What Do I Do With Your Donated Books?

I have been blessed with many generous folks that stop by and say "We have a lot of books that we don't know what to do with. Will you take them?"

As we begin our third year I am now feeling buried in used books.  We do buy some books but we are beginning to be more selective in what we will pay for and we are going to need to develop some guidelines so our customers know that we cannot buy back used books that we previously sold at a deep discount and that we need to restrict our purchases of books from other used paperback stores.

But that is not the purpose of this post.  We have the policy of always accepting donations of used books, and that won't change -- I can't bear to see books thrown away when there are so many less fortunate for whom a book is a treasured luxury.  My problem has been deciding how to get my ever-expanding and towering piles of books to those in need.


That is where Better World Books and the Reuse First Internet Service comes in.

Reuse First: Making sure books get to readers – wherever they are!

The Reuse First Division collects tons of unwanted books to help fund literacy initiatives locally, nationally and around the world. We have raised $8.6 million dollars for global literacy by capitalizing on the value of so-called “no-value books.” Whether you are an individual, student group, library, or bookstore, we have a program that is perfect for you.

As a for-profit social venture, Better World Books’ success is measured by the positive impact that we make in addressing specific social issues; for us, that issue is literacy. Our collected books benefit five major nonprofit literacy programs as well as 80+ other literacy-based nonprofits.

I signed up with this company last year and sent a box of books to them.  The great thing is they handle all the shipping and so the donation to them does not cost us anything.  My main objective was to try and make sure that the books our customers gave to us, that we could not use, would go to support literacy in our own country and abroad.

So anyway, I boxed up some books, sent them away and forgot about it.  Then, today, I decided to check out what had happened to this box of old, less than pristine and well-used books.  That was when I discovered the "Green" part of what Better World Books achieves. The environmental impact of recycling these 14 books resulted in saving 1 tree, 82 gallons of water, and reduced landfill space by 1 cu. yd. Okay, I know that isn't much but when you look at this program on a national basis the results are phenomenal

Since its founding in 2003, the company has raised over $7.3 million for its non-profit literacy and library partners; diverted more than 29 million pounds of books from landfills; achieved 11,000 tons of carbon offsets through carbon-neutral shipping, and created more than 200 full-time jobs with meaningful benefits.

Better World Books diverts books from landfills by conducting book drives on 1,800 college campuses, and by collecting discards from over 2,000 libraries nationwide. It then sells those used books and contributes a portion of the revenue on each sale to its non-profit literacy and library partners. Books that cannot be sold are frequently donated to at risk communities in the U.S. and African schools by the truckload..

So my next project is to see how we can arrange to have a Book Drop Box set up at Paragraphs.  But, until I get that done I will be sending some of those books you all have been kind enough to donate to us to Better World Books.  And, I encourage each of you to consider transferring any of your online buying from Amazon to Better World Books. Of course, we prefer you shop with us, but, please consider using Better World Books for some of your book purchases because at Better World Books every purchase you make helps to change the world.

But, don't worry, we will always have plenty of used books to pick from on our shelves. 

AUDITIONS for "Murder At the Tonylou Awards"

El Paseo Arts Foundation is kicking off its 7th season with a Mystery Theatre Production and "Chair-ity" Auction on September 15, 2011, at the Hilton Garden Inn. We'd loved to have you as part of the show.

AUDITIONS for "Murder At the Tonylou Awards" will be held

on August 8, 2011

at 7:00 p.m.

at Paragraphs

No previous acting experience is required. All you need is a sense of humor and a desire to have some fun. The play is a mystery spoof set at Hollywood style awards show and the audience gets to play detective and solve the crime. There are speaking parts for 6 females and 4 males and there's one non-speaking female role for a Trophy Girl.

Even if you're not sure you're ready for "prime time" auditions are always fun, especially for a spoof like this one. So come on the 8th and just watch if you just want to see what it's like. We can always use an audience.

