Green Daily Hearts Better World Books

Posted by admin on 07.31.2008 at 5:34 pm

Over at Green Daily, your blog source for all things environmental and awesome, they’re showing some love Amanda Miller, a far better writer than I am, scribes: to Better World Books.

While we’ve spotlighted green book sources before, I do believe that Better World Books might be the only place you’ll be shopping in the future.

Here’s what makes them so great, and my new top pick for book buying:

1. All books sold help fund high-impact literacy projects around the world.
2. Not only do they sell new books, but they collect and sell donated books as well. Not only is this a great way to reduce/reuse/recycle, it also has helped to generate $4.5 million in funding for literacy and education. So far, over 6,000 tons of books have avoided landfills.
   
3. To date, Better World Books has donated over 1 million books to literacy programs.
4. Every order is shipped carbon neutral, using offsets from Carbonfund.org.
5. The company was started by college students who knew first-hand about the importance of passing on textbooks, literacy and business with a social conscience.

Ah, that feels good… like a warm towel after a shower.  Head over to Green Daily for great tips on how to greenify your life, a little bit at a time, and a sweet “Top Ten Green Kids’ Books” list that I’m way jealous I didn’t think of first.

Have your say » | Tagged Show Us Some Love, books, children's books, green daily, press

Poet Laureate Kay Ryan (part 1)

Posted by Jack on 07.31.2008 at 12:23 pm

Years ago, stuck in the rigors, both academic and otherwise, of a northeast liberal arts school, I was smack in the middle of much of the delicate world of the modern American poet, particularly that of Poet Laureate (out of the consultants and actual Laureates, 26 of the 39 are from the Northeast, from NYC north to Maine).  Former Laureate, Billy Collins, enticed me originally (via my ex-roommate Matt) both of whom are fellow B.A. from my Alma Mater, Holy Cross.  His quote to me (via AIM of all things) was: “…life is a loaded gun / that looks right at you with a yellow eye” aptly cribbed from Emily Dickinson.

After dabbling in Collins I was drawn naturally to his predecessor, Robert Pinsky, who was (and remains) teaching at my college sweetheart’s Boston University.  At the time he was engaged in a fantastic process that I learned about (via Slate), the Favorite Poem Project.  Although his own writings, take At Pleasure BayEliot but relatively “sexless” in the decidedly non-literal sense (think Pinsky is to Mozartian flute as Eliot is to on the street nighttime tenor sax)–his project had something real and meaningful to it.  It involved famous authors, commonfolk and Pinsky himself reading the favorite poems selected from some 18,000 Americans. for example, were decidedly too “Etudes in Modernism” for me– the aforementioned poem reeking of the lyrical quality of

In their ways, Pinsky and Collins each brought something decidedly American to the role of Poet Laureate, Pinsky in the ultra-literal: taking his post and creating a forum promoting both poetry and patriotism in its way, and Collins in the less expansive but more interwoven: investing (and inventing) himself in the tradition of American Poets with a sense of oral tradition-like storytelling.

Since then the (rather silent) tenures of Glück, Kooser, Hall and Simic have gone untested by my eyes and work-feebled brain.  It’s time I reentered the field; let’s talk about latest Laureate, Kay Ryan.

[to be continued tomorrow]

Have your say » | Tagged Book Reviews, book reviews, poet laureates

Poll Wednesdays!

Posted by admin on 07.30.2008 at 1:19 pm

Have your say » | Tagged Poll Wednesday, Uncategorized, Poll Wednesday

A Pair of Ragged C(itations)

Posted by Jack on 07.30.2008 at 1:13 pm

We’re not going to argue the artistic merits, or lack thereof, of graffiti here, but I think we can all agree that if one is going to advertise their “intelligence” they should in the least make sure to do the research.

In Pittsburgh, a graffiti artist decided to tag the library with the quote “I wish I were a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas.”  Now the careful reader recognizes the lack of a line break after “claws” as the author would have intended.  But the best part is really that the graffiti artist attributed the quote to a “J. Alfred Prufrock.”

The line, cribbed from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is arguably the most famous work (although some would say The Wasteland) of expatriate Modernist master T.S. Eliot.  The question here really, is how do you have the level of education to quote the line exactly, but so grossly botch the attribution thereof?  God forbid someone mismatch his own work with that of Banksy (although Banksy would never be so sloppy).

Oh, and who tags a library, I mean really.

Sidebar (from yours truly, a total Eliot nerd):

For your enjoyment, the full poem is here, but I personally can’t stand reading poetry online, in which case you want to pick up any of the following:

-A great copy of The Wasteland (with annotations from Ezra Pound, who was his introduction into London society when the premiere critic of the time read “Prufrock” and said to Pound something to the tune of “Your friend doesn’t need a publisher, he needs an asylum.”  This is a great text with which you can work through the poem).

