Agreed. Amazon rocks. But I'd recommend that guy to change his habits though: classical music is better for you than junk common sense literature. I haven't read all of those books, but some. Maybe others are better, but I doubt it. When Peter Norvig joked at startup school about lack of substance in these "economics for masses" books, the audience audibly agreed.
What if they list Tolkien books or have a forum nick from Lord of the Rings? By the way, 'Nazgul' and 'Narsil' aren't two words that would normally go together.
and those that list knuth or shakespeare are trying too hard ;-)
this is fun! you may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but I bet you can judge a person by their books (in a 'sufficient but not necessary' sense.)
But this is where online retailers have a massive advantage. Amazon knows what we really buy, not just the stuff we like to brag about. Even around here, I bet people have bought more 'how to get rich' junk - let along Grisham and Clancy - than they have hardcore CS texts.
come to think of it, maybe that's the B&N strategy: appeal to the snob inside us. Tell us "you may just be buying thrillers and porn, but we know that you're an opera-lover deep down".
