Joseph ’s Comments (group member since Jul 28, 2009)

Joseph ’s comments from the Book Buying Addicts Anonymous group.

I received two orders over the weekend. One from Amazon and the other from Thriftbooks

Nice haul, Michelle!

I agree with Kristopher, it basically has to be all or none, and since I don't see any fairness in differentiating from allowing a person with a list written on paper from one who has it on a pda from one who is using a scanner, you have to let the scanners in. True, it might give the dealers an unfair advantage over the every day buyer, but then again, it's quite likely a lot of those books would not even get bought and might just end up in the trash if a dealer didn't buy them. Speaking from the viewpoint of being a professional librarian, the seller, most of the time we libraries are not looking to make a profit, we just want to get rid of those books taking up space on the shelves or in storage, so it makes no difference who buys them. Now, from the other direction, as a buyer, I'd rather not have to deal with some of those used book dealers who just barreling and start throwing books into boxes without even looking at what they are grabbing. At least the scanning dealers are slower and more precise.

Ok, I admit it, I fell off the wagon, again. I know I said I was going to go cold turkey this month to save up for buying new next month, but I just couldn't resist those used books at my library Tuesday. I just couldn't admit I fell off until today. :-( You don't know what torture it is to be a bibliomaniac and work where there is a constant supply, it's both pleasure and torture. :-) But I only bought 6 books for a couple of bucks, so it's not too bad.

I did receive the other part of my Thriftbooks order, , but I ordered that last month so it doesn't count.

AND you'll be proud to know that while I was shopping for work clothes today I WAS able to resist visiting Borders, Barnes & Noble, AND another library's used book shelves. So, all in all, not too bad, right? :-)

Gee Michelle, that's ALL you got? ;-) lol

Michelle wrote: "My plan for tomorrow is to go to a 30,000+ used book sale! The prices range from 25cents to $3. Its definitely the highlight of my weekend!"

Oh wow, Michelle, just the thought of that makes me drool! lol. Lucky you.

I don't shop at Barnes and Noble anymore and I haven't in a couple of years now, mainly because their main competitor Borders does not charge for being a member and they offer much better savings for being said member. Borders also does not charge for S&H if you make the order from the store, they'll then ship it straight home for you. I think Borders is fighting a better battle against the online stores than BN is.

This is not good news. :-(

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/bus...

Biggest U.S. Book Chain Up for Sale
By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: August 3, 2010

In what might be the latest sign of trouble for brick-and-mortar bookstores, the mega-chain Barnes & Noble announced on Tuesday that its board was putting the company up for sale.

Barnes & Noble has tried to compete with Amazon and Apple in the e-reader market by opening its own e-bookstore last summer, and by introducing its own device, the Nook.

The news surprised analysts and alarmed publishers, who have watched as the book business has increasingly shifted to online retailers and e-book sales, leaving both chains and independent sellers struggling.

Barnes & Noble, the country’s largest book chain with 720 stores, said that its board believed the stock was “significantly undervalued” and that it had set up a special committee to review its options.

“Barnes & Noble has an iconic brand and unique competitive advantages we believe will position the company to succeed over time in a rapidly changing market,” the board said in a statement. “The board is confident in Barnes & Noble’s strategy and fully supportive of the senior management team, which is delivering explosive growth in our fast-developing digital business.”

The board has enlisted Lazard as its financial adviser and Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell as its legal adviser.

One possible bidder could be Leonard Riggio, the company’s founder, working with private equity, according to a person briefed on the matter. Mr. Riggio, 69, is the largest stockholder in Barnes & Noble, owning nearly 30 percent of the company.

“Regardless of whether I participate in an investment group that buys the company, I, as well as the entire senior management team, am willing and eager to remain with the company and see it through the challenging years ahead,” Mr. Riggio said in a statement.

Mr. Riggio has been under pressure recently from the billionaire investor Ronald W. Burkle, who last year increased his ownership stake in the company to about 18 percent. Mr. Burkle has argued for changes in Barnes & Noble’s corporate governance and has said that his Yucaipa Companies should be allowed to buy up to 30 percent of Barnes & Noble stock, though Mr. Burkle testified in court last month that he did not want to buy the company.

For years, Barnes & Noble has been battered by large shifts in the publishing industry and the retail environment. Book sales have moved toward big-box stores like Costco, Wal-Mart and Target, and away from mall-based stores like B. Dalton, which Barnes & Noble acquired in the late 1980s.

