My Black Friday Experience

Uh oh.

I went to the mall last night. 🙊

And let me just say that for every person who criticizes businesses for opening on Thanksgiving, there are dozens, maybe hundreds of people who shop. I’ve never seen the mall so crowded. This was at 10:00 at night. It was ridiculous. But the store I wanted to go to was closed. I didn’t buy anything.

But that’s not what this is about. I worked my first Black Friday today in a real retail environment. It was fun. There had to be over 100 people in line when I got to work a little before 9:00 this morning. And it was very crowded in the store for several hours. But there was pizza. And the people weren’t fighting over cheap TV’s. So it was interesting.

I also went to the mall again. Same as last night. Anyway, I wanted to know if any if you have any interesting Black Friday stories. I don’t. Mostly because I don’t buy anything for anyone. Ha!

Sales for Book Lovers

I know there are plenty of people who say they’d rather pay more for a book if it isn’t from Amazon or something similar. And that’s fine, but I know there are even more people who look for deals on their favorite form of entertainment all the time. I’ve got something for those in that second group.

Right now Amazon is offering customers 30% off one book on its site. Maybe you’ve been eyeing one of those highly prized adult coloring books or maybe even the illustrated edition of the first Harry Potter book. Well now you might take the plunge and buy. Use promo code “Holiday30” at checkout for the discount to be applied. It can only be used once per Amazon account, so choose wisely.

But there’s one other sale that you may like even better. Tomorrow only, Black Friday, every item in every Half Price Books store will be 20% off. AND the first 100 people in line will receive a reusable bag, $5 gift card, and $5 for the rest of the holiday weekend. But one of those first 100 people will receive a $100 gift card. You may have to get to your local store a bit early, but I think the promotion is much better than what Amazon is offering.

It looks like Barnes and Noble is also doing 30% off one item, and a buy 2, get one free promotion on paperbacks. And their Nook devices are pretty heavily discounted. Book-a-Million is offering $10 off $50, $20 off $100, and $50 off $250.

What I’m saying is that if you’re looking for a book sale, then you likely don’t have to look far.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

On Holiday Books

The holiday season is upon us here in the US. Black Friday is less than a week away and then it’s a mad dash to get everything you need for Christmas. Which in most cases is nothing, but people suddenly “need” or “want” things when the holidays come around. So dumb.

Anyway, I got to thinking about holiday books recently. We have a table of Christmas cards. We have a table of Christmas books. And there’s a small section of holiday books in the kid’s section at my store. All this to say that I’d never thought of holiday books before now.

I’ve thought of the Charlie Brown specials and old cartoons that start showing up on TV. And I’ve thought of the ridiculous shopping season. But not any books. I mean, is it really THAT important to read something that just happens to be snowy and jolly? Is it THAT important to read a book around Halloween that is about Halloween? No. I don’t think it is.

We already know how crazy Black Friday will be nationwide. We already know about the shopping season that takes place over the next month. We already know about the decorations EVERYWHERE. I just hate that the holiday season now has to be a part of every aspect of life. Oh well. It isn’t a major part of mine. Thankfully.

Do you have any go-to holiday stories? I have none.

Get Some Books This Black Friday

Photo Credit

Okay. The title of this post may be a little misleading. I shouldn’t have said books, I should have said book. But who’s paying attention, right?

Anyway, I get emails from Amazon almost every day of the week. I usually open them for about five seconds and then go about the rest of my day. Usually. BUT this week I got a rather nice one that I just couldn’t pass up. During the very beginning of the holiday shopping season (now) they are giving you 30 percent off of one book. And since the books are usually cheaper on there than any other retailer, you’re talking about some very nice savings when you take the additional 30 percent off. Seriously, how can you pass this up? You can’t!

All you have to do is add the book to your cart and put “holiday30” in the “gift cards & promotional offers” space before checkout and the discount will be applied. Remember, it’s only off of one book. So if you’re one of those who thinks Amazon is the devil of the book industry, then you don’t even have to make a big deal about it. Cause it’s just one book.

Now I am well aware that this deal is inherently better for me than it may be for you because I’m a Prime member and I get free shipping. But maybe you are too. If you have to pay for shipping, then you’re basically giving the discount right back to them. Oh well to that.

Just thought I’d share this great deal with all you bibliophiles! Happy Black Friday!