Comments on: My Favorite Place to Buy Books in Portland

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 22:34:00 +0000

It is galling, David. I've often wondered how used bookstores justify this.

There's one used bookstore here in Ashland that won't buy back review copies because "The author was never paid for it." A small victory, but it was nice to hear.

The argument with used bookstores is, I guess, the author was *once* paid for it.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 20:33:00 +0000

Hmmmm. Thanks for the tip. The galling thing, of course, is that the hardworking author doesn’t see a penny of that $3.50. Knowing how hard writers work, I sometimes think that used resale of books should be outlawed, at least until the material is public domain.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 01:59:00 +0000

I still find them for a quarter or fifty cents here or there. Funny, but I always read them when I get them for that cheap.

Happy new year,

Art

By: bigdumbjim

bigdumbjim — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 19:57:00 +0000

True. And yet, in the not so distant past, when thrift stores were actually for poor people, you could get them for .50 cents.

Your point, though, is well-taken. When you think about the human effort put into the making of a book. $3.50 is cheap. I guess perspective is everything.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 15:16:00 +0000

$3.50 per paperback. It’s hard to imagine a cheaper form of entertainment, especially when you consider it can take you weeks to finish a book.

Art