General TBB Chat/questions thread - I'm on Earth in 2023.

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > General TBB Chat/questions thread - I'm on Earth in 2023.

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Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Irisi posted:

On an entirely unrelated topic, I would like to know why recommended texts for university/college are so expensive. I just bought two midwifery textbooks and paid �70 quid in total. I felt a bit sick handing over all that money, especially when I know that in 4 years time they'll bring out new editions & I might have to get them too. Why can't they make them available in e-book format & charge us poor students less?

In most cases it is completely intentional. It's a disgusting business.

One course I took, we had to buy a 60 dollar book that was pretty small (less than 150 pages paperback) And at the end of each chapter was a page of questions with empty spaces for answers.

During class we were expected to tear out these pages and turn them in.

The guy running the class, it was his loving book. Guess what? You tore the pages out of the book, so now you can't sell it back since it is useless to a new student.

Pathetic, pathetic scam. I didn't buy the book, just photocopied it from a friend, and cut to the size of everybody else. The questions didn't require a special page to be turned in.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2010 20:15

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 19:07

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

I've never been able to write, highlight or make any markings in my books. If something is really important then I'll make a note of it somewhere else.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2010 15:52

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

I think I saw that once in a book, where someone had marked something that supposedly incorrect, but they were wrong and the book was right. It makes you want to leave a note for the previous person, unfortunately, they'll never see it.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2010 20:10

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

This is depressing to me, why would you even want to try to know how many more books you're going to be able to read? Better get cracking.

# ¿ Mar 15, 2010 17:33

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

On the bus today, I saw some lady pull out her book, find the page where she'd bent the corner of the page, and continue reading. Does anybody do this? I used to do this when I was small, but now I would not be willing to damage my books like this. Watching this lady do this made me a little sick to my stomach.

I used to have an assortment of old hard cover books, Hardy Boys, Biggles, Tom Swift, etc.. and I used to completely damage the pages by bending the corner. I remember that sometimes the page would break when I would do this.

Now I generally use any random piece of paper that I can find as a bookmark.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2010 16:04

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

I can usually remember what page number I was on, but I hate leafing through a book trying to get to the page I was at. I'm the person who will accidentally read something near the end of the book and not forget it.

".. and Francis said.."

I will tell myself to forget what I read, but my brain:

:siren:

FRANCIS

Francis isn't dead at the end of the book :siren:

WHO IS FRANCIS AND WHY DOES HE SURVIVE? :siren:

All that can be avoided by simply using a bookmark.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2010 22:38

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Hedrigall posted:

Are you reading The Secret History?

No, I just choose Francis at random. Did you just spoil The Secret History?

Fuckface McGee posted:

I've been using $1 bills as bookmarks for some time now and it works out pretty well. I won't use higher denominations because people will steal them and I will lose my place in the book.

I used to do this, but my wife will take any money.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2010 18:39

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Preoptopus posted:

Hey guys, im looking for a piece of Gonzo journalism not by HST. I dont know the title but it was doing a bunch of ridiculous things while speeding. A link would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I googled for this, and it looks like you're looking for the Muppet Babies season 6 episode that aired 28th October 1989 �Faster Than Speeding Gonzo�.

Happy to help. Here's the link
http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Muppets/Muppetbabies.htm

# ¿ Mar 16, 2011 04:55

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Paperbacks get the front cover ripped off, right?

# ¿ Mar 21, 2011 23:07

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

That's awesome. I believe that the cover goes back to the publisher for partial credit or something like that.. I don't think they just rip off the front to damage it.

A few years ago, someone posted in Craigslist about a shitload of books being in an apartment dumpster. I went, and there was a dumpster full of banana boxes, full of mostly old books. And there were 20-30 boxes of books piled next to the dumpster.

I guess some bookseller was getting married and had to get rid of a lot. I didn't get a lot of great stuff, but still some interesting stuff, including some old first editions that I could make a quick buck off.

It was a glorious 2 hours. If I had a car.. I'd probably still check Craigslist for things like that. For now I just hoard books that I get from paperbackswap.

# ¿ Mar 21, 2011 23:15

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Here is the author reading an excerpt from her book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ou_oOGuDBw

She seems to even struggle with it.

# ¿ Mar 30, 2011 06:53

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

In this day and age, you aren't allowed to tell people much without causing serious offense. :rolleyes:

I used to work at a library, in a section that some students liked to have pizza parties. Even though they aren't allowed to eat in the library. There was no studying or anything related going on. Just major disruption for students who actually cared about their studies.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2011 22:06

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

maxnmona posted:

I was on twitter and one of my absolute favorite writers suddenly started arguing with me. And I wasn't even talking to her or aware she was on twitter.

The internet is weird.

We need juicy details. Who was the author, and what had you said?

# ¿ Apr 22, 2011 04:31

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Power of Pecota posted:

This is probably a really dumb question, but after reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, what's the significance of the "Wao"? His name's Oscar de Le�n and the narrator just starts calling him Wao about two-thirds of the way through the book.

