Missed Due Date

I love the library but if I don't keep the loaner books and audio tapes in a special container--the small recyclable HEB shopping bags--I tend to mix them in with my personal books.  Which leads to forgetting the due dates, and fine payments. Then I feel bad about wasting my hard earned money, and I lose the escape I get when I read (or listen while traveling).  It's a vicious cycle.

For my last road trip. I thought I downloaded the audio books to my phone, where my library app is located.  But when I hit long stretches of lonely highways with sketchy phone service, I lost the ability to listen to the books.  Seems the books were not downloaded, they were streamed. 

Streaming takes up way too much of my phone data.  I was not pleased. Not being able to listen on lonely streatches of highway sort of defeated the purpose.  So my one attempt at borrowing audio books from my local library, while technically successful (I borrowed six books),  was infinitely more stressful than rewarding. So much so, I returned all six books after only listening to one book. 

But more than the dislike of technology, I love the feel of holding real books, and my prefered mode of purchasing books is to actually go to a brick and mortar bookstore and browse.  Sometimes for hours. I rarely leave without a ton of books.  

Because the book stores aren't currently allowing for browsing due to Covid, I resorted to my second favorite mode of book purchase and ordered a real book online and awaited its delivery.  The transaction occured October 15th. 

The book was cheaper on a competitor's site so the purchase did not earn me Rewards,  a donation to UMHB was not made, and the delivery date was scheduled eight days out, rather than next day.  That made the due date October 23rd.

I normally have good luck with this site, the carrier they used for this purchase, and I have close to one hundred books in my "To Read Stacks," so I chose the cheaper book with longer delivery time. No big deal. 

Until it became a big deal. 

The carrier used for the transit of my book is usually pretty good about meeting their promised delivery date. 

Not this time.  

Even with their allotment of eight travel days they missed their deadline. Frankly, eight days is twice as long as this carrier usually takes--even at book rates.  But now it's almost a month overdue and I still don't have my book.  

Why? 

I have a theory:

Everyone along the travel route is reading my book. 

No. Really.  It took them two weeks to read my book before it left Akron.  Either several people read it, or the one slow reader kept forgetting where he left it. 

Saint Louis must have faster, or more considerate  readers, because it only took them one week. 

Hazlewwood (Missouri) and Memphis,  only kept my book for a day each. I'm not sure if it's because the book didn't find an audience, they had already read it when it was first released, or they were accomplished speed readers.  Is the Evelyn Woods Speed Reading Course still taught?

Or maybe they were too intimidated to delay its transit because it has been flagged with a Tracking Research Case.   

Eh, probably not, since the case was opened ten days ago and my book is still "in transit."

The good news: It is finally making a little progress--it showed up in Dallas on Friday the 13th. 

I'm wondering if it will make it to me by Thanksgiving, or if I need to take a short drive up the Interstate to retrieve it before Dallas starts to read it. 

If they haven't already started reading it. 

I'm always happy to fill out surveys and rate businesses,  especially when I'm pleased with the service or product; however, the carrier really doesn't want me to fill out their survey or rate them this time.  I'm unsure which of us would be less pleased--them with my critique, or me with my grossly overdue book. 

It's probably a good thing this was not me returning a late  library book--the fine has already escalated to more than the purchase price...

Of a new hard bound book that I could be reading right now.