Books on a Budget


To put it mildly- I love books. I mean I really love books. The problem is that I really love to not only read, but carry, touch and OWN books. I even have a library in my house, (my husband calls it the bedroom) stacked floor to ceiling. But now when I look at my books I think of the trees (and the amount of money spent on those stacks) and know I need to find a better way. So I renew my library card and plan my Saturday mornings at the library instead of the Barnes and Noble and I search for some online alternatives, too.

At Paperbackswap.com you can trade books with other users, print your postage online and get updates on newly available titles (they also carry hardcovers and the beloved audiobooks I love to listen to while I craft).

Bookmoooch.com (my favorite name) allows you to post books and earn points when one of its 100,000 moochers requests your book and you ship it out. You only pay for postage and media mail is still pretty cheap.

Bookswim.com is for the more serious reader. It lets you organize a pool of titles (like your Netflix) and receive a couple of them at a time. You pay a monthly fee of $20- $40.00 and shipping is free. And you can purchase the book if you decide to keep it.

If you seriously must have that book in your hot little hands Betterworld.com offers bargain prices, donates a portion of revenues to Books for Africa, has free U.S. shipping and offsets its carbon footprint with carbonfund.org. So there are some serious choices out there for bibliophiles to go green right now!

1. Drink In Words earrings from rhymeswithmagic
(artist Heather IS a librarian)
2. I Read Banned Books cork necklace from uncorked
3. I Read Banned Books recycled magnetic locket set from polarity
4. Turn off Your TV and Read pins from barrelofmonkeys
5. Mister Donkey brooch from yaelfran

Win Your Favorite XENOTEE! She Puts the T in Etsy!


And the winner is: (do you see your name?) Marbella Designs - I hope you enjoy your Xenotee!!



Noelle of Xenotees is one of my most favorite Etsy people. She is funny, clever and gorgeous and makes a great t-shirt! Her designs are totally unique and clip-art free and will make your friends totally jealous!

Noelle donates $1 from every t-shirt sale to the Flat Iron Wildcats of Philadelphia. There is a huge stray cat population in Philadelphia & she is dedicated to making sure that there are less unhappy animals in this world (and more creatively decorated people!).

WHAT YOU GET:
One lucky winner will get one awesome Xenotees t-shirt of their choice (under $22.00)!

HOW TO WIN:
Visit Xenotees Etsy Shop and check it out. Then come back here and LEAVE A COMMENT mentioning your favorite.


For additional entries:

(5) Blog about this linking to this post and to Xenotees.
(5) Twitter this post
(5)Follow My Blog (I am very lonely)

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries.

DRAWING:
A winner will be chosen at random on March 9th! Good Luck!

Xenotees is also offering a 15% discount on any purchase through March 31st- simply place an order and write 'uncorked' or 'polarity' in the comments to seller section!

My Next House Will Be An INVISIBLE TREEHOUSE

I always wanted a treehouse (so did my daughter) and this invisibile one would be just perfect for us! Using the old architecture trick of mirrored glass the Swedish firm Tham & Videgard Hansson Arkitekter have designed this amazing way to get lost in the woods!