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How To Reduce The Size Of Your Home Library

If you’re like many people, you may feel equal amounts of joy and dismay when looking at your growing library of books. After all, books can be one of the most appreciated types of possessions, since they can be enjoyed time and time again, and even passed down through generations. However, books can take up a lot of space and if you’re an avid reader, you may quickly find yourself running out of space to store your books. If you’re looking to thin out your book collection a bit, here are a few ways you can do it.

Check to see if there are any used book retailers in your area. Many people prefer to support their local booksellers, and a great way to do that is by adding to their collection with some books of your own.

If you do not have a used bookseller in your area, you can think about offering your books for sale on a website such as Amazon.com. If you don’t want to go through a lot of effort to sell your books, this is probably your best bet. However, keep in mind that you may not get a lot of money in return for your books. Of course, this is determined by several factors, but many books on Amazon are sold for nothing more than a penny (not including the cost of shipping).

Conversely, if you are not too interested in profiting from your books, think about donating them to a nearby charity or library. Actually, any type of facility that regularly welcomes the public could be a recipient of your donated books. Doctor’s offices, homeless shelters, schools and daycare centers are just a few examples. Of course, if you choose this route, make sure that your donated books are appropriate for the intended setting.

Filed Under: Book Distribution, Books Tagged With: Amazon Kindle, Book, Bookselling

Joining A Book Club

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Whether you love reading, are looking to spice up your social life, or both, a book club can be a great opportunity to explore. The first order of business is to see if there is a book club currently meeting in your local area. Even if you assume that there aren’t any, you may be very surprised. Book clubs often meet within churches, in home living rooms, and more. One of the nice things about book clubs is that they are usually quite casual. So, you don’t have to worry if you only have the chance to read one book every four months, or a book every week. The amount of reading is not the issue, so much as the importance of taking time to slowly digest the overall quality of the written word.

Once you’ve found a suitable book club, try to find out which books are on the club’s reading list and read at least part of the current selection before you attend the first meeting. This way, you’ll have something to contribute to the discussion.

Speaking of the discussion, don’t be shy about sharing your views about the book! Even if your perspective is quite different from that of other members of the group, the beauty of book clubs is that they gently urge their members to embrace alternative views of the books that are read. This in turn helps members to understand that there are multiple ways to interpret a book’s content. Once book club members embrace that reality, they will often find that their own perspective of the book is greatly enriched.

Finally, don’t subject the other members of the group to a blow-by-blow rundown of every sentence of the book. Just come prepared to discuss some of the main things that you took away from reading the chapter or entire book that’s being covered.

Filed Under: Book Distribution, Books Tagged With: Book, Book discussion club, Literature

Welcome to the Age of the Digital Reader

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Printing companies spend millions each year to print books and textbooks. Someday, maybe these companies will focus on printing digital media. It seems as if books these days are going the way of CD’s. With the invention of the digital reader, there is less and less of a need for physical copies of books. The world is opening the same way the MP3 player did for digital music. The world will never be the same either.

The Kindle from Amazon was the first to open people’s eyes to the power of the e-reader. It works just like an MP3 player, but holds books. Books can be downloaded onto your reader and read on an LCD screen. The screen is adjusted so not to give your eyes the same strain that a computer screen does.

The next thing it has done is that it’s now available to give you digital copies of all your periodicals. So, instead of running to get the morning paper, or having to look for a digital copy online, you can simply use your digital reader to download the copy and read it wherever you want. It’s a great feature and it’s giving the newspaper business another avenue to stay in business.

However, not everything about the digital reader is good news. The truth of the matter is that there are a lot of books that are still not available online, and many of the older books that you can get for free are not of the highest quality. This, of course, is something the publishing industry will catch up with in time, but until then, it will take some time to get some of the older books. Still, there is no denying that the world is moving quickly into the digital reader age, and it’s just a matter of time before books are only available online.

Filed Under: Readers Tagged With: Amazon Kindle, Book, Publishing

Review of Amazon Kindle

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No matter where you live, an Amazon Kindle is for everyone. A Kindle is an eBook reading device that lets you enjoy thousands of books in one convenient location. Canada 411 can help you find the retailer that will sell you a Kindle.

The Amazon Kindle comes in two colors; white or graphite. When first receiving a Kindle, many people may be intimidating by such a modern looking machine. The Kindle usually comes partially charged so that you can play around with it when first getting it.

The best part about the Kindle is the instant reading access you have for books. With one click of a button, you can read any book you want in under a minute. For those books you can’t wait to start reading, this is a great invention.

The Kindle is a great machine to take anywhere, especially on vacation. You can slip it easily into your purse or luggage, and during your vacation you will never run out of things to read. The Kindle is even great to read in the sunlight. There is absolutely no glare and the screen won’t fade from being in the sun. Many iPad users have complained about the glare in the sunlight, and that is why the Kindle is a much better eReader than the iPad.

