Pre-Loved Book Seeking Loving Reader

Posted by Better World Books on 02.14.2013 at 10:40 am

I usually don’t use these online things. But I’m just sitting here collecting dust, so I thought, “Why not?” I’m young, I’m in great condition, and it’s time to get back out there and find someone new. Read more…

2 Comments » | Tagged Uncategorized

Why is our co-founder in an elephant costume?

Posted by Better World Books on 02.08.2013 at 6:21 pm

Co-founder Kreece Fuchs at left, and CEO Andy Perlmutter at right.

They say it takes all kinds, and Better World Books is no exception. Read more…

4 Comments » | Tagged Uncategorized

BWB goes to ACFB for some BC before TFDs

Posted by Better World Books on 11.16.2012 at 10:52 am

Contributed by Ryan Anderson (@gtryan), Marketing and Acquisitions Analyst at the Alpharetta office.

Or, in normal people terms, Better World Books goes to the Atlanta Community Food Bank for some barrel-cleaning before Thanksgiving food drives.

The Atlanta Community Food Bank is a huge, impressive organization that provides food to hundreds of food pantries in the metro-Atlanta area. In any given month, the ACFB can help put up to four million pounds of food into the hands of those who need it.

Recently, our campus team put together a food drive in our office complex benefitting the Atlanta Community Food Bank. But simply collecting food wasn’t enough to satisfy these go-getters, oh no. They actually called over to ACFB to ask about any other needs they may have. Read more…

2 Comments » | Tagged Uncategorized, Atlanta Community Food Bank, volunteer, volunteerism

Post-election reading for political junkies, news nuts, and history buffs

Posted by Better World Books on 11.07.2012 at 1:58 pm

Are you the type of person that doesn’t so much watch up the news as hit refresh on it?  If so, you’ve probably been one busy bee recently.  While you probably have more than enough news sites, blogs, and other opinion pieces to keep up (or catch up) with, don’t forget that the turbulent world of politics and current events lives on in book form!

But where to start?  How about the top selling books from our Political and Current Events category on BetterWorldBooks.com?

1. America: A Patriotic Primer by Lynne Cheney
2. What It Takes: The Way to the White House by Richard Ben Cramer
3. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes Read more…

Have your say » | Tagged Book Lists, current events, politics

Six Weeks at Better World Books

Posted by Better World Books on 08.06.2012 at 9:19 am

Erin Horning joined us for six weeks as the Sigma Tau Delta intern in our book acquisitions department. She wrote this post for us to share her thoughts on her time spent with BWB.

I can’t believe it’s over. It seems like yesterday I was soaking up the Georgia sun after my first day as the Sigma Tau Delta intern for Better World Books. Now, six weeks later, I am packing up my memories and preparing to drive back to Williamsport, Pennsylvania where I’ll spend a few weeks relaxing before my last semester at Penn State Altoona. My first three weeks at Better World Books were a fantastic blur that you can read about here, on Sigma Tau Delta’s official blog.

The second half of my internship has gone by even faster than the first half. Read more…

5 Comments » | Tagged Uncategorized, Erin Horning, intern, sigma tau delta

Literacy Trip 2012: Checking in from Ho Chi Minh

Posted by Better World Books on 07.09.2012 at 2:29 pm

Tammie Nelson is our Controller and leads the Accounting team at Better World Books and is currently on our 2012 Literacy Trip.  She sent in this update after a visit with our nonprofit literacy partner Room to Read.  Over the next week or two we’ll be posting more updates from the trip.

Working at BWB, I thought that I understood the importance of promoting literacy. This year, I am honored to be visiting our literacy partners in Vietnam and Cambodia. One day into the trip and I know it is a serious reality check for me. I was so fortunate to be raised by parents that placed a high value on education. There was never any doubt in my mind about going to college. My dad knew where I was going (Penn State) and what I would be studying (Accounting) when I was a young child. I’m glad he was right.

July 4th was our first meeting with our literacy partner, Room to Read. At the RtR offices in Ho Chi Minh City, we met with the Communications Officer and the Vietnam Program Directors. These ladies have such passion for their work. When we asked why they do what they do, one said that after 35 years of working, she finally feels like she is making a difference. Funny, I feel the same way about my work at BWB. Although I am the Controller and am doing the same type of work I have done for many years, it seems different now. Another’s eyes welled up with tears and she was choked up as she talked about her girls.

