I have a $50 Barnes and Noble Gift Card...

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

I don't know the difference btwn paperback and mass market paperback. Go with the cheaper one, I'ld say.

And definitely the Game of Throne Ice and Fire series is much more about political intrigue then the fantasy elements.

Highly recommended by me and if memory serves RAH and others. I wouldn't steer you wrong buddy.

[Imran Siddiqui]

In a bookstore I was reading Neil Gamain's "American Gods". I read up to Chapter 5-ish (so I know who "Wednesday" is supposed to be). It seemed interesting... is it worth getting the book to finish up the story? I've heard decent things about it, but it is very strange in its topic.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Btw, meaning to ask... what really is the difference between "Paperback" and "Mass Market Paperback"? For Game of Throne of the Ice and Fire series, the Paperback seems to be a larger book (less pages) and a nicer cover. The Mass Market Paperback is, of course, more pages and seems to be the cookie cutter paperback size with a worse cover.

Any real differences except the sizes of the books and the covers? Ie, anything to justify the $5 more that the Paperback version is simply because it is a bigger book?

IIUC mass market paperbacks are generally marketed in drug stores, variety stores, etc, while "trade paperbacks" are generally sold through bookstores. Im not sure if that distinction is still clear, what with Walmart and all.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I've been thinking about getting on of the Ice and Fire books (the first one, of course) to see if I like it. I normally don't get too much into fantasy novels which take themselves way too seriously... but if it is more based on political drama, sounds like it may be fun.

It's really good political drama, too.

[dudemanjack]

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=Fh2vorvBcX&endeca=1&isbn=076071679X&itm=5

[ajbera]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Hmmm... I'm thinking that $13 of the $50 may be the paperback one volume version of the "Chronicles of Narnia", which I've been meaning to read.

Excellent idea. Wonderful, classic stories.

If you like Lovecraft, a collection of his Cthulhu mythos stories, The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre, is available for about $13.

I have about $65 in Borders gift cards left (I always get about $200 worth for Christmas), debating whether to get the Silmarillion on CD audiobook, or the 5th season of Oz.

[chequita guevara]

Re: I have a $50 Barnes and Noble Gift Card...

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
What should I spend it on?

Me.

[Hueij]

Next on my list is The Divinci Code for no better reason than I have nothing else to read.

Don't... If you pay for delivery costs you can have my copy for free. What a waste of money

[Kuciwalker]

If you're thinking of buying the Da Vinci Code, get the Rule of Four instead. It's like the Da Vinci Code except it doesn't suck.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
In a bookstore I was reading Neil Gamain's "American Gods". I read up to Chapter 5-ish (so I know who "Wednesday" is supposed to be). It seemed interesting... is it worth getting the book to finish up the story? I've heard decent things about it, but it is very strange in its topic.

Its a very good book.

You could always get Good Omen's, which was cowritten by Gaiman and Pratchett.

On the paperback issue, its a different in size and quality: mass market are the smaller ones on cheaper stock. Much cheaper to mass manufacture and flood the market with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_market_paperback

A mass market paperback is a small, non-illustrated, and relatively cheap version of a book, usually coming out after the hardback and often sold in airports and supermarkets as well as in bookstores.

Mass market paperbacks are distinguished from hardbacks also by the different business practices that publishers and booksellers apply to them. When booksellers note that books have been in stock a while and have not sold, they may return them to the publisher for a refund or credit on future orders. However, in the case of mass market paperbacks, this "return" usually means stripping the front cover, returning that for credit, and pulping the book itself. Changes in the costs of printing relative to the costs of shipping have led to the creation of trade paperbacks, which are similar in format to mass market paperbacks, but larger (near hardback size) and with different returns policies applied to them.

The mass market paperbacks sold in airport newsstands have given rise to the vaguely defined literary genre of the "airport novel", bought by travellers to while away the hours of sitting and waiting.

[Imran Siddiqui]

You could always get Good Omen's, which was cowritten by Gaiman and Pratchett.

Have it . My first look into Gaiman, though it seems more Pratchett-y . It make me interested in 'American Gods' in the first place.

ajbera, never read any Lovecraft. I've heard good and bad about him and I'm not sure which to believe .

GePap, thanks for the paperback/mass market distinction. I should have guessed that wikipedia was the place to go .

[molly bloom]

Re: I have a $50 Barnes and Noble Gift Card...

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
What should I spend it on?

Basically this is a what book should I read next (or DVD I should buy I guess).

'The Renaissance Bazaar' by Jeffrey Brotton, if you're feeling studious. It has lovely pictures, but no scratch n' sniff I'm afraid.

It guides the reader through the key issues that defined the period, from its art, architecture, and literature, to advancements in the fields of science, trade, and travel. In its incisive account of the complexities of the political and religious upheavals of the period, the book argues that Europe's reciprocal relationship with its eastern neighbours offers us a timely perspective on the Renaissance as a moment of global inclusiveness that still has much to teach us today.

Features

A brilliant account of Europe's great flowering and the pivotal role played by Europe's fertile contacts with the East

Reviews

".. a young Turk who likes to entertain . . . Brotton's book is full of arts and crafts . . .engaging and alluring . . .This is a Renaissance you can touch and feel"--Sunday Times

"energetic and committed agenda"--Financial Times

"offers some impressive fresh evidence"--Independent



Dr Jerry Brotton is a Lecturer in English at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is the author of Trading Territories: Mapping the Early Modern World (Reaktion, London, 1997 and Cornell University Press, 1998), and with Lisa Jardine, Global Interests: Renaissance Art between East and West (Reaktion, London, 2000).

http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryWorld/European/?ci=0192802658&view=usa

Or the groovy Goldfrapp or St Etienne dvds:

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=17972

St Etienne's muscial and cinematic paean to London;

Goldfrapp live at Somerset House:

http://www.mutelibtech.com/goldfrapp/

Wonderful electric.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I almost thought, molly, that after our debates with the anti-Africa crowd in the Civ4 forums, you'd recommend me a book on African culture . Though I do like European history. I guess I still have to read all my law books I should have read while in school ( ) about the Law and Reformation... the Reformation being one of my favorite periods in history (along with the Papal Revolution (aka The Investiture Crisis). Though I can get interested in Renaissance stuff .

[St Leo]

If a Mass-Market PaperBack doesn't sell, it is ground into pulp and the cover is sent back to the publisher so that the publisher will compensate the retailer for it not selling. That's why they all have warnings in front about not buying coverless books.

Trade Paperbacks aren't supposed to be pulped.

[SlowwHand]

Spend it on a grande size cafe latte to-go.
Depends on the tax in your area on whether you'll have to add any to supplement the card.