If you are thinking of getting a Kindle, they also make great Christmas gifts. All a person needs in an Amazon account and they can instantly access many books. The best part about the Kindle is the portability. It can be taken everywhere and also makes a great conversation piece. Read the reviews before you buy anything, but you will find out that many people all over the world are satisfied with the Amazon Kindle.

Filed Under: Book Distribution, Readers Tagged With: Amazon Kindle, Apple, Book, Canada, E-book, eBook, IPad, Nook

Books and Children: Suggestions

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Books were once the only true form of entertainment. They were cherished for the adventures they allowed children to imagine, the worlds they created. But those worlds can now be offered in easy glory through the television screen, found instantly through a virtual search. Literature has become a too slow, too demanding, pastime – unable to compete with the fast thrills of electronics. And, for this, you are truly saddened. Because you still understand the value of chapters, the exploration of words. Your child, however, does not. He thinks it to be an idea too antiquated, without any relevance or importance.

Something must be done. Books must be encouraged.

Such encouragement seems difficult, however. All attempts have failed, were met with apathy. But this is possibly because they lacked the necessary tangibility. Bringing stories to life is essential in coaxing interest in them:

1. Offer films. While it may seem counterproductive to promote the cinema when youâ€™re trying to also promote the turn of a page, it is instead helpful. A favored film – memorized and watched often – can easily translate into a favored book. Urge your child to read the story he already knows to discover the differences. This will make an easier transition.

2. Provide trips. Books allow all to travel to impossible destinations. A car, however, can at least provide the possible ones. Should your child express interest in specific topics, take him to see examples of them: museums, historic sites and more. Choosing books that reflect these locations will spark reading on the trip (and eventually at home).

3. Read yourself. Your child is a mimic. He learns through observing you, seeing what boundaries you create and trying then to reach them. If you offer books for him and but take none for yourself, the precedent is made. You must instead choose to read and be certain he sees this.

It is not an easy battle to win: technology has become the preferred excitement. There are ways to ensure books are still understood, however. You must simply make them a defined presence.

Filed Under: Book Distribution, Books Tagged With: Book, Child, Children, Literature, New York Times, Personalized, Picture book, Shopping

Books: The Tragedy

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It was an unfortunate mistake: you chose a story based purely on its appearance (the cliche about judgments and covers was not enough to dissuade you). It seemed such a harmless thing and, for the first few words, it was. But then the chapters shifted into depressions – with the heroes forced to constant suffering, peripheral characters slaughtered and despair found within each thought. You hated every moment but somehow couldnâ€™t stop your reading. Your need for a happy ending demanded that you finish, hoping that somehow the themes would turn to triumphs and all would be well. It wasnâ€™t. It instead was a Tragedy.

Perhaps the simplest of all story forms to define (for it is without the usual blurs of categories and types), the Tragedy is the expression of human pain and defeat. Began as one of the original genres of literature – along with the Epic, the Comedy and the Lyric – it was considered the most prized. Its meanings and intentions placed it above the others; which were often considered the thrills of the lower-classes. This, however, was meant to produce none of the easy laughters. It was instead to inspire tears.

And, while such a purpose seems too strange to contemplate now, the founder of the Tragedy, Greek philosopher Aristotle, argued it was necessary. Within his book â€˜The Poeticsâ€™ (which is among the first discussions of literature to ever be produced), he declared that this category would save the theater from the plagues of brasher comedy, offering the methods of the Dithyramb and their practices instead.

And those practices shaped the Tragedy into an exploration of death, cruelty and the inevitable fates. It was defined only by its oppression and was not meant to offer the expected cheer found in other forms. And even today books follow this pattern, capturing the harsher realities and the truths we wish often to forget.

It is often considered absurd that the Tragedy would be so exalted, given its purpose. It is that purpose, however, that makes it so essential.

Filed Under: Book Distribution, Books Tagged With: Aristotle, Arts, Book, Children, Dithyramb, Literature, Shopping, United States

The Origins of Drama: Books

Itâ€™s an easy mistake to make: drama is thought to be the melancholy works and sentimental words, the chapters filled to suffering. All books must be drenched in metaphors, with all emphasis placed on tragedy. It cannot offer laughter. It cannot provide kind moments. It must instead be a wrenching experience, leaving the individual wondering why he chose such a story (and why he is unable to put it away, hide it beneath the safer romances). Such a notion dominates the casual reader, with all assumptions offered to literary works that donâ€™t slip into rhyme or humor. The drama is its own category.

This is not entirely accurate, however.

The notion of the drama is given now to books that offer less than happy circumstance. It was once, though, given only to plays.

Established in the 5th century as a way to define the blossoming theatrical movement (which consisted of romances, tragedies and comedies), the drama applied not to epics but instead just to the stage. Its purpose was to structure the many categories and provide their needed rules, tropes and climax requirements. It was a term to encompass all elements of Grecian performance and was not offered its own ideals. It was not a form of literature. It was instead a simple device.

This is far different that the expectations of today – when the word is applied to all stories with less than amiable intentions. Books without smiles are easily associated with this form and are believed to be a separate identity. And this evolution from stage to chapters happened over the slow centuries, with the rise and fall of empires and the change of public perception. Theater was broadened; verses were reshaped; and the drama seemed too stoic to be placed within the gentler works, the wit and wonders. It was deemed serious instead, and it is through this that the common claims were established.