-The Complete Poems and Plays (this one is just great, try “Four Quartets”)

-Old Possums Book of Practical Cats (this is not good, just don’t go here)

-The Sacred Wood or Christianity and Culture (if you like G.K. Chesterton you’re going to love these, when Eliot delved into Christianty he did so with restraint and a distinctly intelligensia/modernist tinge, very interesting!)

Have your say » | Tagged Book Reviews, Banksy, book reviews, graffiti, ridiculousness, TS Eliot

Show Us Some Love, Facebook Edition (2)

Posted by admin on 07.29.2008 at 12:53 pm

We’ve already done a “Show Us Some Love” segment, but Facebook just keeps coming up with more good ones.

Here are some highlights from the (latest) posts on our Facebook Fan Page: (currently with 1300 fans!!!)

Rose from Singapore: Bye Amazon

Ambassador Tom Amolo: I am an eclectic reader, this is home.

Reika from Australia: Great job! I found old books from my teenage years which I missed. Being so far away from the US, I couldn’t get my hands on all the books I want at such a cheap shipping rate. You’ve really solved my problem on that! Thanks!

James from (my beloved) Ireland: Great job guys I just picked up two books for cheaper from you than from a bookshop in Ireland! Keep it up!

Randy and Sharon: Amazing! Im a phenomenal book addict and just discovered the joys of shopping online! lol… Looks to me that BetterWorld Books will be my new fave site!!!

And Chris from Dupage captures it neatly: I’ve contributed to the past to non-profit organizations, but nowadays I just can’t afford it. I feel like I am indirectly actually doing something for the common good just buying books from BetterWorld. And free shipping!! Awesome!

Have your say » | Tagged Show Us Some Love, customers, facebook, Show Us Some Love

Better World Books and Peoria = Library in Sudan

Posted by admin on 07.29.2008 at 9:51 am

Taken from PJStar.com, apparently we’re doing something good again. You know that we’re really doing the right thing when the so-called evangelist can’t even keep up with all of them!

From PJStar.com -

Many college students have a hard time committing to weekend plans, let alone a pledge to rebuild a community in Sudan.

But recent Illinois Central College graduate Matt Hoffman vowed to make a difference – one book at a time – in the lives of the “Lost Boys.”

Over the past two decades, more than 27,000 boys have escaped villages in southern Sudan during a civil war that has claimed millions of lives. While their parents and sisters were being slaughtered, the young boys banded together for the 1,000-mile walk to refuge.

Though the violence mostly has subsided, the survivors have had little incentive to return to their war-torn villages. But Hoffman and other members of ICC’s honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, want to give the Lost Boys a reason to go home.

The fraternity recently partnered with Chicago media company Endless Eye Productions and national bookseller Better World Books to conceive a plan to build and stock a library in Sudan’s Punyijiar County. Over the past few months, the effort, called “Walk Sudan,” has collected more than 8,000 books, which volunteers loaded onto a truck Thursday to be shipped to Africa.

“We wanted to start with a library because education is a way to empower them,” said Hoffman, adding that most of the Lost Boys have seen no more than three books in their lives. “We want to give them something to come back to.”

Hoffman, who graduated from ICC in May, sat down with friend Sean Fahey from Endless Eye earlier this year to devise a plan about how to help Fahey’s friend, Justin Machien Luoi, a Lost Boy who was educated in the United States as a refugee.

After just an evening of brainstorming, the two set out to raise awareness and money to rebuild part of Luoi’s country. Nearly 50 members of Phi Theta Kappa began speaking at area schools and churches during the spring semester, asking for monetary donations as well as books. They also sponsored a 3-mile walk from Bradley University to the Peoria riverfront in May to raise awareness about their campaign and to simulate the trek the Lost Boys made to refuge.

While Hoffman has remained involved in the effort, his graduation from ICC and move to Loyola University in Chicago required him to pass on the reins to new Phi Theta Kappa president Thomas Aguilar, who is just as devoted to the cause.

Aguilar was covered in sweat Thursday, as he and other volunteers loaded the hundreds of boxes of books onto a truck. Better World Books also is donating texts and shipping the first batch to Sudan shortly, as construction of the library is scheduled to begin within the next few months. Endless Eye will follow along to capture the effort in a documentary called “A Library for Panyijiar.”

Walk Sudan has promised the library is just the beginning of the effort to rebuild the African community over the next 20 years. A school will follow, Aguilar said, then a water treatment plant. The project has no limit.

“This is our way of showing that Peoria can make a difference for people on the other side of the world,” he said.

