Seattle Green Festival

Posted by Dana on 03.31.2009 at 8:21 am

I am sitting  at the gate in Chicago Midway airport on my way home from the Green Festival in Seattle.  What a great experience.  The event took place over two days in the Seattle Convention Center and brought together amazing speakers, companies and attendees who are all working to conserve, reuse, recycle, and just generally improve the environment and thereby the economy.

This is the second Green Festival I’ve been too.  The first was in DC in November when I had no idea what to expect.  I have come to learn over the last few months how closely tied our environmental and economic issues are.  If you’re not sure what I mean, check out Van Jones’ GREEN COLLAR ECONOMY, Herve Kempf’s HOW THE RICH ARE DESTROYING THE EARTH,  and John Perkins’ THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE just to name a few.

At first I struggled a bit with the idea of the festival.  Many of the speakers talk about the need for us to curb our out of control materialism and cut back on our consumerism in general, and yet the floor of the conference is filled with companies selling their wares.  (Including us!)  But after my interview with John Perkins this past weekend, I got it.  Read more…

1 Comment » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, green festival, herve kempf, John Perkins, Van Jones

Better World Books Podcast: Stephen J. Cannell

Posted by Dana on 03.20.2009 at 4:56 am

I got a chance to talk to Stephen Cannell on the phone a couple of days before his visit to Atlanta on his book tour for ON THE GRIND.  It was a Saturday morning at about 9AM my time, meaning 6AM for him and he had already been up writing for several hours.

I was a bit nervous for the call, knowing that in addition to being a New York Times bestselling author, Stephen (I think we’re on a first name basis now) is also this uber famous and connected TV producer but truth be told, he couldn’t have been nicer or more gracious.

We talked about Stephen’s backround, and about the character of Shane Scully, his origins and where he may be headed next.   And though I know you don’t always think of action packed detective stories as being about some of the today’s most pressing issues, this one certainly is. Read more…

Interview with Stephen J. Cannell [ 21:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (908)

1 Comment » | Tagged Author Podcast, Castle, dana barrett, james patterson, Margaret Mitchell House, On the Grind, Shane Scully, Stephen J. Cannell

Better World Book Club: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Posted by Dana on 03.14.2009 at 6:19 pm

Still not signed up for the Better World Book Club Newsletter?  Our monthly book club email includes a synopsis of the book, discussion questions and even a great recipe.  You can sign up by going to manage subscriptions now.

You can also catch the selections AND discuss the book here on the blog.

Our Latest Pick

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

This is one of those books that I have been curious about for awhile.  It was somewhere on my list of books to read, but just had not risen to the top.  I think it finally jumped to the top of the pile after I saw Slumdog Millionaire, which is based on the book Q & A by Vikas Swarup.  Of course the main thing these two books have in common is that they take place in India, but after seeing the movie, I was interested in reading more about the country and the culture.

I actually really loved this book.  Though I have to say I am a bit surprised that I do.  In fact, the last book that I reviewed in which the main character was a murderer (we learn that very early on, so I’m not ruining anything for you) was Almost Moon by Alice Sebold which I struggled with a bit.  Read more…

1 Comment » | Tagged Better World Book Club, Aravind Adiga, book club, fiction, Q & A, Slumdog Millionaire, The White Tiger, Vikas Swarup

Paging Authors Podcast: David Sheff & Nic Sheff

Posted by Dana on 03.11.2009 at 2:02 pm

I got a hold of Beautiful Boy and Tweak less than 24 hours before I had the chance to meet and interview David Sheff and his son Nic.  And what an interesting 24 hours it was.  I spent that time totally immersed in their story and felt like I was seeing old friends when they arrived at the office.

Although their books feel completely different and are geared to completely different audiences, they share the same story; Nic’s terrifying cycle of drug addiction, recovery and relapse. Read more…

Interview with David & Nic Sheff [ 22:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2104)

2 Comments » | Tagged Author Podcast, Author Interview, Beautiful Boy, dana barrett, David Sheff, Memoir, Meth Addiction, Nic Sheff, Tweak

Thanks, Clark Howard!

Posted by John on 03.09.2009 at 6:54 pm

Clark Howard gave us a shout out today as a way of reading books on the cheap. Thanks, Clark! He spotted us in O, The Oprah Magazine. O had us pegged for “How to find Cheap Books Online” along with some other great options.

Who are we to argue with Clark and Oprah? They just may be onto something in a down economy – a story in a used book is just as good as the same story in a new book. ‘Course that’s a bonus above and beyond sparing the environment another printing.

It just so happens we have a couple of Clark’s books, filled with great advice on spending wisely, including Get Clark Smart: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Rich From America’s Money-Saving Expert, Clark’s Big Book of Bargains and Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids:
Teaching Kids of Every Age the Value of Money. Happy saving and reading and saving (in that order!).

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized

Free Warm and Fuzzy (not to mention free shipping)

Posted by Chip on 03.09.2009 at 6:31 pm

The only thing better then relaxing with a great book is relaxing with a great book whose purchase funded non-profit literacy efforts around the world.

Every purchase made from Better World Books comes with not only free shipping, but with a free warm and fuzzy.

What is a warm and fuzzy?

A warm and fuzzy is the unique and powerful feeling that is created through bringing hope to others. It is the feeling that comes from knowing your love of books is now going to help bring the magic of reading into the lives of many.

So next time you make a purchase from Better World Books take a moment to enjoy that warm and fuzzy feeling. Now that is what I call “good reading.”

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized

Vote Earth

Posted by Dana on 03.02.2009 at 9:07 am

Here at Better World Books, we are all about doing our part to save the environment.  That said, I know sometimes the whole thing can get overwhelming.  You’re not sure how to help and which little thing will really matter.  I can assure you they all do.  You’re efforts to recycle, turn the water off when you brush your teeth and buy books from us all matter.

Now there is something even easier you can do.  Vote Earth.  All you have to do is turn your lights off for one hour.  On Saturday March 28th from 8:30PM to 9:30PM just flip your light switches to off and you are voting for earth over global warming.

This is the third year of Earth Hour, which started in Sydney in 2007 with 2.2 million homes turning their lights off, grew to a global effort last year with 50 million joining in, and has a goal of 1 billion people turning their lights off this year.  Help ‘em out.   It’s easy, meaningful, and the candlelight could be fun.

For more information on Earth Hour, go to www.voteearth2009.org.

3 Comments » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, Copenhagen, Earh Hour, Global Warming, Vote Earth

Book Review: OUTLIERS by Malcolm Gladwell

Posted by admin on 03.02.2009 at 8:04 am

Natural talent:  We hear the phrase spoken often about composers like Mozart, computer programmers like Bill Joy, software geniuses like Bill Gates, and musical groups like the Beatles. We cannot all expect to be as successful as the Beatles or Mozart because we were not born with their natural talent. Or at least so go the musings from the peanut gallery of the less-than-successful.

In his latest book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of The Tipping Point and Blink, shatters many popular notions about success and proves again why he is one of the most interesting, intelligent, and talented writers of our time. Gladwell’s book helps readers understand what an outlier is-a value, observation, event, etc. that is numerically distant from the rest of the data -and why outliers matter.

In Outliers we get what business books should really be like; part psychology book, part business book, part history book, part sociology book, and part anthropology book. You don’t have to worry about going cross-eyed from reading too many business buzz words or meaningless platitudes. Outliers is chock full of amazing, interesting, and educational lessons about opportunity, success, and failure. Read more…

4 Comments » | Tagged Book Reviews, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers, R. Stephen Prather, The Tipping Point