Book review of "The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear" (and a giveaway!)

When I first heard about the title of our today's book, I thought to myself 'wow, that's an interesting combo'. After reading the book it's looks like there isn't nothing more natural in the world than a friendship of a ninja, cowboy and a bear.

Yes, the book we review today is "The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear" by David Bruins (author) and Hilary Leung (illustrator).

Firstly, few words on our collaboration with the author, David Bruins. As you can see from the photo of the cover of the book to your right, our logo is part of the cover, which means that for every copy printed of "The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear", a tree is planted with Eco-Libris. The book by the way is printed with vegetable-based ink on 30% recycled paper, by a FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified printer.

And now to the story. "The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear" is an illustrated children's story described as "a story about three friends (a ninja, a cowboy and a bear) who discover an important truth about equality, diversity and how to appreciate one another's unique traits".

I found it a great story about friendship and the way different characters can be friends. I believe the use of ninja, bear and a cowboy as the characters actually help kids to understand the way the idea behind the story and to identify with the way they act within the story.

The story has many lessons for kids and first and foremost is the idea that diversity is a good thing and can benefit us all if we approach it positively and from with the right approach.

This is all heavy stuff especially for kids and therefore it's a pleasure to see the way David Bruins and Hilary Leung are handling it and making this a fun story. The beautiful pictures of Leung together with Bruins' prose work together to capture children's attention, spark their imagination, and put a smile on their face.

The book also invites you (even if you're a grown up) to play the game Ninja Cowboy Bear, which is similar to to one you probably already know - rock, papers, scissors. The big difference is how you play it.. You can also play it online via the book's website.

Book details:

Book's name: The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear

Author: David Bruins
David Bruins spends most of his days as a computer programmer. However, he'd much rather spend his time riding his bicycle, playing guitar, or coming up with stories and telling them to anyone who will listen.
Illustrator: Hilary Leung
Hilary Leung is a designer by day, illustrator by night and ultimate player on weekends. Having spent the last five years pursuing other dreams, he is happy to return to his first true love - drawing.
Publication Date: November 2008
The book is available on: the book's website and on a long list of bookstores in Ontario
Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ninja-Cowboy-Bear/40018109739

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!

Author David Bruins is giving away a copy of the book, and of course it comes with a tree that will be planted for the copy!

How you can win? please add a comment below with an answer the following question: A new year is beginning this week (yes, 2009..) - what's your green resolution for the new year? Submissions are accepted until Sunday, January 4, 12PM EST. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a Tree for every Book you Read!

Kindle and Sony Reader - big hits on the holiday season

Following yesterday's post on Amazon's successful holiday season and eco-friendly it is to buy online, we also tried to check out how e-books were doing this month.

We didn't find much data on e-books, but we did find an interesting article on the New York Times that reported on good sales for Amazon's Kindle. Maybe too good - there are no sales figures but we do know that the $359 Kindle, it is out of stock and unavailable until February. Actually, PC Magazine reported already on December 1st that "Amazon now lists the Kindle's shipping date as 11 to 13 weeks".

Apparently it's the "fault" of Oprah Winfrey, who praised the Kindle on her show in October, and got many people to buy it. I guess Amazon didn't take Oprah into consideration and hence left with not enough Kindle devices for the holiday season.

The NYT reports that "the shortage is providing an opening for Sony, which embarked on an intense publicity campaign for its Reader device during the gift-buying season. The stepped-up competition may represent a coming of age for the entire idea of reading longer texts on a portable digital device."

Steve Haber, president of Sony's digital reading division, is quoted in the article saying that the sales of Reader 700, a $400 device, "had tripled this holiday season over last, in part because the device is now available in the Target, Borders and Sam's Club chains." He also said Sony had sold more than 300,000 devices since the debut of the original Reader in 2006.

How is it compared with the Kindle? it's hard to tell. Estimates mentioned in the article are anywhere between 260,000-1,000,000 units, and that's before Winfrey's endorsement.

Still, to put things in propotion we have to remember that e-books are still small fraction of the market. According to the artilce and other sources publishers like HarperCollins, Random House and Simon & Schuster say that the sales of e-books for any device constitute less than 1 percent of total book sales.

