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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3689 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 19, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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So, what are you reading?

Still on Count Zero. It lacks the unbearable tension and intellectual fervor of Neuromancer, but it somehow feels more workmanlike. It's considerably more heavy on the jargon, and with little explanation. A pleasant read so far.

I’m reading Legacies by L.E. Modesitt Jr. it’s a good read, start of an epic fantasy series. Pretty standard so far.

On a side note book prices annoy me. I respect this author, but it’s an 8 book series and the first two are $8, then the last 6 books are all $28 a piece, with no option to bundle!! That’s over $150 on a series that will likely take me about a month to read and isn’t necessarily a show stopper, or super ground breaking.

I get that authors need to make money under the thumb of Amazon, but I hate it. This is why I pirate ebooks.

Check out eBay. I haven’t bought a new book in years.

Amazon also sells used books. If it's a reasonably popular book, and you're willing to read a less than pristine paperback copy, you can pay two or three dollars a book, and two dollars more Media Mail shipping.

Amazon does sell used books, but in my experience eBay is always the cheapest. I used Thriftbooks for a while because they used to have $1 shipping and if you combine orders over $10, shipping is free. But recently I’ve found them to always be more expensive than eBay.

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