WHATEVS…

It’s 2012. So I think it’s a safe assumption that if you’re reading this, you have probably—at one point or another—ordered something from Amazon. And if you’re anything like me, you order from them frequently. No, I’m not a shopping junkie. Despite what my husband may try to get you to believe. But I’ve been the proud owner (and, you’d assume, unofficial spokesperson base on how often I talk to friends about it) of a Kindle since about 2009. I’d estimate that fully 95% of my online purchases are Kindle books.

I have to digress for a moment here. If you are a Kindle owner and have not heard of http://www.pixelofink.com/ then please, do me a favor. Crawl out from the dark crevice beneath the rock under which you live and check it out. Their entire site (which you can also get updates from by “liking” them on Facebook) is dedicated to directing readers to free, bargain, or sale-priced Kindle content. A friend recommended it to me about six months ago and the fine folks at Pixel of Ink have saved me a boatload of cash already.

Okay, let’s see if we can’t get back on track now, eh?

When I finish reading a book—whether I loved it, hated it, or thought it was “just okay”—I write an Amazon review for it. When I’m shopping, I often read what other customers thought of the book before making a decision to click the “buy now” button. So, in turn, I think it’s important to help my fellow readers as they have helped me. My reviews are always honest and based strictly on the book’s content. And I never write a review for any book that I didn’t bother to finish reading. (People whose simply gripe about the price of the e-book and/or admit that they didn’t actually read the whole book irk me to no end!)

About twice per year—and only when I’m bored—I log into my Amazon account to browse through my old reviews and read any new comments or replies that have been posted on my reviews since my last visit. Which is exactly what I found myself doing today. As I read through newly posted comments, I realized that the reviews that repeatedly get responses from other Amazon users are the critical ones. And the replies are usually angry to the point that I’m pretty sure they all have to be from the authors’ mothers or great aunts or favorite English teacher from high school. (I mean, really….I’m not obligated to like a book just because it won some silly award that I’ve never heard of three years ago. Who ARE you and why are you so upset?) And then I got to my review of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy.

Somehow, since I posted the review at the end of May, I had managed to miss 30+ replies to it. Making this, officially, my first positive review to generate such a response from other Amazon users. And not only that, but it’s ranked among the “most helpful” reviews for the product which means it’s the first customer review shoppers see. I’m totally psyched. (Yes, I get excited about odd things. And by “odd” I mean “nerdy.” But I’m okay with that.)

So there you have it. Yes, I’ve read it. Yes, I liked it. And if you haven’t read it—my review, that is—maybe you should.

<insert shameless plug here>

http://www.amazon.com/review/R36J3BMBEEB1Q7/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg4?ie=UTF8&asin=B007SGM084&cdForum=Fx2XESAZ12CLP6Q&cdPage=4&cdThread=Tx18BTHHF74LMZP&store=digital-text#wasThisHelpful

Fifty Shades of Grey (Photo credit: ellebnere)