(I loved the novel, this is just really bugging me)

I'm not positive about 'Wao' specifically, but I highly recommend this:

http://www.annotated-oscar-wao.com/

I didn't have a problem with the Spanish, but a lot of the geek references were over my head so this really helped me, although I only found it afterwards.

# ¿ May 25, 2011 16:34

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

They won't bill you until they are ready to ship the book.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2011 21:43

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Conduit for Sale! posted:

Ah yes, Goodreads, where books are rated on a scale of 3.5 to 4.0, with 3.5 being a beautiful classic and 4.0 being the Cliff Notes for that beautiful classic.

Well, the classic is like some delicious grapes. And the Cliff Notes would be the delicious wine created from the squeezed grapes.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2011 17:59

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Imapanda posted:

Will Barnes & Noble employees get upset if I spend a few hours sitting in reading a book?

I mean, they expect people to buy the books there, not read the entire things and leave. I'm too cheap to buy from a place that gives me too many options.

My thought is who cares what they think. But they aren't going to pester a patron to buy and/or leave, as long as you aren't being obnoxious. I can't imagine they care. I've spent entire days in a bookstore in the past, and I'll read entire books.

# ¿ Jul 13, 2011 16:44

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

I worked in Fine Arts dept of college library when I was a student.

And let me tell you.. people know where the photography photos with the nudes are.

We kept the most popular behind the desk so it had to be asked for.

There was an old security guard who would come and request a specific book, about once a week. It was just black & white female nudes.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2011 02:51

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

I don't see any problem. I started with Hardy Boys (and Nancy Drew).

# ¿ Aug 16, 2011 19:01

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

I know what you mean. For me it's hard to be sympathetic when the sellers are charging fi;; retail price for their books. Amazon has been around for awhile now. Most other store types offer discounts, it mostly seems to be the bookstores that don't.

# ¿ Oct 21, 2011 22:39

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

pakman posted:

I finally bought a copy of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodline from Steam for $5 during the Halloween sale, and I have my copy of Vampire: The Requiem roleplaying book. I am finding myself looking for good vampire fiction. I read Interview with a Vampire several years ago, but never continued with the series. I really like the World of Darkness setting. I especially love books with a lot of politics and maneuvering for position. Are there any vampire novels that encapsulate this?

I think Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons meets most of your criteria. It's been awhile since I read it, but I enjoyed it a lot when I read it.

# ¿ Nov 8, 2011 02:26

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Joramun posted:

It was a harmless joke (and also good advice since it really is a wonderful device, but that is � propos).

Showing off your big ~~peen~~ book collection is a foreign concept and seems a bit sad to me, I read for myself and not for social validation. But maybe others are just insecure like that.

Yes, people have large libraries because they are insecure and need social validation.

CornHolio, the best shelves in my opinion will be built into the walls where you want them to be. You'd probably have to find someone to do this, but good shelving is definitely worth it. Also if you're having it done for you, you can choose the wood quality, how much space there should be, etc.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2012 21:20

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

I use Paperbackswap a whole lot, I've received tons of books, and mailed off many as well. I'm a big fan, although sometimes it can take awhile to get a book.

It's good to add new books that interest you to the queue, so that you'll be one of the first people to get it if it becomes available. Some books have a long queue, and you won't be getting a copy of it ever, most likely.

That being said, I have received very good quality books. I've received several books that have been brand new, and others that have been read once.

Popular fiction moves very fast, so you'll easily be able to get books that way. Nonfiction is slower, but I've still gotten quite a bit.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2012 20:24

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Conduit for Sale! posted:

Has anyone else been getting books from Amazon that are slanted and twisted like someone's been wrenching on them? There's no actual damage to them and they're fine after I put them on my bookshelf for a while or put some heavy books on top of them, but it's still kind of annoying.

After reading your question, I was going to recommend The Cipher until I realized you were talking about physical books.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2012 20:29

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

B*tches in Bookshops (based on N*ggas in Paris)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQiEJk-o5WA&feature=youtu.be

I really liked this video.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2012 21:26

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

I've read three of Dan Simmons' books and enjoyed them all quite a bit.

The first one I read was The Terror, and I thought it was really good. I enjoyed the book, the whole way through. I've been meaning to read this again, and hope I can get around to it soon.

I then read Song of Kali which had some really, creepy moments.

And Carrion Comfort is awesome. The book revolves beings that are almost like vampires, but instead of sucking your blood, they rape your mind. Absolutely terrifying. I'd love to see this made into a movie, but it would be tough.

