|
Finding Used and Out-of-Print Books
|
Best choices: Powells
I admit, technical bookstore in Portland is my favorite bookstore, but you can easily spend a rainy afternoon in the main store also. Look here first for textbooks, too - they do stock textbooks and they're usually less expensive than your campus bookstore. Doublecheck the edition you need. (Forbes Magazine says this is their favorite online bookstore; but I knew about it first!)
I used to recommend in this section, although prices of the individual booksellers are not consistent. Read before clicking. **** Big reservervation in recommending Alibris: I bought 128 books from Alibris without incident. Alibris guarantees items are as described but on item 129, the item was not "bright and beautiful" as described, Alibris refused to refund after authorizing the return so I was out the book AND had the subsequent hassle disputing via the credit card company. Contacting them via the web interface and their phone number at 501-500-0856 both elicted no response. I will probably avoid in the future, unless I am desperate.
Biggest Selection (but see reservations above):
Trustworthy, fair prices:
Worth looking, but probably no deals here:
|
New books: Cheapest and Fastest
Fastest:
Cheapest: - but see reservations above.
will always be cheapest but requires comparison shopping through the various booksellers. This can be time consuming. Immediate gratification is not guaranteed.
 
 most consistently has the best prices and fastest delivery on the widest selection of new books, although you can find better deals on if you take the time to look. Special orders are real slow and more expensive at Amazon - use Powells. I buy my videos and DVDs here also. They carry some foreign films with English subtitles but see the section for a usually better source. Also a nice selection of jazz and classical music.
Absolutely Cheapest Technical Books
You can be pretty sure will have the book you want and you might get it used, so check there first. If you know the exact nerd book you want, you can
find it cheapest at Bookpool. Sometimes, they don't have it or are backordered. In
that case, go to Powells or Alibris.
Very Rare and Collectible Books
|
Best choices: zvab, ABEbooks, Bibliofind
Difficult to find and collectible books sometimes show up on (best choice),
,
and of course: . Most of my antique fairy tale books have come from European booksellers (via zvab, ABE, Bibliofind). You can sometimes find collectible books on , but rarely at a good price, no matter what Ebay tells you. Avoid Alibris.
|
|
Foreign
has a complete foreign section; try the if you know the specific item you're looking for. For books and films in French, and especially film quebecois, try . If you aren't sure what you want, a real person will answer your email. Has Region 1 French films cheaply and available.
Multimedia : Ebooks, CDs, DVDs, Audiobooks
Either or are choices for audiobooks. Amazon is a good bet for domestic CDs and DVDs. is good for foreign DVDs (Region 1 encoding). A nichey but quality selection is also available at .
Good Books for Gifts
If you came here from , these books are for you. Also see the for listing by artist and genre.
I get many requests for the book that the image comes from. It's been republished as translated by Marie Ponsot and illustrated by Adrienne Segur. .
|
Photographic evidence that fairies exist: by Suza Scalora. See .
|
|
I get many requests for . I recommend . These are the best fairies. Fairies from Rackham, Dulac, Maybeck, Hughes, Doyle, Naiash, Fitzgerald, Simmons, and others.
|
Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker. See .
|
|
|
|
