Which special offers you will get on our newsletter tomorrow?

Tomorrow (Thursday, October 16) we send our monthly newsletter and this is a great opportunity not only to read about updates about our work, but also to receive special offers from authors and publishers we work with.

We will offer all of our newsletter's readers discounts on the following books:

'Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir from an Atomic Town' by Kelly McMasters

'Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations & Traditions for the Whole Family' by Corey Colwell-Lipson & Lynn Colwell

The White Road and other Stories by Tania Hershman BUTT UGLY by Lynn Montgomery

BUTT UGLY by Lynn Montgomery

There will be also a special offer of free copies of 'Planet Earth Gets Well' by Madeline Kaplan!

And last but not least, a special offer on book-themed gift baskets from our friends and partners at Bookworm.

If you haven't signed up yet to our newsletter you can do it now to enjoy all of these special offers. All you have to do is just to sign up, using the box on the right side of the page saying 'Join Our Email List' and that's it !

And as we wrote two weeks ago, if you sign up until October 31, you will have the chance of winning a copy of "Of Parrots and People: The Sometimes Funny, Always Fascinating, and Often Catastrophic Collision of Two Intelligent Species" by Mira Tweti. We will have a raffle between the new subscribers on November 1st and will post here the name of the winner. And of course, a tree will be planted for this copy as well!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Blog Action Day 2008: fighting poverty and deforestation at the same time

This year's Blog Action Day is dedicated to poverty and to ways we can and should fight it. This is a great opportunity to give big kudos to our planting partners, who are dedicated not only to fight deforestation in developing countries, but also to fight poverty in these areas.

In many cases, deforestation and poverty goes together. I would like to quote from a letter of Florence Reed, founder and president of Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) few months ago that explains this connection:

"More than 158 million acres of forest were destroyed in Latin America and the Caribbean from 1990 to 2005, the United Nations reports. Slash-and-burn farming devastates communities and the fragile ecosystems where they live... I recently returned from Nicaragua, where I saw smoldering stretches of land where I had seen lush tropical forest only a few years ago. Ancient trees are being cleared to make way for cattle pasture and African palm plantations or simply burnt for charcoal. The cycle of slash-and-burn depletes nutrients from the soil so that farmers are no longer able to grow their crops. Families are forced to abandon homesteads and seek new areas of forest to burn, or travel to urban areas in search of a better life that they rarely find there. The families burning these stretches of land are living in extreme poverty. They are desperate to learn ways to provide food for their children without destroying the forest.

Sustainable Harvest International is the solution to this vicious cycle of poverty and deforestation. Our local staff provide training in simple techniques that enable families to increase their yields, market their crops, improve their health and restore the environment."

This is only one example of the great work done by SHI, as well as the Alliance for International Reforestation (AIR) in Guatemala and RIPPLE Africa in Malawi. We are proud to collaborate with them and thank them for their efforts to fight both deforestation and poverty.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

* The photo is courtesy of Sustainable Harvest international (SHI)

The ultimate challenge for book lovers: 24 Hour Read-a-thon

Do you like reading? I bet you do. So how about a 24 Hour Read-a-thon? Few days ago I learned about this great initiative, which was created by Dewey of the blog The Hidden Side of a Leaf and will take place this Saturday (October 18). Basically the 24 Hour Read-a-thon is an open invitation to readers to read for 24 hours and interact with each other during that time.

The person whom I learned it from is Andi Miller of the excellent blog Tripping Toward Lucidity: Estella's Revenge. This is the second year she is participating in the 24 Hour Read-a-thon and I asked her to share with us her experience and tips for those who would like to do it for the first time. As you will see she is getting us into the event as well!

Can you tell us what is exactly the Read-a-Thon? can anyone participate in it?

I might not be the right person to ask about this one, as the lovely and stunningly talented Dewey from The Hidden Side of a Leaf blog is responsible for dreaming up and organizing the Read-a-Thon. (http://deweymonster.com/?page_id=722) In a nutshell, it's an invitation for readers to set aside 24 hours of reading time and raise some money for a worthy (bookish) cause if they see fit. It's a great premise at that, but Dewey has taken the Read-a-Thon to an even greater level with the addition of cheerleaders who go around and comment at the participants' blogs and keep morale high, there are hourly "mini-challenges" for readers to take part in and build community, and there are contests and prizes for participants.

For me personally, the Read-a-Thon is a great way to step back from the hustle and bustle of my everyday life—take a few moments away from the college English students I teach online and in-person, the paper grading, the homework for my own graduate courses in Library Science, and indulge in my favorite pastime. Sadly, I find that sometimes I need an excuse, an event like the Read-a-Thon, to give myself permission to indulge for that period of time.

How was your Read-a-Thon experience last year? how many hours did you dedicate for it and how many books you read during that time?

