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The Most Expensive Kindle Books of 2014 (Nonfiction and Fiction)

February 19, 2014/0 Comments/in Commentary/by Katherine Cowley

Having wealth gives you privileges–including the ability to buy the most expensive Kindle books on the planet. If the highest price is your true goal, you should start by purchasing nonfiction: International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: $16,870 ($.97/page) At just under a dollar per page, this encyclopedia is a steal. While the […]

Adaptable New Year’s Resolutions

January 23, 2014/0 Comments/in Commentary/by Katherine Cowley

It’s January 23rd and I may have finalized my New Year’s resolutions. Maybe. No, I’m not a slacker. True, I didn’t start thinking about my New Year’s goals until January 1st, when I jotted some thoughts down in a notebook. But those thoughts were were not etched in stone–on the contrary, they were illegibly penned […]

The Most Expensive Kindle Books of 2014 (Nonfiction and Fiction)

February 19, 2014/0 Comments/in Commentary/by Katherine Cowley

Adaptable New Year’s Resolutions

January 23, 2014/0 Comments/in Commentary/by Katherine Cowley

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The Most Expensive Kindle Books of 2014 (Nonfiction and Fiction)

February 19, 2014/0 Comments/in Commentary/by Katherine Cowley

Having wealth gives you privileges–including the ability to buy the most expensive Kindle books on the planet. If the highest price is your true goal, you should start by purchasing nonfiction:

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: $16,870 ($.97/page)

At just under a dollar per page, this encyclopedia is a steal. While the hardback version costs $12,000 less, the Kindle version is infinitely superior, because it means you can have a lightweight-yet-comprehensive encyclopedia as your constant companion.

Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics: $11,850 ($1.32/page)

According to editorial reviewers, this book is “breath-taking.” It is also the same price I paid for my first car.

Comprehensive Organic Functional Group Transformations II: $10,070 ($1.57/page)

Written by 144 specialists, it’s possible this book may even contain the secret to understanding women. That in itself is worth reading 6000 pages for.

Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II: From Biology to Nanotechnology: $7,823.99 ($.82/page)

This book was published in 2003. I’d like you to imagine how much this book would cost if the info on nanotechnology weren’t over a decade old.

Treatise on Geochemistry, Ten Volume Set: 10 Volume Set: $6,559.99 ($.84/page)

If you’re not sold on the fact that it’s a Ten Volume Set, maybe you’re sold on the fact that it’s a 10 Volume Set!

Collier on Bankruptcy: $6,399.20 or $6,212.80 per volume; or get all 28 volumes for $178,059.20 (mystery per page price)

My best guess is that the first line of every volume is “So, now that you’re bankrupt.” Even if you have millions to burn, I recommend sampling the one cheaper Collier on Bankruptcy volume before you buy the full set. You can purchase Collier on Bankruptcy Taxation for only $283.99.

Let’s shift to the most expensive fiction Kindle books of 2014:

Antología Poética de los Siglos XVI y XVII: $5,611.20 ($10.96/page)

Obviously the 16^th and 17^th centuries were good for Spanish poetry—they’re charging $10.96 a page! Or if you’re completely old-fashioned you can buy the paperback for under $20 (though we will judge you for it).

Ma belle-mère et moi !: $606.64 ($13.19/page)

If you don’t speak French, then what better way to learn than through reading a French comic? Surely it’s more effective than Rosetta Stone…

The Crime Quintet: $200 ($2.63/page)

Just think–you could be the very first person to review (or read) this book.

DETANRACNI: $200 ($1.60/page)

It’s a love story with a horror twist. And it features the Bermuda Triangle. Clearly no more needs to be said.

Sinderella: $200 ($100/page)

This book is only 2 pages long, but the cover is clearly worth $200 on its own.

Now if only someone would leave me an inheritance so I could start buying.

Adaptable New Year’s Resolutions

January 23, 2014/0 Comments/in Commentary/by Katherine Cowley

It’s January 23rd and I may have finalized my New Year’s resolutions. Maybe.

No, I’m not a slacker. True, I didn’t start thinking about my New Year’s goals until January 1st, when I jotted some thoughts down in a notebook. But those thoughts were were not etched in stone–on the contrary, they were illegibly penned onto partially recycled paper that will some day soon be recycled again.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve waited until the end of January to finalize my resolutions. I did it in both 2012 and 2013. And I rather like it.

January becomes my testing ground to try out my New Year’s goals. I experiment, and then ask, is this exercise goal realistic? Does implementing this writing goal make me happier? Does finishing a quilt help me achieve my big-picture goals?

I want to push myself with my goals, but I don’t want to be self-defeating. And so I experiment with my goals, toss some out, and choose a few more.

I won’t reach all of my 2014 goals. And I embrace that. I would like to finish the quilt that I said I would finish in 2013. But if it ends up on my 2015 goals list, so be it.

To encourage myself to iron the quilt blocks, sew them together, and then finish the quilt, I’ve set the goal of finishing it in time to submit to the Arizona State Fair. Accountability and a deadline always help…

January may be my testing ground, but I like to make my resolutions adaptable enough that I can come back to them throughout the year, tweak them, modify them, make them better for me and where I’m at in life. Right now it’s realistic for me to take a long walk outside every day with my children–but in July, when it’s 110 degrees, I probably won’t be doing that, so I’ll revise my goal to keep myself active without dying of heat exhaustion.

Ultimately, my goals and resolutions exist to serve me, to make happier, healthier, more fulfilled, and moving towards becoming the person I’d really liked to be. For me, it’s impossible to truly fail at a New Year’s goal or resolution, as long as I’m able to learn from setbacks and willing to adapt for the future.