I had to laugh when I read that the founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, was a precocious child who, as a toddler, attempted to dismantle his crib with a screwdriver. I, for one, am grateful that such genius was channeled into the creation of a dot-com retail business whose priority is books. Because who knows what he would have done with all that energy otherwise.
People in marketing must really love the internet. It seems so easy to sell books online! In addition to Amazon, the larger book stores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders have web sites which are available 24/7. I didn't realize that you could also check the availability of books, for a specific zip code, on these web pages. I checked Barnes & Nobel's site for my bookclub book, "The Fiction Class" by Susan Breen. Once you get to the title, there is a link and a pop up for typing in your zip code. Area stores which do not have the book in stock are displayed with a red "x", while those that do have the item earn a green checkmark. It couldn't be easier to get great customer service.
There are so many book-related sites on the internet, I can't imagine anyone not being able to find what they need. At Alibris.com, one can search for textbooks and rare items, or even purchase a signed first edition of Winston Churchill's "Thoughts and Adventures" if you have an extra $12,500 lying around. It's as easy as clicking "Add to My Cart". BookMooch looks like an interesting resource for recycling and trading books. There's an ultimate guide for the best places to get free books here.
Many libraries, including the one where I work, have added digital media to their collections, and these items are offered free to the public. Patrons can browse the collection and check out books and music to enjoy on their MP3 players, iPhones, and iPods.
How does my real world compare to my cyber world? If I search for book stores in my zipcode, google gives me a list of 16 stores. The book store closest to me is Barnes & Noble, about 6 miles away. (As already mentioned, their website is amazing.) Other nearby places which sell books are Walmart and CVS. Both are within a mile or so of my house. Walmart has an online presence, and you can search for books, but you can't tell from the webpage if the item is in stock at specific stores. From the CVS webpage, you can order "Hooked on Phonics Discover Reading - Baby Edition". From the description, this sounds like a great item. It's actually a kit that includes board books, a music CD, a DVD, a parent guide and more, but it's not available for purchase locally.
"Pompeii" by Robert Harris is available from Amazon.com for $11.16 new. Used copies start at $4.88. Alibris has used copies in paperback for $1.99. Harris County Public Library offers this title through the digital overdrive catalog, at the best price, free.
It took my really slow computer at home several minutes to download and install Windows Media Player, but it did, eventually. Then I listened to the audio version of "Pompeii", which I checked out from HCPL's digital catalog. Maybe it was because I was tethered to my desk (instead of my Zune), too many familial distractions, or some combination of these and other reasons, but I found it difficult to concentrate on the audiobook.
Nobody ever said teaching an old bibliophile new tricks would be easy.
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