Originally Posted by Roody
Kinda off-topic, but important to me. Instead of buying books from Amazon, etc., consider buying from your local independent bookstore.
Just visit, e-mail or call them on the phone. If it isn't in stock, they can special order any book you want. No shipping charges for you, and your book usually arrives in a couple days. They'll e-mail you when it comes in, and you can ride on your little bicycle to pick it up.
Another good thing: your own neighbor makes a profit instead of some giant soul-sucking corporation in cyberland.
This is interesting. I often buy from either Amazon or Amazon affiliates like Powell's (which is a bookstore in Portland.) The other option here is either Border's or Barnes and Noble, who have branches in both cyberspace and about 5 miles out in the suburban malls.
I think your friendly local bookstore has been pretty much a thing of the past for many years, at least in this neck of the woods.