Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

With the exception of academics, and a few serious writers such as NYT's David Carr or the ever loved/hated Sasha Frere Jones ("lack of miscenegation in indie music" seriously, Sasha?) plenty of music criticism comes off as hipster tripe or "rockist" rambling.  33 1/3, the series from Continuum offers a legitimate venue for serious music writers to scribe their research and thoughts about everything from the musicality of great records to the meaning of lyrics to the techniques in the recording.  Each book is a densely packed wealth of knowledge about one particular record.  Thus far I bought Neutral Milk Hotel's "In an Aeroplane over the Sea" as well as My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" and David Bowie's "Low."

I can't express this enough, this series is awesome.  Whenever I'm going to do a book review, I like to make sure we have it in stock, and if we don't, take the steps needed to get it in stock.  This series I was so excited about I was crossing my fingers when I checked Betterworld.com (which makes it much harder to type, incidentally) but we have many of them!

Anyway, the series in question is called "33 1/3" (after the RPM of a record player for an LP).  You can find their blog here, or the wikipedia entry here.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

Here at Better World Books we reach our do-gooder tentacles to many different realms, but now we've cracked a new one: publisher.



Yup.

If you're looking for an objective review of our first book: Jazzocracy, head over to All About Jazz.

An excerpt from the review:

How Will Two of American's Quintessential Icons Foretell the Future?

Presenting Jazzocracy: Jazz, Democracy, and the Creation of a New American Mythology by Kabir Sehgal (Better World Books)

If one wonders how two of the most quintessential American icons relate to each another, consider this thought by one of New Orleans' favorite sons: “Jazz is democracy in action," said Wynton Marsalis.

Ever more so in New Orleans, where the birth of jazz reflected the ease of a mix of many cultures: Caribbean, European, African, among many others. The intent of these cultures to express their ideas to one another via music, civic discourse, festivals, and of course, books, is one of America's most vivid successes.

With its commitment to the promoting literacy worldwide, Better World Books is pleased to return to the New Orleans Public Library for the premiere of the very first book of its new publishing imprint.

On April 17, Better World Books will bring Jazzocracy: Jazz, Democracy, and the Creation of a New American Mythology to New Orleans. Written by Kabir Sehgal, an exciting new author who began the book under study with Douglas Brinkley at Tulane University, Jazzocracy argues the evolution of jazz and democracy is forming our next set of mythologies to govern culture, politics and economics.

For any other writer under the age of 30, these might be dusty topics. But new author Kabir Sehgal magnetizes the two using his personal experience as a jazz musician, political campaign consultant, economist and writer. A graduate of the London School of Economics and Dartmouth College, Sehgal is also a professional jazz bassist, and has played with the Wynton Marsalis Orchestra. He has also worked with the presidential campaign of Sen John Kerry, as well as in the offices of Senators Max Cleland and John Rockefeller, IV. He is an economist with JPMorgan in San Francisco. Jazzocracy is his first book.

[CONTINUE...]

Posted by Aaron King, Director of Campus Acquisitions

When this company was in it's youth there were 3 founders and their friend from Purdue who started book drives around the state of Indiana.  Throwing books in the back of a van, that friend, Aaron King, is now a book drive General, managing the campus divisions 1400+ schools.  Check back here for tips on how to make the most of your drive from the best in the business!

Episode 1:

TIP #1:  PLACE COLLECTION BINS IN YOUR CAMPUS LIBRARY

You probably know that high-traffic areas are the best places to collect books this spring, including near/in the bookstore, in residence halls, and in student unions; an area on campus that is often neglected is your Campus Library. 

BOOST BOOK DRIVE PERFORMANCE MORE THAN 20%:

It’s true!  Book Drives that include the Campus Library often increase the number of accepted books collected by more than 20%.

MAKE SURE TO:

• Obtain permission from the library administration
• Order extra collection bins from your BWB representative
• Check and empty the bins regularly
• Sort the books according to the Qualifying Books document provided by your BWB representative
• As a nice gesture, at the conclusion of the drive, send a handwritten “thank you” to the library administration thanking them for their support of the book drive
  

So, if you are looking for a way to increase the number of accepted books you collect this spring, contact your Campus Library and see if they will allow you to set up a collection box—it’ll be worth the extra effort.  And remember, our Campus Acquisitions Team is here to make it as easy as possible for you to collect as many books as possible on your campus.  Please feel free to contact us any time.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for Tip #2.

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

OK, so it's not ACTUALLY anything of the sort, but at this link you will find centerfolds... of the most spectacular libraries in the world.  As someone who lived in Europe and saw some of the ones on the list, let me tell you, they are nothing short of spectacular.  More info about where the pics are from over there.

