Completing an order

[Hyde]

I need $15 dollars to clear free shipping on my amazon order. Any suggestions for some good books, maybe? Or crap in general?

[Tebryn]

I need $15 dollars to clear free shipping on my amazon order. Any suggestions for some good books, maybe? Or crap in general?

A Song of Ice and Fire is always a good bet. A few cook books could help you on your way as well. Even if you can't use them now, there's always the future to keep in mind.

[Don Julio Anejo]

An airline headphone adapter so you don't have to pay to use crappy airline headphones.

Some neodymium magnets. They're just fun to play with.

Dresden Files/Harry Potter/ASoIaF (as mentioned above).

Better headphones (ex: I got myself Sony MDR-V6 for $50 in December, if you can get them for 70 or less, go for it.. they run for $180+ in real-life stores).

A USB flash drive/printer toner/batteries. Or any other stuff you'll probably use later but is too much of a hassle to order by itself on Amazon.

[GnomeFighter]

The laundry files books. Very good series.

[Palanan]

I'm happy to offer some book recommendations, if you're looking for something in particular.

Let me know what kind of books you like, or topics and such, and I can suggest a few things.

[AttilaTheGeek]

Dice. Always More Dice.

[Jay R]

Unless the postage is more than $15, this is a losing strategy.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Unless the postage is more than $15, this is a losing strategy.
Not really. If shipping is like 5 bucks, you lose 5 bucks. If you spend $15 on something you need, you get something you need. The catch is not to buy useless junk.

[Douglas]

The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. It's a good introduction to my favorite author.

[Hyde]

Yeah, I don't really intend to buy something I wouldn't normally, I'm just between book releases atm and I'm looking to get into something new.

That said, the magnets do seem completely superfluous but are awfully tempting.

[Zorg]

I guess you could say they're a...

*puts on sunglasses*

very attractive option.

*Yeaaahhhhh!!*

[thubby]

name of the wind/a wise man's fears.
just go read it. now.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by douglas
The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. It's a good introduction to my favorite author.

I bought the first book in this series the day before leaving for a work trip; I figured it would be a good way to pass a few hours waiting for a connecting flight.

I was two hundred pages into it before I even left for the airport. I finished it in my hotel room, walked a couple blocks to the local B&N, and dove right into the second one. I had to discipline myself not to bring it into the office where I was working. Bought the third the day I got home.

If you want to just sample Brandon Sanderson without committing to a full trilogy, take a look at Warbreaker, which is a stand-alone novel that's engaging and excellent. Elantris is another stand-alone, which was his first published novel; also an absorbing read, although Warbreaker is more smoothly structured.

And if you want to go all out, there's The Way of Kings, which is colossal in its own right and the first in another series. Sanderson has a knack for devising really interesting systems of magic--and beyond this, some well-thought-out cultures that are based around that magic. It's so finely done that you don't even think of it as "magic," just how things work in that particular world.

You really can't go wrong with Sanderson.

[DraPrime]

May I suggest reading some food for thought (http://www.amazon.com/The-Republic-Of-Plato-Edition/dp/0465069347/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1365899007&sr=8-13&keywords=plato)? Plato is actually one of the few philosophers who is fun to read.

[JoshL]

Have you read this? (http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Underfoot-A-Newford-Collection/dp/0765306794/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365899673&sr=8-1&keywords=charles+de+lint+dreams+underfoot) You should.

As for Sanderson, I've only read Way of Kings and his finishing out the Wheel of Time series. I really want to like Way of Kings. The story is engaging. The world and magic system is interesting. The characters are neat. However, the actual writing is terrible. I can't help but think if his editor had given another pass, it'd be a better book. And sadly I felt that way about a lot of his Wheel of Time stuff. He's got great ideas, and can carry a plot, but strikes me as a solid B-list writer. Which isn't to say he won't get better, or that my opinion won't change after reading more of his stuff. I really, really WANT to love his books.

[Palanan]

I do hear you on Sanderson; he's much stronger on storyline, character and sheer worldbuilding than on literary nuance.

This only really bothered me with the first Mistborn novel; after that I just put on my Sanderson shades and ran with it. Elantris and Way of Kings are probably the two Sanderson novels I'd least recommend for a first-time reader, Elantris because it is very rough in patches, and Way of Kings because it's &#$%@!! colossal. Either Warbreaker or the first Mistborn novel would be my suggestion.

Just one more thing to say about Sanderson. For some years I was completely burned out on current fantasy. Singlehandedly, without my expecting him to, Sanderson made me believe it's still worthwhile.

[Hyde]

I guess you could say they're a...

*puts on sunglasses*

very attractive option.

*Yeaaahhhhh!!*
<3

I ended up sniping a buddy's prime account, and it turns out I need to buy more of the pens I use (Pilot disposable fountains). oh well.