Post by: Perd Hapley on May 09, 2006, 04:46:27 PM
I just picked up a decent paperback copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich for pennies. I've also found two Korans (English translations), the complete Plutarch's Lives, Thucydides and Herodotus, an Oxford History of America, another American history survey by the Beards, Tocqueville and Madison's notes on the Constitutional Convention. And one by Bill Jordan and another by Elmer Keith.
I also like picking up books that I wouldn't want the publisher to profit from, like Arming America, and another book I have by Pete Shields.
I prefer used paperbacks to new hardcovers, most of the time. Used things sometimes have a certain character that seems to make them special...somehow. Can't explain it.
Post by: bratch on May 09, 2006, 05:05:11 PM
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 09, 2006, 05:09:10 PM
Quote from: bratch
I'm a big fan of the $5-$10 clearance books at B&N.
Are those surplus of new releases, and they ship the rest to the publisher?Used paperbacks usually cost less, at least around here, and the selection is probably better. Then again, you usually can't buy mocha. fistful like mocha.
Post by: SpookyPistolero on May 09, 2006, 06:06:35 PM
I know what you mean about the aura in those shops. I think in the used stores you have not only the comfort of the thoughts stored in the texts, but also the notion that every book there has been explored by someone else. Like karma residue from having taken something positive away from the reading. Spooky is my name, and melodrama is my game.
Plus, I hate yuppie trash, which abounds in this town anyway. They just gravitate towards the overpriced B&N's and Joseph Beths...
I did pick up new copies of 'Gates of Fire' and a collection of short stories by Jean Paul Sartre, which are proving to be worth it.
Post by: Winston Smith on May 09, 2006, 06:34:45 PM
$2.17 for most pocketbooks. Picked up the plague by Camus the other day for that price. Decided not to ask for a local merchant discount... haha.
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 09, 2006, 07:31:22 PM
Quote from: Winston Smith
Yeah I tend to patronize this one almost directly across from my work
[Napoleon Dynamite voice] Lucky [/Napoleon Dynamite voice]Actually, Spook, I would guess that a lot of those books have never been read.
I forgot to mention fiction, though. I have everything John Steinbeck ever published, so far as I know, most of which was used. All the stand-bys are there, too, Dickens, Austen, Melville, Dumas, etc. Then there are the floods of Danielle Steel and John Grisham. Saints preserve us.
Post by: Winston Smith on May 09, 2006, 07:35:17 PM
So if fistful like mocha, fistful get mocha. A mocha that doesn't step on little brown people, like most mochas do.
Thus the benefits of the Left Coast.
Post by: cosine on May 09, 2006, 07:35:43 PM
Post by: bratch on May 09, 2006, 08:28:53 PM
Post by: Old Fud on May 09, 2006, 10:41:39 PM
Anybody remember Travis McGee, Quiller ?
You couldn't ask for better airplane reading.
Fud
Post by: Iain on May 09, 2006, 11:13:37 PM
Not sure if any of you have heard of a place called Hay-on-Wye, but if you ever go to that part of England and you love secondhand book shops then it is worth a visit. Only a small place but it is crammed with old book shops, some are full of paperbacks and some have some quite valuable books.
Post by: JAlexander on May 10, 2006, 12:52:20 AM
My dear wife collects music books and I collect Texana, and we both read lots of mysteries and F/SF, so I'm beginning to worry about our bookshelves. Every six months or so we haul a load of books to Half Price to re-sell, but I have a feeling that we're going to have to have an entire large room dedicated to being a library. Expensive bibliomania is in our future.
Hey Winston, do you ever go to Green Apple Books?
James
Post by: peteinct on May 10, 2006, 04:14:16 AM
Post by: Stickjockey on May 10, 2006, 04:30:24 AM
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!
Post by: mfree on May 10, 2006, 05:00:17 AM
(the answer to that is yes, btw, several hundred pounds of them and growing)
Post by: ...has left the building. on May 10, 2006, 08:17:31 AM
I love looking through used book stores for classic novels that have illustrations.
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 10, 2006, 08:47:12 AM
Post by: Antibubba on May 10, 2006, 10:47:12 AM
Post by: cosine on May 10, 2006, 11:50:07 AM
Quote from: fistful
What good reads/references have you all found second-hand?
Just a couple of weeks ago I found Who's Your Caddy by Rick Reilly. Really funny book about his experiences caddying for a bunch of professional golfers. Paid a buck instead of $25. That's why I love used bookstores/sales. I'll list more when I get more time.
Post by: RadioFreeSeaLab on May 10, 2006, 12:23:28 PM
Post by: Lo.Com.Denom on May 10, 2006, 12:39:58 PM
There's a fantastic place not far from my home. The first time I passed by there, I saw a teeny, tiny Victorian shopfront, probably just stocking the usual collection of celeb biographies, well-creased paperbacks and old copies of the Guiness Book of Records. When I went in, however, I found out that it had a back room. And that back room had another back room, in turn. And so on and so on... The place is an absolute labyrinth -- literally! They have a sign in the front of the shop that says how many miles of shelving they have in there. Big militaria section, too.
Mucho cool stuff in there, but they're getting a little bit expensive nowadays. There's a similar shop a little way across town with bookshelves way up to the ceiling -- more of a cave-complex than a labyrinth, that one.
The shops themselves are almost as interesting as the rare (and not so rare) tomes inside. You can spend days in these places.
Post by: ...has left the building. on May 10, 2006, 02:46:43 PM
Quote from: fistful
What good reads/references have you all found second-hand?
A fairly comprehensive book of Sherlock Holmes' tales complete with period illustrations.
Post by: doczinn on May 10, 2006, 03:03:31 PM
Post by: elkhunter on May 10, 2006, 03:29:54 PM
Unfortanately i recently moved and havn't found a decent one in my area yet.
Post by: Old Fud on May 10, 2006, 04:15:40 PM
For example, I looked up "Who's your caddy", and it gave me 64 copies with Xref to each store that would send it to me for what price in a flash.
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
Post by: cosine 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.
But it's a way to find anything quickly for cheap.
Fud
Post by: SpookyPistolero on May 10, 2006, 05:49:16 PM
Post by: Antibubba on May 10, 2006, 06:20:48 PM
Post by: Strings on May 10, 2006, 09:16:28 PM
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)...
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 11, 2006, 08:12:42 PM
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)...
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.
Post by: JAlexander on May 12, 2006, 10:47:56 AM
James
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 12, 2006, 02:31:43 PM
Post by: JAlexander 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
Post by: 280plus on May 13, 2006, 01:56:08 AM
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 13, 2006, 04:17:19 AM
Post by: 280plus on May 13, 2006, 05:56:59 AM
Post by: Perd Hapley on May 13, 2006, 06:55:46 PM
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.
Post by: MillCreek on May 14, 2006, 07:01:57 AM
Post by: Perd Hapley 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.
Post by: Jason on May 14, 2006, 12:56:17 PM
Post by: RocketMan 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.
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!
Post by: RocketMan on May 14, 2006, 11:02:05 PM
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.
Post by: 280plus on May 15, 2006, 12:54:46 AM
Post by: Lo.Com.Denom 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.
Post by: mtnbkr 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
Post by: roo_ster on May 15, 2006, 07:30:46 AM
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.
Post by: Strings on May 15, 2006, 01:43:47 PM
Post by: Perd Hapley 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
Post by: Perd Hapley 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.