Man Booker Prize Longlist Announcement

This is the list of the titles nominated for the 2011 Man Booker Prize

Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending (Jonathan Cape - Random House)
Sebastian Barry On Canaan's Side (Faber)
Carol Birch Jamrach's Menagerie (Canongate Books)
Patrick deWitt The Sisters Brothers (Granta)
Esi Edugyan Half Blood Blues (Serpent's Tail - Profile)
Yvvette Edwards A Cupboard Full of Coats (Oneworld)
Alan Hollinghurst The Stranger's Child (Picador - Pan Macmillan)
Stephen Kelman Pigeon English (Bloomsbury)
Patrick McGuinness The Last Hundred Days (Seren Books)
A.D. Miller Snowdrops (Atlantic)
Alison Pick Far to Go (Headline Review)
Jane Rogers The Testament of Jessie Lamb (Sandstone Press)
D.J. Taylor Derby Day (Chatto & Windus - Random House)

The chair of judges, Dame Stella Rimington, comments:

 'We are delighted by the quality and breadth of our longlist, which emerged from an impassioned discussion. The list ranges from the Wild West to multi-ethnic London via post-Cold War Moscow and Bucharest, and includes four first novels.'

Shelf Awareness for Readers

One of the newletters that I try to make sure I read every day is Shelf Awareness.  This online resource does a good job of keeping me, as a bookseller, caught up to date on new releases, media appearances by authors, and what is going on in the book publishing and retail world.  I also find their book reviews useful.  So, I am pleased to announce that they are making this resource available to readers. 

Shelf Awareness: Enlightenment for Readers is a FREE emailed newsletter with reviews on the 25 best books publishing each week along with author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways and more. Right now they’re running a contest for new subscribers.

Sign up below and you will be eligible to win a free book.

Plants of Deep South Texas: A Field Guide to the Woody and Flowering Species

Slide Show and Lecture
Plants of Deep South Texas: A Field Guide to the Woody and Flowering Species
Dr. Alfred Richardson
Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard
5055 Padre Boulevard, South Padre Island, TX
Thursday, March 31, 2011
5:30 – 7:00 pm

You are invited to join us on Thursday evening, March 31 at 5:30 for a slide show and lecture which will be presented by Dr. Alfred Richardson about the "Plants of Deep South Texas: A Field Guide to the Woody and Flowering Species" The event will begin at 5:30 and the slide show and lecture will be at 6pm. This book as well as other titles by Dr. Richardson will be available for purchase and for signing.

Over ten years in the making, Dr Richardson and biologist, Dr Ken King, travelled thousands of miles trying to find the right time to take photos and find many of these plants. This is your opportunity to meet and hear from one of the foremost experts in flora of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Dr. Alfred Richardson is professor emeritus of biological sciences at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Ken King, of Weslaco, Texas, has a MS in biology with an emphasis on herpetology. He serves on the board of directors for the Native Plant Project and is well known in the valley as a self-taught naturalist.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided

For information call us at 956-433-5057

More about the book:

Covering the almost three million acres of southernmost Texas known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley, this user-friendly guide is an essential reference for nature enthusiasts, farmers and ranchers, professional botanists, and anyone interested in the plant life of Texas.

Alfred Richardson and Ken King offer abundant photographs and short descriptions of more than eight hundred species of ferns, algae, and woody and herbaceous plants—covering two-thirds of the species that occur in this region, excluding grasses.

Plants of Deep South Texas opens with a brief introduction to the region and an illustrated guide to leaf shapes and flower parts. The book's individual species accounts cover: Leaves, flowers, fruit, blooming period, distribution, habits, common and scientific names.

In addition, the authors' comments include indispensable information that cannot be seen in a photograph, such as the etymology of the scientific name, the plant's use by caterpillars and its value from the human perspective. The authors also provide a glossary of terms, as well as an appendix of butterfly and moth species mentioned in the text.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This book has been on my to be read list for ages. I think the time has come to actually sit down to it. From everything I have read this would be a great book club selection.

One reviewer comments:

Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

We now have it in stock in a trade paperback edition.

From the Prologue:

The Woman in the Photograph

There’s a photo on my wall of a woman I’ve never met, its left corner torn and patched together with tape. She looks straight into the camera and smiles, hands on hips, dress suit neatly pressed, lips painted deep red. It’s the late 1940s and she hasn’t yet reached the age of thirty. Her light brown skin is smooth, her eyes still young and playful, oblivious to the tumor growing inside her—a tumor that would leave her five children motherless and change the future of medicine. Beneath the photo, a caption says her name is “Henrietta Lacks, Helen Lane or Helen Larson.”

