Black Friday: Bargains? Or Bust?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I remember the first and only time Ross and I did “Black Friday.” I had just signed a three-book contract, and we were feeling mighty flush, and had decided to make several long-overdue home purchases. We were looking for a new mattress, a new dishwasher, and a modern TV set (ours still had the giant back; seriously, it was shaped like a block from a Mayan temple.)  I did plenty of research, and we planned out the route and made sure our travel mugs were full of tea. 

And… it was kind of fun. Standing in line outside Best Buy at 4am with a lot of other happy, talkative folks was cheerful, even if waiting to check out the new TV wasn’t. Everyone at Sears was headed for clothing, tools and jewelry, so the salesmen in Large Appliances were glad to see us. After we got our mattress at Macy’s (and I should mention these last two purchases were delivered later, thankfully) we got breakfast at a nearby coffee shop. I’m glad we did it, and the dishwasher, at least, is still going strong (thanks, Kenmore!)

But once was enough for me. It really did seem like a sales event perfect for buying necessary items for US, but shopping for presents for family and the kids? Not so much. We did pick up some toys and an electronic game at Target, but that was about it. Now, of course, much of the action has moved online, and I’ll definitely keep my eye on the sales. But - I’m bragging here - I’ve already gotten everyone’s BIG gift, and I’m down to Santa and gift cards for my nephews. So once again… I’ll be looking for stuff I need.

How about you, Reds? Are you a Black Friday Fan - in real life, or online?

LUCY BURDETTE: I can’t think of a time I actually went in person to a black Friday sale. I do keep an eye out for bargains online, but I tend to get sucked in and end up buying things I do not need. I have most everything purchased for Christmas, and even bought my son in law’s birthday gift today. (Poor guy was born on New Year’s Eve.) So I’ll stay home and eat leftovers and maybe write a few pages!

 

 

RHYS BOWEN: We tried it once when cash was shorter than it is now. We found fabulous items- I can’t remember what but good tech stuff. And then we saw the line going all the way around the walls of Best Buy or wherever it was. And then we decided no item was worth standing in line for two hours and left. Haven’t done it since but my kids enjoy scooping up bargains at Old Navy etc. I find plenty of Christmas bargains online or at Macy’s.

 

Our tradition today is turkey curry. Yum!

 

JULIA: Yum, indeed! 

HALLIE EPHRON: I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything that was a Black Friday sale. I hate-hate-hate crowds. And usually I wait for the old thing to break before I shop for new. My dishwasher was 40 years old when it bit the dust. My dryer did it at age 30. I figure every year you get out of an old appliance is money in the bank. 

JENN McKINLAY: No Black Friday for me. I loathe shopping to begin with so having to do it with the rest of humanity…um, no. Unless, it’s a bookstore! LOL.

 

JULIA: We have great independent bookstores where I live, and they're the place to go on "Small Business Saturday," Jenn. 

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  I don't think I have even gone Black Friday shopping in person. Standing in long lines at 4 a.m. in the cold does not appeal at all! I have bought things online, especially as Black Friday seems to run from shortly after Halloween these days. We got a really great deal on our new TV, but that was certainly not something we'd planned for. I did mean to replace our Instant Pot, which burned up a couple of weeks ago (are you seeing a theme here?) but with all the TV hullabaloo I haven't gotten around to it. Next on the list. And, uh, the Christmas shopping.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I have never ever done this. I cannot even imagine. Ah. The LINES. The angst. The battles over Cabbage Patch Kids. Or whatever. How much is it worth to pay to get it later in easier circumstances? I know, I am a wimp.

 

PS Online is different. Maybe.  We just got a new TV, too, thanks to Debs’ post. CLick buy, click delivery, click set up guy, and now it’s here and working. THAT is my idea of shopping.

 

JULIA: This is making me wonder - is Black Friday shopping overblown? Or are we all introverted writers who would rather handwash every dish from Thanksgiving than brave the bustling, bargain-seeking throng? How say you, dear readers?  

Black Friday Books

LUCY BURDETTE: Reds, what are you doing today?? Anyone braving the Black Friday shopping crowds? I won’t be out there, unless it’s a bookstore. Speaking of books as gifts, how about sharing one recommendation for a book to give for the holidays?

Here's mine: For kids of all ages, I can't rave enough about Bolivar by Sean Rubin, about a little girl living in New York City who discovers a dinosaur living next door. The illustrations are flat out stunning and the story is terrific, too.

HALLIE EPHRON: I'm with my own "little girl living in NYC"... my 5-year-old granddaughter who is a pip. And her baby brother who climbs and jumps off things all day long. Bolivar sounds like a book they'd like. They have the Knuffle Bunny books which are set practically in their neighborhood in Brooklyn. I'm reading a book for our times, POST-TRUTH by Lee McIntyre, a slender volume written by a philosopher (who also writes crime novels).

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  LOVED Post Truth. It's brilliant. (in fact, I gave it as birthday gifts to the adult kids over the last year!)  For kids, I just saw Ada Twist, Scientist, by Andrea Beaty, which celebrates girl power and women scientists, and it looks amazing. I always give the Edward Eager books to older kids--9 -ish--they are  wonderful classics, about family and magic and curiosity and sibling power.

For adults, hmm. I haven't read it, but Michelle's book (;-) ) looks pretty irresistible. (And I am deep into book judging, so more I cannot say.) And it's the opposite of festive, but The Radium Girls by Kate Moore is chilling and important--about the women who pointed the  radium dials on watches, and what happened to them, and what happened to occupational health and safety laws as a result.

And no, I would not set ONE TOE into a store on Black Friday. Forget about it.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oooh, I love these suggestions. I'm definitely going to check out Bolivar for Wren. I will have to have a good prowl through a bookstore in the next couple of weeks for my gift ideas. I would recommend Ann Mah's THE LOST VINTAGE. It was one of my favorite reads of the year. It's such a good mix of contemporary France, history, mystery, and romance.

No Black Friday shopping for me!!! Although I do want to do more in local stores this year, and resist the lure of on

line...

RHYS BOWEN: No Black Friday for me either. John and I went once to a big electronics store and found amazing bargains... then we saw the line to check out went all the way around the store. No thank you. No bargain is worth that much of my time! I have resorted to Amazon gift cards when I can't come up with anything else. One son-in-law loves to read but he will probably have read all the recently released mysteries/thrillers. Debs I must get THE LOST VINTAGE. I love books set in France.


The book I would love to give as a gift is the WONKY DONKEY. Such a fun book! Alas I have no little children on my list any longer. I'll have to give it to myself and read it out loud. I'm just reading the new Kate Morton and I have to say I'm having a hard time getting into it. So many narrators and time periods and it seems that one of them is a ghost...I was so looking forward to this too. I may put it down and start on Louise Penny's latest. Always a big treat.

How about you Red readers? Black Friday shopping? A holiday book recommendation?