Earth Day 2011 - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 15

We continue with our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers in celebration of the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day!

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we publish here the 41 best replies we receive, one reply a day. All replies are gathered and presented on the Earth Day 2011page.

Reason no. 15:

plant a tree for a book for the obvious reason of using paper but also because a book can be like a seed that sprouts an idea and who knows how big it will eventually get if left to flourish. I still want you to buy a book. - Karen

Thank you Karen for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Karen, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like The Last Original Idea by Alan K'necht and Geri Rockstein, Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf, and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

Every day we'll give further details on one of the prizes. Today we present you with the book The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard.

The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard - Americans have way too much Stuff , and way too much of it is toxic. Thats the message Annie Leonard has been spreading ever since her college days, and most recently in her short Internet film The Story of Stuff, which has been viewed by over 12 million people. But the film is only the tip of the iceberg.

This astonishing, inspiring book takes her message to an even higher level. In it she outlines the perils of overconsumption as she traces products back to their sources, through their life spans, and forward into their disposal. The Story of Stuff works on all levels as it brings together information on the environment, the economy, and cultures around the world.

With her trademark compassion, curiosity, and playfulness, Leonard gives firsthand accounts of sneaking into dumps and factories around the world; chronicles the lives of Haitian textile workers and Congolese kids working in deadly mines; shows how our health and well-being are compromised by neurotoxins in our pillows and lead in our childrens lunch boxes; and most important, tells us that this is not the way things have to be. She presents concrete steps for taking action that point the way toward saving our health, our communities, and the planet.

From high school kids to their parents in the suburbs, from government officials to people working in corporations, schools, and churches, The Story of Stuff is a life-changing book. Like Rachel Carsons Silent Spring, it will transform the way you think and act.

We still have some spots available so please send us your reply to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 14

We continue with our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers in celebration of the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day!

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.
So for 41 days until Earth Day, we publish here the 41 best replies we receive, one reply a day. All replies are gathered and presented on the Earth Day campaign's page.

Reason no. 14:

Plant a tree for a book so that future generations of creative writers will have something in which to marvel.- Lauren

Thank you Lauren for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Lauren, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like The Last Original Idea by Alan K'necht and Geri Rockstein, Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf, and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

Every day we'll give further details on one of the prizes. Today we present you with the book The Last Original Idea by Alan K'necht and Geri Rockstein.

The Last Original Idea: A Cynic's View of Internet Marketing by Alan K'necht and Geri Rockstein - The Last Original Idea – A Cynics View of Internet Marketing is a light hearted look at the state of Internet marketing today and traces back each of the elements to its historical roots, clearly demonstrating that companies who understood the mistakes of the past were able to be profitable in the present. Others are a mere memory, lost in cyber-space.

"Wisdom is about context. The Last Original Idea is a chronicle of communication and commerce as seen through the lens of the Internet. It is a must-have reference book for marketing people - if only to get a handle on all of those allusions you've heard, but can't quite place. This book puts the whole Internet phenomenon into perspective, takes the Gee-Whiz right out of it and leaves you with a view point tempered by time and seasoned with history. Just the thing for those who are rightfully fearful of repeating history." - Jim Sterne, Founder of the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit and the Web Analytics Association.

We still have some spots available so please send us your reply to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day 2011 campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 13

We continue with our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers in celebration of the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day!

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we publish here the 41 best replies we receive, one reply a day. All replies are gathered and presented on the Earth Day campaign's page.

Reason no. 13:

Planting trees for books is important because reading near trees gives you fresh air and fresh ideas. - Nancy

Thank you Nancy for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Nancy, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like The Last Original Idea by Alan K'necht and Geri Rockstein, Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf, and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

Every day we'll give further details on one of the prizes. Today we present you with the book Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf.

Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf - Have you ever stayed up all night scraping lead paint off the walls (and then realized you've actually made the problem worse)? Googled every toy in the house to make sure they didn't contain high levels of cadmium or lead? Searched every product in the cabinet for the mere mention of a paraben? As a new mother, Paige Wolf has been committed to living an eco-friendly and healthy lifestyle. But with the flood of constantly changing information, it's become an increasingly difficult task. In addition to the age-old daunting task of raising happy, healthy babies, mothers are constantly bombarded with new and contradictory research concerning environmental toxins, long-term product effects, and the far-reaching impact of every product we purchase and decision we make.

