[RndTbl] Used Computer books

John Lange john.lange at bighostbox.com
Tue Nov 4 11:48:05 CST 2003


Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Response to Tim inline (below):

On Tue, 2003-11-04 at 00:16, Tim Lavoie wrote:
> >>>>> "John" == John Lange <john.lange at bighostbox.com> writes:
> 
>     John> Is anyone aware of a used bookstore in Winnipeg that has a
>     John> good selection of computer books?
> 
> Hm. What sort of computer books? Borealis on Main has had the odd one
> that I've liked, though that's not a big part of what they've
> got. More general math & science in that section, less in the way of
> the app du jour. On the other hand, I prefer that myself.

I was hoping for a store that has a large selection. It seems most of
them have one or two but nothing beyond that. This seems like a niece
market that someone could fill.

>     John> Or another suggestion on how to get books for reasonable
>     John> prices? I had a look in Chapters today at some computer
>     John> books and every one I picked up was more than $70 !
> 
> Good books often aren't cheap, though some eventually make it into
> paperback if you're patient. Copperfields is likely the best around

Does Copperfields exist anymore? I drove by their Pembina location and I
was certain I saw a "For Lease" sign in the window. I was driving at the
time and only glanced so I could be mistaken.

> for computer books, and I doubt any others are close. McNally's is OK
> for a general book store, and they've been good about finding and
> ordering books for me, but selection in this field is much less than
> it used to be. 

I searched their web site and it turned up next to nothing.

> Chapters used to be decent, but has degraded into the K-Mart of book
> stores. What once was a sea of nifty, often theoretical books has
> become a dried, muddy pond of mass-market dreck, with MCSE
> certification guides flopping fitfully in the shallows. After all, the
> public gets what it wants... and deserves. In any case, trying to
> order non-stocked items from Chapters (albeit pre-Indigo) hasn't
> worked for me, so of the locals, I'd check Copperfields and
> McNally. But hey, Chapters has a much better selection of scented
> candles and get-well cards. *ahem*

I looked in Chapters and I have to agree with you. They really have
largely drek.

> For non-local, amazon.ca has been quick and excellent at keeping me
> informed of purchase status, and their site is tops for actually
> finding books on a topic. So that, too is a possibility, and more to
> the point, may also have hooks to finding used copies of the books you
> want.

Can anyone offer suggestions on how to get your books shipped without
having to pay the enormous duties and brokerage charges?

I've only ordered from Amazon once. I ordered 3 books. They all shipped
separately and one of them got tagged for duty. That wouldn't have been
so bad but the brokerage charge to clear customs was about 40% of the
price of the book. I've never ordered books (or anything else) from the
US since.

> Oh yeah, what are you looking for anyway?  <grin>

In this specific example I was looking for a book on Cascading Style
Sheets. Up until now I've been using them for colours, fonts etc. but
I'm still using tables to control my layouts. I thought I make the leap
and go full CSS as much as possible.

Specifically I thought I try and pick up Cascading Style Sheets by Hakon
Wium Lie and Bert Bos.

-- 
John Lange
BigHostBox.com ltd
(204) 885 0872
Toll free: 1-866-690-8297




More information about the Roundtable mailing list