www.Alibris.com is a book lover's paradise. How many times have you spotted a really interesting, unique book somewhere and then moved heaven and earth trying to acquire just one copy and still failed? Such days have come to end with the discovery of such a wonderful website. You can find a plethora of used, rare, and out-of-print as well as new books on the site for sale. There is much variety in both fiction and non-fiction. Some of the titles offered in the fiction section include Hilary Mantel's eerie, acclaimed 'Beyond Black', William T. Vollmann's Europe Central that won the National Book Award for 2005. Though the hardcover versions cost more, prices for secondhand copies start from around thirteen to fourteen dollars. While there are auctions for really rare books like Neusner's Encyclopedia of Judaism 3, you can also find popular books like J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. You can unearth signed copies and first editions of books as well. There is also an admirable collection of movies and music CDs as also lovely audio books. In the movies section, there is a Criterion Collection to view films as the director intended them to be seen which includes the quirkily delightful 'The Royal Tenenbaums'.
You can search for music by record labels as well. Books in the non-fiction genre include biographies, history, religion, sports et al. If you register as a member at Alibris you get to have a wishlist of your own which means that you can keep track of gift ideas and interesting books until you are ready to make a purchase. You can share your wishlists with those of friends and relatives as well. And then, although it seems quite impossible, if it happens that even Alibris is unable to end your quest for that elusive book, you can enter the book's name in the 'book fetch' request form and be sure that the people at Alibris will make utmost efforts to find your book. A very useful feature at Alibris is that you can also buy textbooks at great discount rates. There is a special section for library owners too. So, the next time you go looking for a collector's edition, don't forget to drop by Alibris first!