The Girls Education Program works with girls at schools in poor districts. This program has evolved from hand selecting a limited number of students to working directly with classes of students in the schools instead. So many children leave school after the primary years because they need to work and help support the family. School means tuition, uniforms, transportation, and time. These require money and time that the family cannot spare. RtR helps with these issues. Students in this program require the help of the whole community. When a student enters the program, it is a commitment from their family and community for change. The students, the schools and the parents must recommit every year that they will allow time to study. I was surprised to learn that the student and the parents have a contract with RtR showing that they are committed to change.

It’s only day one and I already know that I will never forget what I am seeing and learning in Southeast Asia.

2 Comments » | Tagged Impact, bwbimpact, literacy, literacy trip, nonprofit partners, room to read, vietnam

Heroes With Tails

Posted by Better World Books on 06.21.2012 at 4:52 pm

Melissa Baron is a writer living near Chicago who works in the world of publishing.  She shares her observations, insights, and opinions about books at her blog: miskadoodlewrites.wordpress.com.  Today she shares a short trip down memory lane with the tail-sporting heroes of classic children’s books.

We’ve all, at one time or another, wondered what the world would be like from an animals’ perspective, and contemplated how wicked cool it would be if animals could talk. All right, maybe more so when we were children versus now, but there’s a reason Disney and Pixar films featuring animals draw in just as many adults as children (not including said children’s parents). Or is that just my friends and I? Anyone? *crickets chirping* All right, moving on.

Anthropomorphizing animals is like the greatest thing ever, and shows up everywhere; films (Land Before Time, oh man does anyone remember those movies? The first one makes me cry. Every. Single. Time), television shows, comics, books. I’m particularly interested in books centered on them, especially when the animals are the stars, and not just side characters, a la the Cheshire Cat or the White Rabbit in Alice In Wonderland. There are many, many out there, so I’m going to count down my favorites. Let’s tap into that inner child and geek out a bit over our favorite animal heroes, shall we?

So come along with me!

The Wind and the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

My adoration of this book started early. Read more…

1 Comment » | Tagged Book Lists, anthropomorphizing animals, children's books, guest

Recycle Week 2012

Posted by Better World Books on 06.18.2012 at 1:10 pm

By Emma McNeill, Organisational Support Manager and Environmental Champion at Better World Books.

One of Better World Books Guiding Principles is ‘Invest Well. Waste Not – Choose wisely, consider the return on your efforts and the impact in your actions. Reuse, reuse, reuse…then reduce and recycle.’ It’s a great message and one that I believe in.

It’s coming up for Recycle Week 2012 (organised by WRAP under the Recycle Now brand) and I will be using the week to encourage the people around me to recycle more by letting them know the reasons why recycling is important. So here are 5 Good Reasons To Recycle: Read more…

1 Comment » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, recycle, reuse, UK

Hands-Free Books: Read Anywhere.

Posted by Better World Books on 04.01.2012 at 6:00 am

No doubt about it: the life of the 21st century working person is a busy one, and finding equilibrium between one’s career and life can be a real balancing act.  Even today’s young people are feeling the pressure of a tight schedule.  (Recent studies show that top Outlook calendar entries among 6-year-olds read, for example, “Grab some face-time with Billy” and “Conf. call @ monkeybars.”)

Thus we face the question: Living life at a pace like this, when can we find time to read?

The Better World Books R&D team, working out of our vast underground laboratories and testing facilities in northern Indiana and doing a mess of science down there, has finally come up with a viable answer: Hands-Free Books. Read more…

41 Comments » | Tagged Uncategorized

Love Letter to a Book (The Alternative-to-Valentine’s-Day Post)

Posted by Better World Books on 02.14.2012 at 2:44 pm

I’ll never forget the day we met.  It was in the Classic Literature section.

I’m not one to judge a book by its cover, but yours caught my eye.  So confident and cool, so full of mystery.  Please don’t think poorly of me when I say it left much to the imagination.

The website said you were available. Read more…

1 Comment » | Tagged holidays, valentines day