BookJingle Blog

Archive for September, 2011

America, the king of trash, produces more garbage than any other nation in the world. Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour, manufacture enough styrofoam cups in one year to circle the earth 436 times, and throw away enough office paper to build a 12-foot wall from Los Angeles to New York City. Five hundred seventy disposable diapers are thrown away each second in the United States. Every three months, we throw away enough aluminum cans to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet. Every year, we fill enough garbage trucks to stretch from Earth halfway to the moon. Every day, the amount of trash produced in the United States equals the weight of the Empire State Building.

But there is hope. Recycling is the smart solution to saving room in landfills. For each ton of paper that is recycled, all of the following resources are saved: 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil, 4100 kilowatts of energy, 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space, and 60 pounds of air pollution. Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough power to run a TV for three hours! One ton of recycled glass saves the equivalent to nine gallons of oil.

Companies like BookJingle are doing their part to save the planet. By nature, used book sales is a green industry; reusing merchandise such as books is the ultimate form of recycling. Selling used books online helps to save trees, energy, landfill space, and reduce air pollution. Take a step towards a cleaner Earth: add www.bookjingle.com to your browser favorites list. The next time you have some used books to unload, sell them to BookJingle. You’ll feel good about going green!

People who like to sell used books tend to be money-savvy kind of people; in other words, my kind of people. Saving money is at the top of everyone’s priority list right now.  If you’re like me, you’re interested in saving money at the grocery store with coupons but not sure how to make coupons really work for you. Here are some practical tips for getting started on your coupon savings project.

1. Make a list of all potential stores that carry products you purchase, including grocery stores, convenience stores, drugstores, and discount stores. Don’t write off a store because you think it’s overpriced. Even pricey stores can offer coupons and promotions that make it worth an extra trip to pick up the discounted merchandise.

2. Get the stores’ club cards. It is worth your time to sign up for loyalty or club cards that are required to receive the lowest prices for items. Often, using the club card will qualify you for special coupons on future purchases that can really add up; these coupons often apply to merchandise that you regularly buy.

3. Investigate your stores’ coupon policies. All stores have difference practices about accepting manufacturer’s coupons and doubling coupons.

4. Check out the store’s current ad. Many stores circulate weekly or monthly fliers that highlight the current promotions. You might find that a drug store or discount store is offering a much better deal than your regular store on a product you regularly use, such as toothpaste or deodorant. Be sure to really check out the price of the items listed in the flier; not every item listed features a discounted price.

5. Stockpile merchandise. When you find a great deal on an item you regularly use, buy as many as you can (taking into consideration things like expiration dates, of course). That way, you won’t need to buy anymore of the item until it goes back on sale or another great coupon comes along.

6. Maximize coupons by using them on sale items. You can use coupons on an item that is on sale. This will yield big savings.

Good luck with your couponing endeavors!

We love being kind to the planet, we love saving money, and we love a clean house!  Sure, cleaning the house may not be your idea of fun, but it is fantastic when you’re finished.  The perfect way to combine these passions is to try making your own household cleaners from natural, environmentally-friendly ingredients.  Most homemade cleaning formulas are multi-purpose and can be used for a variety of cleaning tasks, and the ingredients to make them are inexpensive. Save money, go green and have a clean, chemical-free house – sounds like a winner to me!

Here are some simple, quick recipes for homemade cleaners that can tackle any messes your home has to offer:

Multi-Purpose Spray Cleaner:
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
Mix in spray bottle. Use on kitchen surfaces, appliances, bathroom fixtures, and floors.

Glass Cleaner:
1 cup rubbing alcohol (isopropyl)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar OR 1 tablespoon clear, non-sudsing ammonia
Mix in spray bottle. Use on mirrors and glass surfaces, buff with clean cloth.

Furniture Polish:
1 cup olive oil
½ cup lemon juice
Mix in spray bottle. Apply to cleaning cloth and spread over furniture surface.

