Congratulations!  Your book will be mailed within the next several days.

It was this time last week that my Sony Reader bit the dust. I’m happy to report that I now have a new Sony Reader to replace this one, thanks to the people at Sony.  It wasn’t an easy feat, several discussions had to take place for this to happen.  And ultimately, I wouldn’t have had to go through this lengthy exchange had the customer service I received from the beginning been acceptable.  But I’m happy to have a working Reader again.  So, thank you, Sony.  You’ve redeemed yourself a bit in my eyes.  I do plan on upgrading in the next year, and I’ve added the Sony Reader Touch back to my list of potential purchases.

Our local weathermen started talking about an impending “historic” snow storm we were predicted to get this weekend.  Of course, the entire area doesn’t handle snow well, so I didn’t believe it was going to be as bad as they predicted.  For once, they were right.  Following are pictures I took throughout the day, starting first thing this morning through 6 pm this evening.

Parking Lot, 8:00 AM

Parking Lot at 3 PM

Van at 3 PM

Van at 6 PM

Needless to say, we haven’t left the house today.  Schools have already announced that they will not open on Monday and Tuesday, so my oldest son’s Christmas break has already started!

Tomorrow I plan to spend most of the day reading, and perhaps make a few dozen cookies.  That is, if my back recovers from all the shoveling I’ve been doing today!

Congratulations, Melissa!

This is my first ever Waiting on Wednesday post.  I HAD to post about this book because I’m literally counting down the days until it’s published.

The book is The Passage by Justin Cronin.  I’ve heard about it via many outlets, including Twitter.  However, when my favorite author, Stephen King, recommended it, I was truly sold.  Following is King’s statement about the book:

“Every so often a novel-reader’s novel comes along: an enthralling, entertaining story wedded to simple, supple prose, both informed by tremendous imagination. Summer is the perfect time for such books, and this year readers can enjoy the gift of Justin Cronin’s The Passage. Read fifteen pages and you will find yourself captivated; read thirty and you will find yourself taken prisoner and reading late into the night. It has the vividness that only epic works of fantasy and imagination can achieve. What else can I say? This: read this book and the ordinary world disappears.”—Stephen King

How can I resist? Unfortunately, I have a lot of waiting to do. The Passage isn’t published until June of 2010.

As many of you know, I have been a loyal user of a Sony PRS 505 Reader for the past several years.  Unfortunately, that loyalty ends today.

My Sony Reader has been experiencing intermittant issues lately.  The battery doesn’t hold a charge as long as it should and it frequently locks up. Today, it locked up for good.  Despite my attempts to reset it, my beloved Sony Reader remained locked on the Start Up Screen:

So I contacted Sony’s Customer Support.  The wait time for the phone support was too long.  I’m at work, and the constant “We are experiencing an unusually high call volume” was quite annoying.  So I decided to use the online chat support.  I was quickly connected with an analyst who spent the next several minutes walking me through the same troubleshooting I had already gone through myself.  I was then informed that the analyst would be unable to assist me and I would need to send my product in for repair.  To top it off, my Reader is no longer under warranty. Sony only offers a one year warranty with a 90 day limited warranty for parts and labor.  This is what I get in return for spending over $250 on said Sony Reader.

I then learned that “Your unit is covered under an exchange program. The exchange is for the same or a comparable model. The replacement unit may be factory refurbished.”  IF I PAID $90!  Yep, that’s right!  And there’s more:

A refurbished unit is one which is not an original, factory fresh unit; for various reasons, it has been returned to Sony from a dealer or customer, or for some reason cannot be sold as “new”. The replacement would have been through a complete re-work and inspection and, except for possible minor cosmetic flaws, returned to the original factory specifications. It is then repackaged with all of the accessories and supplied materials a new unit comes with.

The cost to exchange this unit under our Exchange Program is $99.00 (plus any applicable taxes). Return shipping is included in this price.

This quoted price is based upon the direct replacement model. Product availability and pricing may vary if the direct replacement model is not available. If this applies, You will be contacted by a customer service representative.

Based upon the information you have entered, your unit appears to qualify for the Flat Rate pricing quoted above. Not covered under our Flat Rate pricing is the following:

1. Units requiring replacement of display devices*
2. Internal corrosion or moisture damage
3. Cosmetic parts **
4. Physical abuse.
5. Misuse or excessive wear. ***
6. Units older than seven (7) years from last market date.
7. Damage resulting from prior service.

If upon examination, it is determined that your unit does not qualify for Flat Rate pricing, then a parts and/or labor repair quote will be given to you. If you approve your estimate, payment must be made in order to proceed with repair. If you refuse your estimate, you can elect to have your unit disposed at our facility or your unit can be returned to you for a nominal fee. All repaired units will be returned to you with a 90 day part and labor warranty covering the entire unit.

During the course of the repair of your unit, it is possible that data, software or other materials stored or preserved on your unit will be lost or reformatted. It is your responsibility to backup any data, software or any other material. If you are not comfortable with performing this backup process, we suggest that you contact a service professional. Sony does not perform this type of service and will not be responsible for any damage or loss of material.

So, I have to pay a $90 fee.  Then, if for some reason they find the product is ineligible for this program, I will receive a quote for the cost required for repair.  This just keeps getting better, doesn’t it? And if I don’t want to pay for the repair, I can pay an additional fee to have MY product returned to me.

Sorry, Sony. You’ve lost a customer.  A very loyal customer. 

I now have to contact several publicists who are awaiting my review of  ebooks they submitted to me, and contact another handful of reviews in the works to request hard copies of the books in lieu of egalleys. A huge inconvenience, especially around this time of year.

The eReader market is a very competitive one.  Customer service plays a big part in which company I chose to make big purchases from. I’m now in the market for a new ebook reader of some sort.  I will be doing a bit of research before deciding this time around.

**Update: Last night I was able to get my Sony Reader back to it’s working condition.  Apparently the problem I experienced is a common one in Sony Readers.  The problem is called “bricking” and the remedy was to reset the device until it rebooted itself.  I did not receive any support from Sony on this issue, even though it is a known problem.  I received help from a good friend who frequents a forum specifically for problems with Sony Readers.  So, again, I thank Geri.  She saved my sanity!  I’m still on the look for a new Reader as I continue to have a problem with my Sony holding a charge for more than a few hours.**