some ideas for spring - please share your feedback!

I have a few ideas (and some official plans) for spring 2010.  Now that it's snowed twice (!) in Athens in 2010, I'm definitely ready for warmer temperatures to hit!

1. Thursday, March 18th at 6PM at The Globe:  Buy Local Book Club
I've written extensively about this already, but if you've missed details, check out our Facebook invitation and this blog post on We Are Athens (the Buy Local Athens initiative).

2. Saturday, April 17th all over the US (and in ATHENS, if you join me!):  "E-Free Day"

I'll be at a wedding most of the day, so I am unable to organize any in-person, formal event on this day.  But we have a Facebook event where you can pledge to be e-free on 4/17, no matter where you live.   I hope the weather is beautiful so that it makes it easier for us technology addicts to take a complete break from everything electronic.  That's right:  no TV, no computer, no cell phones, no e-readers!  Read more here.

3. A Saturday or Sunday, sometime in April or early May:  SCRABBLE TOURNAMENT!
This event, another in the series of community-focused fundraisers for Avid, will be held at a locally-owned venue large enough to accommodate however many people sign up! To make the tournament more fun, we'll (perhaps) be looking for food and/or drink donations and a place that will host us out of the goodness of their hearts (fingers crossed).  We also need folks to lend us their Scrabble game sets (complete with a board and all the tiles!) for the day.  As I'm a word nerd, you probably won't be surprised to learn that there are 3 Scrabble sets in my house as we speak.  Please contact me if you have venue ideas, a Scrabble game to lend, some swag to throw into the prize packages, or any other thoughts on the matter.

Most likely the tournament sign-up fee would be between $5 & $15.  Top 3 or 5 winners would receive some good prizes!

4.  Another book sale, date & place TBD.  Several of you made it out to our holiday book sale in December 2009.  I sold a lot that day, but as more and more folks have dropped off boxes of wonderful books, my shelves are filling up again and I've got to sell these before my house collapses under their weight!  :)  If you have any ideas regarding a book sale date, venue, etc., please email me.

Thanks, and let me hear from you!

-Janet G.

GA Historical Society could use your used books!

(Thanks to Christa from primo Atlanta blog pecannelog for the heads-up. I've cut and pasted the Georgia Historical Society's email below.)


Georgia Historical Society Book Sale in Jeopardy! 

The Georgia Historical Society needs your used books for its Annual Book Sale to be held April 23-24, 2010. Based on the current level of donations, this year's sale will be cancelled due to the low volume of books. Clean out your closets and clear away your clutter to support this annual fund-raising event!

This popular annual event raises greatly-needed funds for GHS's library and archives. Faced with more budget cuts from the State, the revenue from the Book Sale is needed more than ever. Proceeds from the sale are used to purchase new library materials and to care for the oldest collection of Georgia history in existence.

Donations, of all sizes, can include rare and non-rare: fiction, poetry, children's, and all non-fiction subjects including history, biography, current events, how-to, religion, business, self-help, cooking, gardening, etc.

Magazines/journals, obsolete audio/video, and games donations will not be accepted.

Donations to the Book Sale are tax deductible. For more information or to volunteer, contact GHS at 912-651-2128 or email us at library@georgiahistory.com.

 The Georgia Historical Society, headquartered in Savannah with offices in Atlanta and Affiliate Chapters in 80 counties, is the oldest cultural institution in the state and one of the oldest historical organizations in the nation. It is the first and only statewide historical society in Georgia. For nearly 175 years, GHS has collected, preserved, and shared Georgia and American history through a variety of educational outreach programs, publications, and research services. For more information visit:   www.georgiahistory.com.

Books & crafts & food & friends!

On the Saturday before Christmas, don't join the crazy crowds at Walmart or at the mall.  Instead, drop by a locally-owned, independent business that is hosting one of Athens's many annual holiday markets.  The Flicker Holiday Market will be held December 19, 2009 from 11:00 AM - 5 PM.  Never been to the Flicker Theatre & Bar? It's a lovely spot at 263 W. Washington Street in downtown Athens.

The items offered this year are especially varied.  Jim Wilson & Don Chambers will have their famous pies for sale. Kate Mikulka will be offering up her well-reviewed Mikulka Polish Foods. There'll be bath and beauty products, Christmas ornaments, and more. For more details, please refer to the official event invitation.  We're pretty lucky to live in a town where local folks can share their passions with us--let's take advantage of this opportunity to support the arts (and our tummies).

I'll be at the market selling however many books I can fit into my allotted space. I'll have new and used books and will be able to point you in the right direction if you're looking for gifts for yourself or for friends. For a sneak preview of what I'll be selling (or to order online before someone can buy up your favorite picks!), take a look at the website:  http://tinyurl.com/AvidBookshop

Thanks, and happy holidays!

You can start buying books from us NOW!

In an effort to raise some start-up capital and to make sure our future brick & mortar store customers can find some cool holiday gifts for friends and family, I decided to launch a Biblio.com account for Avid Bookshop.  Biblio is a company dedicated to helping ONLY independent bookstores, which is a mission I certainly admire.

As more and more people donate books to our project, the collection of for-sale books grows and changes.  Please check back weekly to find out what books we've added to our collection.

For a limited time, I am offering FREE SHIPPING TO ANYWHERE IN THE U.S.!  This saves you approximately $3.50 if you buy one book.  (If you live in Athens, you can also ask me for personal delivery, which some customers have found convenient and faster than USPS delivery.)

So, without further ado, I now reveal to you the way you can buy books and support Athens's independent bookstore, Avid Bookshop!

1. Visit Avid Bookshop HERE.  This will allow you to view our current books in stock, as arranged by author last name.  You can use the drop-down menu or the menu on the left-hand margin to rearrange or filter the list of books.

2. Shop 'til you drop and then check out!  The free shipping is on me.

IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE SOMETIMES-CONFUSING BIBLIO.COM LAYOUT, FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Visit Avid Bookshop's online bookstore here.


2. The homepage will look like this (see below).  To see Avid Bookshop's collection (which is ever-changing!), click the "search" button (see red arrow in picture below) without entering any search terms.

3. You can organize the bookstore's selections by author name, date added to the bookstore listings, title, and price by choosing from the drop down menu (see red arrow in screenshot below).

You can also filter the books by using the links on the left-hand side of the page (see blue arrow in screenshot below).  This search function allows you to search for only new books, only first editions, books in a certain price range, etc.

After making your selections, check out by paying using Biblio.com's secure online payment system.  As soon as your order is processed, Biblio sends me an email and lets me know which books you've requested.  I'll pack them up and get them to you quickly, and soon you'll have more great books to read.

Thank you for your time, and I hope to see your name on my Biblio order email soon!

If you're interested in donating books, please contact me via email.