Price of books

[toad]

While I was digging through my storage boxes trying to find Dremel stuff, I thought back to the technical books I used to have so I went onto Amazon to price Machinery's Handbook and others.
If I replace what books I used to have with the new stuff, I'd end up spending more than the things I wanted to build would cost retail.

[HTRN]

Macherys handbook is always expensive for a current copy, which is why i bought a 26th edition off ebay for 25 dollars.

[Odahi]

I retire in less than four years. I've spent a fair amount of thought on the books I have kept, I plan to start another library after we buy and move into the retirement place. I can't afford to live here, I don't like living here now, and I know it's not likely to get any better any time soon. But books are about as heavy as the equivalent volume of wood... I really don't want to lug another 20 or 30 boxes of heavy objects from here to there, wherever there ends up being, when I can build my collection on the other end. I'll be buying them a few at a time, and it will be a pleasant hobby for my "sunset years." Browsing the shelves at the local used book store, Salvation Army or Goodwill store, and eBay will be fun, too. One example, I always hated history in school. But now that it wouldn't be the typical memory exercise to pass a test, there are a lot of places and eras that interest me. Used books are not only cheaper, but much more likely to be accurate than the crap that gets passed off as history nowadays, especially in the lower grades. Also, e-books are our friends.

[randy]

Also, e-books are our friends.

+1. Not only for portability (I have all of my e-books on my tablet and phone in addition the desktop and backup drive). They are on the phone even though I don't really like reading on it as a back up for the tablet (I can always swap out the SD drive if I need to on the road) but also to have reference/equipment manuals with me at all times if something comes up on an Amateur radio event in the field (and don't want to dig out the paper manuals, besides key word search works so much better on an e-book than a hard copy).

Then there's the fact that the lighting and adjustable font size on my tablet makes reading easier, especially when I am tired. Some of my paperbacks are a chore to read under less than ideal conditions.

Given the ongoing proof of Sturgeon's law in the publishing industry (and I think he was an optimist), I've used occasional presents of Amazon gift cards to build up e-book copies of my back list of stuff I have in hardcopy just because the e-books are more convenient. Most of my purchases of new stuff is from Baen (usually through a monthly bundle) with classics from various free sites.

The last time I purchased dead tree books were hard backs of books I wanted signed by the author.

I will still maintain and build my my library of SHTF references in hardcopy just in case..

[randy]

Oh, and ditto the above for digital formatted music vs CD. Although I've found several times on Amazon where the CD was cheaper than purchasing the MP3 version of a disc. No problem, into the desktop DVD drive, run Free Rip and Bob's your uncle.

[Weetabix]

Abebooks.com and bookfinder.com are your friend if you're looking for something specific.

On Abebooks.com, you can use the advanced search and narrow down on editions. I look on Amazon for the current edition and set the edition date a year or two older than that on abebooks.com. Good stuff for cheap out there.

[toad]

Hmmm, lots of handy tips. Thanks