Do you buy books based on worst-case scenarios?

Marseille · 06-08-2011, 01:47 PM

My imagination made me a cheap kid to raise, but it has made adulthood more expensive. One of the few things that can overwhelm my cheapskate gene (thanks dad!) is my imagination. I've rescued the President (of course) with my knowledge of cryptographic history, defeated the yakuza with my knowledge of kung fu, economics and awareness of the law of inverse ninja power (the last was admittedly a freebie), solved crimes, saved damsels in distress and located the bomb just in time with my lie detection skills and met the girl of my dreams several times over with a grasp of various areas of trivia that I had on hand at just the right moment. And if I don't buy THAT book, I just know I'll live to regret it.

The urge is probably strengthened by my love of games that build character skills through in-game books, but is strangely unaffected by a lack of affirming feedback over the years.

Common dysfunction?

SeaBookGuy · 06-08-2011, 02:07 PM

You know what you mean to say here, but I honestly don't get the point?

Grigory · 06-08-2011, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

You know what you mean to say here, but I honestly don't get the point?

Translation: I always imagine worst-case scenarios and buy books for just such situations. Am I the only one that does that?

David, I used to be like that too.

Actually, I think people like us are the main reason all those "worst case survival guide" books are so popular. I quit hoarding them after my last move, though. I was moving to another town, and had to give away or sell ~95% of my books because it was either that or hiring a haul truck hahaha. Now I just google whatever I need to know, when I need it.

ardeegee · 06-08-2011, 06:49 PM

Is that sort of like buying an ebook reader that can store 20 years worth of reading in main memory instead of a mere 5 years worth, because you never know when you might be away from your computer for 20 years (but still have access to recharging?)

ApK · 06-08-2011, 07:03 PM

OMG, you are all so talking about me.

(My night stand drawer is equipped to help me survive if my bedroom is sucked through a wormhole while I sleep. Maybe I just read too much SF adventure at bedtime.)

RainingLemur · 06-08-2011, 07:06 PM

I have the 'Zombie Survival Guide' and 'Be Ready When The Sh*t Goes Down' for good reads while camping on the throne. I have often contemplated picking up a few other more practical guides just in case.

Marseille · 06-08-2011, 07:18 PM

There are plenty of skill or specialized knowledge books out there that I have no real use for, but with a little help from my imagination, I convince myself they are vital to... something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grigory

Actually, I think people like us are the main reason all those "worst case survival guide" books are so popular.

Indeed. My buys aren't always quite that on the nose, but they're definitely targeting people like me. You should try the Best-Case Scenario Handbook. I bet you'd get a kick out of it.

Quote:

Now I just google whatever I need to know, when I need it.

I've started hoarding links to instructables and the like, but of course, you'll want offline copies just in case.

JSWolf · 06-08-2011, 07:22 PM

I don't know of any books based on the worst case scenario which would be all publishers going agency forever and Apple becoming the dominant force in the eBook market with no way to ever strip the DRM.

ATDrake · 06-08-2011, 10:21 PM

I do this, but for paper books I want which are likely to become unavailable once the initial and sometimes only print run is sold out (reference/artbooks in specialized categories can have a surprisingly short shelf life, so I stock up if it's a subject area that interests me and the book looks good enough to keep upon flipthrough/Look Inside).

And I stock up on French translations of my favourite other-language sf/fantasy titles because those things tend to disappear fast, rarely to be seen, much less reprinted, again.

But not really for e-books, which are mainly fiction and usually available to me via other sources anyway (library, used). I do stock up on them during sales, when say Fictionwise has a deep-discount coupon and I can pick up the new backlist releases of $AUTHOR whom I like since the last time there was that good a promo coupon.

But's just discount splurging and I don't think I buy them for the sake of buying them "just in case".

Though it turns out I really ought to have done in the case of Mike Resnick's novels on Fictionwise (now nearly 40% more than the original MultiFormat FW pre-coupon price and DRM-ed from the new publisher), and the Subterranean Press stuff on Baen (withdrawn from catalogue a mere week before I was planning to splurge

).

