Evelyn C. Leeper wrote:
wrote:
I also prefer to buy in a store--though it's getting harder and harder.
I like to browse, and I like to see the condition of my potential
purchase for myself. Even an online book that's described as "mint"
still has to pass through the clutches of the Post Awful before it
reaches me...

If one can get to stores and browse this is great. If one wants a
specific book that is not in any of the available stores(*), then
on-line is great. To me, the two are complementary, not exclusive.

* I once wanted to buy a copy of UNAUTHORIZED AMERICA for my brother. I
found *one* copy on-line--in North Dakota. If I had waited until I saw
it in a bookstore, I'd still be looking....

It is certainly true that if you know
what you are looking for and you
orderi from a reputable dealer, the
net is often the only way to go.
On the other hand, my idea of enjoyable
book browsing is not poring over lists
or even pictures of covers on the net.

[from the upstairs office]

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
A great many people think they are thinking when they
are only rearranging their prejudices. -William James