No one knows who took that picture, but it’s appeared hundreds of times in magazines and science textbooks, on blogs and laboratory walls. She’s usually identified as Helen Lane, but often she has no name at all. She’s simply called HeLa, the code name given to the world’s first immortal human cells—her cells, cut from her cervix just months before she died.

Her real name is Henrietta Lacks.

Part science, biography, and history this book deals with the many of the issues we see in the front pages of the news every day and which are at the center of some of the most fierce culture wars and ethical debates. I am really looking forward to reading this book.

We now have it in stock in trade paperback. You can also buy the book online, read this book on your ereader or download the audio book to listen to on your ipod or MP3 player.

Purchase at our online store here: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Download the audiobook at this link

Or, download it to read on your ereader of choice (Kindle excepted) here: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Kind Words from the SPI Flip Flop Foodie

Every once in a while I have to share some very nice thing someone has said about the store. One of our frequent visitors who stops by often and always generously shares some latest culinary experiment -- cookies, cake pops or some other decadent tasty treat -- writes a delightful blog The South Padre Island Flip Flop Foodie. Anyway, Debbi wrote this very nice blog post about Paragraphs and I had to share some of the highlights.

Paragraph's "Meet the Author Series" are like a "social"...people visit, there's usually snacks of some sort, frequently wine, coffee, or tea...it's like we've gone to Joni's home and she has entertained us at a fine, yet comfortable, soiree. (I can come with no make-up, shorts, and flip flops...

she continues ..

There are no whispering library voices in Paragraphs...just lots of happy and interesting people.

What I really liked about Debbi's kind words is her reinforcement that we are providing the atmosphere that has been the driving force behind the development of Paragraphs from the very beginning. Our logo was even designed to represent the social hub idea that is what we want Paragraphs to be all about.

So, I do appreciate the kind blog post by Debbi. If you cook, or like me just like to eat, The Flip Flop Foodie is a great blog to follow. And if you live on the island and haven't gotten to know Debbi Hook, she is a person you should meet.

She continues:

This week, Joni shared a fabulous little rum cake...I am determined to duplicate it. She said a friend shipped it to Griff from the Caribbean...something like a Tortuga Rum Cake. If I get around to making my take on it, I'll blog about it you can be sure! Past events have featured yummies from Zeste, cheese and crackers, chocolates, and other little yummies. What book store does that? We are so fortunate to have them.

Now, I am waiting for her to try the Tortuga Rum Cake! I can't wait to sample some of those experiments!

A Great Read to Listen to

I love audio books. I listen to them whenever possible - walking the dogs, working outside, driving, actually, I am listening to a book whenever I can't sit down and read. I must admit, most of the time I find this a good way to catch up on classics that are in the public domain and available at Librivox. What is better than getting a classic story read to you, for free? These volunteer narrators are quite good.

But, I am always surprised when I listen to a professionally produced audio book. Right now I am listening to "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman and read by the author. This had been on my TBR pile for ages but I just couldn't sit down to it. After hearing the audio version recommended by Michael and Ann, at Books On The Nightstand I have been waiting for it to become available at the Denver Public Library, but I finally decided to splurge and download a copy from Audible.

I have not been disappointed. Everyone knows Gaiman can write a great story but he is also a wonderful storyteller. I have been drawn into the story in a way I don't think I would have been by reading the book.

The publisher says:

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack - who has already killed Bod's family.

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times best-selling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

Music arrangement of "Danse Macabre" copyright 2008 by Béla Fleck and Ben Sollee, Fleck Music (BMI), admin. by Bug Music.

©2008 Neil Gaiman; (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

This is a young adult novel that can be enjoyed by kids of all ages. A little scary in places for sensitive readers -- it is Neil Gaiman, after all -- but generally a tale to keep your interest. You can purchase the book for download here.

Writer's Roundtable at Paragraphs

We have started a new group at Paragraphs for anyone interested in improving their writing skills. Any type of writing is welcome and there is no previous experience necessary. If you use words to communicate then you are wanted for this group -- songwriters, poets, historians, fiction writers, memoirists, manga -- whatever genre you are interested in, you are welcome. I am also setting up a Discussion tab for this group on the store FB page. Feel free to ask questions, offer suggestions to your fellow authors, post tidbits of information, whatever - the page is there for your use.

