My name is Buffy, and I'm a Bookaholic.

[NMMNG]

So I got together with my friend Mike tonight and we ended up in Borders. I didn't intend on buying much but I happened across a copy of Voltaire's Candide for $5.95 so I figured I'd get it. (I'd tried to borrow it from the library earlier in the evening but they didn't have any copies).

Next thing you know I come across a table of assorted trade sized paperbacks on special--buy two get one free. So, of course, I had to check them out, and inevitably I ended up getting some.


Overall my little excursion cost me $35.55, but I got four trade paperbacks to feed my habit, so I suppose I can't complain too much. In addition to Candide I scored:

Nickel and Dimed - On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
This is the story of an author who, as an experiment, lived as a low-wage worker for a period of time to see how people manage to survive on such meager pay.

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

[hfojvt]

1. that seems like alot of money

for just 4 books
I have read Candide, of course, and would love Nickel and Dimed. I think I have a copy of "A tree grows ..." around here somewhere. I do not read that many books now that I have the internet.

[NMMNG]

3. They're trade paperbacks

Which are larger than the "mass market" sized ones (sometimes called "pocketbooks"). Therefore they commonly run anywhere from $10-$18 for smaller ones and anywhere up from there for larger ones. Other than Candide, one of the ones I got retails at $13 and the other two at $13.95.

[hfojvt]

5. you must not know

that I owned a bookstore for seven years. For the most part, though, I did not carry trade paperbacks, except from over-stock companies. In that case I got them cheap and sold them for less than half price. As a customer I cannot stand to buy a trade paperback. Why spend $13 on a paperback when you can get a hardback for $20? But "Nickel and Dimed" probably never got published as a mass market book. Which is too bad. It deserves a wider audience. Of course, the 3 for the price of two makes it more worthwhile.

[NMMNG]

6. I didn't know

I worked in bookstores for a little over five years, both as a grunt and in management. I find that the average person doesn't know the difference between a "mass market" and "trade" paperback, which is why I explained.

I'm sure "Nickel and Dimed" never made it into MM, and "The End of Faith" probably is too new (and may not make it into MM either). As for "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" I got that in trade only because of the deal.

[JitterbugPerfume]

20. Hi Buffy

I love the trade papers --more book for the buck!!!

[Spider Jerusalem]

7. Better way to look at that...

as a consumer, why would you buy a mass-market sized paperback printed on pulp stock for $6-8 (with current pricing) when for another five or six bucks you can get the same book, printed in the same dimensions and on the same paper as a hardcover edition, wth the binding being the only difference? Personally, I don't buy anything that isn't either trade paperback or hardcover. But then I don't view books as disposable, either...for the most part I tend to keep them, and once I've read them they go on my shelves, not to a used bookstore.

[pitohui]

38. trade paperbacks have their place

hardbacks are heavy and can be tiring to hold, the trade paperback is the best compromise for weight but still easy to read unlike regular paperbacks

my mom joked that if she ever has quadruple bypass surgery again she'll bring a paperback! she actually got real tired trying to hold and read her hardbound library book


i do NOT understand hardbacks being sold at the airport either, hello, we've got to cart that thing around?

[dolo amber]

2. I could've written Nickled and Dimed

Been there, SO done that. It's utterly ridiculous in this country to have to live that way. x(

[NMMNG]

4. Same here

I've held two (and as many as three) jobs much of my adult life, and have never been able to live without a roomie because I simply can't afford it with the pitiful salaries I make. I've done retail, fast food and human services, none of which pay a living wage. Despite the fact that I've worked with developmentally disabled adults for 18.5 years, over 10 of them with my current agency, I still only make $3.98 more an hour than I did when I started in the field as a 19-year-old. Hence the need for a second full-time job.

It shouldn't be this way.

[tigereye]

17. that book makes me sad

it's not right. Everyone deserves decent wages. I love Ehrenreich. She's one of my heroes.

[tjwmason]

8. That sounds like a familiar story.

The books just call out to one "buy me, buy me, please don't leave me here".

[NMMNG]

9. Indeed they do

And I'm so unable to ignore them. :rofl:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

30. Do you know about the BookTV schedule posted every Friday in GD?

Disclaimer: This is a shameless promotion of my own obsession.

Every Friday night I post the schedule for CSPAN2's Book TV in GD.