The Read-a-Thon has actually become a twice-yearly event with the last one having taken place in June 2008. It was my first time around, and it was quite an event! Unfortunately, I didn't have as much time as I would've liked to devote to my reading: I had a new puppy in the house that definitely didn't understand the concept of my not paying attention to her, had some family obligations, and whatnot. This year I hope to devote a solid 24 hours, with breaks, of course. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit in my previous experience with the Read-a-Thon I was only able to complete two whole books, although I dabbled in four more. I think I wrapped up with a total of approximately 600 pages or so in 12 hours of reading spread over the course of the day.

What books you preapre on your shelf for this year's Read-a-Thon?

I discovered from that first attempt that it's really important to read short books to keep the pace moving along and also to keep morale up with an ongoing sense of accomplishment and to stave off boredom and reading overload! So far I have a slew of young adult fiction and some shorter adult fiction offerings on my stack:

Tideland, by Mitch Cullen
Suicide Notes, by Michael Thomas Ford
Wondrous Strange, by Lesley Livingston
After the Train, by Gloria Whelan
Dope Sick, by Walter Dean Myers
The Running Man, by Michael Gerard Bauer
The Man Who Turned Into Himself, by David Ambrose
Heroes and Villains, by Angela Carter

What tips you have for book lovers who want to participate in it for the first time (warm clothes? short books? :-) ?

Definitely short or fast-moving books and a good variety of books. Although I have mostly young adult fiction on my list so far, I will also add some graphic novels, short story collections, and non-fiction—maybe a food memoir or two. Aside from the length of the books and the content, I would suggest having a stash of yummy snacks in the house. For me that means chocolate, chips, some healthy snacks so as not to go into a carbohydrate lull, and definitely caffeinated drinks! The urge to fall asleep gets really bad in the early morning hours. Also, have something fun to do during the breaks: I keep my laptop close by to check in with the other participants and play some music when I need to dance around to stay awake and get my eyes off the pages.

Do you just read for yourself or also interact with other readers participating in the event?
Interacting with the other participants in the Read-a-Thon really brings the experience to life. Personally, I like to post hourly blog updates, or maybe every couple of hours, just to let the other participants know what's going on and to get some comments going. I also check in on other participants and see what kind of mini-challenge is going on every hour at Dewey's blog, otherwise known as Read-a-Thon headquarters.

Some readers might say that it's not that fun to read for so many hours with little or no breaks at all. How do you keep it fun?

I can really only read for about 45 minutes straight without a break. My eyes start blurring and my body falls asleep from the waist down, so I make every effort to take about a 15 minute break every hour to update my blog, take a walk, play with my dog, or whatever I can do to stay excited. I also move to different parts of the house. My favorite place to read is on my bed, but it gets uncomfortable after a while, so I plan to head out to my sunroom for a view of the outdoors.

You asked the readers of your blog (Tripping Toward Lucidity) to sponsor your participation and one of the options you offered is to do it via Eco-Libris. We're very honored with your choice - can you further explain your request from your readers?

Issues of environmentalism have long been of importance to me, but increasingly so in the last few years. My first inclination when I become interested in any topic is to read about it! While I would never give up my reading, my increased awareness about environmental issues has forced me to think about how my favorite things in the world—reading and books—affect the environment. Deforestation is one of the leading causes of global warming, so it's increasingly important to me to save paper and balance out my reading habit whether it be buying and selling used books, trading them through sites like BookMooch, or having Eco-Libris balance out my reading for me. I've suggested a few options to my readers if they think they might want to "sponsor" my reading in the Read-a-Thon:

- Donate a set amount for every book I read during the 24 hours of the Read-a-Thon
- Donate a set amount of money per page I read during the Read-A-Thon.
- Donate a set amount of money per hour I participate in the Read-A-Thon.
- Give a "flat fee" donation of whatever you can manage
- Post short pieces about Eco-Libris on your blog to spread the word

Whatever money I raise during the event will go to Eco-Libris, and any BookMooch points I receive as a result will go directly to a BookMooch charity library to build their own collection.

Thank you Andi for the interview and good luck to all the participants in the 24 Hour Read-a-thon, and of course have fun!

Raz @ Eco-Libris
http://www.ecolibris.net/

* The photo is one of the buttons of the 24 Hour Read-a-thon, which were all made by past read-a-thon participants (from The Hidden Side of a Leaf)

Monday's green books series: Little Panda and Little Monkey (and a great giveaway!)

Last month we announced on our collaboration with Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing in an educational contest - I CAN SAVE THE EARTH!. This was in a celebration of their new line of eco-friendly children’s books, Little Green Books.

In the next couple of weeks we will review the first four books that were published so far. Today, on our Monday's green books series, we have the pleasure to start with two of them that are about two good friends - a little monkey and a little panda.

Our books for today are:

Little Monkey by Kimberly Ainsworth and Little Panda by Kimberly Ainsworth

Little Monkey

Author: Kimberly Ainsworth

Illustrated by: Michelle Berg

Published on: September 9, 2008

Ages: 3 and under

Description: Meet Little Monkey and his friend Little Panda as they spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together! Little ones will love to cuddle with this supersoft fleece cloth book that's made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece.This book is machine-washable and comes packaged in a chipboard box that's made from 100% recycled material. Safe for all ages.


