In Which I Am Seduced
You might be surprised to learn that, though I read all the time, I don't buy books much. In my opinion, trying new books is what libraries exist for. If I'm going to buy a book, it's because A) I'm trapped somewhere with nothing to read, B) I know I'll read it again and again, or C) it's part of a series I've got some of already.
These sensible rules go out the window when I see a book sale.
Drove past one on my way to the post office this morning and as usual, I lost my head. Books I might not even have bothered taking out of the library leap into my hands when I see them offered for $.50 apiece. It's not that I end up buying bad books... all the time. They're just random.
Today, with great restraint, I managed not to buy second copies of anything I already have ("Oh, but my Whose Body? is hardcover, a paperback would be so convenie-NO."). And one of my purchases was comparably sensible, being the Amelia Peabody book I got halfway through before I left D.C. and had to return it. (With a fabulously lurid cover to boot!)
The others were shots in the dark: a Diana Wynne Jones book (Dogsbody) I hadn't read yet and two more Elizabeth Peters novels. One (The Dead Sea Cipher) has a poor Amazon rating and the other (Silhouette in Scarlet) turns out to be the third in a series. I can't decide if I should get #1 and #2 from the library or just drop that one back off at the book sale later. (Hmm, I could dump some detritus from previous alluring sales while I'm at it...)
At least the money always goes to some good cause, right?
Now I must take a moment of your time to rant about publishers who refuse to put numbers on the covers or spines of series books OR print an ordered list in the front matter. WOULD THAT BE SO HARD? I mean, maybe having a number on the front would cause newcomers to put that book down and (heaven forbid) go look for #1, but a list on the inside couldn't possibly hurt sales and would make the people who, you know, actually want to read the series in order happy. GR! RR! RGRR!
Oops, got myself all worked up. Time to watch the Shoe Fairy again.
These sensible rules go out the window when I see a book sale.
Drove past one on my way to the post office this morning and as usual, I lost my head. Books I might not even have bothered taking out of the library leap into my hands when I see them offered for $.50 apiece. It's not that I end up buying bad books... all the time. They're just random.
Today, with great restraint, I managed not to buy second copies of anything I already have ("Oh, but my Whose Body? is hardcover, a paperback would be so convenie-NO."). And one of my purchases was comparably sensible, being the Amelia Peabody book I got halfway through before I left D.C. and had to return it. (With a fabulously lurid cover to boot!)
The others were shots in the dark: a Diana Wynne Jones book (Dogsbody) I hadn't read yet and two more Elizabeth Peters novels. One (The Dead Sea Cipher) has a poor Amazon rating and the other (Silhouette in Scarlet) turns out to be the third in a series. I can't decide if I should get #1 and #2 from the library or just drop that one back off at the book sale later. (Hmm, I could dump some detritus from previous alluring sales while I'm at it...)
At least the money always goes to some good cause, right?
Now I must take a moment of your time to rant about publishers who refuse to put numbers on the covers or spines of series books OR print an ordered list in the front matter. WOULD THAT BE SO HARD? I mean, maybe having a number on the front would cause newcomers to put that book down and (heaven forbid) go look for #1, but a list on the inside couldn't possibly hurt sales and would make the people who, you know, actually want to read the series in order happy. GR! RR! RGRR!
Oops, got myself all worked up. Time to watch the Shoe Fairy again.