This weekend...
Crusader Nation: The United States in Peace and the Great War, 1898-1920
David Traxel
Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor
The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win It Back
Jeff Faux
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
Daniel Dennett
2005 National Book Critics Circle Awards - Nonfiction and Biography Finalists Readings
Feet to the Fire: The Media After 9/11
Kristina Borjesson
Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster
Michael Eric Dyson

and lots more.
BOOK TV Schedule March 18th - 20th
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x690822

[Strong Atheist]

10. I try to avoid book stores. I usually end up dropping over $100... nt.

[LostinVA]

11. My name is LostinVa, and I'm a Bookaholic, too

Luckily, I have unlimited access to interlibrary loan, and can save my money for other things... like buying remainders at B&N!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

12. Nickel and Dimed is a great read.

[miss_american_pie]

13. I have that disease, too

Found any good support groups yet?

[clyrc]

14. I'm a bookaholic, too

I live just down the block from a decent library, though, so I mainly get books from there. But if I ever do go into a bookstore..... I could spend thousands monthly, if funding alllowed!

[azmouse]

15. I couldn't live without books.

I always buy more than I can read so I have quite a pile in my closet waiting to be read. I'm happiest when I have a book in my hands.
Right now I'm reading Bill Clinton's autobiography. It's interesting and a refreshing break from all the horrible RW news out there.

[tigereye]

16. we used to spend more than $100 bucks every time we

went in there! So I empathize.


I got Nickel and Dimed for 50 cents at the Goodwill one time. Great book. You have a number of goodies there.

[laheina]

18. My name is Laheina, and I am a bookaholic.

Let me know what you think of Candide, Buffy! It's one of my favorites. :hi:

[JitterbugPerfume]

19. Bookaholism is a common affliction here at du

I just bought two books that were recommended by another DUer but I cant remember WHO



The Astrological Diary of God and


Skepticism Inc by Bo Fowler

I get most of my author-- book recomendations fron DUers and SELDOM go wrong

[IA_Seth]

21. I'm Seth, and I am a bibliophile.

I can't go to any bookstore without spending $50...my room looks like a library hit by a tornado.

I buy everything. I would guess that 95% of my books are non-fiction, with most of them about wars, politics, history, or geography. I am a fool for knowledge, what can I say.

[Wetzelbill]

32. Oh so does mine

books scattered everywhere. I stuffed them in my dresser and they ended up being too heavy and were messing up the drawers, haha.

[peacefreak]

22. My name is peacefreak & I'm a bookaholic.

It started when I was a kid. My father took me to 2 libraries a week. When I was old enough to walk home from school I could stop in the bookstore & buy off the rack. I started small--35 cents for Kids Say the Darndest Things (yes, I'm old). Before I knew it I was buying a hardcover--Collected Stories of O. Henry. Then my habit got out of control. I took to the attic like Jo in Little Women.
I only way I could get enough was to get a job in a bookstore. I am permanently poor. But they keep me coming back for more. There's a shelf in back with free review copies. That's like pure Peruvian flake to a junkie.
Ya know what? No 12 step programs for me. I DON'T WANT TO STOP. My name is peacefreak & I'm a bookaholic.

[politicat]

23. Hi, Buffy. I'm a bookaholic, too.

We have 3000 of them in a house that's just about 1400 square feet, and I can't pass a bookstore without taking a word stop. Used and out of print shops are like crack for me.

And that doesn't count the audiobooks in the iPods or the ebooks on the handhelds. We have very few mass markets because they just don't stand up to time - too much lignin in the paper and the glue dries out too quickly.

Without words, I would probably die.

Harris' book is great stuff, and the fact that Nickel and Dimed is now almost ten years old, and yet the situation still persists.... Sad.

[sakabatou]

24. I'm a manga-holic

[mdmc]

25. hey buffie, please read this quip from the book I am reading

(this is what we are up against)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=639363&mesg_id=639363

[mdmc]

26. kick

[TheCentepedeShoes]

27. Hi, Buffy, I'm a bookaholic

I sneak them into the house so hubby doesn't know how many I buy. I mingle them with library books then do some creative arranging on the bookshelves so the new additions aren't noticed. I hide them in the car and sneak peeks at lunch. I go "grocery shopping" but head to the used bookstore instead and forget to come home with any food. I've actually been known to turn off the teevee and read a book! I need help.

[NMMNG]

29. Turning off the TV to read is not a sign of illness

It's a sign of health. :thumbsup:


As to coming home without groceries, that could be a problem. ;-)

[Katherine Brengle]

28. $35? *scoff*

Dude, I have spent hundreds of dollars at a time on books (not counting college textbook purchasing).

