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Archive for August, 2010

Dear Librarian: APO Military Address, Textbooks for Students

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Dear Librarian – Is there any way to send out a specific thank you to great swappers here?  We’re at a military address, and it is so hard to get books in English for our family.  PBS is a godsend!  We are so grateful to the members who are willing to make the extra effort to mail from the Post Office and fill out the customs forms, and to wait a little longer for their books to get to us.   How can we say thanks?  –Appreciative at an APO address

Dear Appy,

You just did! 🙂

Not everyone is able to go the extra mile to send to military addresses – we understand that, and they shouldn’t be blamed for it – but those who do are special people indeed.  They are booklovers who really care.  They sympathize with how tough it would be to be so far from a source of books.   So they make the extra effort to fill out the (short) customs form and take the package to the PO, and they don’t panic if it is declared “lost” en route – they know it might take time to get to its eager reader.   The requestor does her part here too, by marking the books received as promptly as possible – from the Transaction Archive if they are already “lost” before they arrive.

Our members are wonderful in so many ways – this is one of them!  We are made proud every day by the spirit of sharing and caring that exists at PBS.

Dear Librarian — I need a specific edition of a sociology textbook.  If I order the book here, can I be sure I will get the exact edition I need?   –  College Student in California

Dear Coco,

PBS is a terrific resource for students!  We have some tips to help you use PBS to take a bite out of your budget:

(1) Check the edition! The club is a great source for some kinds of schoolbooks – classics, Shakespeare plays, and the like — and for texts that do not get updated very frequently.  Keep in mind that although ISBN, author, title and book type must all match the listing, publication date does not have to match – and if more than one edition of a book shares the same ISBN, it can be possible to get either edition when you put in your request. That means that for textbooks that are frequently updated, you’ll need to make a little extra effort to be sure you get the edition that you need. If the edition is specified in the title on the listing, then the book should match the listing, but a Personal Message to the sender when requesting the book is not a bad idea, to be sure he or she didn’t make a mistake in posting.  (Sometimes a member, despite the instructions on the Post Books screen, will enter the ISBN and click Post, and doesn’t make sure the rest of the listing matches.)  Since some textbooks will keep the same ISBN through many updates, this can be a pitfall for the school-shopper.  Keep in mind, however, that some updates don’t change the book much, and depending on the subject, sometimes more than one edition will be usable for a class.

(2) Order early. Remember that Media Mail can be variable in its transit time.  Even though the average book arrives within about a week after it is mailed, sometimes books take longer.  So be sure to put in your request in plenty of time to get the book for your class.

It can be a little extra effort to make sure you get a version of the book that you can use, Coco, but it’s worth it!  The price of new textbooks can really be shocking.  If even one textbook can be gotten here instead of buying it new, the savings could be substantial.


The Last Word:

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.  Please note that if you are an e-book reader, it used to be that e-book purchases at Amazon did not count to support the PBS site, but now they do! So be sure that whenever you plan to purchase on Amazon, that you start from the Amazon link at the top of the PBS site. It’s an easy, free way to support the club!

PBS Member of the Month

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

April G. (tailyanker)

April is one of those wonderful people who bring light into the lives of all around her! She created the “Share and Care Tailyghan” program in the “Share and Care” forum here at PBS – when she learns of someone having a difficult time she sends them a care package, including a hand-crafted “Tailyghan” (afghan).   Many members wrote in about April:

“I couldn’t believe that she made me an afghan. It really brightened my day!”

“She is such a sweet lady who makes lapghans for members going through some crisis.  She does this at her own expense. Truly worthy of the honor of MOM.  I cannot think of anyone who deserves it more.”

“Tailyanker cares so much about other people.  People like her make PBS more than a club – it’s like a family.”

Sometimes it really matters to know that someone cares and is thinking about you. I am reminded of that every time I look at the handmade afghan from April.  It’s a blanket but it means so much more.”

April, you and your afghans have brought so much warmth into the lives of other members.  You are our Member of the Month for August.  Congratulations!

