Mon, Dec 27, 2004, 1:27pm snipped-for-privacy@asbry.net (alexy) A Christmas gift certificate is burning a hole in my pocket!
Me, I wouldn't buy a book, simply on someone else's recommendation. Primarily, I very seldom buy any book, unless I have already thumbed thru it and know exactly what it contains. Secondary, I've found long ago, books recommended to me by other people, are seldom books I would buy on my own.
I'd go to a bookstore, find a copy, and look thru it, then decide. Or, go to the library, same - if they didn't have a copy, I'd check on them borrowing a copy.
Woodworking books are getting more expensive all the time. I'm finding that few of them have more than one or two projects that actually interest me. And, I've found I can usually find the one or two project plans somewhere else, cheaper, or even free. I've gone to B&N, and other bookstores, looked thru books priced at $35, with maybe one project that interests me - usually the plan is on the web, maybe even free, but at the most usually maybe $10 - so it would make sense to me to buy just the one plan, not a book, and "save" $25.
I have paid up to around $45 for a book. But, you can damn well bet it has a lot to interest me, and I'll be refering to it, on a regular basis. My personal (woodworking) library at one time was larger than my local library. About all of the books were bought from a used bookstore, at prices from $.50 to about $9 each, most somewhere in the middle. A lot of them are in almost as new condition - some of which were sold new at $35, and I bought for around $5 each.
My way of thinking is, one of the workbench books would be great. But, how many workbenches are you going to make? Same with a sharpeing book, once you learn how, how many times you go to be using it? Besides, Scarry Sharp is free.
Me, I think I'd get a book on making boxes, probably one of Doug Stowes.
JOAT People without "things" are just intelligent animals.