More related links:

Happy Holidays for Sony Reader by Craig Morgan Teicher - Publishers Weekly, December 22

No Happy Holidays For Publishing (Host Scott Simon speaks to Charlotte Abbott, contributing editor for Publishers Weekly) - NPR, December 20

E-books vs. paper books - Eco-Libris resource page

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Amazon is doing well this holiday season. Is it also good news for the environment?

Amazon.com announced yesterday that the 2008 holiday season finished as its best ever, with record sales of 108 million products from Nov. 1 to Dec. 25. The company did not report holiday sales figures last year.

Many books were purchased on the holiday season (although Amazon.com don't disclose figures), and it got me to think if the fact that Amazon is doing well is good not only for its bottom line but also to the environment, or in other words - is it more eco-friendly to purchase a book online?

Firstly, let's take a look on what the top sellers were on the holiday season - well, according to the press release "top sellers in books included "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" by J.K. Rowling (standard edition, hardcover), "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (The Twilight Saga, book 3, hardcover) and "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer (The Twilight Saga, book 4, hardcover)."

One bit of information Amazon did release was that "Amazon.com sold enough "Breaking Dawn" books that stacked end to end they would reach the summit of Mt. Everest eight times." You're welcome to do the math and figure out how many copies were sold..

And back to our question - are online purchases of books as well as other items on Amazon.com greener than driving to a local store and making the purchase there? well, it depends.. yes, it seems it's very difficult to give here an unambiguous answer. But we'll do our best :)

One good source I found on this question is 'Ask Umbra' of Grist. On her column last year "Mall me: on online shopping" she explains that "driving alone to a faraway place to buy very little is worse than having a few things shipped". But what about driving to a nearby local store? well, that's more complicated, especially when you add to the green equation the "local economy factor", which is the support your dollars provide to the local economy and to your community when you buy local. With Amazon it might work out if you live in Seattle but not otherwise.

Umbra's bottom line back then was "The jury is out. Follow your common sense until the jury comes back in. Don't take long, single-occupancy, single-purpose car trips for lightweight consumer items. (I leave you an out for picking up a potter's wheel or an anvil.) Avoid shipping by air -- plan ahead and don't be impatient when online shopping. And bundle shopping, shipping, and driving with others when possible."

This year Umbra was asked again about this issue ('The Click and the Dread', Nov 19, 2008). Umbra mentions a new research prepared the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which basically says that (and this is a quote of the ORNL's environmental scientist Jesse Miller) that "using several assumptions and data from several authoritative sources, we can reasonably estimate that nearly half a billion kilograms of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere by shopping on-line."

Another source I found is AskPablo of Triple Pundit. On his column "Online Shopping", Pablo is also trying to solve this riddle. He is examining a Digital Europe Project study entitled "The Environmental and Social Impacts of Digital Music," which published in July 2003, as well as some other studies.

His conclustion? "My conclusion is that dematerializing services that were previously delivered through the purchase of a physical good (CD's, books, movies, etc.) is less materials intensive. Additionally, delivery of purchased items in fully loaded semi trailers is much more efficient than driving to a store with an otherwise empty personal vehicle." So Pablo is leaning more towards online purchasing but also for him it's still not a clear cut.

Our conclusion? it looks like in general buying online is making more sense in terms of the purchase's footprint, especially if the alternative is driving by yourself for a relatively faraway store. But buying local is also important and therefore our advice would be to check local bookstores for books, see what they have to offer on their websites, compare prices and then make your decision.

This process might take a little bit longer but it will give you a much better chance to make the decision you will be the best fit for you and what you believe in.

And what about the sales of e-Books this year?? about that we'll talk tomorrow..

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Happy Holidays (and an advice on what to do with your holiday cards)

It's the festive season now and we would like to wish you all happy, peaceful, enjoyable and of course green holidays!

It's also an opportunity to remind you that if you look for tips and ideas how to green your holidays, you should check the great website of our friends Lynn and Corey of Celebrate Green! - http://www.celebrategreen.net/

And if you're one of those who already got many holiday cards (you've got a lot of friends..) and don't really know what to do with them other than just throwing them to the recycled paper bin, here's a video that might be helpful, especially if you're looking for something creative to do with your children (source: Do The Green Thing):



Best wishes,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Why men read less than women? is it only their fault?

If you find yourself in front of your laptop looking for something interesting/fun to read, here's one. It's not about sustainable reading, trees, green books or any of our usual topics, but it's definitely worth reading. The topic: can we blame guys for not reading?

