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Dear Members,
I read something the other day that stopped me and really made me think. You've probably run across it on the Internet yourself. Just a simple sentence: "If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back." What a powerful statement. It says: We're not so different from each other - we all have troubles. Even those folks who seem like everything's perfect have something worrying them. It also says: Be kind. You don't know what's troubling someone else, and a little patience, not to mention a smile, can go such a long way. It says: Consider others. Even though it's human nature to be self-centered, taking a break from it can really lighten life's burdens.
I kept thinking about that sentence, and I decided to look up its origin. I figured it might be one of those anonymous sayings without a known author, so I was happily surprised to discover that's not the case. It's just one of 50 "Life Lessons" penned by Regina Brett in a column she wrote for the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2006. The whole list is really worth a read! Each one of you will probably find your own favorite there.
Stumbling across something like that list reminds me how the Internet has benefited us all. Not just because we can shop more easily now, or get movies on demand, or video chat with faraway loved ones. Those are wonderful innovations, indeed - but simpler, deeper changes abound. A column in a local paper can reach much farther than it ever could in the days before the Internet. A book that would have been read once and then stayed neglected on a bookshelf can now travel around the country sharing its story with reader after reader. Yes, there were many great things about the world before it went online - and those things don't need to be lost in the face of progress. We can perpetuate them: we can write a letter now and then instead of an email. We can play Monopoly or Crazy Eights on a rainy day, without a screen in sight. We can lie in a hammock reading a book - a book that we'll send along to another PaperBackSwap member when we're done. We can blend the best of both worlds. Nothing's stopping us!
Happy June,
Richard and
The PaperBackSwap Team
Amazon Showcase Book
By popular demand, we're showcasing a heavily-Wishlisted book that is not currently available in our Market, but which is available right now in NEW condition at a substantial savings off retail. Use any of the Showcase links below to go to Amazon, and your purchase (of anything) there will help support PaperBackSwap!
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Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon |
Used Books Currently Available for Swapping
Order these books for credits; repost them when you're done reading and get the credit back!
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The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship by As children, they formed a special bond, growing up in the small town of Ames, Iowa. As young women, they moved to eight different states, yet they managed to maintain an extraordinary friendship ... read more |
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Death Echo by When she joined St. Kilda's, the elite security consulting firm, Emma Cross thought she'd left behind the blood, the guilt, and the Tribal Wars that defined her life at the CIA... ...read more |
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Five Quarters of the Orange by When Framboise Simon returns to a small village on the banks of the Loire, the locals do not recognize her as the daughter of the infamous woman they hold responsible for a tragedy during the German occupation years ago... read more |
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Twenty Wishes by Unabridged Audio CD. On Valentine's Day, Anne Marie Roche and several other widows get together to celebrate -- what? Hope, possibility, the future. They each begin a list of twenty wishes, things they always wanted to do but never did...read more. |
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Micro by A group of graduate students is lured to Hawaii to work for a mysterious biotech company -- only to find themselves cast out into the rain forest, with nothing but their scientific expertise and wits to protect them. read more |
Market Spotlight Books
In the PBS Market, available new at bargain prices!
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The Accursed by From one of the greatest authors of our time, an eerie, unforgettable story of possession, power, and loss. Princeton, New Jersey, at the turn of the twentieth century is a tranquil place to raise a family. But something dark and dangerous lurks...read more Retail Price: |
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The Pillow Book: Over 25 Simple-to-Sew Patterns for Every Room and Every Mood by Projects range from beginner friendly throw pillows, shams, and bolsters to more advanced bench pads, ottomans, and oversized floor cushions ...read more Retail Price:
In the PBS Market (Spiral-bound): $4.49+1 credit (save 82%) or $8.39 (save 66%) |
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Nostradamus: How an Obscure Renaissance Astrologer Became the Modern Prophet of Doom by We all know the name Nostradamus, but who was he really? Why did his predictions become so influential in Renaissance Europe and then keep resurfacing for nearly five centuries?.... read more. Retail Price: |
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RFK: A Photographer's Journal by As a friend, advisor, and attorney general to his brother, John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy stood at the heart of Washington politics. World-renowned photojournalist Harry Benson's images capture unprecedented .... read more Retail Price:
In the PBS Market (Hardcover): $4.49+1 credit (save 88%) or $8.39 (save 78%)
Browse History currently available in the Market |
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Ever After by The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It's up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix things before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart...... read more Retail Price:
In the PBS Market (Hardcover): $2.79+1 credit (save 90%) or $6.69 (save 76%)
Browse Paranormal Romance books currently available in the Market |
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The Kill Room by It was a "million-dollar bullet," a sniper shot delivered from over a mile away. The nation's most renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate... read more Retail Price: |
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Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People by America's most delightfully unconventional hostess and the bestselling author of I Like You delivers a new book that will forever change the world of crafting...read more Retail Price: |
NEWS
SwapaDVD news bit: The 49-cent swap fee went into effect at SwapaDVD on May 19th; we're happy to see that club members have rolled with the punches, and DVD-swapping is going strong! Also note that the price of DVD Credits dropped, and the credit ratios between the three sites are now 1:1:1, instead of 2:3:3. You can read more about this in the forum post at SwapaDVD.
Savings are just a click away...National Brands Coupons offers you hundreds of printable manufacturer's coupons every week, as well as links to coupon codes, discount gifts, and other money-saving opportunities. It's free to print out coupons for products you already buy. Using National Brands Coupons helps to support the club, while saving you money!