“There’s been a long series of pressures,” said David Schick, managing director at Stifel Nicolaus in Baltimore. “The market has not been kind to bookstores, and it’s for new reasons like competition with Apple and Amazon, and it’s for old reasons, like what we believe has been a decline in reading for the last 20 years. Americans have devoted less of what we call media time to books.”

But Barnes & Noble has made efforts to adapt to the changing landscape. Last year, it announced that it had acquired Fictionwise, an online e-book retailer. In March, the company promoted William Lynch, then the head of its Web division, to chief executive, signaling that it was pouring its efforts into the growing digital side of the business.

It has tried to compete with Amazon and Apple in the e-reader market by opening its own e-bookstore last summer, and by introducing its own device, the Nook, with versions selling for $149 and $199, as an alternative to the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad. In September, it will open 1,000-square-foot boutiques within its stores to promote the Nook.

One analyst said that consumers had been moving away from physical bookstores in favor of buying books online or at other retail outlets. “They might pick up a book when they’re buying hand sanitizer or Band-Aids, rather than actually seeking out a bookstore as a destination and then buying a book at that point,” said Michael Norris, senior analyst at Simba Information, which provides research and advice to publishers. “A lot of independents are figuring it out one bookstore at a time, and that’s what the Barnes & Nobles of the world have to do.”


Michael J. de la Merced contributed reporting.


A version of this article appeared in print on August 4, 2010, on page B1 of the New York edition.

Mark, I am sorry to hear about your situation. To be honest, I started this group joking about being addicted to buying books, I never even considered that a person could be truly addicted, not being able to stop themselves. I am sorry. I would like to think that the majority of us here are not uncontrollable or unrestrainable, that we don't spend on books more than we can afford, that we do budget our spending. I hope that if there is anyone here who is in your position they can speak up. I wish I had a solution, but at the moment I'm afraid I don't. Best of luck.

Linda wrote: "Just ordered from Thriftbooks:

Les Misérables
Light in August by Faulkner
Cold Comfort Farm by Gibbons
Wide Sargasso Sea by Rhys
The Tenan..."</i>

Thriftbooks is an incredible enabler for our addiction. I just received [book:The Nitrogen Murder: A Periodic Table Mystery that I ordered from them last month and I have another that should be arriving from them soon too.

I was looking at my shopping list and it seems there are a bunch of new books I want to buy that are coming out in October, and one in September, but nothing in August, which is good since in order to be able to buy those books, I'm going to have to stay on the wagon and not buy ANY books in August in order to save enough money to buy those books. Either that or I don't eat for a month. :-)
Anyone want to make bets on whether or not I can do it? Could you? It's sure going to be tough steering clear of the used book stores and the used book shelves at the library, not to mention the book sellers online like Amazon and BookDepository while surfing. Wish me luck. :-)

When you buy new books, do you shop around? Do you check out several stores, walk-ins and online, for the best price before you buy or do you just grab it when you see it? Do you have a shopping list for planning ahead or do you just buy from window shopping?

On to August we go. Please share what you got from where this month.

My last book for July, I got Renoir from the used book shelf at the library today. That finishes me with 34 for the month.

Just thought you'd like to know that our group was created one year ago today (July 28,2010), and in one year, we've gotten 301 members! Goes to show, we are definately not alone. :-)

Argh! I just fell off the wagon, again. :-) I had checked this one out of the library, but half way through it I just had to use my 40% off coupon to go get it at Borders. I really love ]Yasmine Galenorn's work and she just came out with another series. If you like UF, you might want to check out:

I know I said I was going to go cold turkey for the rest of the month, but this one was ordered before I said that, so I'm still on the wagon, at least for the month. From Bookdepository I just received

Another one I like is from Thomas Jefferson, "I cannot live without books."

K wrote: "Found this on a plaque in City Lights Books in San Francisco years ago. It is my creed.

"The buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching toward infinity.
--A...."

I like it. Here's my all-time fav:

"When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes."
— Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus

Rhonda wrote: " at Half Price Books yesterday with my 40% off coupon! Looking forward to going back on Sunday with 50% off coupon! FUN!! ..."

Rhonda, yeah, I'm really tempted to go back with that 50% off coupon too, but I kind of want to eat this month. lol