Rolling out the Red Carpet

Posted by Rudy on 10.20.2008 at 12:00 pm

Here at the Greenhouse, we get a lot of visitors from near and far; and, let me tell you, it never gets old. In fact, it’s one of the things that I enjoy most about being based here in Mishawaka. Among our recent guests were the Ambassador of Malawi to the United States and the Honorable Joe Donnelly of Indiana’s Second Congressional District.

Most recently, we received a visit from our local public television, WNIT, and their awesome program Outdoor Elements. Host Evie Kirkwood, who also serves as the director of our county park system, brought a film crew to tape a segment for the program which will air in Feburary 2009.

We walked our distribution center for about an hour, exploring all of the ways in which our little company in the corn fields has really embraced its sustainbility focused mission. From waste recycling to our co-op garden to our committment to reuse just about everything that we come in contact with (including our shelving and furniture), there was plenty into which to sink our teeth. I’m actually curious to see what will air during the short, 10-minute segment, given that we must have filmed more than 45 minutes worth! I’ll be sure to update you when the segment is available.

1 Comment » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, Dispatches from the Green House, indiana, Joe Donnelly, Mishawaka, Rudy Reyes Jr., Visitors, WNIT

Sales Support Team Bids ‘Adieu et Bon Voyage’ to a Sea Container…

Posted by Rudy on 10.17.2008 at 12:57 pm

What’s a sea container? Well, for us it’s a lot of books. Last month we bid a fond farewell to what amounted to a massive undertaking of love and fun. We hand packed over 20,000 books bound for Cambodia. While it isn’t our first container, nor our last, this one was the first for the new sales support team, who really got to know each other in this little venture. Picture it: nearly 1000 boxes, all those books, 14 hands… well, you get the picture. And, in case you didn’t, here’s one for you.

Have your say » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, Impact, Impact, International, Rudy Reyes Jr., Sales Support

Discovering the Value of Us

Posted by Rudy on 09.29.2008 at 4:00 pm

For the next ten weeks, my more than 200 co-workers and I will be celebrating the very best of one another through each of Better World Books’ core values.

1. We ♥ Books. Respect the book. Read often and help others to do the same.
2. Flabbergast our Customers. Seek out opportunities to make a difference with value, service, and selection.
3. 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.
4. Lead the movement. Take a stand; share your enthusiasm and build momentum through human connections.
5. Speak through action. Put your ideas to work; play to win but never fear failure.
6. Be passionate. Wear your heart on your sleeve; stand up for what your believe.
7. Pursue growth through learning. Challenge yourself; make a point to try new things.
8. Be genuine. Keep it real; be honest with others and true to your quirktastic self.
9. Embrace change. Adapt to circumstances; help others find ways to succeed in our evolving world.
10. Respect our team. Be humble; welcome diversity and recognize that shared success is the only kind that matters.

To get things started, the Antiquarian, Rare, and Collectible Books Team performed an original composition by cataloguer Carol Devorkin entitled “I Am ARC”…

Read more…

Have your say » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, Antiquarian Rare and Collectible, core values, Dispatches from the Green House, original poetry, Rudy Reyes Jr.

Seeing is Believing

Posted by Rudy on 09.02.2008 at 11:31 am

In the course of our days in the Antiquarian, Rare, and Collectable Books (ARC) section at Better World Books, we come across a number of gems and treasures. At least once a day, one of our bibliographers or cataloguers will excitedly share the latest and greatest tomes to come our way. I suppose one could liken it to Christmas morning: each box that we open is sure to contain a delight, though unknown until the moment it is revealed.

When I was a young child, I recall an oft-heard response from my mother: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” While she was mostly referring to my empty promises to clean up my room, practice the piano, or finish my homework, I usually find myself expressing that same sentiment when one of our ARC team members describes the latest ‘find’. Sure enough, once I see it, I am in awe.

We’ve taken that adage to heart and, for the last 8 months, have been putting a number of finer items up for public inspection on eBay. I know, I know, eBay?! It wasn’t until I obtained some obscure items for my personal collection of ecclesiastical history on eBay that I really became a believer. There are lots of advantages to eBay: a plethora of images, unlimited text descriptions, an open forum for Q&A, not to mention lots of exposure for obscure items and open-market competition. We’ve found such great success there that we have hired a full-time ARC Specialist with a focus on the eBay market.

So far, ARC’s presence on the eBay marketplace has connected a collector of antique Chinese drawings with an extensive collection of rare facsimiles. It has found a home for a hand-made collection of Walt Whitman photographs and a volume of plates from medieval Gospel books. And, it significantly augmented the collection of one researcher with the addition of facsimiles of the Washington Manuscript of the Minor Prophets in the Freer Collection and the Berlin Fragment of the Book of Genesis to his private collection. And, lest you think that all that we offer is from dusty and little known nooks of libraries, we’ve also been known to list limited edition prints of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, along with collectable editions of Popular Mechanics, TIME, and Harper’s Monthly – ok, ok, and a few MAD magazines and comic books as well.

While we will continue to list our entire ARC collection on BetterWorld.com – now more than 60,000 items – be sure to visit our eBay auctions and store where you will find some of the more interesting items that just have to been seen to be appreciated.

Have your say » | Tagged Antiquarian Ramblings, Antiquarian Ramblings, ARC, eBay, Rudy Reyes Jr.

