Author Topic: Do you love used book stores? (Read 5687 times)

cosine · « **Reply #25 on:** May 10, 2006, 04:45:53 PM »

Quote from: Old Fud

I admit, this deprives you of the joy of the hunt, finding surprise jewels in the murk, enjoying the musty smell of "old library" and the feel you get from fondling very old covers and pages.
But it's a way to find anything quickly for cheap.

Fud

Agreed. No fun doing it that way. But that could be a great way to find something you can't get any way else.

SpookyPistolero · « **Reply #26 on:** May 10, 2006, 05:49:16 PM »

Nevermind, didn't realize I was ordering books from seven different states. Shipping was more than the book costs.

Antibubba · « **Reply #27 on:** May 10, 2006, 06:20:48 PM »

Before SHTF became an industry, there were a lot of writers who put out small runs of books on everything from blacksmithing and desert food-growing to building a shack and home solar. I even have a bibliography (somewhere!), circa 1975, of great survival books printed up til then. A lot of great gunny books too.

Strings · « **Reply #28 on:** May 10, 2006, 09:16:28 PM »

Hey fistful (and others): if ya don't mind lookin', keep an eye open for a book called the Monkey's Tail by TC Lethbridge. I REALLY want to find a copy...

And fistful: you ever make it up this way (WI, north of Milwaukee), I'll show ya what REAL mocha tastes like (not that burned Starshmuck's garbage)... Wink

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #29 on:** May 11, 2006, 08:12:42 PM »

As long as we're taking requests, I need The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer, written by a guy named Benson, I think, and if you find any copies of The Grapes of Wrath with the Battle Hymn of the Republic on the inside cover, I would love one. I guess those cost more than $1.50, though.

Quote from: Hunter Rose

And fistful: you ever make it up this way (WI, north of Milwaukee), I'll show ya what REAL mocha tastes like (not that burned Starshmuck's garbage)... Wink

It's not like Starbucks is the only place I've had it, but I really am happy with instant cocoa stirred into strong, homemade coffee. Cheaper, and tastes at least as good. My wife makes this stuff called Mexican Hot Chocolate. No coffee, but it does have eggs and melted chocolate chips that make it very rich and thick. The downside is, you'll never enjoy Swiss-Miss again. I can recommend Abuelita, though. It's a big chocolate wafer that you blend with hot milk.

JAlexander · « **Reply #30 on:** May 12, 2006, 10:47:56 AM »

This isn't exactly about used books, but I gotta share. the University of Texas Press is having a tent sale in Austin today. Everything is at least half off, and damaged books are $3 for paperbacks and $5 for hardbacks. If you're in the Austin area and you've ever wanted to fill out your J. Frank Dobie collection, now's the time to do it. Y'all don't even want to know how many books I bought. Details are here: http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/booksale.html

James

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #31 on:** May 12, 2006, 02:31:43 PM »

Those prices sound pretty steep. Are these books in new condition?

JAlexander · « **Reply #32 on:** May 12, 2006, 03:06:04 PM »

Quote from: fistful

Those prices sound pretty steep. Are these books in new condition?

Yep. Fresh off the presses from what I could tell, and their Texana table was pretty full.

James

280plus · « **Reply #33 on:** May 13, 2006, 01:56:08 AM »

Yes. Some of the best books I have come from the Salvation Army thrift store. I actually found an autographed copy of Sophie Tucker's autobiography there once. Paid like $0.50 for it. Still have it. Cheesy

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #34 on:** May 13, 2006, 04:17:19 AM »

Sophie Tucker?

280plus · « **Reply #35 on:** May 13, 2006, 05:56:59 AM »

Big (in name as well as stature) Vaudevillian singer. Born and raised in Hartford and, as it turns out, she would return to Hartford often and the book I have was signed on her last trip here before she passed. The name of the book is "Some of these days" Very interesting read. Lot's of inside pointers for show people.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #36 on:** May 13, 2006, 06:55:46 PM »

Today's finds:

An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding - David Hume.
For those of you in Rio Linda, he's an 18th century British philosopher and skeptic.

Looking Backward - Edward Bellamy
FTOYIRL, it's a celebrated work of socialist utopian literature, and no, he was the cousin of the guy who wrote the Pledge of Alliegance.

The Leveling Wind - George F. Will.
A collection of his WSJ columns from 90-94
I don't remember why I thought that was worth three dollars, but hopefully it will be.

MillCreek · « **Reply #37 on:** May 14, 2006, 07:01:57 AM »

Downtown Seattle has a nice selection of bookstores, albeit the number of used bookstores has declined steeply with the advent of Amazon, the bargain tables at B&N and Borders, and most notably, Half Price Books. I live 25 miles north of Seattle, and there are three Half Price Books locations within 10 miles of my home. I go there a lot. Whenever I go to Portland, I make it a point to stop at Powell's.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #38 on:** May 14, 2006, 09:24:23 AM »

Quote from: Blackburn

ghetto-mocha

That's a great name for it. I started doing that in my infantry days when I was in the field. At least, those times when coffee and cocoa mix were available.

