Welcome to BiblioPhoenix, where we are doing our part to save used books from the landfills. As part of my ongoing effort to save perfectly good books, I've been shopping around for books that are in danger of being tossed out (for example, from Goodwill, which throws about 20% of its inventory every week into dumpsters and has them carted off by massive garbage trucks.
I had to take a break from this noble cause when my work picked up and my ability to store the goods went down -- but now I've got a storage shed, and I'm going through and trying to get all of these wonderful books out to people who'd like them. Most of them will end up on my Half.com store, but I'm looking into other options for featuring these so that as many books as possible can receive a new home -- not only does it get me the money I spent back, but then I'm reasonably sure that someone will actually be reading the books, and occasionally it even turns out profitable.
I'm a big fan of giving people things for free, though. Obviously, I can't afford to give everything I have away for free, but I do like the idea of giving people a used book now and then -- someone ends up with something they want, and more people get interested in saving books. It's a win-win situation.
I just relocated most of our books (including some that were rescued from in-laws considering throwing out their libraries) to the storage shed, and as a result, I have some books that aren't likely to be saved by sale -- missing or damaged cover, for example. This week's Save This Book is an example of such. It's "The Nation Thief", by Robert Houston. The Nation Thief is, to quote the synopsis, a "historical suspense novel based on the 19th century figure of William Walker, a thirty-year-old surgeon, lawyer, newspaper editor and radical reformer who, along with his band of 57 filibusters, attempted to conquer Nicaragua, liberate the Indians, and create a land of perfect democracy. The results were the same as with anyone who tries to tell people what's right or good for them."
It actually looks like an interesting book - it's a first-edition paperback, and a somewhat obscure title, and there's just one big problem with it. Namely... the front cover is missing. For that matter, I can't even find a picture of it on the Internet, so it's an obscure book under the best of circumstances. Still, it has to go, and I'd like to see it go to a good home that actually wants to read it, so let's see what we can do, shall we?
In the tradition of all simple giveaways, this giveaway is comment-based. That's right -- to participate, you simply leave a comment on this article. If yours is the last eligible comment for a period of 24 hours, you win the book. You may leave as many comments as you like on this article, but only the last eligible comment will be the winner. In the event that this contest continues with no clear winner for a period of 14 days, the winner will be whoever comments last before the date of June 13th at 12:00 PM EDT. Either way, last comment standing gets the book shipped (via Media Mail) free of charge; the winner will be contacted by Gather mail with a request for the address they want it shipped to. A comment will also be left on this article to notify Gatherers of the official winner. Remember to check back frequently to ensure you remain the last commenter!
In fairness to others who might want to win books, BiblioPhoenix only allows you to win one free book per month from Save This Book -- however, since we haven't held one of these events in a while, everyone is currently eligible!
If you'd like to participate in more of these contests, check out BiblioPhoenix to see what other used book giveaways are also in progress! Also, if you're interested in purchasing some used books and giving them a good home, check out my store link above and see if anything there strikes your interest - I have several hundred books, at least, to recatalog, so expect this store to expand each week!
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Comments: 57
Wow, sounds like a cool book!
It's rather nifty -- it jumps from person to person, with individuals providing their own perspective on the events. And hey, it's free -- so it's worth a read. ::grin::
Good luck to those that hope to win!
Sounds like an interesting book. I try and give away as many as I can reasonably afford to mail. Even media mail adds up over time. Still, I would rather have the book in the hands of a reader than throw it away.
Sounds like a good read. :)
Nicaragua, huh? Sounds interesting.
sounds interesting, thanks
this sounds great
Comment comment comment
interesting
This is a marvelous effort and the book sounds very interesting.
Stopping by to say hello!
SOUNDS GOOD TO ME
Just stopping in again!
Sounds fascinating. I'd certainly not heard of it.
STOPPING BY AGAIN
Sounds interesting. I'm hoping to get more reading done this summer.
stopping in, this book sounds cool.
Got your message. I sent out 4 books this past week to Gather winners. No matter how many I give away, more books always seem to replace them. I haven't been selling many on Half.com lately. How are your sales doing over there, Austin?
such good ideas you come up with.
That sounds like an interesting book.
send it here.
back again
Wandering back and wondering about Christine's books too.
HERE AGAIN
Hello there ! I am all for saving books ~~!
Where do I go to win books? Hehe, maybe I should cull through some of mine, too.
Good evening, Austin ~!
Christine:
Actually, I just listed twenty last week and already got two buys to ship out on Monday, so it's a good start.
And hi, everyone! Still no 'last comment for twenty-four-hours-straight', so we're still going! Remember, to win you have to be the last eligible comment on this article for a full 24 hours -- or, in the likely event that that doesn't happen, you have to be the last eligible comment before June 13th, 12:00 PM EDT. Keep it up!
always save the books
I set up giving books to al that wanted be fore my trek from Balto. makes me smile
I love books. What a great cause.
Stopping by again... this book looks really cool.
good luck to all. who ever wins let us know how the book is
I think it's a great cause too, Sandra
This contest looks like it could get interesting
bibliophoenix.
Save the books!
enjoy the read
So bored, so I'll stop in again.
this is getting to be fun
Hehe, looks like it might run into 'last person before 12pm June 13th' territory!
You ideas, on earning money and points just amazes me
I'm thinking of putting my Gather earnings henceforth into BiblioPhoenix, now that things are back in motion, so to speak, so that I can cover the shipping costs without worrying about whether it's coming 'out of pocket', so to speak. ::grins::
I've also been thinking that running multiple Save This Book contests at once would give more people an opportunity to win -- it'd add more administrative work and such, but if I were giving away more than one book at a time, would you guys be interested? (Obviously, you'd still only be able to win one book per month, or thereabouts, but your odds would increase dramatically if there were more books to go around...)
see another great idea
Can always use another book to read and enjoy!
I would like to have a choice of books, so to speak.
howdy
a good hello to you.
multiples sounds fun.
getting down to the wire. This is fun.
And here I am again... this is getting exciting... Haha.
I hope that I don't forget to check back tomorrow, that's when it really counts.
good morning
And Tammy gets in for the win! Congratulations, Tammy! Check your Gather mailbox!
Tammy's won this round -- but don't worry, there's plenty more giveaways to be had! Look forward to more Save This Book giveaways soon!
Thanks Austin, and everyone else that played along. It was exciting.