Undiluted white vinegar can be used for hard water deposits or soap scum and to scrub the inside of the toilet bowl. To clean a shower head with mineral deposits, put ½ cup of undiluted vinegar in a plastic bag and fasten it to the shower head with a rubber band. Let it sit for several hours, then rinse and buff the shower head. Undiluted white vinegar can be used in the washing machine’s rinse cycle instead of fabric softener.  (I have been doing this for months and trust me, it does not make the clothes smell like vinegar!)

Baking soda is great for cleaning sinks, bathtub rings, and other hard surfaces. Make a paste of baking soda and water for scrubbing tough spots.

When you have used books to sell, you want top dollar for your merchandise. Have you ever tried to sell used books to one of those bookstores that buys your books? If you have, I’ll bet you were disappointed at their offer. Fifty cents for a book that originally cost $12.50? Really?

BookJingle offers fair prices for used books. Selling used books to BookJingle makes sense because the shipping is free, so you’re not losing any of your money there. BookJingle wants to give you a good deal for your book; if you happen to find another online bookbuyer who is offering more for your book, let BookJingle know. If possible, they will beat the price.

Another huge advantage to BookJingle: the BookJingle database is very large, which means there’s a good chance that BookJingle is buying a book that you have right now. Purchasers of used books can be limited in what titles they accept, but BookJingle will even consider books that are out of circulation. If you are looking for a textbook buyback program, definitely give BookJingle a try. Instead of hauling those heavy textbooks to a bookstore, ship them for free to BookJingle.

Of course, when you’re trying to sell books online, you probably would like to receive your cash quickly. BookJingle prides itself on fast turn-around time for your payment. Within three days of receiving your books, BookJingle will issue payment in the method of your choice, check or PayPal. You’ll have the money you need, the best price for your books, and you’ll have it fast. Get cash for books and get it quick at BookJingle.

In My Opinion…
A Book Review of Heaven by Randy Alcorn

On the back cover of Dr. Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven, a quotation reads, “The next time you hear someone say, ‘We can’t begin to imagine what Heaven will be like,’ you’ll be able to tell them, ‘I can.’” This description is a microcosm of this weighty 473-page (not counting the appendices and notes) book. Written by a pastor and seminary professor who has devoted twenty-five years to researching Heaven, this text attempts to do something so unusual, it may be shocking even to adherents of the Christian faith: it describes, explains, and prepares the reader for Heaven.

I can’t believe how much information Dr. Alcorn has uncovered, all derived from scripture, about a topic that is very rarely discussed in Christian churches. I had never heard a sermon or participated in a Bible study about Heaven. We hear a great deal about how to get to Heaven, but surely everyone has wondered what it will be like once we are there. It is a subject cloaked in obscurity for most believers (and non-believers). This is particularly strange when one considers Dr. Alcorn’s observations of the numerous descriptions of Heaven in the Bible.

Heaven seeks to disillusion people from the mundane images of Heaven that are so popular in the media. Honestly, it turns out that most people picture Heaven as a spiritual realm in the clouds, full of spirits and white-robed angelic figures playing harps, a place of extreme holiness and extreme dullness. Even true believers have made statements expressing fear of Heaven, or at least fear that they will be terribly bored and unsatisfied in such an ethereal existence. Dr. Alcorn paints a picture of a very different place, a Heaven that is full of life, light, relationships with God and fellow people, a place where we will live in perfected physical bodies and enjoy eating, drinking, working, worshipping, playing, and living as God intended us to do. I can’t believe that in all of my years as a Christian, I have lived in such total ignorance about Biblical revelations of eternity. According to Dr. Alcorn, scripture reveals the existence of a temporary Heaven in which God, Jesus and the souls of deceased believers reside. At the end times, God will establish a New Earth, and Heaven and Earth will become one. In other words, our eternal dwelling place will be here, in the same place we’ve always been, only it will be perfected and renewed. It’s all in the Bible, folks. You’ve got to read it to believe it!

