# Help me spend my Amazon gift certificate **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915 "2005-05-01T02:15:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/1 "2005-05-01T02:15:58Z")
It’s for $25. I’ve never shopped Amazon before… ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/2 "2005-05-01T02:24:03Z")
I have one too! I’ll piggyback on your thread, if’n you don’t mind. (There are some good ideas in the latest Whatcha Readin’ thread, but I could always use more.) I’m leaning toward The Rule of Four by Ian somebody – historical mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/3 "2005-05-01T03:34:45Z")
Are you looking for technical advice on how to redeem it or looking for recommendations on products? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/4 "2005-05-01T03:53:35Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Are you looking for technical advice on how to redeem it or looking for recommendations on products? Both, I guess. I got an email from Amazon with a code number I’m supposed to enter in “My Account” or somesuch. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/5 "2005-05-01T03:58:06Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I have one too! I’ll piggyback on your thread, if’n you don’t mind. (There are some good ideas in the latest Whatcha Readin’ thread, but I could always use more.) > > I’m leaning toward The Rule of Four by Ian somebody – historical mystery. I’m thinking **Book Lust** , mentioned [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6103692&postcount=50) ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/6 "2005-05-01T04:08:10Z")
Just out of curiosity, are you allowed to use the certificate to buy used products through Zshops, or only on new stuff from amazon itself? Lately I find I’m using Zshops a lot more. I think we need to know more about your tastes to be helpful. I will recommend one title: _Eats, Shoots, and Leaves_ by Lynne Truss. It’s a humorous manual for punctuation. Needless to say, anything by Terry Pratchett is also a good use of an amazon gift certificate. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/7 "2005-05-01T05:19:31Z")
**Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince** is due out July 16th. You could reserve a copy for $17.99. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/8 "2005-05-01T05:35:11Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > It’s for $25. I’ve never shopped Amazon before… A little about myself. I haven’t read any fiction in years, but what I like is techno-thrillers (think Tom Clancy) and historical fiction (Gore Vidal’s _Burr_, _Clan of the Cave Bear_ - but not the subsequent books in that series). My all-time favorite is [_A Confederacy of Dunces_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807126063/qid=1114924016/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/002-7366995-3574413?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). I am currently reading [_The Emotional Brain_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684836599/qid=1114921419/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413). I liked the books by the guys at the Santa Fe Institute (stuff about chaos and complexity), like [this one](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195111303/qid=1114923178/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413). I grabbed a few books I have read the last few months/years: [_Paradigms Lost_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380711656/qid=1114925833/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) [_The Cuckoo’s Egg_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743411463/qid=1114922224/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) [_The Eudaemonic Pie_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0595142362/qid=1114924558/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) [_Ever Since Darwin_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393308189/qid=1114922918/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) [_Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393316041/qid=1114923065/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) [_A Distant Mirror_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345349571/qid=1114923292/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) [_Emergence_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684868768/qid=1114923671/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) [_The Elegant Universe_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375708111/qid=1114923858/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) [_Rising Tide_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684840022/qid=1114924116/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) Trivia about me - I have every issue of _Omni_ ever published, and I am a huge fan of [Alton Brown’s](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1584790830/qid=1114924987/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7366995-3574413) approaching to cooking. ---
**Author:** ![thermalribbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@thermalribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thermalribbon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/9 "2005-05-01T05:36:09Z")
Let me heartily recommend **Freakonomics** by [Univ of Chicago Economist Steven Levitt](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/006073132X/ref=s9_ts_r/102-3931498-2653762) . It’s new and should make for some good summertime reading. That is, if you’re into economics and social science. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/10 "2005-05-01T05:42:48Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > **Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince** is due out July 16th. You could reserve a copy for $17.99. Interesting suggestion. I have heard that the books are quite good for adults as well as children. Should I start with the first one (which would be…)? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/11 "2005-05-01T05:49:22Z")
An interesting thing to try might be Amazon’s recommendations system. Tell Amazon what you like (by rating past books/movies/whatever) and it’ll give you a list of other things that you might like. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/12 "2005-05-01T05:51:14Z")
> [@thermalribbon](#): > > Let me heartily recommend **Freakonomics** by [Univ of Chicago Economist Steven Levitt](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/006073132X/ref=s9_ts_r/102-3931498-2653762) . > > It’s new and should make for some good summertime reading. That is, if you’re into economics and social science. Excellent suggestion. The Amazon reviews make it sound like something I would enjoy. I’m always looking for new ways to look at conventional wisdom. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/13 "2005-05-01T07:38:42Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > Interesting suggestion. I have heard that the books are quite good for adults as well as children. Should I start with the first one (which would be…)? Absolutely. The first book is **Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone**. The books are great fun. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spend-my-amazon-gift-certificate/301915/14 "2005-05-01T11:36:23Z")
> [@ITR champion](#): > > Just out of curiosity, are you allowed to use the certificate to buy used products through Zshops, or only on new stuff from amazon itself? Lately I find I’m using Zshops a lot more. > . I’ve used certificates to buy from Z-shops.