20 Ways to Get Free or Cheap Books, and Give Away Your Old Ones

Post written by Leo Babauta.

Source:http://zenhabits.net/20-ways-to-get-free-or-cheap-books-and-give-away-your-old-ones/

If you’re looking to declutter your home and simplify your life, if you’re like me, one of the hardest areas to deal with is books: getting rid of old ones and cutting back on the expense of buying new ones.
But there are plenty of ways to get free or cheap books, and for the true fan of simplicity, these are the only ways to go.
First, let’s address the issue of getting rid of books: you gotta let go. I know, it’s difficult. It’s like getting rid of your children. But as the father of six children, I can tell you, sometimes it’s better with fewer of them in the house. (I’m kidding! About the children. Not the books.)
The question to ask yourself is this: “Why do I want to keep this book?” If you’re really going to read it again, keep it. I have a couple dozen books I truly love and really do plan on reading again, once I’ve forgotten the details.
But often books are kept almost like trophies or mounted animal heads — they show how much we’ve read, and the big books we’ve tackled, and how smart we are. Be honest with yourself — you’re never going to read most of those books again. You have too many ahead of you to tackle.
Get rid of them.
What follows are some of the best ways to get rid of your books, and to get more great ones for very little.
Bookswapping
This is one of the best ways to regularly get free books. Of course, you can do it for free with friends, family members, classmates, neighbors — I regularly swap books with people I know. But when you really want to get books you really want, online bookswapping services rock. They’re not free, as you usually have to pay for shipping, but they’re close.

• Bookmooch. One of the more popular of the online bookswapping services. Give away books to get credits, and use those credits to get other books you find online. Pretty good selection. It’s a free service, although you pay the price of shipping the books you give away.
• PaperBackSwap. Pretty much the same deal as Bookmooch — give away books to get credit, use credits to get other books. You pay for shipping (typically $2.13, according to the site). More than 1.3 million books available. No membership fee at this time.
• Readers United. Again, get credits for giving away books, use them to get other books. Free service, but you pay for shipping to give others your books.
• FrugalReader. Another book trading service. Update: this one doesn’t seem to be working as of 2012.
• Title Trader. This takes the same concepts as the other book swapping services above and extends them to not only books, but CDs and DVDs.
• Bookins. Same kind of book swapping service, but with a $3.99 fee per book you receive. You don’t pay for shipping books out, however.
• WhatsOnMyBookshelf. Book swapping service … receive points for listing books and sending them, use them to get books from others. You pay for shipping books to others.
• Novel Action. Update: this one doesn’t seem to be working as of 2012.
• ReadItSwapIt. This is for readers in the UK — again, give away and get books, just pay for shipping them to others. It doesn’t use a credit system like the others, and you are free not to send a book that’s requested by others. Free service.

Bookhopping
Similar to book swapping, bookhopping is a way to exchange books over the Internet. Basically, you list the books on your shelf, and agree to ship any of your books when they’re requested. In exchange, you can request any books you like. No points are earned or exchanged.

• BookCrossing. An extremely unique system, it’s more like karma for books. A very basic explanation: read a book, label it with a unique book number, and then leave it somewhere. Anywhere. You can leave it in a coffeeshop, with a friend, on a park bench (“releasing it into the wild”). There are designated book crossing spots all over the world, but they’re not required. If someone picks up your book, by chance, they write a little review of it online, and you can read all the reviews of the particular book you “released into the wild”. Now, you can also look at book crossing spots in your area to see what books have been left there, and go pick it up if you want. Interestingly, there’s a map that shows where books are “released” or “caught” all over the world — in real time. Fascinating. It’s definitely a must-see.
• America’s BookShelf. List your books online, and when one is requested, you’ll receive a postage-paid envelope in the mail — just drop it in the mailbox. To get books, you’ll need to buy book credits. Also charges a $12 annual membership fee ($1 a month).
• BookHopper. Works very similar to book swapping sites, but it’s slightly different. First, you list books that you’re willing to ship to people, and when they’re requested, you ship them (at your cost). You can also request anyone’s books. The more books you list, the more you can request. There’s no credits, but there’s a sort of karma system that incorporates how many books you list, how many you send, and the feedback you leave for others.