This is a fascinating book, jam-packed with information about the present Heaven, the promise of resurrection, and the New Earth and Heaven. Alcorn includes a lengthy question and answer section that covers a wide variety of common fears, worries and misconceptions about Heaven. To the best of his knowledge, he answers everything from “Will there be space and time?” to “Will we drink coffee in Heaven?” Alcorn doesn’t claim to have perfect knowledge about Heaven, and in the cases where he surmises an answer, he freely confesses doing so. While the length of the book may seem daunting at first, this book contains Biblical facts and valuable research that everyone needs to see. Furthermore, Heaven offers something even more precious: a clear picture of the hope that we can have, the hope of a great adventure when this life is finished. This hope belongs to all who call on the name of Jesus Christ.

In the interest of preserving and improving our planet, I am interested in going green.  One of the key components of the green movement is recycling.  Of course, we are all pretty familiar with recycling by now.  Those fortunate enough to live in communities with curbside pickup for recyclables are probably very accustomed to separating recyclable items.  My community doesn’t offer recycling pickup service, but that doesn’t stop me from collecting items to take to the local recycling center.  It isn’t too much work; I have a special cabinet in the kitchen with boxes marked “Paper,” “Glass,” and “Plastic.”  About once a month, I empty them out into bags, and I store the bags in the garage until I have filled several.  Then, I make a trip to the recycling center, empty out the bags, and take them back home to use again.  Recycling has become comfortable routine for my family; I try not to be obsessive about it (“Oh no!  You dropped a scrap of paper into the garbage can!”), but I enjoy the feeling of responsible citizenship whenever I deposit something in the recycling bin.

Yeah, recycling has become a normal part of life in my house.  That’s why I like BookJingle so much!  We all know how good recycling paper is for the environment — it saves trees, putting more oxygen into the air, reducing harmful chemicals being released into the air from paper plants, and saves space in landfills.  Did you know that the re-use of paper is the ultimate form of recycling?  Books are meant to be read and enjoyed, not tossed into a fireplace or landfill for destruction, or kept in a moldy cardboard box in the basement.  Selling used books to BookJingle gives your old books a second life in the hands of someone who needs that book.  Used books that are sold to BookJingle are re-entering circulation in the book industry, preserving trees and benefiting all life on Earth.  Selling used books to BookJingle gives you the satisfaction of being a responsible steward of our planet’s natural resources.  Re-use is the ultimate form of recycling!

Best prices for your books
Organize your home by clearing out unwanted books
One place to sell used books for cash: BookJingle
Know that you’re getting the best customer service with BookJingle
Join BookJingle’s satisfied customers and get your cash quick
Instant quotes online
Never pay for shipping – BookJingle always pays the cost of shipping your books
Going green – selling used books is maximum recycling power and good to the planet
Lots of titles – BookJingle buys lots of different kinds of books
Easy, easy easy. That’s the bookselling experience at BookJingle.

We’ve been hearing about efforts to “save the rainforest” for a number of years. This movement, an important part of the large-scale green movement, endeavors to preserve the rapidly-diminishing rainforests of the world. Take a moment to absorb this startling fact: if things continue as they are today with rainforests being burned and cleared at the present rate, there will be no rainforests left on earth in 50 years. Just 50 years from now! Can you imagine the face of planet Earth changing so radically in less than one human lifetime? Of course, that also means many species of plants and animals that live in rainforests will be eradicated.

Rainforests are important for our planet, not only for the plants and animals of the rainforest but for people as well. Peruse this listing of reasons why rainforests matter, and consider what you can do to help save the rainforests:

1. Rainforests are home to over 30 million species of plants and animals. The unique, complex ecosystem of a rainforest means that they house a huge variety of plants, up to two-thirds of the Earth’s entire number of plants. These plants provide sustenance for many rare animals. Not all species of rainforest life have been discovered yet.

