Electric Josh

I decided that it was finally time to go buy a real paper version of a book I've been reading in pieces online, and went to the Barnes & Noble website to see if I might just drive five minutes up the street and grab a copy off the shelf. It appeared possible. I did not get a copy: the book was not on the shelf; the clerk I asked said, "Oh, the web site doesn't have the same stuff as the stores," which I presume to mean that Barnes & Noble has decided to ensure that the shopping experience they provide is even crappier than that at the exceptionally crowded Borders in the mall across the street from work, where buying books is an annoying exercise that is nevertheless fast due to the presence of kiosk-style computers that one can use to search the physical store for a particular title. The book is kind of expensive (or, if I can't find a copy, I suppose, free), but not as overpriced as music sold in stores. At any rate, that was a solid thirty minutes of my evening down the crapper, and I therefore have decided to declare myself pretty much all done going to physical stores that aren't within walking distance of either work or home. I may make exceptions for food or medicine. Maybe there's somewhere in Cambridge I can buy my book.
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