This all reminds me that I haven't read any horror in awhile. Need to find something good.

edit- added a word that I left out

Juanito fucked around with this message at 22:09 on May 13, 2012

# ¿ May 13, 2012 06:11

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Gravy Jones posted:

Is it Suckerpunch the Official Movie Novelization by Alan Dean Foster?

drat it, I looked that up. I thought the movie had potential, and I'd be curious to read it in a book.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2012 16:04

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Flaggy posted:

Do we have a non fiction thread? Would it be smart to start one if we didn't? I read a ton of non fiction and am always looking for more recommendations.

There have been a few in the past, they usually die after awhile. I really enjoy them though!

There is a history book thread, http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3458502

# ¿ Oct 29, 2013 19:55

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Hedrigall posted:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/11/how-books-are-printed

This is kind of a cool article about how modern hardcover books are printed. Lots of photos of each step. I just found it fascinating as a book lover!

That is awesome. I'd love to get a tour of that process someday. Thanks for sharing!

# ¿ Dec 6, 2013 22:41

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Depends on how it's attached. It might have been glued with something not intended to ever be detached. Sounds like you'll have to damage it in order to get it off.

Or you could print off a nice copy of this:

# ¿ Dec 19, 2013 00:34

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Millions posted:

Ha, I've actually got that as the background on my computer right now! I don't know how easy it would be to print a copyrighted map on decent paper since I'd have to go to Kinkos or something...

I should have mentioned I'm ok with damaging the book itself, I'd just prefer if the map was unscathed if possible.

Ornamented Death's idea of just ripping the book apart would work.

You could also use a knife along the edge of the map on the cover side of things, and then you might be able to pull it off of the cover without damaging the map.

I spent an entire summer cutting up and repairing the bindings of old library books, but I just spent a few minutes in GIS and I could not find the blade that I worked with. I just know it was very sharp, and we were constantly replacing the blades to make sure they were very sharp, because as soon as it would get even a little bit dull, it wouldn't cut as well. A brand new box cutter would probably work well.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2013 01:47

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Yeah, I never read introductions before reading a book. It's kind of like watching a short special about a movie, right before you watch the movie.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2014 22:46

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

One of my favorite books, and my favorite movie. They are very different, but really great in their own way.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2014 21:09

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

DirtyRobot posted:

Yeah, I think another difference is that Dickens totally seized the means of literary production and changed it. Like, serialization had been on the outs for decades when Dickens rose to prominence and made it popular again. King, however, came at the tail end of being able to make a *somewhat reasonable* living writing short stories, and he published novels in exactly the same way they'd been being published for decades. Absolutely nothing changed. If anything, his publishing model is extremely old and on its way out, and only still workable for him because he's so popular.

I don't think there is much that King could be expected to do differently. It's not his fault that publishing novels was already popular, and he wasn't able to "change" the publishing industry. Why did he need to?

He embraced ebooks too. He wrote and published Riding the Bullet in 2000, which is considered to be the first mass-market ebook. It obviously helped that he was popular, but I remember that people criticized him for wasting something to the internet.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2014 20:41

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

Pompous Rhombus posted:

What's the best way to go about selling a bunch of books? I'm moving overseas (for good, this time) and I don't think it makes financial sense to take them with me. Is it at all cost-effective to do online, should I take the better ones to a used bookstore, or what?

Gonna donate the leftovers to my local library (they run a small second-hand bookshop stocked with donations to help with operating expenses)

Depends on the books, but you might try SA Mart first, goons do buy books, and you'll avoid fees. Bookstores are usually not a very good option, they'll give you a bit of credit.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2014 14:12

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

AlsoD posted:

It's a bit of a weird question, but has anybody here read The Screwtape Letters? I'm trying to find the part where a couple are planning a meal out (a picnic maybe?), and each goes out of their way to be courteous to the other and to refuse the other's courtesies which leads to an argument and bad blood on both sides.

It's the "generous conflict illusion", and it's in letter 28.

# ¿ Oct 27, 2014 21:31

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

It happened last year. Quad is the one runs it. One year he sent his own gifts to every person in the Secret Santa, it was an extra gift for everybody, pretty generous of him.

I think the gift limit was :20bux:

, but someone gave me a $15 gift card to Amazon :rolleyes:

# ¿ Nov 17, 2014 06:49

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

There is an Amazon coupon code for 30% off any physical book this weekend, up to $10 off the book.

You have to enter code HOLIDAY30 when you're checking out.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2014 19:23

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

I've finally gotten all my ebooks in Calibre, and synced up between computers using Dropbox. Now I'm not sure of the best way to organize ebooks. I want to keep books that I've read out of sight, but still a part of the Calibre library. I've looked at a few tutorials, but I'm not sure the best way to do things. Should I just be tagging books?

# ¿ Dec 20, 2014 17:23

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 19:07

Juanito: Jan 20, 2004; I wasn't paying attention
to what you just said.

Can you repeat yourself
in a more interesting way?; Hell Gem

The Millions :argh:

My reading queue always grows quite a bit with the books I find there.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2015 02:46

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > General TBB Chat/questions thread - I'm on Earth in 2023.

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