Book Buying Binge - Coupon Style

Today I made the short trip to Columbus, OH to use my two "$5 discount" cards at the Half Price Books stores (including a visit to a store I had never visited in previous trips). So did I buy only two books?

Of course not.

Instead, I bought eleven (11) books. Just don't tell my wife. I did get the $10 off, and I used my Teacher discount (10%) on the other books, but I did get eleven new books. Mostly, these are reference books that I will be able to use in future research projects, such as the Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms. Others are directly related to current projects (e.g. Human Behavior and the Social Environment: A Social Systems Model) or teaching efforts (Business Intelligence For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance))). All in all, a good stock of materials and well worth the trip. My only regret is that some of the books were more expensive in person than I could have purchased them online (even with shipping). On balance, I'm pretty sure I got good value - especially with the coupons.

*sigh* I may have to go back for more books next month, after they get a chance to restock. Maybe I'll have the bookshelves in by then.

More acquisitions

Man. Today, a bookstore trip netted 14 books. Good buys, but I didn't really need fourteen books. Not that I mind, though...

Acquisitions - 11/22/2009

Today on a used bookstore stop, I picked up two books: one for work (Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards), and one for 'fun' (Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything).

The former was written as an 'answer' to the call by previous writers (King, Keohane, and Verba) for a focus on quantitative methods. Brady and Collier call for an equal focus on qualitative methods, with which I wholeheartedly agree. In fact, I would not be surprised if something from this book found its way into one of the articles that I am currently trying to complete. Checking the used prices, I see that I would not have been able to pick this one up online for less than $5 above what I paid today (not counting shipping).

The latter book has no practical or research value for me, but it is interesting. As one who feels the difference in life at the increasing pace of 'internet time', not to mention a borderline Luddite in some areas, I can sympathize with the message in the book. Unfortunately, it may not be written so well (according to the reviews), but we'll see. Equally unfortunately, I could have picked up a copy of this book for $0.01, which is $4.97 more than I paid.

All in all I got the books for what I would have paid online, but that isn't such a good bargain. I guess it is fortunate that I'm not in this for the profit, because today would have been a loss.

Upcoming Chicago Trip

Next week, I am heading with the family to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Yeah, I know it is a time for family and turkey and all that, but personally I'm hoping to accomplish 4 goals.

1. Visit the Field Museum with my young paleontologist. Should be a great experience (especially since we don't have to pay anything extra because of our local museum membership).

2. Rest up for the home stretch. Usually, we go to my inlaws in Mississippi and I get lots of peace and quiet and a couple of naps. I doubt that the nap thing will happen, but I hope to get rest. That means not taking my laptop, not checking email, and not planning to do too much writing or grading while I'm there. Of course, I will try to write something. In fact...

3. Practice my travel writing before heading off to Europe next summer. In fact, this is probably the only trip I will take before then.

And finally...
4. Visit at least 1 used bookstore while in Chicago. I have three candidates based on a scan of the internet. Powell's (been there and it was pretty cool, but a bit pricey), Myopic (sounds quirky, and I'm not sure it will have what I want), or Bookman's Corner (ditto). Of course, my wife will just shake her head and wonder if I'm sick or something (perhaps), but I just can't see making a trip anywhere here in the US and not checking out the local used bookstore market. Blasphemy...

I'll keep you posted.

Upcoming stuff

Consider this a placeholder to remind me of the things I will hopefully add to this blog later.

1. I will be traveling to Chicago, Nashville, Rome, Paris, and a few other places over the next few months. In nearly every stop, I will endeavor to visit at least one (usually used) bookstore and will report on my travels when possible.

2. I also will report on my upcoming library rebuild project. I expect to put in new flooring, shelves, writing surfaces, and other new infrastructure. Of course, pictures will be included.

3. From time to time (as in nearly every week), I visit the local used book stores in the area -- this usually means my local Half Price Books locations. Scores reported here (and added to my LibraryThing database), especially unusual ones.

4. I have a few open reading projects, including the current one on the life and history of Albert Einstein (but not so much the physics itself) and the ongoing look at creativity. As I finish books in these subjects, I will review them here.

5. I will also review some unthemed books, post want list items, and add links to relevant subjects as I encounter them.

In other words, stay tuned!