As sort of a semi-pre-Christmas present to myself, I went a little bit nuts in buying media for myself this weekend. Here’s the sum total for y’all’s entertainment.

I ordered some stuff from Amazon:

• Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey A. Moore (because all of our marketing people at work are talking about the chasm, so I figure I should find out what they’re talking about)
• Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design, by Henry Petroski (recommended as a book-of-the-month by Joel Spolsky – scroll down for his snippet on this book)
• Experimentation Matters: Unlocking the Potential of New Technologies for Innovation, by Stefan H. Thomke (I don’t remember where I saw this referenced (possibly NewsScan?), but it looks interesting)
• Seven Seasons of Buffy: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Discuss Their Favorite Television Show, by Glenn Yeffeth (Um. Yeah. I’m an addict. Amazon reviews say it’s better than the lit crit review or the philosophy review of Buffy that I have, so what the heck)
• Angel – Season Two (see the Buffy addiction bit. Season two was the best Angel season so far, mostly because Lindsay was a great villain)
• Blue Man Group – The Complex Rock Tour Live (cuz they’re cool. And I didn’t make it to the concert itself)

But then I decided that wasn’t enough, and that I hadn’t hit the used CD and book stores in Berkeley for a while. I’d been piling up my list of stuff I wanted to look for. So I went.

The total from Amoeba records, all used:

• The Specials, the Singles collection – $7.95 (because ska reminds me of my college days)
• Marillion, B’Sides Themselves – $7.95 (I have a copy of this on tape, but I got it for my collection when I saw it used)
• Fish, Raingods with Zippos – $4.95 (Fish was the lead singer/songwriter of Marillion when they did cool stuff. His solo career was kind of a letdown, but for $5, I’m willing to experiment)
• Was (Not Was) – What up, Dog? – $4.95 (I actually wanted the album with the “I feel better than James Brown” song, but this one had “Dad, I’m in jail” and “Walk the Dinosaur”, plus $5!)
• Huey Lewis and the News, Sports – $4.95 (Um. It reminds me of high school. Plus, again, $5!)
• Genesis, Invisible Touch – $4.95 (I have it on tape, possibly the first rock album that I listened to regularly. But never got around to getting it on CD. So for $5, it’s worth it)

And then I went to Moe’s Books and poked around a bit before buying:

• One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Seven in the Janet Evanovich series. I’d read them from the library originally, but seeing them all in one place at half-price used, I couldn’t resist.
• The Making of a Philosopher, by Colin McGinn (picked up randomly while browsing the stacks, it’s an “intellectual autobiography” of McGinn’s life as a philosopher in the twentieth century. Looked interesting, it was used, so I got it)
• A Right to be Hostile, the Boondocks Treasury, by Aaron McGruder – I have the first two small collections of Boondocks, but this is a more complete superset, so it was worth buying. Plus, McGruder deserves my money (or at least the sale)

Totally, totally out of control. Approximately $200 spent all told. But, heck, it’s my first Amazon order since July! That’s really good! Okay, okay, so it’s my fourth Amazon order of the year, but I’ll be good next year. Honest! Plus, all the CDs were cheap! Six for $38 is totally reasonable! Yeah! Okay, okay, I’m an addict. What more can be said?

Anyway, you can now see what I’ll be reading/listening/watching to for the next month or so. Think of it as a sneak preview. Or something.