Spit That Out! answers the questions posed by mothers on the verge of a "green mom nervous breakdown" and turns to experts to present facts, debunk myths, and help parents stay on a reasonable and responsible course without losing their minds. Whether they are cloth-diapering, holistic mamas or moms who still can't give up their designer duds, all modern mothers can relate to the desperation of wanting to do the best for their children - and feeling hopelessly overwhelmed in the process. Spit That Out! feeds an audience of mothers hungry for commiseration, direction, and relief.

, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Barnes & Noble Bankruptcy Index: B&N is so cheap and yet no one wants to buy it!

I know - we're one day late, but we've got some interesting updates - this week our B&N bankruptcy index is showing bankruptcy is getting closer as no buyer is insight and B&N stock continues to fall down. Just a short reminder - As Borders filed for bankruptcy, we look at Barnes & Noble, the nation's largest book chain to see if they will follow Borders and also go into bankruptcy and if so, when exactly.

To do it more analytically we launched few weeks ago a new B&N Bankruptcy Index, which is based on 10 parameters, which receive a grade between 1-10 (1 - worst grade, 10 - best grade). Hence we receive a 0-100 point index scale, which we divide into several ranges as follows:

90-100: B&N is in an excellent shape. Couldn't be better!
80-89: B&N is doing great. Bankruptcy is no longer a real threat.
70-79: B&N could do better and has to be cautious of bankruptcy.
60-69: B&N doesn't look too good and bankruptcy is becoming a more realistic threat.
50-59: Bankruptcy is a clear and present danger.
49 and less: Red alert! Bankruptcy is just around the corner and is likely to happen within a short time frame.

We will check the B&N Bankruptcy Index every Thursday, updating each one of the parameters included in the index and will analyze the trend. You can follow the weekly changes in the index from the day it was launched on the Barnes and Noble Bankruptcy Index page on our website.

So here's our update for this week (in brackets is last week's grade):

1. Confidence of the stock market in B&N
This parameter will look at the performance of the B&N stock (symbol: BKS) in the last week. The performance of B&N's stock is an indication of the confidence the market has in the ability of B&N to maintain a viable business.

So let's look at last week's figures:

3/16: $9.71
3/23: $9.10
Change: -6.3%

As you can see, B&N's stock continued to fall down last week with a decrease of 6.3% in the stock's price. Just for comparison, the S&P500 Index went up during this period in 3.2% and Amazon also gained 0.4%. Just to give you a broader perspective - B&N shares have plunged 51% since Feb. 18, the last trading day before the company eliminated its $1 annual dividend.

The reason the stock keeps going down is probably connected to the fact that as Bloomberg reported Barnes & Noble said to be likely to end search without buyer, no matter how cheap the price is - "even with Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) selling for 60 cents on the dollar, the cheapest retailer in America still isn’t cheap enough to entice private-equity buyers looking for cash."

According to Bloomberg it looks like the only buyer left may be Leonard Riggio, founder and chairman of Barnes & Noble, himself as private-equity firms back away after the bankruptcy of Borders Group. I'm sure this piece of information is far from reassuring the markets.

Couple more figures from Bloomberg to take into account:

Barnes & Noble is now the only U.S. retailer valued at a discount to its net assets. The company sells for 0.6 times its book value, or assets minus liabilities, which is less than 94 other U.S. retailers with market values of more than $500 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The bookstore chain also commands less per dollar of revenue than any of its competitors, with its shares trading at 0.08 times sales in the past 12 months, the data show.

This week's grade for this parameter is going down by half a point to: 4.5 (5)

2. What analysts say on B&N

“There’s not much to like,” said Brian Sozzi, Wall Street Strategies’ retail analyst. “One thing I’ve learned in retail is once the model starts to go against you it’s tough to pull yourself out. Assets on their books are losing value so quickly. Other than Riggio, I don’t know who else would want it.”

“Barnes & Noble needs to do immediately what Borders waited too long to do,” said Jim McTevia, of Bingham Farms, Michigan-based McTevia & Associates, a turnaround consultant. It needs to start closing stores and “taking steps now to restructure this company before it’s forced into a Chapter 11” bankruptcy, he said.

The valuation discounts are “synonymous with companies that are really struggling,” said Michael Souers, an analyst for Standard & Poor’s in New York. “From a valuation perspective, it does look attractive but there’s concern about longer-term trends and little momentum in the near term.”

Even with Barnes & Noble trading at a level suggesting shareholders have more to gain from firing its managers and liquidating the company, private equity firms are wary of putting money into Barnes & Noble because it doesn’t generate enough cash to support a leveraged buyout and lacks property to sell off, according to Oscar Gruss & Son Inc.’s Bill Kavaler.