Little Panda

Author: Kimberly Ainsworth

Illustrated by: Michelle Berg

Published on: September 9, 2008

Ages: 3 and under

Description: Meet Little Panda and his friend Little Monkey as they spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together. Little ones will love to cuddle with this supersoft fleece cloth book that's made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece. This book is machine-washable and comes packaged in a chipboard box that's made from 100% recycled material. It's the perfect gift for a baby!

These two cloth book communicate with each other as we find both heroes - the little panda and the little panda on both books. Both are written by Kimberly Ainsworth and have beautiful illustrations.

Now, as an adult it's very hard to make up your mind about these kind of books. You need to have a kid in the right age (3 and under) to get an objective review of the book. Fortunately I have one. My baby girl, Shira, is 4 months old, and I gave her both books to experience with for a couple of weeks. And here are her impressions:

1. Both books are very tasty.

2. Both the panda and the monkey are cute, but the monkey is the favourite one!

3. The illustrations are really eye catching, especially when the monkey is included.

4. Text is interesting - she listened very patiently couple of times when I read her the stories.

5. The books became part of her most favorite toys - she can play with them for a really long time before she throws them away.

So these are Shira's impressions and I count on her judgment! I can only add that these books survive the laundry machine very well and look like they can hold forever (or at least until Shira will get stronger..).

And of course, there's the green part we shouldn't forget about: the books are made from 50% recycled material, the covers are Polartec® fleece made from recycled material and they come packaged in a chipboard box that's made from 100% recycled material.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!

Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing are giving away one package of the 4 books published so far in the Little Green Books line: Little Panda, Little Monkey, I Can Save the Earth!: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle and The Polar Bears' Home: A Story About Global Warming.

This is a great prize and firstly we thank Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for it! How do you get a chance to win this prize? please add a comment below with an answer for the following question: what is the best way to plant the seeds for earth-friendly living at an early age? if you have stories from your own experience with your kids that would be great.

Submissions are accepted until Sunday, October 19, 12PM EST. We will pick the comment we liked best and the winner will be announced the following day.

More relevant links:

I CAN SAVE THE EARTH! contest web page

On Eco-Libris website: http://www.ecolibris.net/littlegreenbooks.asp

Green Little Books' website: www.SimonSaysKids.com/LittleGreenBooks

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: http://www.ecolibris.net

Eco-Libris' September winners at the Garden Gate Shop

Last August we published here the story on the Garden Gate Shop in the Missouri Botanical Garden, which initiated an Eco Libris sales contest between the sales associates.

The Garden Gate Shop is taking part in our bookstores program, offering visitors to plant a tree with us for every book they buy at the store and receive our "One tree planted for this book" sticker at the counter.

We are happy to present the September winners. From left to right, Sheena Petty, Nichole Martinez,and Erin Roe! And don't be wrong - these crowns are real!

Thank you to all the winners, as well as all the other wonderful people of the Garden's shop who are taking part in the joint effort to make reading more sustainable.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

The green builders' book club

While checking out the website of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), I learned on a new book club they're establishing with Island Press: GreenWorks. It will offer USGBC members the newest and best books on green building.

GreenWorks, according to the news release, will offer professionals a place to connect with others in the field, share their thoughts on various books, ideas and authors, as well as learn more about all things green building.

The books will be selected on a monthly basis by a panel of leading experts in the field, and are available for purchase from Island Press. USGBC members will be able to buy at discounted prices (up to 40%).

The first four books to be featured on GreenWorks are:

1. Emerald Architecture, by GreenSource Magazine, a collection of 24 in-depth case studies of green buildings that are both sustainable and attractive.

2. The Green Building Revolution, by Jerry Yudelson

3. Sustainable Construction, 2nd edition, by Charles J. Kibert

4. The Necessary Revolution: How Individuals and Organizations are Working Together to Created a Sustainable World, by Peter M. Senge with Bryan Smith, Nina Kruschwitz, Joe Laur and Sara Schley.

You can find more details at GreenWorks' website: http://www.islandpress.org/usgbc

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

The Secret Life of Paper

How is paper production related to forest destruction and global warming? Why is recycling and buying recycled paper important? Some of the replies to these questions can be found below in a video called "The Secret Life of Paper".

Thanks to the Green Initiative Press' last newsletter I learned about this interesting video of INFORM. It is part of INFORM’s Secret Life Series, which is a collection of videos that highlight the environmental impacts of everyday products we all use.

INFORM is an organization that is "dedicated to educating the public about the effects of human activity on the environment and public health. Our goal is to empower citizens, businesses and government to adopt practices and policies that will sustain our planet for future generations."



You can find more important information on the environmental impacts of paper production, paper recycling, alternative fibers, and policy at the Secret Life Series website.

Enjoy the video,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!