A Pilgrim’s Progress

Posted by Rudy on 05.06.2008 at 6:58 am

A few years ago, in the midst of my doctoral studies, I had the privilege of joining with a professor of early Christianity at the University of Notre Dame to teach a course on pilgrimage. One of the central tenants of our exploration of this religious phenomenon was an old adage: “Often, it is not so much the destination, but the journey of getting there.” Each year, for example, tens of thousands come and go from the Way of Santiago de Compostella in Spain . Some travel the entire length of the Way, and others only a few miles. Many will never see the great Cathedral, but it is, in the end, about the journey. I was reminded of this a week or so ago when one of the bibliographers in our Antiquarian, Rare, and Collectable Books section shared with me a tattered blue volume bearing the name of Aldous Huxley.

In my hands I held a first U.S. edition, first printing (stated G-T) of Time Must Have a Stop, Huxley’s 1944 dystopia. Huxley is, of course, more widely known as the author of Brave New World, the first of a series of rather famous novels which would appear in the mid-20th century, depicting the future downfall of society. It would be followed by Orwell’s 1984 in 1949 and Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 in 1953. It is fairly unremarkable as far as first editions go; it is one of Huxley’s later works and is in less than mint condition. Nevertheless, this volume has captivated my attention for the last few days.

As I began to thumb through it, I discovered a number of ephemeron between the leaves: a New York Times clipping of a ‘study’ of James Joyce dated 22 December 1957, the front and rear flaps of the missing dust jacket, and pages 509-512 of C. Rolo’s omnibus of Huxley’s work, The World of Aldous Huxley. Perhaps most interesting, though, is a post card addressed to one J. Richard Stafford of Elyria, Ohio, from none other than Aldous Huxley. “Thank you,” Huxley writes in his own hand, “for your friendly letter. I can’t answer your Questions [sic.] about Pound, as I know too little of his work. Aldous Huxley.” The stationery bears the name of Aldous L. Huxley, Wrightwood , California . Huxley has marked through Wrightwood and written above it: “3276 Deronda , LA 28” (now 90068 – there’s a neat ‘street view’ on Google™ Maps).

 I cannot describe how captivating I found this volume. I began to examine each page of the volume, looking for notes, doodles, anything to tell me more about this Mr. Stafford. Was he a familiar of Huxley’s? of Pound’s? Was he a scholar? Was he simply drawing parallels between the work of the two men? Alas, I have found nothing, though not for lack of trying. The postmark of the card is not completely visible; I can only make out December. The rate for a postcard, however, was 2-cents, so it was likely after January 1952 when that new rate took effect (it had been 1-cent since 1898!). There is, at present, a home at the address to which Huxley addressed the card, but I have not been able to reach anyone there, though it is not as if estates were retained in families as in days gone by. But, I digress. Enough!

This short journey of mine to explore the life-history of this particular book – its various relics and hagiography – and its presumed owner, Mr. Stafford, as well as the latter’s relationship with Huxley, has consumed my days of late. It is as if this particular volume is on its own pilgrimage, from owner to owner, from shelf to shelf, giving witness not only to itself but to those with whom it has come into contact. I, on the other hand, am more like a spectator than a pilgrim. Yet, without we spectators, who were somehow foreseen like Waugh’s builders of Brideshead, these pilgrims would fall victim to a fate too horrible to imagine. It is their journey that we share and, in doing so, share in those of one another. I am happy to have been along its way and to have shared in its journey.

Have your say » | Tagged Antiquarian Ramblings, ARC, huxley, joyce, Rudy Reyes Jr.

The e-Book Side Show

Posted by Rudy on 02.21.2008 at 12:35 pm

A friend and I hopped a train to Chicago last month to catch the Lyric’s performance of Verdi’s La Traviata. As we boarded the train, it was the usual aisle shuffle, weaving past newspapers, crossed legs, hand baggage, and the like. We noticed, across the aisle, a gentleman reading on a new e-reader. He looked relaxed, unfettered by large pages of the newspaper, and unburdened by turning pages. My friend asked an innocent question: “Isn’t this bad for companies like yours?”

I’m a book lover (alias: hoarder; scientific name: bibliophile). I enjoy looking at books: holding them, flipping pages, separating un-cut periodical pages, etc. I am hard pressed to read anything on the screen. I find it so difficult to have any kind of interaction with a screen. Anything sent to me in this way is printed out at first opportunity (on the back of scrap paper, of course).

In some ways, the work that I do at Better World Books suits me perfectly. I get to hold some of the gems that all of you send to us each day: a first edition Roll, Jordan, Roll; a second printing Bell Jar; an autographed, first edition Zane Grey. The list goes on. I wonder how much a signed, “first download” copy of J.K. Rowling’s latest is going for these days?

So, no, e-readers are not bad for companies like ours. In fact, perhaps they might even help us out. Recent chatter has suggested that Google’s book scanning project has increased demand for paper copies of books by a measurable amount. It would seem that folks have more access to and awareness of books that they would like to have: to hold, to read, to treasure. I’d say the same will likely come of the e-reader: how else can one feel the same sense of accomplishment other than by turning pages?

No, physical books will never be replaced. Libraries, bookstores, and living rooms; they will always be a place where humanity can go to explore the thoughts of others as well as their own.

When my friend and I finally reached the opera house, we were exhausted. Waiting for the overture, I thought aloud: “I suppose that we could have purchased a recording from iTunes or gone to one of The Met’s Hi-Def Broadcasts and saved ourselves the trip here.” As we heard Violetta’s opening lines, performed that night by Renee Fleming, that idea seemed to fade into the distance. It was definitely worth the trip.

(Above: Geraldine Farrar as Violetta in La Traviata.)

Have your say » | Tagged Antiquarian Ramblings, antiquarian, ARC, e-books, Rudy Reyes Jr.