Hello, everyone! I wanted to share something cute with you. This is, err, Betty AnoninNM, mother of Betty AnoninTX. I gave Mom a large print copy of Fate Is Remarkable for a Christmas gift, and now she is as hooked on Betty as the rest of us are. She is 88, just about to turn 89. She has a multitude of health issues and is mostly homebound, but she is still sharp. She likes to tell everyone that at least she can still read! I've been buying her large print Bettys to make the reading a bit easier. She worries about how much money I spend, but I keep telling her I myself will need large print copies someday. Her favorites so far are Fate Is Remarkable, Once for All Time, A Christmas Romance, and Saturday's Child. She says that the problem with the Betty books is that once she starts reading one, she doesn't want to do anything but read. I apologize for the poor quality of the photo, but she was sitting in her chair in front of a large window. I didn't want to make her move. Hope you think she's cute!
Betty AnoninTX
-Betty Debbie
Welcome, Betty AnoninNM, and thank you Betty AnoninTX. May I confess to a spot of envy or two? Imagine having dozens of new-to-you Bettys still to read (the bliss!). Secondly, at just about half BAinNM's age, I'm starting to look fondly at the large-prints already. Hmph.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, enjoy everything still to come, and thanks for sharing your photo with us.
Betty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteA very Betty welcome to Betty AnoninNM. Thank you, Betty AnoninTX, for the great picture of your oh-so-lovely mother. She looks to be a real sweetie.
Where in NM does she reside?
Ah yes, Large Print. One of the advantages of an e-reader, for those of us in geezerhood, is the ability to change the font size. And I find that I am usually making the font larger, rather than the reverse! I find the 'large print' Betty paperbacks to be quite easy on the eyes.
Betty Anonin TX, this made me cry. She looks like my sweet Granny, may God bless her and keep her, and you.
ReplyDeleteB von S
P.S. I used to love to clean my Granny's glasses (she was forever getting something on the lenses), she would put them back on, clap her hands, and say "Woohoo, new eyes!".
I just realized that blogger ate my reply here, too, as well as my vote.
ReplyDeleteThat story made my eyes water a bit, B von S. My Mema used to say "I'm just resting my eyes" and but used to snore softly while she was.
She lives in Lea County, NM. My dad's job transferred us from TX to NM to TX to NM. One daughter lives near her, and the other three of us are in TX. She would shoot me if she knew I put her on "that internet" so I'm not telling!
I've bought her 38 large print Bettys so far.
Betty AnoninTX
Aw, that is so cute, Betty AnoninTX! 38 large prints! - no wonder she thinks you are spending too much money for her. Mine says so too all the time, even if it is just a box of cookies or some chocolate. My mom would shoot me, too, if I put her on the internet. (See you later? I saw you (at least I saw Lubbock) when I turned on my computer (3:33 your time) You were up early - or late, as the case may be. I don't see you any more, so I wish you pleasant dreams.)
DeleteHey, there you are again!
DeleteInsomnia .... I can't sleep tonight. Enough to make me crazy. Finally getting tired.
ReplyDeleteWide Awake in TX
Please help me, dear Bettys. I have managed to find my mom 134 large print Betty books. I CANNOT FIND VISITING CONSULTANT. Please, would the UK/Canada/US Bettys keep their eyes and ears open for this one? I apparently missed out on one last month on eBay, and it makes me sick. I have looked everywhere I know to look on the internet. Perhaps some of you have sources that are unknown to me.
ReplyDeleteI have 17 books on the way. I ended up buying paperback (although she prefers hardbacks) copies of A Match for Sister Maggy, Magic in Vienna, and Tabitha in Moonlight. Hopefully they will be decent reading copies. I found a hardback copy of A Match for Sister Maggy, but the seller wanted $700+ dollars for it. Insane. The copy I ordered of Never Too Late was only $2, so I'm hoping it is truly a large print one.
Thanks for your help. Betty AnoninTX
Betty AnoninNM, who just celebrated her 90th birthday, is down to her last 10 Betty books! I found good large print copies of all the books EXCEPT Visiting Consultant. Please, dear Bettys, keep your eyes open for a large print VC. I bought her a regular paperback of it, but it will be much harder for her to read. She's saving it for last just in case I find a large print. Actually, there is one for sale on Amazon for the price of $2,420.23. I emailed the seller and made a generous offer, and he responded by raising the price. I think it is really odd that I can't find a copy. I found 98% of them quite easily and with a little digging and time found the others. Beats me.
ReplyDeleteBetty AnoninTX
Many happy returns of the day to dear Betty AnoninNM! (HoweverMuchBelated)
ReplyDeleteLittle squirrel, you found all but one book in large print for her! That's great! I visited the Amazon page and was greatly diverted by the fact that the rapacious entrepreneur offers a used and a new copy for that exorbitant sum of money. The book, if any millionaire RDD/RBD were to buy it for his newly impoverished unwitting future intended, would be shipped from PA, United States by the way.
