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There’s nothing like reading a blog entry and realizing, “Heck, I could have gotten more mileage out of that gift card!” The same happened to me when I read The Silvery Key’s blog entry on the impact of buying used books online with Barnes and Noble gift cards. While that blogger feels guilty about getting 5 books instead of 1-2 for his $40 gift card, I’m jealous (ok, I bought $39.93 of books with my $40 Barnes and Noble gift card this past Xmas):

The New York Times on Dec. 27 published this thought-provoking piece by David Streitfeld about buying used books online. Streitfeld asserts that purchasing used books from ebay or from used online book dealers in lieu of buying new books is severely hurting brick-and-mortar book stores and the publishing industry as a whole.

To be honest, I’m feeling a little stung after reading the article since I’m very much guilty of this practice. For example, I got a $40 Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas, and instead of using it to buy one or two new books at a B&N outlet, I chose to pop online and purchase five used volumes from a handful of authorized B&N booksellers (the titles, if you’re interested, include four books on or about J.R.R. Tolkien, and The Life of Sir Aglovale De Galis. I can’t wait to get started!)

His blog entry clued me into the possibility of buying used books through approved Barnes and Nobles online sellers. Why didn’t anyone tell me before this? Live and learn.

Some online used book resellers might be found here, but the question I still have is, how do I use my Barnes and Noble gift card online–but not on the BNB web site? Is that possible?

• Alibris – from their web site:

  You’ll find used, new, out-of-print, and hard-to-find books. We stock 60 million titles, so you’ll be able to track down just about any book. Whether you locate what you want in our own warehouses or in our network of indie booksellers, you’ll find that our selection is unparalleled.

  We also offer a comprehensive inventory of music and movies—whether you’re looking for a popular CD, a collectible record, or a DVD or video for entertaining the kids.

• viaLibri – Makes it possible to find books being offered on the independent websites of more than two hundred individual booksellers.

What books did *I* buy? Well, they included:

• Dennis L. McKiernan’s The Iron Tower, which includes 3 tales: The Dark Tide, Shadows of Doom, The Darkest Day
• Robert E. Howard’s The Conquering Sword of Conan, which includes 5 “clasic adventures”
• Robert E. Howard’s Almuric, one of my favorite stories

And, to really top off the fun reading this break (doesn’t include library books), I enjoyed The Imperial Guard, a Warhammer 40000 series of novellas. I’m finding the longer the book, the more I enjoy it these days. Who wants to pay $10 for a single story?

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