NEW YORK, 7:20 AM, WED JUL 9 | 20 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@consumerist.com | RSS
Posts Tagged “

Books

”
frugality

5 Thrifty Lessons From Post-Apocalyptic Novel "The Road"

I'm in the middle of reading The Road, and couldn't help draw 5 lessons about frugality from Cormac McCarthy's tale of a father and son scrapping out their survival in the middle of post-Apocalyptic America.

1. Use what you do have creatively
You have no shoes. Yet, you have a suit jacket, a box cutter, and the lining in the suit jacket. Combine them and you have serviceable foot coverings. Similarly, a metal pipe fitted with a length of chain makes an excellent truncheon.

More »

3:01 PM on Wed Jun 11 2008
By Ben Popken
19,244 views, 82 comments

complaint letters

Professional Complaint Letter Writer Shares His Secrets

"Praise with faint damn" is the underlying secret to how professional complaint letter writer Bruce Silverman is able to be so successful in getting companies to give him free stuff. First class upgrades, Room upgrades with views of frolicking whales, Checks for hundreds of dollars... all these and more are the fruits of Bruce's calculated typewriter clacking. Now Bruce has come out with a small book with a big promise: to teach you How To Complaint For Fun And Profit. Here's a chapter from it, exclusively on The Consumerist, detailing how he was able to turn a disappointing experience at the Ritz-Carlton in Hawaii into a long-term stream of room upgrades, comped meals, and decidedly above and beyond customer service... More »

3:05 PM on Tue Jun 3 2008
By Ben Popken
29,247 views, 70 comments

Latest by n/a: Here's some background information that may be of interest for those speculating about the timing of the author's Ritz-Carlton Kapalua visit. First, John Toner (one of the classiest Hawaii hoteliers around) hasn't been GM there since the early part of more »

retail

Borders Launches A Website With A "Magic Shelf"

Borders has finally decided to launch its own website (previously, its online business had been handled by Amazon.com). CEO George Jones says: More »

10:20 AM on Tue May 27 2008
By Meg Marco
6,393 views, 23 comments

Here's a list of 21 recommended finance books for people at every level of financial experience, from novice to "I could have written that." [SavingAdvice]

1 comment

Borders, the second largest bookstore chain, may try to sell itself to someone. [NYT]

4 comments

Borders is going to decrease its inventory by 5-10% in order to allow room for more books to be displayed with their covers face-out. Malcolm Gladwell will be so pleased. [Wall Street Journal]

14 comments

money

Money For Dummies Book Display Reveals State Of The Union

With all the swirling confusion about whether or not we're in a recession, this Barnes & Noble display completely devoted to Money For Dummies books is a clarion blast of yellow: we're in deep doggy doo. This wasn't simply in the business and finance section, mind you, this was the window display.

(Thanks to c-side!)

9:12 AM on Tue Mar 11 2008
By Ben Popken
3,526 views, 67 comments

harsh

6 Days In Jail For Overdue Library Books

Beloit, Wisconsin does not f*&% around when it comes to library books. When your books aren't returned to the Beloit Public Library, three overdue notices are mailed out and then you may be issued a citation that could possibly include a court date. More »

5:11 PM on Mon Mar 3 2008
By Meg Marco
9,321 views, 100 comments

marketing

Product Placement In Tween Lit Is "Another Opportunity For Authenticity"

Our sister site, Jezebel, has posted something awesome about the product placement that's infiltrated the teen lit genre. One particularly sad example features a character called "Mackenzie Blue" whose tastes seem to be for sale before the books have even been written. More »

4:15 PM on Wed Feb 20 2008
By Meg Marco
3,487 views, 26 comments

free

Oprah Giving Away Women & Money!

Now you don't have to dress up in corporate casual-wear and spend half the day screaming in a studio audience to get something free from Oprah, because for the next day she's giving away digital versions of Suze Orman's new book "Women & Money" on her website, from now until 8/7c February 14th. Downloads are available in English and Spanish versions, PDF only. More »

6:04 PM on Wed Feb 13 2008
By Chris Walters
6,730 views, 56 comments

insiders

Barnes & Noble Limited Receipt Policy Won't Go National Until October?

A Barnes & Noble insider tell us the new policy limiting returns to 14 days with receipts won't go in effect nationally until October, according to CEO Steve Riggio's internal blog.. The policy is currently in testing in New York, New Jersey, California, and Virginia. "The point is to eliminate "customers" who empty their bookshelves of books they've owned for years and get store credit. The company line is "to bring our policy in line with other national retailers," the insider tells The Consumerist. However, "the ability to "extend" the policy beyond the 14 days will be up to the compassion of the store/manager you encounter." Looks like all you non-VA-CA-NY-NJ shysters have until October to ply your fiendish book return schemes.