When I was a student my parents bought a couple of boxes of very old books by my favourite authors for me from two private sellers. Some of the books were doubles but they bought those as well. Those books must have been sitting in somebody's attics or basement for a very long time. My parents had found these books reading the advertisements in their newspaper. This was back in those days when there was no internet, no amazon... One of the books which I did not have yet was in poor condition, by no means pristine. So young Betty A. took it to the library at her university where they had a copier and the copies were affordable. There was a bit of unrest among the students when it was revealed that copies at the "main branch" of our university were half the price we were charged. Hmph! I don't remember if they reduced the prices then. What I do remember is taking the "book" with me on my next flight and the stewardess (flight attendant) remarking on it, because, you see, I was reading from loose pages in landscape format. It was not this title but written in the same type of font. May have been by the other author. (Click on the image.)
Why am I telling you all this?
Why not ask Harlequin for permission to scan the pages of your copy, enlarge the font, take the whole lot to the copy shop so they can print & bind it, as a special favour to your mom, who is 90 years of age, – yay! – who already owns a copy of the same title but to whom reading small font presents a major problem.
Worth a try.
And I bet not as costly as what you were willing to offer that book guy. Noth'n' academic about it.
'Nough said.
Hi, Betty AnoninTX, hope you can get hold of a large print copy at a reasonable price. It is shocking how some sellers will try to profiteer for hard to get titles. However, if it's not possible and if your mother is comfortable reading from a tablet, the Mills and Boon UK website (www.millsandboon.co.uk) sells the Visiting Consultant ebook for £4.99. The ebook can be read from an Apple iPhone or iPad, Samsung phones and tablets and tablets from some other brands like Sony but not the Kindle (Kindle users will have to buy the ebook from Amazon). The font size can be adjusted so that it is as good as a large print book. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteBetty Scott, if only she would use a tablet... Not my mom, no sirree. Not interested. I did show her my Kindle. I don't think she quite understands how it works, and at her age I kind of don't blame her for not changing her ways. It would have been so much cheaper to buy a Kindle and all the titles.
ReplyDeleteBetty Anonymous, thank you for the suggestion. I do believe, however, she will just have to use her page magnifier. It's a square magnifying glass that sits over the pages. It's just harder for her little old hands to use.
I still want a copy though, just so I can say I found one. Besides, I'll probably read it myself in a few years. :) I'm very nearsighted. After all the time and effort and money I put into finding them, there is no way I'm selling these books. It's just so strange to me that I can't find one. It was published in 2007 so it's not that old. I have seen multiple copies of most of them. I thought I had found it twice. One online used bookstore had it listed for sale, so I bought it. No, they didn't have it. Then a couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Abe saying one had just been listed for sale. I snatched it up and celebrated wildly, only to receive a follow-up email saying it was a listing mistake. The depths of despair...
Betty AnoninTX
Listing mistake. Oh, that is cruel.
DeleteI am very quietly celebrating. I think I just found a copy.... I will celebrate when it arrives from England and is really large print.... shhhhh
ReplyDeleteBetty AnoninTX
We'll keep our fingers crossed. Very quietly...
DeleteOh, the suspense. I do wish you success.
DeleteI'm getting a little restless...
DeleteSo, the day after I purchase the one I mentioned above, a listing appeared on Amazon with another one for sale for $47. I immediately purchase it too. I'm thinking "oh boy two copies ordered one will work for sure" as I dance around the room. Then I get this email:
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to say that upon preparing your order for shipping we realized that the book that we have in stock does not match the title we have listed.
Gee whiz... I'm still waiting with great trepidation for the first one I ordered to arrive. I didn't pay very much for it so I am not convinced it will be large print.
Betty AnoninTX
Oh, oh, oh. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
DeleteBetty AnoninNM is now the proud owner of a large print copy of Visiting Consultant! It is in great shape too! I'm sure you all heard the yelp of joy when I opened up the package! Happy day. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd to make it an even better mail day, my Christmas Fortnum & Mason catalog came. Time to Christmas shop for myself. :D
Betty AnoninTX
I'm so glad for you and your mother!
DeleteYay! You did it! Happy Day indeed!
DeleteAs of January 23rd, my little Betty AnoninNM can now say she has read all 135 Betty books! She finished up with Three for a Wedding.
ReplyDeleteNow, can she remember what happened in Matilda's Wedding or name the characters in Fate Is Remarkable? No. But at least she enjoyed reading the books AS she was reading them.
Betty AnoninTX
Finished the œuvre! That's great. Dear little squirrel, it was so sweet of you to collect all those large print volumes for your mom. I daresay she would make your ears ring if she knew to what lengths you went to aquire them, ha ha.
DeleteOh, but this is wonderful news, Betty AnoninTX. Congratulations to you for collecting the entire ouevre in large-print, and best wishes to Betty AnoninNM as she begins her second read-through.
Deleteacquire
DeleteDe Rode Pen