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SeaStar
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| Posted: March 23 2010 at 5:07pm | IP Logged
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You know that feature on Amazon that lets you look inside some books?
You can see the front and back covers and a couple of the first pages.... then there is the "surprise me" feature.
I just realized that if you click over and over on that surprise me link, it will show lots of different pages from inside the book. you will get some duplicate pages, but you can see much more than I ever realized.
It has taken me this long to figure that out.  
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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MaryM
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| Posted: March 23 2010 at 5:13pm | IP Logged
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I can't believe I have never tried the "surprise me" - I can't really say I noticed it, if truth be told.  Or maybe it's that I don't generally like surprises  . But I just tried it and am very pleasantly surprised. Thanks Melinda!
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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Mackfam
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Non Nobis
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| Posted: March 23 2010 at 5:22pm | IP Logged
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It is VERY, VERY helpful, especially if you're on the fence about a particular book, if it's really necessary, or a good use of family $. You can get a very good idea of what is included! They almost always include the TOC, but enough other pages to get a really good sense of the book.
Another REALLY great feature is - Search inside this book. AWESOME!!! Let's say you're looking at The Harp and Laurel Wreath and you've clicked *Look Inside This Book* because you're trying to discern if this would be a helpful addition to your shelf next year. On the left sidebar is a little search box entitled, "Search inside this book." I typed in poetry and get 411 results within the book - all HOT LINKED to a page in the book!!
Amazon has some really helpful tools for discerning!!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: March 23 2010 at 5:51pm | IP Logged
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I LOVE this feature and use it a lot! It's very helpful!!!
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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cathhomeschool
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Texas Bluebonnets
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| Posted: March 23 2010 at 6:02pm | IP Logged
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I have never tried "surprise me" but I definitely use the "search inside this book" feature a lot. Our local Barnes and Noble isn't well stocked, so I love "flipping through" the books at amazon this way.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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stefoodie
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| Posted: March 24 2010 at 10:56pm | IP Logged
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i am embarrassed to say, i use that feature so much, TOO MUCH, that amazon has blocked me quite a number of times. i *know* they're tracking what i'm looking at because i've been to pages before, and then suddenly they won't let me look at them. or maybe they have something in their system that only allows a certain # of peeks into a book.
although evil me, i've found a way around that sometimes.... if it's not on amazon "look inside", try google books. sometimes the page that they won't allow you to see on amazon is allowable on google, and vice-versa.
we are SO, SO spoiled these days. i remember doing research in high school and college using those humongous card catalogs.... and then after lugging heavy tomes to your table, you find the pages and there's nothing in them you can use in your research. hours wasted, compared to these days when you can look at books in your jammies and in the middle of the night.
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stef
mom to five
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SusanJ
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| Posted: March 25 2010 at 6:34am | IP Logged
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Stef--I'm usually blocked too!
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Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
Life Together
[URL=http://thejohnstonkids.blogspot.com]The Kids' Blog[/UR
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SeaStar
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| Posted: March 25 2010 at 6:41am | IP Logged
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When you use "search inside this book", what terms do you search for?
If it's a poetry book- poetry, of course. But what if it's a book you don't know much about?
Can you give me some examples of your favorite search terms? I have been trying to do this and my results have been so-so.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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stefoodie
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| Posted: March 25 2010 at 7:12am | IP Logged
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i can't think of a particular one right now, melinda, i usually have a goal in mind when i'm searching. i do a lot of "saint ____", or particular topics that interest the kids -- recently weapons, robins, and dust .
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stef
mom to five
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4Real Forums : Picture Book Discoveries
Topic: Amazon Surprise Me