You gots to try the Mexican style chocolate, though.

Jason · « **Reply #39 on:** May 14, 2006, 12:56:17 PM »

I am a big fan of reading books, just not buying them. I get everything I need from my local library, including books, cds, and dvds. It doesn't cost me a cent.

RocketMan · « **Reply #40 on:** May 14, 2006, 10:58:31 PM »

Quote from: Stickjockey

JAlexander-

Sorry, just got here. Y'all, if you're ever in Portland, Oregon, look me up and we'll take a trip to Powell's Books over on Burnside. An entire city block, three stories high, of books and their related bits. Everything you could ask for. Then there's Powell's Technical books a few blocks away. Tech manuals, certification texts, books on engineering, and such like. Mmmmmm, Powell's!

Then there is the Powell's in Beaverton. Can't have too many Powell's.

RocketMan · « **Reply #41 on:** May 14, 2006, 11:02:05 PM »

Does anyone have difficulty in just throwing away an old book? One that is no longer wanted, even if it is in readable condition?
I know I can't just pitch a book. Is that a character flaw of some sort?
I take them to a local used book store that takes trades or buys them. What they don't want gets donated to the library.

280plus · « **Reply #42 on:** May 15, 2006, 12:54:46 AM »

Mine serve to accumulate the household dust. I've still got pretty near every book I ever bo\ught. Except the ones I sold back to the campus bookstore after one semester. What a ripoff THAT was, never did it again.

Lo.Com.Denom · « **Reply #43 on:** May 15, 2006, 07:15:03 AM »

Quote from: RocketMan

Does anyone have difficulty in just throwing away an old book?

Nearly. So very nearly. Tom Clancy's "Night Moves" is the first book to actually make me guffaw out loud at it's lameness. Perhaps old Clancy was having an "off-day" when he wrote it, but I really find it hard to believe that he sells so many books, on the strength of that bilge. Halfway through chapter 2, I couldn't take any more and hurled it towards the bin (trash can), where it stayed on the floor. Now, if it had actually gone in the trash can, it would have gone out, but since it landed near the trash can, it got a reprieve. Maybe I'll keep it around as an example of how not to write an "action/adventure" story.

It just struck me after writing that, maybe I'm just far too lazy and fatalistic.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #44 on:** May 15, 2006, 07:23:02 AM »

Quote

I can recommend Abuelita, though. It's a big chocolate wafer that you blend with hot milk.

Those are good. I recently finished off my pack. While I don't need the calories associated, I should probably pick up another one. They seem to last forever.

Chris

roo_ster · « **Reply #45 on:** May 15, 2006, 07:30:46 AM »

Yes.

A lot.

Most of my paperbacks are from used book stores. 90% of my hardbounds are, too.

We are blessed in Dallas with a local chain, Half Price Books. Thier big store is humungo.

Strings · « **Reply #46 on:** May 15, 2006, 01:43:47 PM »

I've only ever thrown one book in my life: the Mists of Avalon. My then girlfriend had loaned me her copy, and she walked into her dorm one day to see it sailing forcefully across the room. I had an overwhelming desire to choke the Hell ouyt of Guinevere... still do, for that matter. And I haven't read another Marrion Zimmer Bradley book since...

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #47 on:** May 15, 2006, 02:19:49 PM »

Quote from: mtnbkr

Quote

I can recommend Abuelita, though. It's a big chocolate wafer that you blend with hot milk.

Those are good. I recently finished off my pack. While I don't need the calories associated, I should probably pick up another one. They seem to last forever.

Chris

I think that's because you can't just heat a cup of water in the microwave and stir it in. You've got to have the time and the desire to measure out the milk, put the stuff in the blender, and then heat it in the microwave or wait for it to cool off in the fridge. At least that's how I make it.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #48 on:** May 15, 2006, 03:15:06 PM »

Quote from: RocketMan

Does anyone have difficulty in just throwing away an old book?

Oh, not at all! In fact, where I grew up, we burned our trash in a 55 gallon drum, rather than pay to have it carted out. I usually did the burning, and I remember burning at least one book that we threw out. Guess that makes me some kind of NAZI, or something. Come to think of it, who were the people that burned books so infamously?

I was once reading a book on philosophy by a twit named Simon Blackburn. I got so mad at one point, that I ripped the book in half (I was holding it in both hands, and I just pulled it apart without much thinking about it) and threw it behind me. It was a little hardback, so it was no great feat of strength. My philosophy prof was a Thomist, and heartily disagreed with Blackburn, but assigned the book to give us another point of view. Didn't burn that one, but it did go in the bin.

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Author Topic: Do you love used book stores? (Read 5687 times)

Strings

Jason

Strings