tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166465.post1080648706144258252..comments2023-06-13T10:12:19.364-04:00Comments on WORMBOOK: A book lover's nightmareEllenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621027650985696321noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166465.post-85314786305210029352009-01-09T11:22:00.000-05:002009-01-09T11:22:00.000-05:00So yesterday I went to the Johns Hopkins Hospital'...So yesterday I went to the Johns Hopkins Hospital's Women's Board's book sale (whose proceeds went to patient care...because we won't care for patients unless we sell enough books?), and I picked up for cheap a few volumes that I'd been meaning to read anyway, for cultural literacy purposes, including THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, by Mark Haddon.<BR/><BR/>...Turns out Morgan already has a copy he borrowed from his grandfather.<BR/><BR/>Do I ever feel silly!Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166465.post-36603990967037897592009-01-08T11:45:00.000-05:002009-01-08T11:45:00.000-05:00WG: Don't feel bad. If it's only $10, it can't be...WG: Don't feel bad. If it's only $10, it can't be that wasteful. (The upper limit on how much you could have wasted is only $10, not even getting into the arguments about supporting bookstores, stimulating the economy, etc.)<BR/><BR/>Not putting money into an IRA, for example, is much more wasteful, because so much more cash is at stake. Even if you got into a habit of buying unnecessary paperbacks, you would have to buy quite a few before you got into the range of one poor investment decision (which, let's face it, we've all made).<BR/><BR/>This is why statements like how dried beans are "more economical" than canned beans are, no matter how much I like <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/dining/07mini.html?em" REL="nofollow">Mark Bittman</A>, just silly: it's true that canned beans are a very large fraction more expensive than dried beans, but the cans just aren't that expensive, so there's a cap on how much you can save by switching to dried.<BR/><BR/>This is also why we should <A HREF="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080619142118.htm" REL="nofollow">express fuel efficiency as gpm, not mpg</A>, because it better illustrates how much money you can save by buying a more efficient car.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166465.post-50085049787126789522009-01-07T07:43:00.000-05:002009-01-07T07:43:00.000-05:00Yep, almost done that as well... and believe it or...Yep, almost done that as well... and believe it or not <I>The Corrections</I> was one of the books for which I almost bought a second copy. (It is such an unwieldy hardcover!) I haven't re-read it yet, but when I do I guess I'll just find a friend who has the paperback.Ellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15621027650985696321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166465.post-4417951784391137712009-01-06T23:40:00.000-05:002009-01-06T23:40:00.000-05:00I recently came across clearance paperback copies ...I recently came across clearance paperback copies of Kavalier & Clay and The Corrections while I was home, and I almost bought then just so that I could have a lighter, easier-to-read-on-the-subway copy of two of my favorite hardcover volumes, just in case I ever wanted to read them again. Then I realized that a recession was on and that wasting $10 on copies of books I already owned just because they would be easier to carry IF I decided to read them again, when I already own dozens of books I haven't read, was one of the more wasteful things I could have done.Wade Garretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02427231454565149921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166465.post-12527071398488638112009-01-06T23:35:00.000-05:002009-01-06T23:35:00.000-05:00Emily, I have had some very near misses on that ac...Emily, I have had some very near misses on that account. Just a few weeks ago I picked up an interesting-looking book at the library, only to belatedly remember that not only had I read it, I <I>reviewed</I> it. Oops.Ellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15621027650985696321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166465.post-71108583515179995302009-01-06T20:39:00.000-05:002009-01-06T20:39:00.000-05:00you know what i think is worse, and what i think y...you know what i think is worse, and what i think you might agree with me about given your unbookening (a project i will never, ever, ever attempt because i am a packrat)? buying a book you think you might own but don't realize you already have, and then realizing it's a duplicate.Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08579912946565177962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166465.post-85993506716246426112009-01-06T13:40:00.000-05:002009-01-06T13:40:00.000-05:00That is an excellent point, Jess -- although I don...That is an excellent point, Jess -- although I don't think I was reluctant at the time to lend the book out.Ellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15621027650985696321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13166465.post-25669085815076355712009-01-06T13:33:00.000-05:002009-01-06T13:33:00.000-05:00This is what the Kindle is for! You can't misplace...This is what the Kindle is for! You can't misplace anything, you can search electronically, and nobody can make you lend them your books anymore!Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942269316108576622noreply@blogger.com