In addition to being an author, Laura Flanders hosts GRITtv – a daily talk show which airs online as well as on satellite, cable and public tv.  The show also airs weekly on radio and focuses on both news and arts.

We talked primarly about the book BLUE GRIT which focuses on the Democratic party and Laura’s belief that the party has to stop pandering the middle and focus on it’s liberal base.  The Blue Gritters as she calls them.  The book cites examples from the 2004 and 2006 election cycles, but in the interview we talked about what differed in 2008 and how the Democrats were able to succeed.

We also talked about GRITtv a bit – and if you’re a budding documentary filmmaker – you won’t want to miss the part where she explains how to submit your video to be aired on her show.

I hope you enjoy the interview!  Click here to check out the rest of the great authors talking about their books on our podcast page!

What’s great about Perkins’ books is they are written for real people like you and me who are not economists and who are not focused on this stuff on a daily basis.  Each region of the world is discussed not in mind-numbing detail but with just enough information to get you up to speed.  But what really makes the books are John’s real life experiences and observations.

I met John for the second time at the Seattle Green Festival and had the opportunity to sit down with him to talk about his work.

I hope you enjoy the interview!  Click here to check out the rest of the great authors talking about their books on our podcast page!

This was the first year the festival was held in Denver and though the weather wasn’t great on Saturday it cleared up and the traffic picked up on Sunday.  Unlike Seattle, where we just had an informational booth, in Denver we were the official bookseller for the festival.

It’s a lot of fun getting to meet our customers face to face as well as both the local and national authors.  One of the highlights for me was getting to meet Mike Farrell who played Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on M*A*S*H.  Of course in addition to his acting, he is well known for his activism and has two books out which he was signing after his talk.  I’ll actually get the chance to sit down Mike for a podcast while when we’re in Chicago for the next Green Festival, May 16 & 17.

I’m looking forward to another fun but exhausting trip out there, so if you’re in the area, come see us.

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.  It’s not about cutting consumerism altogether or never buying anything again.  It’s about buying smarter.  Buying used or re-purposed items.  Buying from B Corporations, fair trade companies, organic companies, etc.  And yes – about buying less.  It’s about knowing the companies that you are buying from and making informed decisions.

Many Americans voted for change in the last election and are being encouraged to stay involved and stay or become more active.  One very simple way is to vote with your dollars.  So – if you missed the Seattle Green Fest (or don’t live anywhere near there)…maybe you can catch the Chicago or Denver Green Festivals coming up in May.  I’ll be there.  Stop by the Better World Books bookstore and say hello!

Dana sat down with Governor Madeleine Kunin following her talk at the recent Green Festival in Washington DC to talk about her latest book.  Pearls, Politics, and Power is a call to action for new political engagement and leadership from the women of America. Informed by conversations with elected female leaders from all levels, Kunin, former three-term Vermont Governor and Ambassador to Switzerland, asks: What difference do women make? What is the worst part of politics, and what is the best part? What inspired these women to run, and how did they prepare themselves for public life? How did they raise money, protect their families’ privacy, deal with criticism and attack ads, and work with the “good old boys”?  Dana talks to the author about these issues as well as her thoughts on the recent landmark election.

All the way to the airport I was about to pass out from nerves. But as soon as I got on the plane (which was very tiny) I felt a little bit better. Then it started to move. It kind of felt like being in a car, so I got more comfortable. It moved around the airport to get lined up for take off, then super shot to like a million miles an hour! (Needless to say, the seat I was sitting in has permanent indentations on the arm rests from my hands). After that the rest of the ride was actually quite fun. I popped in my headphones and turned on some super awesome music and parked my face looking out of the window. The clouds were so pretty so I took a ton of pictures. I’m actually excited to get back on a plane someday. I think that’s why I’ve never really gone anywhere, I pictured a horrible Richard Matheson scene on planes where would be something on the wing trying to take out the propellers. My imagination is one of a 5 year old.
The first day we were there we went to see all of the tourist sites. It was very cool. Everything was really beautiful, you really can’t tell how big something is just by seeing a picture of it. The Lincoln Memorial was HUGE! I felt kind of dumb when I saw it because I was telling everyone that I was going to try to sit on Abe Lincoln’s lap. Yeah, that wasn’t happening. We walked everywhere while we were there so my feet were very sore, but I was happy we did. It was really neat to see all of the buildings, they were so detailed and really cool. They were so eye-catching that I almost fell on my face looking up at them (luckily Kelly was beside me to catch me).

The Green Festival was amazing. It was cool talking to people about Better World Books, and seeing their reactions. It gave me a chance to see BWB through other people’s eyes. Everyone that I talked to was blown away by what we do at BWB. It was also funny how some people that were there already knew about Better World. One person told me that he had been buying his books from us for the past year or so. I also heard someone saying ‘Better World Books? Wasn’t that business created by those Notre Dame kids?’

So, that’s pretty much how my trip went. I also got to meet some really awesome people from the San Francisco and Atlanta offices. Cory, Eddie, Geoff, Christian, and Dana (you guys rock!) My eyes were totally opened to what else is out there besides this little town. And it will definitely not be another 24 years before I travel again.

–Destinie

Come hang out, meet the SF team, meet some of the warehouse crowd, and let us shake the hands of our customers!

May 17 + 18 at the Navy Pier in Chicago.  Bring 3+ books and get $5 off admission for the weekend (and I’ll love you forever).

Seattle Green Festival = major success.  First of all I’d like to thank our lovely volunteers who helped us collect 3 pallets of books(!) at the festival and looked good doing it.

Next I’d like to thank all the people who came by the chat it up with us lads, about the environment, books, and pretty much anything else (and whoever bought Jaime’s hide-a-book (as I put it, to hide things from your friends who don’t read), enjoy that awesome piece of craftsmanship).

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I’d like to thank the burrito place, for making delicious, delicious, organic burritos, AlterEco for their myriad delicious chocolate selection (try the mint, wow!) and HonesTea for the case of lemon black tea that I nabbed at the end of the conference.  Muy delicioso!  OK, OK, so more thanks to the people who came to talk to us (including the gent who said he had bought 60+ books from us and knew our business model better than some of us did, wow).

Book your tickets now, Chicago, May 16, making it happen as the official bookstore of their Green Fest!

Today if you want to find five good looking guys who are into supporting literacy by selling books (as well as bicycling, basketball, and Patriot League sports/Notre Dame football) then swing by the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle.  There, if you can wade through the awesomeness at the Greenfest you’ll find, Rudy (of ARC fame), Xavier, Justin, Geoff and myself making the rounds and reppin’ BWB at our booth.  Come by, get a shirt, tote or just say hey!

Expect some new enhanced (ooooo!) content this weekend.

Above: Paul Drake, Geoff Schwarten, Silvia Sweidan, Brad Weirich, Natasha Harris, Justin Brandon

Above: Plastic Man

The man above was one of the flashier participants at the Fest.  He single-handedly ran his own awareness campaign about plastic, and came dressed in 700 plastic grocery bags (the amount of bags the average person throws away in a year) in order to effectively demonstrate how much waste our lives contribute to the environment.  Makes you want to buy reusable grocery bags, right?!