Some people really love bookstores. I like bookstores a lot, particularly used bookstores. But I'm not someone who refuses on principle to buy from the vast and impersonal technological behemoth that is Amazon so that I can do my bit to keep my local non-chain bookstores in business. Maybe I'm just a selfish bastard that way.
I've never really been a chronic bookstore browser. I usually know what I'm looking for, and I find the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" feature a suitable substitute for the serendipity of physical shelf browsing. Sometimes it's even better. That might be a consequence of technological comfort: I'm at ease scooting through on a website, refining my searches, and chasing after peculiar results. A friend of mine who was particularly adamant about shopping local was, while not quite a Luddite, certainly not Internet savvy. Shelves just made more sense to him than fields on a search form.
For my everyday book needs, online is usually easier, cheaper, and better-stocked. An unfortunate consequence of the mod'ren age of capitalism, perhaps. It's not like I'm one of the Dust Bowl workers who took up driving the bank's tractors for three dollars a day while their erstwhile friends and families were pushed off their land and into the West.
Maybe it's a little like that. But not enough to make me feel guilty.
One of my favorite online book-related places is Alibris. You can buy new books from them if you want, and they function somewhat like Amazon's "Used and New" feature, where you can buy books from bookstores all over the country. But buying a book, used or new, from a bookstore through Amazon's website will cost you $3.99 in shipping per volume. I've noticed that the cheapest price of a used book plus shipping often seems to end up being a little bit more expensive than buying it new from Amazon, which increases the temptation to order enough extra stuff to cross their $25 free shipping threshold.
Alibris has their own warehouses, but unlike Amazon's, they're mostly full of used books. You can restrict your search to books from Alibris's warehouse, which are eligible for free shipping once your order reaches $49. I worked my way through Gardner Dozois' list of essential science fiction novels (which I can't seem to find anywhere now, curses) this way. Every couple of months I'd get a big cardboard box stuffed full of used paperbacks. The trick was to get the order as close to $49 as possible without buying any new books and, if I did buy a new book, to make sure that it was cheaper than Amazon.
My latest Alibris order consisted of 13 books by Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Steinbeck, London, Lewis, and Waugh, including a one-volume collection of six short Steinbeck novels. 12 of them are used, and the solitary new book is $1.20 cheaper than Amazon. There's a bit of state tentacle involvement--I didn't have to pay sales tax when I ordered from New York, but Alibris is based in California, so now I do. But I found a coupon online that took care of that. Thus! $52 delivered.
Apparently Alibris also sells "rare and collectible" books now, but I can't imagine buying, say, McGlamry's Comprehensive Textbook of Foot and Ankle Surgery for $287 without handling it first. So I suppose I do have some standards, after all.
I've never really been a chronic bookstore browser. I usually know what I'm looking for, and I find the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" feature a suitable substitute for the serendipity of physical shelf browsing. Sometimes it's even better. That might be a consequence of technological comfort: I'm at ease scooting through on a website, refining my searches, and chasing after peculiar results. A friend of mine who was particularly adamant about shopping local was, while not quite a Luddite, certainly not Internet savvy. Shelves just made more sense to him than fields on a search form.
For my everyday book needs, online is usually easier, cheaper, and better-stocked. An unfortunate consequence of the mod'ren age of capitalism, perhaps. It's not like I'm one of the Dust Bowl workers who took up driving the bank's tractors for three dollars a day while their erstwhile friends and families were pushed off their land and into the West.
Maybe it's a little like that. But not enough to make me feel guilty.
One of my favorite online book-related places is Alibris. You can buy new books from them if you want, and they function somewhat like Amazon's "Used and New" feature, where you can buy books from bookstores all over the country. But buying a book, used or new, from a bookstore through Amazon's website will cost you $3.99 in shipping per volume. I've noticed that the cheapest price of a used book plus shipping often seems to end up being a little bit more expensive than buying it new from Amazon, which increases the temptation to order enough extra stuff to cross their $25 free shipping threshold.
Alibris has their own warehouses, but unlike Amazon's, they're mostly full of used books. You can restrict your search to books from Alibris's warehouse, which are eligible for free shipping once your order reaches $49. I worked my way through Gardner Dozois' list of essential science fiction novels (which I can't seem to find anywhere now, curses) this way. Every couple of months I'd get a big cardboard box stuffed full of used paperbacks. The trick was to get the order as close to $49 as possible without buying any new books and, if I did buy a new book, to make sure that it was cheaper than Amazon.
My latest Alibris order consisted of 13 books by Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Steinbeck, London, Lewis, and Waugh, including a one-volume collection of six short Steinbeck novels. 12 of them are used, and the solitary new book is $1.20 cheaper than Amazon. There's a bit of state tentacle involvement--I didn't have to pay sales tax when I ordered from New York, but Alibris is based in California, so now I do. But I found a coupon online that took care of that. Thus! $52 delivered.
Apparently Alibris also sells "rare and collectible" books now, but I can't imagine buying, say, McGlamry's Comprehensive Textbook of Foot and Ankle Surgery for $287 without handling it first. So I suppose I do have some standards, after all.
If you ever find that list, please share. Dozois is one of my favorite editors. I'd love to see his list. I'm always looking for good science fiction recommendations from those whose opinion I trust.
Thanks for sharing the website. I successfully spent 2 1/2 hours (and some money) finding new books. Always time well spent, I think.
I adore Alibris, have used it for years. First books i bought were 8 copies of "You Were Born On A Rotten Day". (I travel in very different intellectual circles, you see.)
I'm sure they intersect in various places. Besides, my latest order is all high-falutin' because I'm trying to remedy the fact that I am *ridiculously* under-read.