If you have any nominations for Member of the Month, submit them to us here.  Your nomination will not “expire”–anyone you nominate will have a chance at getting Member of the Month if enough nominations accumulate over time. Each month the person who has the most votes accumulated when the Newsletter goes to press gets to be Member of the Month and gets a newsletter mention and a nifty MoM icon to wear on profile and forum posts with pride.  So go for it! Tell us who’s helped you in the Forums, who’s been a great swapper, who in your opinion is a credit to PBS.  We are keeping a list of all the nominated members.  Who knows–one of them might be YOU!

PBS Local Book Club News

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

New Local Chapter Leaders:

If you want to be a Local Chapter Leader for PBS, you just need to have a PBS NIckname, a viewable public profile, and some organizational skills…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.

Cool Books in our Book Swap!

Monday, August 16th, 2010

It’s HOT… Think Cool! All of the books below are available for swapping right now:

Cold Hit by Linda Fairstein.  Alexandra Cooper has seen many murder victims, but few more disturbing than the silk-clad body of a woman, her hands and feet tied to a ladder, pulled from the turbulent waters at Manhattan’s northern tip. Alex hopes for a “cold hit” — a DNA match that would reveal the identity of the murderer…   See other highly-rated mystery books currently available for swapping.

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. Sorely wounded and fatally disillusioned, a Confederate soldier decides to walk back to his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains and to Ada, the woman he loved there years before…  Hugely acclaimed, winner of the National Book Award,  this is an enthralling adventure, a stirring love story, and a luminous evocation of a vanished America.  Browse other General Fiction books currently available for swapping.
Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini.  Jeremy Heere is your average high school dork…until he hears about the “squip.” A pill-sized supercomputer that you swallow, the squip is a technological breakthrough guaranteed to make anybody cool. By instructing Jeremy on everything, the squip transforms him and soon Jeremy is friends with his former tormentors and has the attention of the Hottest Girls in School. But Jeremy discovers that there is a dark side to having a computer inside your brain–and it can have disastrous consequences. See other Young Adult selections currently available for swapping.
Born in Ice by Nora Roberts When the harsh storms of winter descend upon western Ireland, the locals stay indoors – and visitors stay away. Brianna Concannon’s bed-and-breakfast becomes a cold and empty place. That’s fine with Brianna, who enjoys the peace and quiet. But this year she’s expecting an unusual guest – a restless wanderer with a painful past, he plans to spend the cold winter alone. But sometimes fate has a plan of its own. Sometimes a fire can be born in ice……   See other Romantic Suspense books currently available for swapping.
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson On San Piedro Island in 1954, a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder.  In the course of the ensuing trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than one man’s guilt. Gripping, tragic, and densely atmospheric, Snow Falling on Cedars is a masterpiece of suspense.  See other Literary Fiction books currently available for swapping.

New books available in the PBS Market!

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Remember that you can use a credit to make the discount on these bargain books even greater. Available in The Market right now, these great books:

Along Comes a Stranger by Dorie McCullough Lawson Kate Colter’s lived fifteen years in the small town of Hayden, Wyoming, happy with her husband and daughter.  Then along comes Tom Baxter, and a series of peculiar and suspicious events leading her to a terrifying conclusion that could forever shatter her life and the lives of those she loves…..  See other Thrillers currently available in the Market.

Retail Price: $13.95

Purchase this NEW Paperback for $5.49 (save 60%) or $2.09+1 credit (save 85%) from PBS Market

And She Was by Cindy Dyson .  Sweeping across centuries and into the Aleutian Islands of Alaska’s Bering Sea, this story begins with a decision and a broken taboo when three starving Aleut mothers decide to take their fate into their own hands. Two hundred and fifty years later, by the time Brandy steps ashore in the 1980s, Unalaska Island has absorbed their dark secret—a secret that is both salvation and shame.

Browse other General Fiction books currently available in the Market.