6:51 PM on Tue Feb 12 2008
By Ben Popken
2,252 views, 45 comments

Latest by wildness: @StevieD: Not anymore with this policy - California stores (and possibly others as well) had already done away with return for credit - they would mail the credit to you - but you could still do a return for replacement more »

receipts

Barnes & Noble To Downgrade Return Policy: Receipts Always Required

UPDATE: Barnes & Noble Limited Receipt Policy Won't Go National Until October

It used to be that Barnes & Noble would take back just about any item at any time with or without a receipt. That won't be the case for much longer, a flyer at Barnes & Noble bookstores announces that the store is downgrading its super-friendly return policy on March 3rd to the following: "All returns must be made within 14 days of purchase and accompanied with an original sales receipt. After 14 days or without an original sales receipt, returns will not be permitted (nor permitted to exchange)." First Target, now Barnes & Noble, could this be the start of a trend? Full scan of the flyer, inside...

More »

8:00 AM on Tue Feb 12 2008
By Ben Popken
4,303 views, 80 comments

drm

Adobe Won't Fix DRM Screw-Up Rendering E-Books Unreadable

If you use Leopard on a Mac and plan on buying e-books, be very careful—according to the various complaints on this thread, Adobe's Digital Editions still doesn't work on Leopard, and yet most places selling Digital Editions e-books won't warn you of this, leaving you with activated books you can't return but also can't read. More »

8:32 PM on Thu Feb 7 2008
By Chris Walters
2,231 views, 24 comments

how to

30 Free Ebooks On Personal Finance

Mint has gathered 30 of what they consider the best free personal finance ebooks around, grouped into categories like "Basics," "Saving & Investing," and "Security & Privacy." We like this free ebook concept—every time we post a list of great finance books, we think about the whole crazy self-help industry, with its sales pitch that you can improve your lot in life if you just spend twenty more dollars. Download these PDF files and keep your money for other things.
More »

12:23 PM on Mon Jan 28 2008
By Chris Walters
2,431 views, 3 comments

Latest by lizzybee: I'm sorry-- I'm trying not to laugh hysterically at MINT advising people about privacy and security. And I'm failing. Miserably. more »

books

The Fakery Behind Amazon's "Top 10 Reviewers"

Amazon reviews, especially the effusive ones, have always been suspect—you never know when a five-star review came from an employee, publicist, or marketing type. Slate describes the dishonest world of Amazon's "Top 10 Reviewers," where a small group of writers churn out purple-prosed blurbs and jacket-ready compliments at an astounding rate, sometimes for a fee. In turn, these reviewers are inundated with a sort of fame as well as free merchandise—mostly books in the past, but now electronics and other goods. Because good reviews sell more books, Amazon has no incentive to weed out the reviewers who have turned the system into a cottage industry. We suggest you disregard any review with a "Top 10 Reviewer" label on it. More »

11:42 AM on Thu Jan 24 2008
By Chris Walters
4,590 views, 25 comments

Latest by nardo218: So you can get paid for being a Top 10 Reviewer? Starving artist willing to sell out, here. more »

censorship

Uproar Over Tiny Illustration Of Naked Statue In Children's Book

A German author and her publisher were thrilled when a U.S. publisher inquired about putting out a North American edition of one of her bestselling children's books... until the U.S. publisher asked the author to airbrush some of her illustrations. More »

8:50 AM on Fri Jan 18 2008
By Meg Marco
10,403 views, 109 comments

shopping

On The Final Day Of The Barnes & Noble's Existence, Chaos

The above photo was snapped on the final day in the life of the Astor Place Barnes & Noble in New York City. More »

11:30 PM on Thu Jan 3 2008
By Meg Marco
14,836 views, 44 comments

truth in advertising

Chuck Norris: "I Can't Do All That Stuff"

Chuck Norris is suing publisher Penguin and author Ian Spector over the book "The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 facts about the World's Greatest Human". Among other claims, the suit states that the "book's title would mislead readers into thinking the facts were true." This means that apparently Chuck Norris cannot cure your cancer with his tears, he did not create a giraffe by uppercutting a horse, and he cannot speak braille. If only Kevin Trudeau could be so honest. More »

2:09 PM on Mon Dec 24 2007
By Chris Walters
10,080 views, 55 comments

Latest by n/a: I happen to know Chuck Norris and he is one of the two most straight-arrow humans I have ever met. He knows this stuff is a joke and ridiculous. All the same, as a public figure whose name more »

next »