Happy International Literacy Day

Posted by Tommy on 09.08.2011 at 1:36 pm

In 1966, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the 8th of September to be International Literacy Day: one day out of the year to call attention to the state of literacy and adult learning around the world.  UNESCO also takes this day toward the Confucius and King Sejong literacy prizes to governments or NGOs that contribute to the promotion of literacy.

You may ask: “Why literacy?” From unesco.org:

“Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy. Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.”

We couldn’t agree more.

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3 Comments » | Tagged holidays, Impact

Everything I know about life, I learned from (Literary) Dads.

Posted by Tommy on 06.17.2011 at 1:15 pm

June 19 is coming up, and that’s easily one of the most fatherly days of the year, if not the fatherliest. So let’s talk about lessons learned from patriarchal parental units — specifically, the ones in books. Here is a handful of Life Takeaways gleaned from dads of the printed page.

Be a good role model.
If there is one nugget of wisdom that lawyer and superdad Atticus Finch imparts to his kids by way of his actions in To Kill A Mockingbird, it’s to do the right thing no matter what. Even in the face of cantankerous townspersons and societal prejudice, Mr. Finch insists on taking the high ground instead of the easy road.

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1 Comment » | Tagged holidays, Uncategorized

Introducing Better Mars Books

Posted by Tommy on 03.31.2010 at 11:32 pm

Better World Books is expanding!  We’re happy to announce the grand opening of our new website, BetterMarsBooks.com.

In our ongoing effort to promote literacy efforts, we’re looking ahead to new markets, and we believe that we can make a huge impact on the planet Mars.

Why Mars?
With efforts going so well here on Earth, why bother moving our business to the Red Planet?  Well, there are a few reasons… Read more…

54 Comments » | Tagged Company News, Our Partners, Better Mars Books, Literacy on Mars, Read Planet

2009 Nebula Award Nominees

Posted by Tommy on 03.01.2010 at 11:19 am

The 2009 Nebula Awards are coming up!  The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) nominate a handful of highly esteemed works every year since 1965, when Frank Herbert’s Dune won Best Novel.  Other novel category winners since then have included Flowers for Algernon, Rendezvous with Rama, The Forever War, Neuromancer, American Gods, and The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.

I, for one, am on the edge of my Command Seat / Throne (Delete as needed according to your persuasion as a Sci-Fi or Fantasy fan.) to see who wins come mid-May.  In the meantime, here are some links to this year’s nominees after the jump.
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1 Comment » | Tagged Book Lists, Nebula Awards, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, SFWA

Win Free Books for a Year

Posted by Tommy on 07.29.2009 at 12:18 pm

(Update 8-11-2009: Congratulations to @rotemu, our first place winner! Enjoy your Year of Books!)
(Update 8-12-2009: Congratulations to our 2nd place winners: @whendrinksmix, @gabbytmb, @45thParallelism, @Calig_Kela, @fartsyarts, @TsarLeo, @Nimue23, @kinfolknews, and @ygor!)

The Year of Books contest begins today!  Here’s how to enter: Read more…

128 Comments » | Tagged Contests, bwbcontest, contest, twitter, year of books