“It’s not generating cash, the future is too uncertain, the ability to lever the company is constrained,” said Kavaler, a special situations analyst at Oscar Gruss in New York. “It’s not a private-equity thing.”

He added that “This shouldn’t be a public company and it shouldn’t be a private equity company. It should be a private, family-held company. When it works they make a lot of money, and when it doesn’t work it doesn’t cost anybody outside of the family anything.”

Due to the relatively negative sentiment this week, this week's grade is going down by half a point: 6 (6.5)

3. New strategy to regain sales in the brick and mortar stores
Just like Borders, B&N still doesn't have yet a clear and comprehensive strategy that will transform their brick and mortar stores from a liability back to an asset. This week's grade stays the same: 4 (4)

4. What B&N is saying about itself
“Borders has had a number of strategic decisions along the way that were very different than Barnes & Noble,” Barnes & Noble’s Chief Financial Officer Joseph Lombardi said in an interview yesterday. “In June of last year we stood up in front of the investment community and said this was our plan we were going to execute. We are well on our way and positioning ourselves beautifully to participate in the e-book market.”

Well, I'm happy to hear that at least the CFO is optimistic..This week's grade for this parameter stays the same: 6 (6)

5. Steps B&N is taking
Nothing much here this week except the fact they're still looking for a buyer and can't really find one. This week's grade stays the same: 6 (6)

6. Competitors
This parameter will mainly look into Borders and how its problems affect B&N. This week's grade stays the same: 5 (5)

7. Financial strength
Two weeks ago Barnes & Noble published the results for the third quarter. This week we learned from Bloomberg that Barnes & Noble ran a deficit from operations, after deducting capital spending, of $166 million in the past 12 months, one of only two mid-sized U.S. retailers with a shortfall in free cash flow, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

This week's grade stays the same: 7 (7)

8. Strength of the digital business
No updates here, except this interesting update on Wall Street Journal:

Microsoft Corp. sued Barnes & Noble Inc. and the manufacturers of Barnes & Noble's Nook electronic book device, escalating a series of patent battles over gadgets based on Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

The Redmond, Wash., company, in complaints filed Monday in federal court in Seattle and with the International Trade Commission, alleged that Barnes & Noble, Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. and Inventec Corp. all violate five Microsoft software patents with Nook, an electronic-book reader sold by Barnes & Noble in it stores.

Other than a that we found only a reminder of the some ebook sales figures from Bloomberg Businessweek:

The Kindle has 67 percent of the e-reader market in the U.S., followed by the Nook at 22 percent, according to a February report from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Amazon also generates 58 percent of e-book sales, followed by Barnes & Noble’s 27 percent and Apple at 9 percent.

Bloomberg also mentioned that "some potential bidders balked at a purchase because of how long it may take Barnes & Noble to generate more digital sales, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because negotiations aren’t public."

This week's grade stays the same: 8 (8)

9. Sense of urgency
It looks like B&N still think they have time and are not worried at all, or at least not worried enough to begin doing something with their brick and mortar stores (again, we don't believe more toys in the stores and extra room for the Nook is a winning strategy). If we can learn something from the Borders' case, it's how fast things go bad when your reach a certain tipping point of financial distress or distrust of your stakeholders (consumers or publishers for example). This week's grade stays the same: 5.5 (5.5)

10. General feeling
This parameter will be an indication of our impression of all the materials read and analyzed for this index. Our feeling this week is that things are not looking too good for B&N with the falling stock, no buyer at sight and no strategy for the brick and mortar stores. This week's grade stays the same: 5.5 (5.5)

This week's Barnes & Noble Bankruptcy Index: 57.5 points (58.5)

As you can see, this week's index is set at 57.5 points, which means B&N is getting deeper into the 50-59 zone: Bankruptcy is a clear and present danger. It's still not the red zone but it means that bankruptcy is getting closer and is becoming a real threat to B&N. See you next Thursday.


To view the weekly changes in the index visit Barnes and Noble Bankruptcy Index on our website.

You can find more resources on the future of bookstores on our website at www.ecolibris.net/bookstores_future.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Working to green the book industry!

Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 12 by author Sarah Dean

We continue with our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers in celebration of the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day!

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we publish here the 41 best replies we receive, one reply a day. All replies are gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 12:

Even though my book was printed on recycled paper, I still chose to partner with Eco-Libris to have trees planted because originally, the paper probably did come from unreliable sources and then there's the transportation of the pulp to the paper mill, paper to the printer, books to me...planting trees "earns" carbon credits, so to speak. It is inexpensive, educational, and the right thing to do for the planet. - Sarah Dean, author of Coming Clean: My Letter-Writing Journey

Thank you Sarah for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

We want to mention again the great prizes we give away on this campaign, ourtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

Every day we'll give further details on one of the prizes. Today we present you with the audiobook The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz.