2. The rainforests help to supply the planet with water. Because rainforests hold and release enormous quantities of water (possibly up to half of the Earth’s entire supply), the entire planet relies on the rainforests to feed bodies of water.

3. Rainforests clean the environment. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere, helping to make air breathable to people and animals.

4. Rainforests are the source of a large number of medicinal ingredients. More than one quarter of all modern medicines originate from vegetation found in rainforests. Just imagine the untapped potential for medicines that lies in the rainforest in sources that have yet to be discovered!

5. Rainforests aid in the prevention of soil erosion. In rainforests, nutrients are found in the vegetation rather than in the soil itself. When trees are removed from the forest, the nutrients are removed with it and the soil around it is vulnerable to being washed away in heavy rains. Soil erosion can cause floods in lowland rivers and droughts in areas that once were upland rivers.

What is threatening the rainforests? The primary factor is deforestation: land is cleared (at an increasingly rapid rate)for logging, agriculture, ranching, and mining. The excessive clearing of trees means the destruction of the rainforest and all of its millions of unique species.

Going green means opening our eyes to the plight of the entire earth’s environment, not just what we see around us. It isn’t too late yet; the extinction of the rainforest is not a foregone conclusion. Visit Rainforest Concern to find ways that you can help save the rainforests.

Image Courtesy: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In My Opinion…
A Book Review of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Warning: Contains spoilers if you haven’t read The Hunger Games

I’m sure it’s no surprise to see my review of Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy, after my glowing review of book one. I was addicted to The Hunger Games and read it in a single day. Did I feel the same compulsion for Catching Fire? No, I must say I didn’t, but I still enjoyed the book a lot. Catching Fire is a good read, and I never lost interest in the story of futuristic Panem and our hero, Katniss Everdeen. But Catching Fire did not catch me on fire like The Hunger Games did.

In book two, we find out what happens to Katniss and Peeta after winning the Hunger Games. Life for Katniss back in District 12 appears to be amazingly perfect. Removed from the shack her family once occupied in the Seam, Katniss has been given a mansion; for the first time, she experiences abundance. Katniss and Peeta embark on a Victory Tour of all twelve districts, and Katniss views true opulence in the exorbitant lifestyle of the Capitol’s citizens. But beneath the veneer, Katniss is truly unhappy. Her relationship with Gale seems to be destroyed, and while she and Peeta must maintain the illusion of their romance, in private they are barely speaking. Katniss wishes she could go back to the way her life was before the Hunger Games, meager as it was. Soon, Katniss discovers that her actions during the Hunger Games have inadvertently sparked a civil unrest that spreads across the districts of Panem, and the Capitol makes it clear that she will be held personally responsible if an uprising occurs. After walking on pins and needles, putting on a great display for the TV cameras and feeling that the strain will break her, Katniss learns exactly how high a price she will be forced to pay.

I love the characters in these books, and Collins continues to paint a striking picture in words of this surprisingly believable world. But I didn’t find myself really engaging in the story until the second half. Collins’ writing really shines when the action is intense, and most of the action lies in the latter part of the book. I am still a fan of The Hunger Games, and I will definitely be reviewing Mockingjay, book three in the series, in the near future.

One of the most common questions a BookJingle newbie needs to ask is, “How do I sell used books online?” Luckily, this is an easy question to answer because using BookJingle is very simple. Just follow the six steps below and you are in business with BookJingle.

1. Enter the ISBN(s) of the books you want to sell. Press the enter button after each number so that each book appears on a single line.

2. Click the “Show my offer(s)” button to see the offer for each book.

3. Choose to accept or reject the offer for each book. If you decide to accept the offer, click on the “accept offer” check box and the books will be added to your cart.

4. Select a delivery method. Shipping is free with BookJingle’s mailing label.

5. Complete the check-out process and confirm the books you are selling.

6. Time to get paid! BookJingle guarantees that payment will be sent within 48 hours of receiving your shipment. You get to choose the payment method, via check or PayPal.

Enjoy spending your cash!