BWB @Lilith: Rockin’ and Readin’

Posted by Abbey on 08.05.2010 at 3:27 pm

Book lovers and music lovers were one and the same in the Better World Books booth at Lilith Fair 2010.  Check out some highlights from the tour!

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BWB @Lilith: Interview with Books for Africa

Posted by Abbey on 08.03.2010 at 11:31 am

Books For Africa, one of our nonprofit literacy partners, aims to end the book famine in Africa by collecting, sorting, shipping, and distributing books to children and schools on the continent.  Since 1988, they have shipped over 22 million text and library books to children and adults in 45 African countries.

During our stop in non-snow-covered Minneapolis, I was able to speak with Sara Schwiebert, BFA’s Development Director.  In this video, you’ll find out:

• BFA’s surprise origin story.
• How your purchases at Better World Books are helping end the book famine in Africa.
• BFA’s vision for the future.

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BWB @Lilith: Meet Co-Founder Kreece Fuchs

Posted by Abbey on 07.30.2010 at 10:20 am

If you been keeping up with Better World Books, you’ve probably already “met” co-Founder Xavier Helgesen and CEO David Murphy in an assortment of interviews and blog posts.  Well now it’s time to meet our other co-Founder, Kreece Fuchs.  Kreece works at our warehouse in Mishawaka, IN and took some time out from keeping everything running to join Lilith in Chicago.  Enjoy!

2 Comments » | Tagged Company News, chicago, Kreece Fuchs, Liltih

BWB @Lilith: Meet author Monica Holloway

Posted by Abbey on 07.28.2010 at 9:40 am

On our LA stop  Monica Holloway, author of DRIVING WITH DEAD PEOPLE, hung out with us to meet fans and sign copies of her latest book COWBOY AND WILLS.  She sat down with me and our trusty camera to chat about the book, Lilith and her affiliation with The National Center for Family Literacy.

It was so great to meet Monica and have her with us.  I hope you enjoy the chat and grab a copy of her book too!

Have your say » | Tagged Book & Author News, Company News, Our Partners, Author, Cowboy and Wills, Driving with Dead People, Lilith, Monica Holloway, National Center for Family Literacy

BWB @Lilith: Heart, Mary J. Blige and more

Posted by Abbey on 07.27.2010 at 10:57 am

Lilith is about giving back and Lilith is about women, but most of all Lilith is about music, so I thought I’d share some of the music I’m getting to experience along with the awesome fans I’m sharing it with!

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Finding Home in a Book

Posted by Abbey on 07.26.2010 at 11:42 am

It often seems the most interesting things in life happen to us when we’re not looking for them.  And so it is with “book treasures”; those rare things that when found while flipping through a seemingly worthless book suddenly make it precious.  For the reader, this could be any number of things: a date, an inscription, a photo, cash- the possibilities are endless.

In Indianapolis, a lovely woman by the name of Trish visited our booth at Lilith Fair.  Pema (AlterEco) was sitting by our bookshelf, thoughtfully contemplating her surroundings as she so often is.  The woman approached her, and held out a dollar bill.  She told Pema that she wanted her to have it. “I want to give you this dollar.  I received my concert ticket for free and this is all I have with me, but I want you to have it.”  Books were so important to her, and she explained that reading as a child had such a positive impact on her life.  She left the tent, and Pema immediately came over to share the story with me.

We started talking about ways to share the story and possibly even the dollar; to stretch it into something more with a broader message.  Everyone who came into contact with the dollar would read the story and experience finding something magical in an ordinary book.  Of course we’ve yet to put this into play and thought we’d sit on the idea for awhile.  I placed the dollar in one of my boxes and put it away in a crate for the night.

Read more…

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BWB @Lilith: How would you change the world?

Posted by Abbey on 07.23.2010 at 3:47 pm

The Lilith Tour hit Chicago last weekend — just a stone’s throw away from our Mishawaka, IN warehouse.  (Okay, admittedly you’d have to have a pretty good arm to throw a stone that far, but you get the idea.)  So a couple of our employees jumped in to help Abbey at the i4c tent!  Nate Heffner from IT grabbed the camera and talked to some Lilith fans about what else?  Books… and a better world!

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Better World Books + NCFL @Lilith

Posted by Abbey on 07.19.2010 at 10:18 am

At the Lilith Fair concert in L.A. I had an opportunity to chat with Emily Kirkpatrick of the National Center for Family Literacy about books, music, literacy and learning.

I asked her why are books and music so linked together for people and she had this to say:

“Passion – I think that’s the most important thing. People become avid readers because there’s a subject that they’re passionate about…and its similar with becoming a musician or enjoying music as a form of expression. It’s something that taps into your passion.”

Check out the video to hear more.

Have your say » | Tagged Our Partners, Emily Kirkpatrick, Lilith Fair, Los Angeles, National Center for Family Literacy, video

Rockin’ out with HEART in San Fran

Posted by Abbey on 07.15.2010 at 10:00 am

So after being on a music tour for a while, the “star-struck” atmosphere has definitely dwindled… but let me just say that when Heart took the stage in San Francisco, I could barely contain my excitement!  I mean come on, Ann Wilson?? Dare I say, best female rock vocals EVER???  (Can you tell I’m a fan?)  Her voice was pure and perfect, sounding just has it had when their first album came out in 1976.  What’s she doing to preserve that thing and how do I get in on it?   Other performances on the tour have been powerful and somewhat mellow, but Heart ripped that stage to pieces.  The audience was going crazy!  Rock and Roll!  Can’t wait to see their next performance tomorrow in Kansas City!  Ann and Nancy Wilson, you both have a piece of my heart!!

Ok, let me step away from the cheesiness before I reach a point I can’t come back from (too late?).   The San Francisco show as a whole was crowded with people.  We were right in front of the ABC Stage in the sponsor village and people were packed in as close as they could get in order to see the shows.  A Fine Frenzy drew a particularly large crowd with people surrounding sponsor booths and creeping back toward the entrance to the mainstage.  Can you really blame them? http://alturl.com/bjh4d

Have your say » | Tagged Company News, Ann Wilson, Heart, San Francisco

Better World Books + Invisible Children @ Lilith

Posted by Abbey on 07.14.2010 at 9:59 am

The Lilith tour recently stopped in San Diego, home of our non-profit literacy partner Invisible Children. We took the opportunity to have a brief chat with them about their mission and their  Schools for Schools program aimed at helping rebuild education in war-torn Northern Uganda.

Have your say » | Tagged Company News, Our Partners, invisible children, Lilith, Northen Uganda, San Diego, schools for schools