06-08-2011, 01:47 PM	#1
Marseille Guru Posts: 687 Karma: 5700000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: kindle	Do you buy books based on worst-case scenarios? My imagination made me a cheap kid to raise, but it has made adulthood more expensive. One of the few things that can overwhelm my cheapskate gene (thanks dad!) is my imagination. I've rescued the President (of course) with my knowledge of cryptographic history, defeated the yakuza with my knowledge of kung fu, economics and awareness of the law of inverse ninja power (the last was admittedly a freebie), solved crimes, saved damsels in distress and located the bomb just in time with my lie detection skills and met the girl of my dreams several times over with a grasp of various areas of trivia that I had on hand at just the right moment. And if I don't buy THAT book, I just know I'll live to regret it. The urge is probably strengthened by my love of games that build character skills through in-game books, but is strangely unaffected by a lack of affirming feedback over the years. Common dysfunction?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Do You Buy Books Based on an Author's Bio?	dfigueroa	Reading Recommendations	24	10-15-2010 04:48 AM
PRS-650 Case Logic proective case on sale $10 at Best Buy	jswinden	Sony Reader	5	09-23-2010 04:26 PM
James Patterson Worst Case, free for limited edition PRS300 owners	King Antonius	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	0	12-26-2009 09:50 AM
Worst case customer handling?!	henrikb	iRex	50	10-11-2008 01:54 AM
Deciding on a device based on a particular use case	fryandlaurie	Which one should I buy?	6	11-20-2006 01:15 PM

06-08-2011, 02:07 PM	#2
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,015 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	You know what you mean to say here, but I honestly don't get the point?

06-08-2011, 06:49 PM	#4
ardeegee Maratus speciosus butt Posts: 3,292 Karma: 1162698 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-350	Is that sort of like buying an ebook reader that can store 20 years worth of reading in main memory instead of a mere 5 years worth, because you never know when you might be away from your computer for 20 years (but still have access to recharging?)

06-08-2011, 07:03 PM	#5
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,318 Karma: 67930154 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	OMG, you are all so talking about me. (My night stand drawer is equipped to help me survive if my bedroom is sucked through a wormhole while I sleep. Maybe I just read too much SF adventure at bedtime.)

06-08-2011, 07:06 PM	#6
RainingLemur Spork Connoisseur Posts: 2,355 Karma: 16780603 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Nook Color	I have the 'Zombie Survival Guide' and 'Be Ready When The Sh*t Goes Down' for good reads while camping on the throne. I have often contemplated picking up a few other more practical guides just in case.

06-08-2011, 07:22 PM	#8
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,987 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I don't know of any books based on the worst case scenario which would be all publishers going agency forever and Apple becoming the dominant force in the eBook market with no way to ever strip the DRM.

06-08-2011, 10:21 PM	#9
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	I do this, but for paper books I want which are likely to become unavailable once the initial and sometimes only print run is sold out (reference/artbooks in specialized categories can have a surprisingly short shelf life, so I stock up if it's a subject area that interests me and the book looks good enough to keep upon flipthrough/Look Inside). And I stock up on French translations of my favourite other-language sf/fantasy titles because those things tend to disappear fast, rarely to be seen, much less reprinted, again. But not really for e-books, which are mainly fiction and usually available to me via other sources anyway (library, used). I do stock up on them during sales, when say Fictionwise has a deep-discount coupon and I can pick up the new backlist releases of $AUTHOR whom I like since the last time there was that good a promo coupon. But's just discount splurging and I don't think I buy them for the sake of buying them "just in case". Though it turns out I really ought to have done in the case of Mike Resnick's novels on Fictionwise (now nearly 40% more than the original MultiFormat FW pre-coupon price and DRM-ed from the new publisher), and the Subterranean Press stuff on Baen (withdrawn from catalogue a mere week before I was planning to splurge ).

Advert

Advert