Amazon

It’s been awhile since I last posted here, so I thought I’d better do so before I dropped it completely. It may not be something that is in any way an important part of my life…although perhaps I’m not giving it enough credit, because I care enough to continue…but it is an outlet, and depending on how comfortable I get, eventually, it may be an important outlet.

I thought I might try to sell my old textbooks on Amazon.com. I’ve mentioned the idea to several people, and usually I get the response that it’s okay (“okay” is spelled out, according to me–the etymology isn’t known anyway, so I may as well. So there), but as English majors, it’s a responsibility to keep all those anthologies.  For the poems you know.  But here’s a secret.  I never, ever look at them. Ever.  If I really want to look up a poem, I tend to go online.  I just prefer it.

Also, one of them I got on accident and couldn’t return.  In some cases I will keep the occasional anthology, but not seven or ten of them; I simply don’t need that many.  And I may not go into a proper “English” career anyway, or one where they could even conceivable come in useful, or more useful than Google. I’m a fan of Google, not so much Yahoo!. (Is the exclamation mark included?).  There may be more on that later.  Without these anthologies, I still have enough books to hold down the bookcases, so the only thing the do is gather dust.  The poor things are probably suffering from an existential crisis.  Books should be read, even once, and I don’t think I even read them in the first place.  (An unfortunate fact–many teachers seem to like assigning books that may only have one reading in, and then not assign that reading. Tear.) I have no attachment.  Others seem to, and it works for them.  But I’ll be different!  Right?  Uniqueness is good, most English majors seem inclined to keep there anthologies; I’ll be different and give mine away.

I can’t see where my blinker is. Blinker? The little cursor thing that’s supposed to tell me where I’m writing? It’s not there, and I’m slowly going nuts.  There might be confusion later in this post. Don’t blame me. It’s the blinker.

I posted one my books.  I almost feel bad admitting it was not an anthology after that.  It’s a history textbook, one I actually rather liked. But I seriously doubt it will be looked at either.  There is now another Latin America textbook on sale at Amazon (or there should be) and I’m still not entirely sure what this means for me, other than it must be shipped two days after I get the order. Should there be one. The only problem is that I don’t have any rating there so I don’t know if anyone would buy it should they see it, or want it.  The book is only one edition behind, maybe that’s a good thing.

Editions in textbooks ought to be banned.  Okay, not banned, especially since the textbook about is modern Latin America focused. Extra chapters are necessary.  Sometimes information ought to be changed.  But for literature and math (and likely many other subjects) books, a new edition is not needed every dang year.  It’s absurd, especially when the price goes up from one edition to the next. And don’t show me those silly little graphs that “prove” that all that money goes somewhere important, and really isn’t that overpriced, in fact it’s only just enough to live in–not even that! I don’t believe it.  Everyone knows what Benjamin Disraeli may have said on that subject.*

Back to amazon.  I’m a fan of Amazon, too.  Not so much the seller aspect, ’cause I just posted, and don’t exactly know what’s going on (I read the legal stuff…maybe that’s my problem). But I very much like the Wish List part.  Not so much because I expect anyone to get me anything off there, or even look at it.  I put everything on my wish list. Every time I find something interesting, I click that button.  Not that I would object to anyone getting me something from my wish list, but I wouldn’t want them to take it seriously.  For instance, I have a few $100 textbooks on there.  Just because they sounded interesting (though they probably aren’t). There are a few things that I really would like: a book about Terry Pratchett and a dvd about Sherlock Holmes made in the ’70s–oh and a collection of the Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett.  The first is over $300, the second is just under $100 (though I think the price has gone down a little, actually) and the last is over $200 (unless it’s at Costco for $149).  Those are actually “wishes,” although the series I may get whenever I may someday afford it.

So who wants to read this much about amazon?  I got ahead of myself again. (The blinker reappeared.) The end.  I don’t want to spend more than half an hour talking about amazon.  I’d hate to be weird. Well–not totally nuts anyway–half an hour is enough to make me weird–but that’s okay, I think it’s like “unique.”

*”There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” It could have been good old Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens, too.  Depends on who you ask, I think. Like statistics.

P.S. The reason these posts get so long is because my mind is very good at association, and all those ‘links’ sound like good ideas.  So I discuss them. …beware…