Top Shop: Oscar's Art Books Store's book club

Hey book lovers, are you the kind of person that prefers to browse through books rather than buying them on-line?

I am.

I like buying books as gifts and need to actually look through them, which is why I prefer to go into book stores, rather than buying them on-line.

One reliable source for gift ideas whenever I'm in need of a present is Oscar's Books (1533 West Broadway). Particularly because most of the people I know are very interested in the arts, or are in arts-related fields.

But I didn't know they had a book club until now.

Barry of Oscar's informed me that it's been running for 10 years, though it's been getting a lot more attention due to the high Canadian dollar.

Unlike loyalty programs at other stores where you have to pay a certain amount, and then spend more than the cost of the membership before you actually start saving money, Oscar's book club is free!

With membership in Oscar's club, the price of your books is either 10 percent off or the U.S. price (whichever is lower).

You also earn points for all your purchases. Barry explained how it works:

You earn 3% on your spending in the form of Points 3 points for every dollar spent. When you have collected over 500 Points, then you get to use them on your purchase. That way we are not saying would you like to use that 21 ¢ against your purchase.

To join, just go into the store and they can enter your information on the computer. Then each time you make a purchase, just tell them you're in the club.

There's also an e-mail list which you can join if you send a blank e-mail to artnews-subscribe@oscarsartbookstore.com. There are weekly gift certificates given away to e-mail subscribers.

It's a win-win situation. Yay-yay!