney
I agree with all this. I thought I was happy with the Kindle app on my ohine, but when I got an actual kindle device it was a huge upgrade.
Senior Attorney
heh on my phone
Anon
+2
SC
Adding:
– inexpensive enough that I’m wikling to read it in the bath or on a pool float. (I have insurance on my phone, but the deductible is more than a new Kindle.)
Anonymous
I totally use my kindle in the bath, too – I put it in a ziplock to protect it from water while handling.
Anonymous
I like the kindle app for iPad for books that have pictures or awkward formatting, things like cook books, style books or non-fiction with charts and statistics. I like that there’s a sepia setting to get more orange background and less gleaming white.
I prefer reading on an e-ink device on the go, in the sun, in the dark, on the beach, on a train, standing on the tube. Since there’s no blue light, I get less screen fatigue, and the reading experience is a lot better.
I don’t like the kindle app on my phone. While I will sometimes use it, it’s emergency only. It feels like spending more time changing pages than actually reading.
MagicUnicorn
I have a paperwhite and the iPhone app but vastly prefer my library’s app for my iPhone over either kindle option. One less device to carry and I read on the beach in sunlight just fine with it set to dark mode.