For the average person, that was only a realistic scenario for bestsellers (Joy of Cooking, The Shining, etc). For all the less common long tail[1] books, ther

For the average person, that was only a realistic scenario for bestsellers (Joy of Cooking, The Shining, etc). For all the less common long tail[1] books, there was nothing comparable to the internet + amazon.com. Maybe some discussion of book readings/reviews on dialup USENET forums before amazon.com but again, that's a channel that only computer enthusiasts bothered with. All the C/C++ books I read were simply the ones that happened to be on the shelf at WaldenBooks, Bookstop, Borders, B&N. Even the hardcore magazines of C/C++ Users Journal or C++Report would review maybe 1 book an issue. amazon.com has expanded my exposure to long tail books more than ten-fold. There was no comparable dissemination of worthy book reading ideas before it. [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail