The Sword and Laser discussion

Not me. I wouldn’t say you’re highly neurotic, though. Like, just regular neurotic.

...what? You can’t set me up like that. :p

Solution: just spend the two hundred dollars! What else are you gonna do with that money, huh? Waste it on frivolities like food?

I am always paralyzed at the bookstore no matter what I'm listening to.

In my youth, visits to the Science Fantasy Bookstore (Cambridge MA) always resulted in every spare dollar being spent on books. Fortunately trolley passes were by the month or I might have occasionally had to walk the four miles home as I had not a cent remaining when I left!

John (Taloni) wrote: "Fortunately trolley passes were by the month or I might have occasionally had to walk the four miles home as I had not a cent remaining when I left! "

Trolley passes? Did you pass many a speakeasy on your sojourn home after dropping all your voot on the latest book by F. Scott Fitzgerald, dewdropper?

Back in the day (when I was young and had first moved to the Twin Cities) I was thrilled to discover Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore. And for several years, I'd go there more-or-less on a weekly basis and leave with an entire grocery sack full of used paperbacks (plus new paperbacks and new hardcovers), some of which still sit unread upon my shelves.

I don't think I've ever left a bookstore without buying at least one book - even if I went there specifically for one particular book and didn't find it :)

I tend to grab 7-8 books, then I take a few minutes to read the description, look at the cover, think about what I've been reading and what I'm currently in the mood for, maybe read the first couple pages of them - all that to narrow it down to 2/3/4 (whatever I've decided is my limit) and I put the other ones back on the shelf for next time.

I rarely go into brick and mortar bookstores any more since I primarily read on my Kindle, but I stopped in a few months ago while waiting for my mother at the doctor's office, and ended up with two very pretty short story collections - Robots vs. Fairies and The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales - that will look nice on the shelf after I've read them. Looks aren't a priority when you read digitally, lol, but now they count for me since the only paper books I'll buy is those I'd want to keep for show also.

When I'm in the bookstore, I try to think of what's been in the "What Are You Reading?" thread and anything that's been mentioned on the podcast lately. I rarely walk out empty handed.

Lol, yes, happens all the time. The real struggle is when I get home and put my kids to bed and have to decide which one to actually start.

I have the same problem and my answer is to pit one appetite against another. You may not want to go grocery shopping when you're hungry but I've found that's a great time to go book shopping! I try to shop for books right before lunch so that I know I only have a 30-40 min to do as much damage as possible to my credit card before I'm lured out of store by a need for Thai food.

I live near one of the Barnes & Noble stores that serves real food—and alcohol. It’s so dangerous.

terpkristin wrote: "I live near one of the Barnes & Noble stores that serves real food—and alcohol. It’s so dangerous."

“Ugh... my head. What, uh, what happened?”
“You went to Barnes & Noble on Ladies Night.”
“Oh no. What did I do?”
“You danced on the counter and then bought science books for everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“We had to take out a second mortgage.”
“Oh god. Damn you, craft beer!”

Sounds plausible