Retail Price: $13.95

Purchase this NEW Paperback for $5.49 (save 60%) or $2.09+1 credit (save 85%) from PBS Market

Granita Magic : Rediscovering the Pleasure of Ices in More Than Fifty Grown-Up Recipes by Nadia Roden A collection of innovative sweet and savory sensations that can be made with just a fork, a saucepan, and a little spare space in the freezer. And they can be served at any time of the day. Light, easy, flavor-intense granitas are a great way to begin, refresh, or end any meal. Here’s the first book of recipes for this glittering icy treat.  See more books about Cooking, Food and Wine currently available in the Market.

Retail Price: $15.00

Purchase this NEW Hardcover for $6.49 (save 56%) or $3.09+1 credit (save 79%) from PBS Market

God Said Yes by Heather Hornback-Bland, Ninie Hammon When she was just a child, Heather’s life was altered by an accident that all but destroyed her internal organs. The doctors gave her no chance– but with God’s grace, she proved them wrong. When others said no, God said yes.   More than a story of suffering and survival, Heather’s life is a testament to the power of faith.  See more Biographies and Memoirs, currently available in the Market.

Retail Price: $14.00

Purchase this NEW Paperback for $5.49 (save 60%) or $2.09+1 credit (save 85%) from PBS Market

What Came Before He Shot Her. The brutal, inexplicable death of Inspector Thomas Lynley’s wife has left Scotland Yard searching for answers. Who is the twelve-year-old boy who pulled the trigger? What were the circumstances that led to his horrific act?   The anatomy of a murder, the story of a family in crisis, “What Came Before He Shot Her” is a powerful, emotional novel that only the incomparable Elizabeth George could write.  See the Large Print selections available in the Market now.

Retail Price: $26.95

Purchase this NEW Paperback for $7.49 (save 72%) or $4.09+1 credit (save 84%) from PBS Market

PBS News – Widget for your Blog, Save on Textbooks, Newsletter

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Show your true colors. Check out the new PaperBackSwap widget, that you can customize and display on your blog.  You can adjust not only the color but also the size and shape; you can choose which list to display and whether or not to show title/author along with the cover image…it’s very snazzy!

School Daze. Yes, it’s almost that time again!  It’s not too late to try to save some $$ on textbooks.   If you know what books your children will need for the next year, get them here. And don’t forget to post your books from last year, to pass along to others.  Be sure to check the Book Condition Criteria to be sure your books meet the minimum requirements – if there’s writing/underlining/highlighting in the books you’ll need consent from the requestor before mailing.  (Remember, writing/underlining/highlighting are not permitted in non-textbooks.)  For those who have started school already, it’s not too early to get a jump on the spring semester!

Easy on the Eyes. The member homepage is getting a makeover … drop by this week to see the sleek new look and layout, and the new features we think you’ll enjoy.

Timed-release Newsletter: Sending this NewsWire puts a strain on our servers, which can slow down the site.  For that reason the Newsletter will go out slowly over several days.  So if you hear that someone else hasn’t gotten her Newsletter and you have, just reassure her that hers is on the way.  We hope this takes the load off the servers so that the site will continue to run smoothly even while a Newsletter is going out.

Dear Members

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

During the Dog Days of summer, a reader’s fancy naturally turns to…cool new features for the club!  We’re very happy with the Book Lists and the changes to the Profile page – you have told us how much you liked these and we love seeing the new lists that you create!  We hope everyone gets around to making a profile and creating some Lists.  It’s a great way to find out about books you might be interested in, and it’s fun to contribute to collaborative lists.   You can read all about using the Book Lists by clicking the What’s New link at the top of the site.

We have another feature to announce that is so hot it’s cool! We have found a great new way to get you the books you want – brand new releases, available here, at outrageous savings.   Yes, we said Brand. New. Releases.  You know, those books from your favorite authors… the ones that you put on your Wish List months before they come out, and then splurge on because you just can’t wait …yes, those books!  It’s just another way the club has found to get you your next great read, for less.   More titles will be added frequently. So don’t forget to check the top sliding display in the Market for the current Super Sellers being offered.  They will knock your socks off … if you’re crazy enough to be wearing socks in this weather, that is. 🙂

Stay cool,
Richard and
The PaperBackSwap Team
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