Dellio and books sold by Amazon

[Peter Giordano]

The following is from Amazon.com:     

                Underworld
                    by Don Delillo

                    Hardcover
                    List: $27.50 --
                    Amazon.com Price: $27.50 
                    Published by Scribner
                    Publication date: October 1997
                    ISBN: 0684842696

                    Not Yet Available: You may still order
                    this book. We will ship it to you when it is
                    released by the publisher.


Speaking of Amazon (where I easily spend $150 a month so that 
might give you a idea how I feel about them) - Did anybody
notice that Barnes & Noble is suing them for false advertising?

It seems that B&N doesn't like that they claim to be the world's
largest bookstore

In my opinion, they are (which is one of their delights) and they
give good service (but they will never be a substitute for the
home bookstore) - Did you know that they will sell just about any book
with an ISBN - They do not select the books on merit - You could
take photos of various piles your dogs left on various lawns and
once it were copyrighted and once you applied for the ISBN Amazon
would sell your book - That's both a good thing and a bad thing of
course - It's odd that Don Dillio's book is in the same store as
books on snots and farting (well, maybe it's not that odd)

Also, did you know that the "author" interviews in Amazon are
bogus? They are not interviews at all - Instead they are the results
of a form filled out by the author - So if you publish THE BIG LITTLE
BOOK OF SNOTS AND FARTS you can get on Amazon and interview
yourself online and manage to get yourself on the same page as
Roger Ebert and Elenor Clift (now there's a life long goal of mine)

Finally, did you know that Amazon invites reviews from readers -
I wonder what would happen if reviews published on this list of
books like say **** should be included there - It's an interesting
thought - ALL the subjects of a book get to review the book and
their reviews are guarenteed(sp?) publication - Now that may be
the first real innovation associated with **** - One can hear
the screams now

Peter Giordano
Williams College
Williamstown, MA