Guess What...

[-Carlos-]

I was given a $100 gift card to Barnes and Noble (for X-mas) and these are the books I am thinking of getting. Tell me what you think.

Dinosaurs (Encyclopedia Prehistorica Series) by Robert Sabuda, (an X-Mas gift for my friends kid)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
A Lesson before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Door into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein

Is this a good list?

 

[RedGlazzies]

that is indeed a good list but here's something to consider:

if you've got $100 for barnes and noble, why not try and buy books that you probably wouldn't find or find cheaper in a used book store. i say this because two of the books on your list i just saw in really nice condition at a used book store today for a buck each. whereas other books you are bound to never find in good condition at used bookstores. books by lesser known authors or books that get swiped up quickly. at b&n, you will be paying full price, so make sure its worth it.

just trying to get you to think about your investment that's all.

 

[Tasku]

I think buying a book is always a good investment, even if overpriced.

$25 for a book at Barnes and Noble (I'm guessing it's an American bookstore?) will give a share to the writer or atleast up his / her sales so that he / she will get published more in the future, and therefore is an investment in itself. Buying it for two bucks from the used bookstore on the other hand only benefits your own reading habit...



Now that I've written it up on screen, it sounds a little silly, but that's how I've always thought about buying books. Then again, I never was very careful with money - there'll always be another pay day...

As for your list, I really can't say. None of them ring a bell to me, except the classics, which I'm not really into reading.

Dinosaurs are cool though.

 

[chuephödli]

The only one I can recommend whole-heartedly is A Hundred Years of Solitude.

I couldn't agree more with RedGlazzies, though: do not buy stuff expensively that you can very easily buy for a fraction elsewhere.

 

[silverseason]

You have a good list, but don't plan to spend it all. Part of the fun of a bookstore gift card is just browsing around in the store with "money" in your pocket. You are sure to see something you had not thought of.

 

[sparkchaser]

I'd peruse the bargain area for stuff. Also check out to see if B&N has the buy 2 get 1 free on their B&N Classics. Sometimes they run that special.

 

[-Carlos-]

I called my local used book store and they do not have any of the books available. Ooh well guess I have no choice...I need to buy them new.

 

[unKeMPt]

One Hundred Years of Solitude and Invisible Man are two of my favorite books ever.