# The Grumpy Old Men and Women Thread



## OurJud (Aug 12, 2013)

When amazon marketsellers fail to notify buyers, in the product details, that the cover on the book they're selling is NOT the same as the one on the main order page :grumpy:

I ordered this beauty a couple of days ago







And today received this god-awful thing: 






God how I _HATE_ movie tie-in covers!!!


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## JEvershen (Aug 12, 2013)

Agreed and I know people will say it's only a cover but I think you should get the one you ordered.
I too dislike it if a book is made into a movie and that's the only cover you ever see.


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## philistine (Aug 12, 2013)

I'll admit to being irked by this once or twice. 

What's even more irritating is buying a book which, by all descriptions, seems to be in English, but upon arrival, is actually in the work's original language. I have quite a few foreign texts due to that.


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## TheYellowMustang (Aug 12, 2013)

I hate them too. The actors who played the characters in the movie and the characters described in the book are not the same, so it just feels wrong to me. A movie-adaption of a book is a few people's, or maybe even just one person's vision of how the story and characters looked.. And that one person is usually not even the author. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but the cover is still a part of the book. 

Keep books and their movie adaptions separated, that's my opinion.


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## WechtleinUns (Aug 12, 2013)

You know what I hate? Books with photograph covers in general. I always feel like I'm getting some sort of cheap knock-off version. Also, I hate laminated covers. I much prefer covers with heavy textured card stock. Ah, but that's me.


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## Myers (Aug 12, 2013)

WechtleinUns said:


> You know what I hate? Books with photograph  covers in general. I always feel like I'm getting some sort of cheap  knock-off version.



To me, an abstract, conceptual photographic cover is just fine. An object or something that suggests a setting. There are some that are really nice. An image that is a literal depiction of a character or scene; I don't like that at all. And movie covers are the worst.


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## OurJud (Aug 12, 2013)

WechtleinUns said:


> You know what I hate? Books with photograph covers in general.



Isn't that about 75% of all books?

Covers like this make me want to vomit


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## TheYellowMustang (Aug 12, 2013)

OurJud said:


> Isn't that about 75% of all books?
> 
> Covers like this make me want to vomit



I know! _That_ style ^ right there can make me, and _have_ made me, not want to read a book, even though it's been recommended to me.


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## Kevin (Aug 12, 2013)

@ Our jud- hahaha...( I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at them)   reminds me of when I ordered _1001 Toy Soldiers_ from the back of a comic book.  I nearly cried when I opened the package... At least you could just rip the cover off. Maybe tear it to pieces and send it back with a note.


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## OurJud (Aug 22, 2013)

When amazon marketplace sellers give a stupidly long delivery window. I don't mind this if it's for overseas delivery, but when it's within mainland UK there's just no justification for it.

I placed an order for two books on the 11th August, one of which arrived over a week ago. Today, there was still no sign of the other so I dropped them an email explaining all this and that I think it's safe to assume it has been 'lost' in the post - 'lost' in this case being a euphemism for 'stolen by the Royal Mail staff', of course. They replied saying I need to wait until the 27th before they'll process a refund.

Idiots!


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## escorial (Aug 22, 2013)

I buy second hand books on amazon..hardbacks an they never come with dustcovers.


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## philistine (Aug 22, 2013)

OurJud said:


> When amazon marketplace sellers give a stupidly long delivery window. I don't mind this if it's for overseas delivery, but when it's within mainland UK there's just no justification for it.
> 
> I placed an order for two books on the 11th August, one of which arrived over a week ago. Today, there was still no sign of the other so I dropped them an email explaining all this and that I think it's safe to assume it has been 'lost' in the post - 'lost' in this case being a euphemism for 'stolen by the Royal Mail staff', of course. They replied saying I need to wait until the 27th before they'll process a refund.
> 
> Idiots!



Have you ever used abebooks before? I used to find mine from both Amazon and eBay (the latter for more prized, antique editions), though I buy all my reading copies from abebooks now. I've done searches, and it in most circumstances it yields the cheapest copies. Not once have I had an issue with delivery, either, and I've ordered 200+ books from there.


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## ppsage (Aug 22, 2013)

> Have you ever used abebooks before? I used to find mine from both Amazon and eBay (the latter for more prized, antique editions), though I buy all my reading copies from abebooks now. I've done searches, and it in most circumstances it yields the cheapest copies. Not once have I had an issue with delivery, either, and I've ordered 200+ books from there.


Amen. Though I have to struggle mightily to stay under the 200 book-line. If you like real books, this is a dangerous place. Speaking of which, I'm currently boycotting one of the sellers in St Louis (MO), Silver Arch or something, for sending me a paperback of the 2005 Best American Short Stories instead of the hardback, which I could swear is what was advertised. Now my collection has a low spot. But I can easily remedy by gifting and reordering; just not from whichever seller's name first reminds me of the one I can't remember but am boycotting. Talk about old and grumpy. pp.


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## OurJud (Aug 22, 2013)

philistine said:


> Have you ever used abebooks before?



No, I haven't. Amazon is just so handy for me I never think about trying anywhere else. I'm always logged in and can have pretty much any book ordered within seconds.

I think I shall have to give abe's a look see, though, as I'm sick of failed deliveries from amazon.

Having said that, I don't think it's amazon who are at fault, but rather the God-awful Royal Mail. The sooner they're privatised the better!


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## Staff Deployment (Aug 22, 2013)

A problem with ordering books online is that it's difficult to judge how physically "big" the book will be, dimensions-wise rather than pagecount.

I ordered "Embassytown" and "House of Leaves" recently and both of them are _huge_, like literally 11 inches tall and five inches wide.


