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Sure you can flip through a book at a bookstore-or, if you have a well-stocked library, borrow it-before you choose to make a purchase, but how do you curb buyer's remorse if you're shopping online, or you simply don't have the time to putter around the stacks?
For starters, take advantage of the "Search Inside" and "Look Inside" functions associated with certain book titles at Amazon.com, both of which allow you to sneak peeks at sample pages. With the first, you'll be able to search for a particular phrase, which is helpful if you're, say, writing your thesis and you want to make sure that the title in question is the correct one. HarperCollins Publishers will also be offering free electronic editions of some of its books on its Web site, including titles by novelist Paulo Coelho and Food Network star Robert Irvine. In fact, the publisher plans to upload a different title by Coelho each month for the rest of the year, but because there's no such thing as a free lunch-or at least, an indefinite free lunch-the electronic editions will only be available for a month at a time. You won't be able to download them to your PC or electronic device, either, and the print function on your browser will be disabled.
The silver lining: HarperCollins will be putting 20 percent of some books two weeks before the hardcover editions go on sale, enough to determine if what you're reading is a keeper or a real stinker.
Search for your title at Google Books, as well. If the book is in the public domain, which means it's no longer under copyright, or if the publisher has allowed it, you'll be able to see a preview of the book-or in some cases, the entire text.
Difficulty level: Easy
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