And such claims are given freely now, with books being devoted to all things solemn.

Filed Under: Book Distribution, Books Tagged With: Arts, Book, Business and Economy, Drama, Literature, Medieval, Religion and Spirituality, Shopping

The Tragicomedy: Books and Blurring Lines

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You are a creature of many interests: you demand more from your books than predetermined structures and assumed rules. You wish to tangle genres, to let the prose and verse meet. The consequence is always spectacular (if not unexpected) and the story becomes a more tangible thing; born of all the grins and grimaces that life can summon. And that, you are certain, is the true purpose of literature – to capture all facets of the world. A simple comedy will not suffice. A sorrow soaked tragedy will not do. They are both too narrow in their intentions. They must therefore be instead combined.

And the tragicomedy then appeals to your every need.

As its name suggests, the tragicomedy is the unusual blend of all things sad and satirical. It began within the 5th century, with Aristotle deeming it a play of dual meanings (and endings). As time progressed, however, it became associated with more than the theater and was recognized in all written works instead. The now common definition is: a dramatic piece that is filled to heartbreak, but is peppered still with teases or at least a satisfactory ending. The intention of this genre is to offer readers hope after often grueling circumstances.

And this brands it uncommon within the literary world. Often books are held to rigorous expectations. They are not to sway between forms, taking on the abilities of other categories. They are instead to remain thoroughly grounded within their own ideals.
The tragicomedy, however, is without these rules. It is instead encouraged to break them, taking the themes of both genres and allowing them to offer a more realistic approach to fiction. Books created for this purpose are quick favorites among all who read them as they provide more than the typical philosophies. There are no boundaries
and therefore no limitations.

The tragicomedy is the culmination of two necessary forms; it manages, however, to rise above the confines of both and offer its own identity.

Filed Under: Book Distribution, Books Tagged With: Aristotle, Art, Book, Fiction, Literature, Online Writing, Shopping, Tragicomedy

Books: The Twice Told Tales

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It is an age of ink, the black and white stories offered easily; the written word is seen in all forms, plastered across city stone and countryside corners. It cannot be refused. It cannot be denied. It is instead to be expected, with all learning of the world through lettering. But such a willing knowledge was not always available. It was instead siphoned through whispers, offered as fiction instead of fact. Literature (and truth) were shared beside the hearth, exchanged from one family to the next – with the endings rarely resembling their origins. Books were not common. They were not even considered.

And such a lack of consideration resulted in ever changing stories and lost certainty.

Oral literature was once the only form of telling tales. Scholars would recount all religious meanings and philosophic fables to the lower classes, letting them then take the metaphors for themselves; filtering them through misunderstandings and constant revision as they passed them to their friends. Small stories grew to mighty epics. Tragedies became romances. And comedy shifted from bawdy words to sharp satire and back again. It was a prominence of ballads and provincial editing.

And it simply was not enough.

The reliance of oral literature saw the change of all stories; with personal opinions injected within each word. There was no certainty beyond change – and this forced a loss of original meanings. The purpose of an allegory was suddenly stripped of its power and made into a simple farce.

And through this came the need of books: words that would not be redefined again and again. They would instead be placed on parchment and made into permanencies. The concept of literature (as we understand it today) was formed.

There can be no denying the power of performances, the stirring renditions oral history can bring. But those renditions are too often revised, made new and unintended. They must instead be secured in pages and books.

Filed Under: Book Distribution, Books Tagged With: Arts, Book, Fiction, Literature, Online Writing, Salman Rushdie, Shopping, Wizard of Oz The

Online is the Best Place to Read

Reading books is a great way to pick up valuable information in life. Think about the process a person had to go through, in order to know enough to write every book you have ever read. Generally, a book you can blaze through in a few hours or a couple of days, took months or researching and years of personal experience to compose. The act of reading something is always going to be faster than the act of writing is, if for no other reason than that writing is so much more difficult. Putting something on a formerly blank page is among life’s great challenges, up there with falling in love or raising a child.

The world takes an even deeper turn into complicated country when you consider how large the world wide web is. There are literally more than 100 million web sites, with something like a trillion total web pages out there. The Internet is a vast jungle of different intersecting pieces. You can do just about anything, from finding a mate, getting an online degree or finding a rare vintage piece of jewelry to finding videos on how to parallel park and reading about the recent adventures of your favorite celebrities.

While there is never going to be a bona fide replacement for a simple, old-fashioned book, the Internet is about as close as we can possibly get. Especially now that we have ways to go online that do not involve a cumbersome computer, you can pretty much read anything at any time you want to. There are no more excuses not to be well read, once you know how to read and can use a smart phone or a netbook. Since those are some reasonably easy skills to master, you can pretty much find any kind of information (or fun reading) you could ever want. We are seriously living the dream.

Filed Under: Books, Reference Tagged With: Book, Education, Reading, Web page