BWB Remembers The Books Of Our Childhood (2 of 3)

Posted by Better World Books on 05.15.2013 at 2:26 pm

Children’s Book Week continues, and here’s part 2 of our the books we remember loving in our own younger years. What were yours? Let us know in the comments.

(image courtesy of Goodreads)

Nuttybub & Nittersing by May Gibbs, published in 1923.

I loved reading and being read to. Read more…

3 Comments » | Tagged Book Lists, Children's Book Week, children's books

BWB Remembers The Books Of Our Childhood (1 of 3)

Posted by Better World Books on 05.13.2013 at 11:05 am

Children’s Book Week (May 13-19) is all about igniting a love of reading for young people, one that will stick with them and positively shape the person they one day become. What books stuck with you when you were growing up? We asked Better World Books employees just that question. Read more…

2 Comments » | Tagged Book Lists, Children's Book Week, children's books

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

You gave us scary book suggestions, and now we can’t sleep.

Posted by Tommy on 10.23.2012 at 7:00 pm

A few days ago, we asked you for some good Halloweenish book recommendations on Facebook.  Here are a few of the recommendations.

1. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Courtesy of Tatiana P.)
2. The Little Stranger (Thanks to Maggle M.)
3. The Graveyard Book (Hat tip to Sarah S.)
4. Let the Right One In (“So much more disturbing than either film adaptation,” says Daniella B., and Jamie S. agrees.)
5. Coraline (Says Amanda B., but she also casts a second vote for The Graveyard Book.) Read more…

Have your say » | Tagged Book Lists, community, october, recommendations, scary reads

Want to know what our customers have been buying over the last couple Octobers?

Posted by Tommy on 10.23.2012 at 12:45 pm

Here are the top October sellers from BetterWorldBooks.com during the last couple of years.  Wait, wait, first try to guess.  Did you guess something spooky?  The answer may terrify and/or not-at-all-terrify you.

In October 2011:

1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
3. Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis
4. A Child Called “It”: One Child’s Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling Read more…

Have your say » | Tagged Book Lists, Uncategorized, october, scary reads, unscary reads

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

The Best Book Series

Posted by Erin on 05.22.2012 at 9:00 am

Book-lovers are talking about an intense love for new trilogies such as Hunger Games and Shades of Grey, so we wondered, are those the most popular series out there or have the classics stayed on top? Here is a list of the top 10 book series – compiled and voted on by our Facebook and Twitter friends.

10. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series

9. The Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle

8. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

7. Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series

6. The Tomorrow series by John Marsden

5. L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series

4. Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien

3. The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis

2. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series

1. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

Did your favorite series make this list? What is it and why do you love it? Is there one specific book in the series you like the most?

6 Comments » | Tagged Book Lists

The Healing Power of Books and Writing

Posted by Erin on 05.14.2012 at 9:03 am

Guest post by budding author Malcolm McLoughlin

Books have always been a haven for me. The twists and turns, highs and lows of great tales have held my imagination since the first time I read Hansel and Gretel.

When my own life started to unravel through a mixture of alcoholism and the diagnosis of my daughters Autism, I found solace in books. An authors ability to transpose the readers to another world is one of the greatest gifts that can be given and received. Its a reciprocal and intimate exchange.

In dealing with my own demons I decided that writing was a way to heal old wounds and lay a part of my soul bare. In truth there is beauty. Read more…

6 Comments » | Tagged Book Lists, From our Friends

The Top 10 Children’s Books of All Time (Plus Maurice Sendak and Teacher Appreciation Week)

Posted by Erin on 05.10.2012 at 8:32 am

In honor of Children’s Book Week, we asked our Facebook and Twitter friends to share and vote on their all-time favorite children’s books. And the winners are…

10. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

9. Love You Forever by Robert M (a regular best-seller on Better World Books)

8. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie

7. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

6. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

5. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

3. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco

2. Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree

1. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

We also want to give special tribute to the #1 book on this list by none other than Maurice Sendak who passed away earlier this week at age 83. What is your favorite of his stories?

Finally, not only is this week Children’s Book Week – it’s also Teacher Appreciation Week. We love teachers and hope to help them at every opportunity we can, even offering a special educator discount on our site. Please take a moment to thank the special teachers in your life. You can publicly praise them here on our Blog or even on our Facebook page. We also invite you to buy a gift we know will mean the world to them – a book from Better World Books. Not only will the teacher receive a heartwarming gift, but someone in need will get a book too.

9 Comments » | Tagged Book & Author News, Book Lists, holidays, In the News

Top 25 Sellers on BWB in April

Posted by Erin on 05.08.2012 at 8:18 am

Did you contribute to this list by buying any of these books from us in April? We’d love for you to share a review of the books on this list you’ve read by commenting below. Do any of the titles that made the top seller list surprise you?

25. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

24. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

23. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

22. Mockingjay (The Hunger Games Trilogy – Book III) by Suzanne Collins

21. A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer

Read more…

1 Comment » | Tagged Book Lists