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## OurJud (Aug 23, 2013)

Staff Deployment said:


> A problem with ordering books online is that it's difficult to judge how physically "big" the book will be, dimensions-wise rather than pagecount.



96% of the time, Amazon have the book dimensions in the product details. It's usually only the rare, one-off copies with no image that lack this detail.


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## philistine (Aug 23, 2013)

Staff Deployment said:


> A problem with ordering books online is that it's difficult to judge how physically "big" the book will be, dimensions-wise rather than pagecount.
> 
> I ordered "Embassytown" and "House of Leaves" recently and both of them are _huge_, like literally 11 inches tall and five inches wide.



I've only had this problem once before, and it was when ordering from Amazon. I ordered a particularly uncommon edition of Lucretius' work, and it being a print on demand copy, they send me this whacking great A4 book! I didn't expect that. Other sites usually give some kind of indication, either by including the traditional sizing, i.e: octavo, or simply by stating the dimensions. You could always research the publisher on Google and see if other sites have the sizes listed.


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## Staff Deployment (Aug 23, 2013)

Well it doesn't help that I'm terrible at estimating sizes by empirical measurements.

The books are the height of three coffee mugs and as long as a sharpie and a half.


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## Ariel (Aug 25, 2013)

I hate loaning my books to other people.  I own (and quite enjoyed) the Harry Potter series.  When the fifth book came out I had had it on pre-order--so of course it is hardback. I read it in a matter of days.  My cousin, who was waiting on her book, asked to borrow mine.  I was shocked.  Shocked! When I caught her take the book in both hands and bend back the binding.  Her reasoning?  "It makes the book lie flat."

To this day the book has this horrible crack between the pages where she did that and I can't afford to replace the book.  That was the last time I loaned a book to her.  (Another cousin of mine borrowed a bunch of my paperbacks and loaned them all to her and I haven't gotten them back--it's been two years).


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## philistine (Aug 25, 2013)

amsawtell said:


> I hate loaning my books to other people.  I own (and quite enjoyed) the Harry Potter series.  When the fifth book came out I had had it on pre-order--so of course it is hardback. I read it in a matter of days.  My cousin, who was waiting on her book, asked to borrow mine.  I was shocked.  Shocked! When I caught her take the book in both hands and bend back the binding.  Her reasoning?  "It makes the book lie flat."
> 
> To this day the book has this horrible crack between the pages where she did that and I can't afford to replace the book.  That was the last time I loaned a book to her.  (Another cousin of mine borrowed a bunch of my paperbacks and loaned them all to her and I haven't gotten them back--it's been two years).



Hehe. I'm a spine bender myself, so can't really speak against it. But I'd never dream of doing it to a book that wasn't mine; i.e: one I'd borrowed off a friend, family member, etc.

On the topic of lending books, I've lent about twenty to my fellow writer and best friend over the past few years- some of them very nice editions- and I know I'll never see them again. I know he's taking good care of them, though I think the feeling is universal when I say that it's quite difficult to just say, 'yeah, you know all those books I gave you? I want them back. Right now'. 

Bugger.


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## Ariel (Aug 25, 2013)

I'm a bit of a bibliophile.  I couldn't be a librarian because I'd be angry over people defacing and destroying all those lovely books.  I understand wear and tear--I'm fairly hard on books myself--but I heard the spine crack when she did it.  I'll have to pull it out and post up a picture of it for all of you.  It's pretty heart-wrenching.


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## philistine (Aug 25, 2013)

amsawtell said:


> I'm a bit of a bibliophile.  I couldn't be a librarian because I'd be angry over people defacing and destroying all those lovely books.  I understand wear and tear--I'm fairly hard on books myself--but I heard the spine crack when she did it.  I'll have to pull it out and post up a picture of it for all of you.  It's pretty heart-wrenching.



Bibliobibulus, checking in.

It's why the library I'm currently amassing no longer has any books checked out. I say library, in reality it's more of a reading sanctuary. Library, after all, implies sharing.

About the spine cracking, are you referring to the glue breaking like a piece of plastic? I sometimes straighten the spines out in order to get a 'flatter' book for reading, though some of those paperbacks from the 1960s have glued spines which have turned practically solid. One strong press at the centre of the book and you start hearing a very loud 'snap'!


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## Staff Deployment (Aug 25, 2013)




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## OurJud (Aug 25, 2013)

I don't like hardbacks and very much like the look and feel of a well-used paperback, so long as it's sound.


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## Ariel (Aug 25, 2013)

This, _this_ is what my cousin did to my book.

Edit: the picture exceeds my quota so uploading it isn't happening.  

Anyway, there is a visible separation at 180 pages into the book.  I can fit my pinkie into the crack and I can see the back of the cloth binding.


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## OurJud (Aug 25, 2013)

I don't see anything?

Oops, I missed your second line.

Just upload it to tinypic and then use the forum's 'insert image' tag.


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## WechtleinUns (Aug 26, 2013)

I read a lot of technical books, so hard-cover isn't much of an option for me with those. I actually like paperbacks, because they are easier to handle, are cheaper, and just more practical. Of course, I'll take what I can get, and I've got some really neat hard-covers. Ah, well.

:edit:

Oh, and w007! XKCD!!!


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## qwertyman (Aug 27, 2013)

Sorry to interrupt. It's kind of on topic with spine snapping an' all, and anyway I figure this is that kind of thread.

 I've just been listening to the wireless (yes, wireless) and I heard the following. 

Farmers in Norway, when they go out into the fields at night, put Ryvita down their wellies. 'Parently badgers will grab them by the shins and won't let go until they hear the bone crack. The Ryvita is there to provide the appropriate sound effect.

Sorry no pics.

Just thought I'd share.


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