So many members have asked us how to donate to Books for Schools (our annual program that turns donated Book Credits and PBS Money into free new books for needy elementary schools) "off-season" that we created the BooksForSchoolsCredits account. You can donate Book Credits there anytime, and when the next program starts the collected credits will be divided among the participating schools. Read more details about Books for Schools, including how to suggest a school for participation, here.
School Book Sales.com is helping educators to obtain classroom books at the lowest possible cost. Because of our relationship with vendors (established by new-book purchases for the PaperBackSwap Market) we are able to take advantage of bulk discount book purchases. Membership is free, and checkout options include school purchase orders as well as debit/credit and PayPal. Spread the word to any teachers/homeschoolers you know!
Call for authors! Do you have a book you'd like us to promote? At member suggestion, we're working on a new feature to help introduce our membership to authors/books they may not have read. To submit your book for consideration, we'll need a copy or two of the book mailed to the PBS offices. For more details, please contact us and we'll give you the skinny!
PBS Local Chapter News
Upcoming Local Chapter Meetups:
The Triangle/NC Chapter is planning their next meetup! Check out the forum topic to get involved.
The DVM Chapter (DC, Virginia, MD) is meeting next on Saturday June 21, at 2 PM. If you want to get the details, see the forum topic or contact Laura (caddieseamus) or Susan P (sneyers11).The North Texas Chapter will be meeting Sunday, July 13th at Josey Ranch Library in Carrollton to discuss Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler. Check out their facebook page! The 2014 schedule is in the Chapter topic; contact Shellie (aylamonster) for more information.
The Laveen Arizona Chapter will be discussing Pocket Full of Posies by W.C. Sorice in June. See the Chapter topic and check out their facebook page! Contact lisaparks for location and more information.
The Charlotte, NC Metro Area Chapter meets monthly, usually the first Monday of every month. No need to have read the book to participate! Contact Kimberly (KimberlyN) for details, and to get on their e-vite list.
We'd love to share your Chapter news - if you have some, please submit it to us!
If you want to be a Local Chapter Leader for PBS, you just need to have a PBS Nickname, a viewable public profile, and enthusiasm! Check the Local Chapter Leaders Forum List of Official Chapters to see if your area already has a local Chapter. If not, and you want to do this, just contact us. There are no formal guidelines for being a Chapter Leader. All of the information is in the Local Chapter Leader Discussion Forum topic. If you are an official Chapter Leader and want us to include your upcoming meetup in the Newsletter, send in a message to us with the date, at least a week before the end of the preceding month.
MEMBER OF THE MONTH
Yvonne (WingsPawsNMagick)
Yvonne has been a member since 2007. She's swapped over two thousand books in that time, and she has a sterling swapping record. We want to ask her how she wraps her mailings, because she's sent almost 1400 books out, and never lost one! USPS is good, but even a well-wrapped package can get lost in the mail, so clearly Yvonne's wrapping is extra-great. She's very active in the forums, and she's much appreciated there.
"Yvonne (WingsPawsNMagick) should be MoM because she brings humor and help and fun to the forums."
"Yvonne is always kind and friendly. She's helped me more than she knows."
"She makes me smile! I love her Random Acts of Kindness."
Yvonne, your seven years of membership have been seven years of good luck for PBS...and counting! You are Member of the Month for June. Congratulations!
DEAR LIBRARIAN
Dear Librarian - I have my Wish List set to auto request, and sometimes a Wish is granted while I'm away from my computer. Which is great, BUT ! I like to browse sender's Bookshelves to add books to an order. I figure, if they've got one book I want (the Wish List book), they may have others that I don't even know about but I would also be interested in. For the last three wishes that were granted, though, I didn't get to do that. Those senders accepted and marked the books mailed the same day, before I even got home to log into my account and see what else I might like from their Bookshelves. I really appreciate the quick mailing, but the senders miss out on a chance to send multiple books and save postage, and I miss out on books I might want! What can I do? -- Browser in Baton Rouge
Dear Batty,
We're sorry you have had this trouble - we don't usually get complaints about senders acting *too* quickly, but we certainly see your point! We can suggest a few things to help you have the chance to add books to your Wish List requests. First, you can set your Wish List items to turn Auto Request OFF, so that your Wish List books are not auto-requested. That way you can accept the offers of the Wish List books (within 48 hours) and browse the senders' account Bookshelves for other books of interest right after you accept the offer. If you think it will take you a little while to browse, you can also send a Personal Message at the time you accept the offer of the Wish List book, telling the sender "Thanks for offering me the book from my Wish List! I'd like to look at your Bookshelf and maybe add some books to the order - so if you hold off on printing postage or marking the book mailed for a little while, I can browse your Bookshelf during that time. I'll let you know when I'm done browsing!" If you send that message, the other member will know that it will be to his or her advantage to allow you a little time to decide if your order's complete. We bet the senders will be grateful for the opportunity to add a book or two to each package - it's a great way to earn more credits with one mailing while paying very little additional postage. They save money, and you get more books you want - that's a win-win situation !
The Last Word:
- Are you REALLY not reading the Blog? You don't want to miss out on Free Book Friday book giveaways, author interviews, awesome book reviews, and so much more! We're working on something very special for Blog readers, so...watch that space!
As always, don't forget to start your Amazon shopping from the link at the top of the PBS site - when you do this, a small percentage of your purchase amount comes to us. So whenever (and whatever) you plan to purchase on Amazon, start from the Amazon link at the top of the PBS site. It's an easy, free way to support the club!