Random Thoughts

[mjr]

Watching baseball and keeping score with a score book is an interesting experience.

[MoonCat]

F**k me, I've just been drowned by a 40 minute rant about the inconvenience, indignity and life-altering unfairness of -- wait for it -- the local TV stations having to change their frequencies due to some FCC thing, resulting in customers having to rescan their TV's. Eventually.

I swear, the walls are still echoing and plaster has fallen.

And no, this isn't on the job. I'm still unemployed. This was at home

[dalesys]

I found a CD for the Northeast, Canada, Wisconsin, and other blessed areas...

Winter (The Best Nine Months of the Year)

[AnaKhouri]

I told my mom I wanted a couple books for my birthday. She said I have enough books and gave me money instead. I said thank you for the money and then I took the money to a bookstore and exchanged it for books.

[MoonCat]

enough books

What is this concept you speak of?

[notalwaysright]

When I was younger there were a few people who felt they needed to get me gifts for Christmas (...they shouldn't have, for many reasons...) and their gifts showed how little they knew about me. They knew I was female, so I'd often get scented lotion or bath gels. The other thing they knew about me was that I liked to read. So they bought me books. But they didn't know what I liked to read, since they couldn't look at the books I was reading I guess? They'd just walk into a book store and grab from the best seller table or something. Like, those romance novels with suspense sideplots, or other sickly sweet books where a daughter moves home to care for her mother who's dying of cancer and listens to all her mom's stories about how she met her soulmate and how tragically that soulmate died at war.

The used book store got all these books, and I bought twice as many used books with the money. I mean, why didn't they at least see I like sci-fi or fantasy books and grab me a Stephen King book? Oh right, because they were just buying a gift out of obligation. This is a pet peeve of mine. I'd rather no gift than a thoughtless one.

[AnaKhouri]

That certainly would be annoying. I hate when customers say 'I need a book for so-and-so' but know zip about their interests. But they know so-and-so wouldn't like any of the 20 books I spend half an hour showing them. And they can't buy a gift card, that's too personal. But...they just showed me they don't actually know the recipient anyway...

This is the single worst thing about Christmas at the bookstore.

[greek_jester]

I was about to ask why they didn't just buy you National Book Tokens, then I realised you weren't a Brit. Still no reason not to buy you Amazon vouchers so you can buy what you want there, though.

Buying a random book for someone is like buying random underwear. The chances of getting a good fit and preference match are virtually nil.

[notalwaysright]

I was about to ask why they didn't just buy you National Book Tokens, then I realised you weren't a Brit. Still no reason not to buy you Amazon vouchers so you can buy what you want there, though.

Buying a random book for someone is like buying random underwear. The chances of getting a good fit and preference match are virtually nil.

National Book Tokens sound pretty sweet, but yeah they aren't here this is the first I've heard of them. Also, at the time, while Amazon existed, it wasn't the household name it is now. A gift card to Borders or B&N would have been easy, appreciated, and just as personal as random books. I don't get the "gift cards aren't personal enough" idea when applied to acquaintances. Maybe it's not something to get your mom or husband/wife, (unless they specifically asked for it) but for the daughter of your sister's neighbor? GET THE CARD.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I told my mom I wanted a couple books for my birthday. She said I have enough books and gave me money instead. I said thank you for the money and then I took the money to a bookstore and exchanged it for books.

The last time I swapped Christmas gifts with my family I sent them a list of books I would like. They choose books from that list and IA was happy.

[mjr]

What is this concept you speak of?

It's a problem we have at my house. And we get more every year, it seems.

We don't really have room for them all, and my wife doesn't really want me to get rid of them. Although I am getting rid of books that I haven't read in ages.

We have some "harlequin" style books that we "inherited". My wife's never gonna read them. They belonged to her mother, but her mother passed away, and I don't think my wife wants to get rid of those.

We have our main bedroom closet with two relatively large "tubs" of books in them. My son has two "tubs" of books in his room. We have our media room closet with books stacked about 3.5 feet high or more with books. Plus, we have a couple of boxes of books in our garage, and some sitting on the floor in our living room and bedroom.

I wouldn't mind getting bookshelves, but we really don't have a lot of room for them.

[AnaKhouri]

It is perfectly all right to own lots of books. As long as you hire professional movers and don't expect your friends to carry all those boxes. Books are HEAVY.

Each of my children has a bookcase (a tall one for the elder, about 4 feet high for the toddler). husband and I have two tall bookcases, two short, six Rubbermaid containers of books in the garage, and three floor piles (me) and one desk pile (him).

He bought a Kindle a couple years ago so he rarely buys them anymore, but I can't stop myself. It's my only vice, I don't even drink, so I think it's OK.

[Deserted]

I stopped buying books for the most part when I discovered ebooks. Still have a few hundred in boxes though.

[mjr]

I stopped buying books for the most part when I discovered ebooks. Still have a few hundred in boxes though.

Most of the books I have (that I consider "my books") I will likely eventually donate to my local library. Most of them are "tech" type books (i.e. about programming or whatever), though.

I actually like physical books. We have two tablets, but we don't have them "connected", so we only really use them for games we downloaded at our local library.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I stopped buying books for the most part when I discovered ebooks. Still have a few hundred in boxes though.

I tried to save the trees and switch to ebooks.

Then I got a job at a secure facility that prohibits personal electronic devices (such as e-readers) on site. So now I'm back to dead tree editions.

I recently purged my bookshelves, however, in the process of moving. I kept ones I really liked or hadn't read yet, and the ones I decided to get rid of, either got given away on free-cycle-type sites, donated to charity, or donated to the library.