Today I went to buy some books at the Chapters location in Chinook, and I finally gave in and got one of their ‘club’ cards. As a rule I generally don’t join these clubs, for a variety of reasons. I hate the false sense of familiarity they try to foster when the cashier is required to refer to you by name; I don’t like attempts to manipulate my buying habits through their data-mined profiles; and I like to exercise the freedom not to participate. It is a choice, after all, so why be surprised that not everyone chooses the same way?
So why did I cave in to Chapters then? Because programming books are freaking expensive. Ten cents off a bottle of water is one thing; $15 off of a $70 design patterns book is another. Sometimes pragmatism trumps ideology…
Have you ever considered joining O’Reilly’s Safari? I recently did it and have been very pleased.