The group will have a variety of formats. Some months we will have individuals read a sample of their work and if they choose to, ask the rest of the group for suggestions or a critique of their work.

So that this is kept positive and no one is afraid to come to a meeting or intimidated by the thought of having their work critiqued, let me emphasize that sharing and requesting criticism is always voluntary. You are welcome to attend and listen and then share as you become more comfortable with the group. To be a good listener and to be able to provide helpful suggestions will add to the success of the group but will also improve the quality of ones own writing. To facilitate this I am going to share some basic guidelines. (Thanks to Pat Avery)

Critique Guidelines for Writer Round Table Discussions at Paragraphs

Basic Information:

1. Comments about a fellow writer's work should be constructive criticism of the material. Always show respect. A member of the group should never criticize the writer personally or ridicule his or her work.

2. Start with positive comments and then offer suggestions. Writers are creative personalities who write from the heart and intellect. Whether a person is writing a memoir, a novel, nonfiction or poetry it is uniquely personal.

3. Think in terms of cleaning up, strengthening, tightening and trimming the work. Help the writer whittle away unnecessary words and thoughts. Whatever the genre, a tightly written document generates more interest. Suggest improvements that add color and clarity to the work.

Areas for Critique:

Story
Does it make sense? Did you like it? Did it keep your interest?

Plot
Is the plot consistent? Is it believable, understandable and well-organized?

Characters
Are the characters well developed? Were they consistent and true to their character throughout the manuscript? Could you form a mental image of each character?

Setting
Did the setting support the plot and characterizations? Were you able to form a mental image of place and time?

Conflict
Did the writer develop a conflict? Did the conflict create tension? Did the plot keep your attention? Should the action be faster or slower? Were there too many subplots to stay focused? Did the plot come to a resolution?

Dialogue
Did the dialogue match the characters personalities? Was it believable and true to time and place? Did it move the plot forward or create a diversion? Did it build the conflict? Did the author use dialogue to show rather than tell the story.

Grammar
Was the story easy to follow? Were sentences or paragraphs too long or short? Did the story flow smoothly? Was point of view established and maintained? Did the writer use too many -ly adverbs or were common words overused -- like very, many or just? Were grammar rules such as gender and tense consistent?

Of course, depending on the type of writing the above guidelines may vary but the basics are here and hopefully we will add to and revise these as we go along.

President's Day Lecture at Paragraphs

Daniel Ruddy
Lecture and Discussion of
Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States

Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard
February 21 at 7pm

If you could talk with any living or dead person about American history, who would it be?

For historian Daniel Ruddy the answer to that question is Theodore Roosevelt. As he states in the introduction to his book "Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States", published by Harper Collins,

Knowing I could not resurrect the dead, I decided to do the next best thing and create Roosevelt's part of the conversation. The result is this book, which is based exclusively on Roosevelt's own words. I have not added a single word of my own to the main text, reserving my comments for the Explanatory Notes.

Beginning with Herodotus and Thucydides men have chosen to write about history with the hope that studying the great deeds of the past and the characteristics of the great men who performed them will be of service to the present.

Roosevelt claimed to be a historian and he did publish numerous books on history. His one wish was to write a history of the United States. While he never had the time to actually accomplish this goal, this volume, compiled by Mr. Ruddy, is just that, Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States.

Ruddy, invites us in his Introduction to

..transport yourself back in time to a pleasant summer evening in the year 1918, to Roosevelt's home, Sagamore Hill, high on a hill in Oyster Bay, New York. Pull up a rocking chair and join TR on the veranda, with its fine view of Long Island Sound. after you settle in you can engage him in the topic that interests you most -- American history. It is a good topic to bring up because it interests him, too; in fact, it is one of his passions.

So I am pleased to welcome Daniel Ruddy to Paragraphs on Monday, February 21, in recognition of President's Day, for an informative evening celebrating the fine mind and astute observations of the 26th President of the United States.

Daniel has appeared on BookTV and been featured on Fox and friends. It is truly a pleasure and wonderful opportunity to welcome him to South Padre Island and Paragraphs.

Daniel Ruddy grew up on Long Island, New York, where a childhood trip to Roosevelt's home, Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay triggered a lifelong interest in TR. He is a marketing consultant for Fortune 500 companies, and he holds a master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics He is an avid researcher into U.S. history and the presidency.