2 Comments » | Tagged Impact, Our Partners, africa, better world books, Illinois, Impact, Our Partners, peoria, pjstar, press, walk sudan

Spell Check Isn’t Everything…

Posted by admin on 07.28.2008 at 2:59 pm

Some ironclad logic for your Monday:

(Question: Which part is more embarrassing: the views represented, the fantastic irony, or the circled dots above the “i’s” that suggest this was actually done by his kid?  ¿Donde esta la educación, amigo?  I sort of love the superfluous hyphen though…)

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, idiocy, literacy, xeonphobia

Field Trip to the Warehouse

Posted by admin on 07.28.2008 at 8:46 am

While speaking with clients I am constantly blindsided with questions such as “what goes on at the warehouse, about how many books are stored in your warehouse”, etc… the list goes on! Before my trip to Mishawaka, I would inform clients that (unfortunately) I had never visited the Better World Books warehouse. So the actual process of picking, shipping, and receiving books was a total blur.  However, since I have actually worked hands-on at the warehouse, I am very comfortable with answering questions about how the work is carried out.  Everyone at the warehouse was friendly and very patient with us newbies (a.k.a the Atlanta office). Also, the Trade Show was awesome!  Everyone received the opportunity to share great facts and ideas about each department. After learning this information, I am able to implement this knowledge into my daily Account Rep. responsibilities. When you know better, you do better!

Let me not forget to mention my community service project! I was able to work with the Literacy Council of St. Joseph County shelving books and toys for kids all around.  This organization is dedicated to breaking the cycle of illiteracy amongst adults and children.  Both this organization and Better World Books hold a lot in common, which is why it was so important to volunteer for this organization and demonstrate my appreciation for their hard work by devoting my time to assist them in any way possible.

Since the field trip to the warehouse, I feel more well-rounded as an employee of Better World Books and as an individual. I can’t wait to see you guys again!!  Woohoo!

Have your say » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, angela, ATL office, book drive, green house

Randy Pausch – Lux Perpetuam

Posted by admin on 07.25.2008 at 9:56 am

Randy Pausch, notable computer science teacher at Carnegie Mellon died today, finally succumbing to the pancreatic cancer that he knew would take his life eventually.  Pausch, perhaps more known for his inspirational Last Lecture, given on September 18th 2007 (and subsequently published), was 47 years old.

From the AP –

The talk was videotaped and subsequently criss-crossed the world via the Internet. More than 3.2 million people had viewed the “Last Lecture” on YouTube alone as of Friday, and according to Carnegie Mellon, tens of millions have watched Pausch’s inspirational talk.

“If I don’t seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you,” said Pausch, the married father of three young children, at the start of the lecture.

He focused in his talk not on his illness but on “my childhood dreams; how I believe I have been able to enable the dreams of others; and, to some degree, lessons learned… how you can use the stuff you hear today to pursue your dreams or enable the dreams of others.”

Pausch outlined his own childhood dreams, which included writing a World Book Encyclopedia entry, experiencing zero gravity and creating Disney attractions — all dreams that were fulfilled…

“If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself,” Pausch said. “The dreams will come to you.”

The talk spawned a book, called “The Last Lecture,” which was translated into 30 languages and topped best-seller lists around the world.

The book was an attempt by Pausch “to put myself in a bottle that will one day wash up on the beach for my children,” he was quoted as saying by Carnegie Mellon.

Here we have the hardcover (and large print) + audio CD.

Have your say » | Tagged Author News, Book Reviews, audio book, Author News, Book Reviews, last lecture, lux perpetuam, randy pausch

The Destruction of the SF Office

Posted by admin on 07.24.2008 at 10:57 am

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

We’re hiring at the San Francisco office!  With the amazing benefits of working for us and the obvious benefits of how awesome this office is, you’ll have to swallow a difficult fact: you’re going to get hurt.

I know, it seems ridiculous, who would take a job knowing they would get hurt, and why am I so sure?

Well, you may recall that I’m in a sling due to a torn rotator cuff (hit by motorcycle while riding my bike with coworkers):

Geoff was also recently run over by a car on his bike (clearly he’s a little more casual about his foot/ankle injury):

Justin just had surgery having hurt his knee saving orphans from a burning building (or at least that’s what I’m telling the ladies…):

Xavier is promoting the destruction of the office by being himself:

(I’m the one who boxed his stuff, and yes that is a Santa Claus costume on top)

Meanwhile, Elina is assuredly plotting our destruction, having put up with our boyish antics for too long.

Come aboard, it’s an exciting company with nothing but growth ahead of us.  We love to read and hang out and nothing but opportunity awaits, just make sure you take the big insurance plan…

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, injuries, SF office