Wow.

Posted by Mary Murphy, Southeast Senior Director

The Phi Theta Kappa International Convention was everything we expected it to be…an amazing group of people from throughout the United States and as far away as Guam and the United Arab Emirates with positive energy, intellect, enthusiasm and compassion!  It was so much fun to see everyone – thank you to everyone who came by our table to say hello!  Here is a picture of Broward Community College – South Campus, a stellar Phi Theta Kappa in Florida!



In the picture, L to R,  Heather Dulman, Darwin Lopez, Troy Jeffers, Gracia Bonilla, Kendall Ramsijewan, (recipient of the Guistwhite scholarship) Natassicia Pemberton, Mary Murphy (Better World Books) and Tayna Hall-Harris.

Posted by Roselle Agner, Mid-South Regional Director

In honor of Earth Day I want to share some interesting facts and numbers about our environment:

The average number of solid waste produced by college students a year 640

The number of trees saved from recycling 1 ton of paper 17

The percentage of solid waste disposed of in landfills 95

Percentage of recycled materials in Better World Books shipping boxes 50

The amount of books saved from landfills through "Book Drives for Better Lives" 6,200 tons (aka 6200 * 17 = ~105,400 trees!)

The amount of carbon offsets from Betterworld.com sales 1725 tons

The number of people needed to start change and make a difference ***1***

Thank you for your contribution to positive social and environmental changes through book drives on your campus [ed.-- and book purchases at Betterworld.com]!

Happy Earth Day,
Roselle

By Erin Gerber, Account Representative

I started my Earth Day celebration a little early this year.  On Saturday morning, I woke up early and met up with my Better World Books colleagues and friends at Rose Circle Park for a volunteer opportunity with Trees Atlanta, a local non-profit dedicated to “protecting and improving our urban environment by planting and conserving trees.”  Robby, the representative with Trees Atlanta put us to work mulching trees in the park.  Mulching, I learned, is a great way to protect trees as it helps to retain moisture in draught conditions, deters runoff and evaporation, and it helps to protect the root system of a tree from lawnmowers and weed eaters.  It’s also relatively inexpensive and the finished project looks great.  We spent our morning filling and carrying buckets with mulch to be spread three to four inches deep around the plant canopies.  It was hard work (I have the sore feet and muscles to prove it), but well worth the effort!

 As an added bonus, Dustin and Nicole brought Cairo along to supervise.  As you can see, she did a great job of making sure everything ran smoothly.  

 

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

This is the first in an ongoing feature: "Order of the Week." In this feature we'll be highlighting the book orders that we receive that we particular enjoy for one reason or another, allowing you at the end of the year to vote for "Order of the Year." The person who made the "Order of the Year" will be rewarded with a gift certificate from BetterWorld.com!

43 Books
$413.00
P from Quebec

I think it's safe to say that P is an ornathusiast...Check out the list of books after the jump

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

Check out this interview with our social enterprise/green pro/co-founder/general expert at stuff, Xavier Helgesen!



Good times! They kinda were quick with the whole "Oscars thank you music ending" though, no?

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

Senior Director in the Southeast, Mary Murphy, forwarded me an email indicitave of the great efforts being put in around the country (and Canada!) as book drives begin to pop up (at over 1400 campuses this semester!)

I received all of the boxes and the posters so thank you for sending all of that so quickly!  We have already started the drive and have began collecting!  I just want to tell you how much I appreciate all of your hard work, this is a wonderful company and it is people such as yourself that truly make the world a better place!  Thank you again from myself and the entire Charleston Southern Family!

Alissa

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist

If you're near a computer, come 6:35pm EST, check out this live interview hosted by "RSS Ray" about Green business with our own Xavier Helgesen!

Posted by Jack Hanlon, CBO & Evangelist



Seattle Green Festival = major success.  First of all I'd like to thank our lovely volunteers who helped us collect 3 pallets of books(!) at the festival and looked good doing it.



Next I'd like to thank all the people who came by the chat it up with us lads, about the environment, books, and pretty much anything else (and whoever bought Jaime's hide-a-book (as I put it, to hide things from your friends who don't read), enjoy that awesome piece of craftsmanship).




Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I'd like to thank the burrito place, for making delicious, delicious, organic burritos, AlterEco for their myriad delicious chocolate selection (try the mint, wow!) and HonesTea for the case of lemon black tea that I nabbed at the end of the conference.  Muy delicioso!  OK, OK, so more thanks to the people who came to talk to us (including the gent who said he had bought 60+ books from us and knew our business model better than some of us did, wow).




Book your tickets now, Chicago, May 16, making it happen as the official bookstore of their Green Fest!