Chris Goldberg is discussing this important issue on Huffington Post ("Dudes Don't Read: The Book Biz's Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?"). In his own words: "Dudes aren't reading. But is it our fault? Or have publishers just given up trying to publish and market books that we'd want to read?"

Do men really read less than women? the research Goldberg is referring to is not the only one claiming that. Eric Weiner reported last year on NPR about a A poll released last month by The Associated Press and Ipsos, a market-research firm: "Among avid readers surveyed by the AP, the typical woman read nine books in a year, compared with only five for men. Women read more than men in all categories except for history and biography." And it's not only in the U.S. - my guestimation is that this is a worldwide phenomenon. Check out Sweden for example.

Goldberg tries to figure out if it's us, the men, or the publishers who are putting almost all of their bets into girly books. He also makes a good point that these gender-biased reading habits also reflect similar bias in picking authors (hint: women rule). And he sums it up asking "How can we make reading novels -- and writing them -- cool again for guys under thirty?"

So check it out at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-goldberg/dudes-dont-read-the-book_b_152362.html

Happy Holidays!

Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

New collaboration with a Danish publisher of books that inspire, entertain and makes life less complicated

We are happy to announce on a new collaboration with a publisher. This time we have the pleasure to partner with the Danish publisher Clockwise: In collaboration with Eco-Libris, Clockwise will give costumers the opportunity to plant a tree for every book bought through the Clockwise website.

Clockwise is a new and innovative publisher. Here's a little bit more about it and two new books Clockwise is offering now (in Danish) from the publisher, Marie Halkjær:

Clockwise

Books that inspire, entertain and makes life less complicated. Clockwise is a Danish publishing company specialising in quality non-fiction that helps the reader deal with issues such as career development, parenting, relationship, health, hobbies and sports. Clockwise’s ambition is to make every book special in terms of innovative content and new formats.

Weekend

This is the complete guide to putting together a fun, challenging, relaxing or charitable weekend. Find inspiration for more than 100 great weekend activities and projects to enjoy with your friends, family or all by yourself. From a nostalgic trip down memory lane to wellness, extreme sports light, DIY or throwing theme parties. The book is stuffed with guides, tips and great advice on how to make your weekend special.

Manual

In 45 chapters the authors of Manual gives advice on how to become a winner in the garage, the car, the kitchen, the bedroom, the wilderness and lots more. It’s a manual for making your own schnapps, building an arcade machine and tacking great photos. An inspirational book guaranteeing many hours of entertainment with the guys, from wine tasting to kitesurfing and races with r/c cars. And a helping hand to avoid many unpleasant experiences – getting beaten up on a night out, loosing a discussion or embarrassing silence after your speech at your best friends wedding.

Clockwise is the third European publisher we partner with after BookHouse Publishing of Sweden and Flux of Norway.You're welcome to check out Clockwise's website at: http://www.clockwise.dk

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

And the winner of the "White Road" giveaway is...

Thank you for all the participants in our giveaway of the "The White Road and Other Stories" following the visit of the author Tania Hershman in our blog as part of her book tour on December 10.

We got great comments about your preferences when it comes to short storeis vs. flash fiction and your preferred length for a short story.And the winner in our giveaway, chosen by Tania, is Leah, who wrote the following:

It's so magical the many ways to swindle the alphabet!!! But, I have to confess that short stories steal my heart! There is room to expand and leave trails of adventure and create a mystery that only the reader will imaginatively be able to solve! Romance burns with more intensity and there always is a fire or two burning whether figuratively or literally in the distance or within. I'd say anywhere from 8 to 32 pages is brilliant for a short story. And, some of my most magical inspirations are Anais Nin, Jane Bowles, Ernest Hemingway, Flannery O’Connor, James Baldwin and more. : ))) Thanks so much for this fabulous give~away! : )))

Congrats Leah! You will receive a copy of "The White Road and Other Stories", and I'm sure you will be happy to know that a tree is being planted with Eco-Libris for this copy, as well as with every other copy of the book!

And two more exciting updates about the book:

Firstly, Tania's visit on our blog was reported in the LA Times book news blog, Jacket copy (which also wrote about us in the past)!

And Tania's book also got into the Amazon UK's list of Bestselling Short Story Collections. It was all the way up to no. 7 and right now it's ranked no. 16 because the book is currently out of stock in the UK (new copies are printed right now). Congrats to Tania!

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

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