The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz - In The Healthy Home, a father and son-Dr. Myron Wentz, well-known microbiologist and founder of the USANA Corporation, and Dave Wentz, CEO of the USANA Corporation--take readers on a tour of a specific home for a look at the surprising health risks posed by the everyday products and behaviors of a modern family. Beginning in the bedroom and ending in the garage and backyard, readers learn about the degenerative effects of toxins in the home and receive simple solutions to help minimize exposure without foregoing convenience.

The Healthy Home is not a comprehensive tome on modern health hazards; nor is it a treatise on eco-conscious living. Instead, the book focuses on the most important environment--the home--and the problems that can most easily be lessened or eliminated. Busy parents who suspect that they should be doing more to protect their family but don't know where to start will learn about practical changes they can make in the next fifteen minutes, fifteen days, or fifteen months to create a haven for healthier living.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 11

We continue with our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers in celebration of the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day!

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we publish here the 41 best replies we receive, one reply a day. All replies are gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 11:

Books give us knowledge and call us to action. One action is planting trees to help the Earth - Nancy

Thank you Nancy for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Nancy, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

Every day we'll give further details on one of the prizes. Today we present you with the audiobook Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender and Alexandra Zissu.

Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender and Alexandra Zissu - FROM THE COFOUNDER OF SEVENTH GENERATION, the most trusted brand in environmentally friendly household products, comes this indispensable guide to maintaining absolutely everything in the home in a natural, nontoxic way. Jeffrey Hollender leads you through each room of the house with straightforward advice, comprehensive checklists, quick tips, and unparalleled resources while revealing the hidden repercussions of daily routines that most of us take for granted.

From improving air quality in your bedroom to avoiding mildew in the bathroom, from sourcing local or organic food to safely laundering your clothes, Planet Home offers invaluable information for making conscious decisions for your family, your neighbors, and our shared planet home. With additional information on power, garbage and recycling, air quality, and community activism, this book goes a step further to describe how any household is part of a much larger system.

Planet Home offers a unique, comprehensive, educational, and easy approach to helping you and your family lead healthier lives as we collectively protect and maintain our shared resources for many years to come.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Looking for great green ebooks? Check our weekly list of 10 recommended green ebooks!

We write here extensively on the ongoing dilemma of how green e-books are. Even though we believe e-reading can get greener, we can't ignore the growing popularity of ebooks (and you know I am fond of my Kindle..) and we want to help those of you who look to read interesting ebooks on green topics.

Therefore, starting this week, we'll have here a list of 10 recommended ebooks that we either read now or read about on Treehugger, Grist and other websites we follow. Most of them are new and were either released in the last month or two or about to be released (but already available as ebooks).

The links of these ebooks are to Amazon.com and I apologize in advance to all the Nook, iPad, Kobo and Sony Reader owners. I hope you can easily find an ebook you'll like on other ebookstores. This is also the place to disclose that we're taking part in Amazon's affiliate program and therefore will receive a small percentage of every purchase made using these links. We hope you don't mind!

So from now on we'll have a new list every Wednesday and you will be able to find all the lists on our recommended green ebooks webpage.

Without further ado, here's our first list of 10 recommended green e-books:

1. How Much is Enough?: Buddhism, Consumerism, and the Human Environment by Richard Payne - Wisdom Publications (March 10, 2010)

2. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson - Doubleday (October 5, 2010)

3. The Climate Connection by Renee Hetherington - Cambridge University Press (May 1, 2010)

4. Green Gone Wrong by Heather Rogers - Scribner (April 20, 2010)

5. Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail by Kurt Michael Friese, Kraig Kraft and Gary Nabhan - Chelsea Green Publishing (March 9, 2011)

6. The Overloaded Liberal: Shopping, Investing, Parenting and Other Daily Dilemmas in an Age of Political Activism by Fran Hawthorne - Beacon Press (April 1, 2010)

7. Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko - North Atlantic Books (March 8, 2011)

8. The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding by Jacquelyn Ottman - Berrett-Koehler Publishers (February 14, 2011)

9. Eating for Beauty by David Wolfe - North Atlantic Books (March 8, 2011)

10. Green Bites: Ecological Musungs from the Front by John Vlahakis - Amazon Digital Services (2011)

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!