I realize stalking me can be a tough job, so I'd like to reduce the workload by sharing more pictures of the places that make up my world.
Here we have Barnes n' Noble. When this store opened I could hardly believe it. Reading around here was usually restricted to "Smile when you say Alabamy!" bumper stickers, but some Barnes n' Noble researcher must've looked at a chart and detected a small-but-growing demographic of literacy.
Though I've only occasionally bought things there (most notably three different copies of the same Howard Stern biography, and a library of Rachel Ray books for Mom), I love to go there on a weekly basis just to soak in the ambiance. (Borders executives take note: that's what Barnes n' Noble has on Borders, big-time -- ambiance. Barnes n' Noble feels like I'm going to some old, classy bookstore. Borders feels like I'm back in my sixth-grade library. Try getting some ambiance and I might stop in Borders more than a couple of times a year.)
Biggest Barnes n' Noble bargain grab:
U2 by U2 in hardcover for $7.99 from the bargain table when the softcover edition was selling for $25 in the music section.
Before we hit Barnes n' Noble, though, the first stop is CD Warehouse, also known as Disc-Go-Round, but usually referred to as "the used CD store." My collection has increased dramatically since this place opened. Trophies include:
- Metallica's Live Shit: Binge n' Purge in very near mint condition for $10 when a copy in similar shape goes for $50 anywhere else.
- Moby Grape's Vintage: The Very Best of Moby Grape for about $12 when it sells for $25 and higher on the Internet.
- Humble Pie's As Safe as Yesterday Is, also in great shape and for 1/5 Internet prices.
Funniest memory: They had Ratt's first CD,
Out of the Cellar, in mint condition for just $5.99 so I couldn't resist. However I was a bit embarrassed to be seen buying hair metal, so at the register I explained I was having some 7th grade nostalgia.
Sensing my embarrassment the cashier said, "I can put that in a plain brown paper bag if you want." Classic!
Yep, so that's a big slice of my life right there. Pretty exciting, huh? You bet it is!
Written circa Oct. 27, 2008