I am true addict. In the past two weeks, I have purchased about 10 books, one of which I have since read. I also got one book free from a publisher, and almost finished it... I have about 20-30 books on my bookshelves which I have never even opened...

It's a sickness...

[Wetzelbill]

33. I always start a book, then start another and another

I will eventually finish some book like a few years later, haha. It's insane.

[Wetzelbill]

31. I had to start going to the library to avoid becoming homeless

I am currently reading, "Joe Lewis vs Max Schmeling: The World on The Brink" by David Margolick, "Custer Died For Your Sins" by Vine Deloria and "The Vagina Monologues" by Eve Ensler. That and my school reading etc. Buying books was just getting to be too much!

[yellowdogintexas]

34. Buffy, I am also a bookaholic. Have been since I was a little kid

my mom said I slept with my books instead of stuffed animals.

My husband and daughter are also bookaholics and we have more books than ought to be allowed.

Going to the bookstore is always an adventure, and I rarely leave without purchasing something

[nytemare]

35. I got "The End of Faith" as well!

Pretty interesting. I read about 4 different books at once. It just depends on my mood what I will read on any given day.

I am also reading a book called "Spook:Science Tackles the Afterlife" by Mary Roach. It is really a quirkily entertaining read.

[Flying Dream Blues]

36. My name is ThruTheLookingGlass, and I am a bookaholic.

Always have been. I can't fall asleep without reading first. (I make the occasional exception :)) A day to myself spent reading is just heaven! And, I can't get out of a bookstore without spending way more than I should.

[xmas74]

37. I've read three of the books on your list:

Candide, Nickel and Dimed and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. All three are excellent reads.

Right now I'm working on the latest of the Robert Jordon series. I don't know why I punish myself so. Maybe I'm hoping he will finally get back on track and get back to the original storyline.

[LynzM]

39. Hi Buffy

I love books, too... bookstores are very dangerous places for me! It's one of the hardest parts about being back in school, I don't have time to do all the fun reading I want to do!!

[elshiva]

40. Hi my name is elshiva and am a bibliomaniac.

There are piles and boxes of books in my room. I just scored a volunteer position at the Bel Air library because I can't stand NOT to be around books. Thank God and authors for books!
Still got an non-expiring bookstore certificate to cash in too. Goody!

[Redstone]

41. How many books do you juggle reading at a time?

I usually have three going.

Hey, we have a big house, and it's easier to stash books in various rooms than to cart them around. At least that's the excuse I'm going with for now.

Redstone

[NMMNG]

42. I typically have two or three going at a time

I have the bathroom reader, the work reader and the mealtime reader. Sometimes a magazine is substituted for a book in either the bathroom or the kitchen, but I always have reading material in both places.

Right now I'm working on Erewhon, Nickeled and Dimed, and She's Come Undone.

[GirlinContempt]

44. She's Come Undone made me want to slit my wrists

[NMMNG]

45. Why is that?

I enjoyed it, and in fact this reading is a re-reading. I'm a fan of stories of psychological undoing. I also liked Lamb's I Know This Much is True.

[GirlinContempt]

46. I found it depressing

And without a real point to the depression. I didn't feel like I took anything from it, and I didn't feel like the style really made up for the content. *shrug* Personal taste thing I guess.

[ChoralScholar]

43. I joined the QPB club

so I could keep up with my book habit.

Currently I'm reading

"Lies my Teacher Told me"
and
"The Know-it-All"

I'm a nonfiction reader.

[NMMNG]

47. I recently joined the History Book Club

They had a deal I couldn't refuse. Four Books for Four Bucks (plus shipping), no obligation to buy anything more. How could I refuse? :shrug:

Of course I've been in numerous clubs in the past and virtually gone broke in them. Hopefully I'll be able to cancell my membership in this one before I get in too deep. :silly:

[LouisianaLiberal]

48. Before the NO lakefront was destroyed

The New Orleans Symphony (now Louisiana Symphony) had a large used book sale every April at the UNO arena, and LSU in Baton Rouge has a sale every year too. For $35.00 you could buy two or three large bags of books, many of the which are not available at a book store. Is there a sale of this kind near you?

BTW, I think even Dr. Pangloss would have trouble finding that our current world is the best of all possible. And Leonard Bernstein wrote a wonderful suite based on "Candide".