Really free books

• Library. The classic method, and it’s totally free. If you haven’t been to your local library recently, I’d recommend you give it a try. Many of them are surprisingly great.
• Friends, family, neighbors, classmates. Set up a little exchange with people you know. It can be a formal book club, or just set up a place to leave books, and when you’re done reading a book, leave it and take another. Get creative — no shipping costs are involved, so you can exchange great books for free.
• Free ebooks. If you don’t mind reading books on the computer, you can get thousands for free. There are a lot of sites for free ebooks, but a couple of the more popular include Project Gutenberg and Free-ebooks.net.

Other options

• BooksFree. It’s like NetFlix, but for books. Fairly low monthly membership fee, and you can check out multiple books at the same time. When you’re done, send them back (you don’t pay for shipping) and get the next ones on your list. No late fees. Lowest price is $9.99 for 2 books at a time; plans go up to 12 at a time.
• Zunafish. This is a trading site for anything, really. Not only books, but CDs, DVDs, games, computer stuff, anything. Just list the stuff you want to trade, and people will make trade offers. If you see an offer you like, agree to it, and then you each ship the stuff to each other. No membership fee, but there’s a $1 per transaction fee.
• Thrift shops. I make a regular trip to a couple of charity thrift shops (help a good cause and get books for only cents), as well as a very cheap used book store — I give them my used books for credits, and then pay only a couple of dollars for a couple dozen used books.
• Swapbooks. Despite its title, it’s really a way for students to sell used textbooks and buy them for cheap.
• half.com. A branch of eBay, half.com is a way to sell your used books and to get some good deals on other used books.
• LibraryThing. Well, this isn’t really a way to get free or cheap books (hence it’s not counted in the “20 Ways”) but I would be remiss if I talked about all these book services and didn’t include LibraryThing. What it is: simply a way to list your books online, and allow others to see what books you’re reading, and to see what others are reading. A cool tool.

Best Advice: My Parents, God and Goddess

Saraswati and Krishna
The best advice I got in life came from my parents. My mother was the archetypal goddess of wisdom symbolized in Saraswati, and my father was the archetypal healer and warrior. His name was Krishna and, like the divine Krishna, he embodied the knowledge and perseverance that guides us on the battlefield of life.
From an early age they impressed upon me through their words and actions that "True success comes from self-power."
True success was defined as:

• Progressive realization of worthy goals
• The ability to love and have compassion
• To be in touch with the creative power in your inner most being at all times.

Self-power was defined as coming from the level of the soul or core consciousness beyond the ego mask. It had the following characteristics:

• Independence from the good and bad opinions of others but responsive to feedback (personally immune to flattery and criticism)
• Fearlessness
• Beneath no one (also superior to no one)

Furthermore, I was told that my core being was a field of infinite possibilities, infinite creativity, comfortable with uncertainty, synchronicity, and imbued with the power of intention and choice.
These simple principles have guided my entire life and my journey as a physician and healer.
Source:Deepak Chopra

Top Tips for Selecting a Brand Name

Source: http://www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=638

Developing a name for your company or product is crucial in brand building. It's not a process to take lightly, nor is it wise to rush to a decision because letterhead needs to be printed or the website is ready to launch. Here are 11 tips to help you successfully develop a brand name:
1. Don't describe—distinguish. The biggest mistake companies make is being too descriptive with their names. A name should not attempt to simply describe; it should have the ability to suggest the essence (the unique characteristics) of your company. To be effective, a name must have brand potential. A name that is narrow or too descriptive does not have the depth or dimension to become an effective brand.
2. CEO involvement is key. Because selecting and adopting a new name is a highly emotional and political decision, you will not succeed without support from the top. Be sure that you have buy-in from the "C-Suites" in the beginning and that you keep them on board throughout the process.
3. Avoid alphabet soup. Names that are composed of initials are meaningless. They get lost in the marketplace clutter and they are extremely costly to support and promote. Jack Trout says in The New Positioning, "A no-name name is the corporate equivalent of a disguise." Unless you are a GE or an IBM with millions to spend on advertising, avoid initials. Real or invented words are many times easier for consumers to remember.
4. Research cannot replace decision-making. While research is a valuable tool to test for unforeseen red flags in a potential new name, there is a tendency for many to fall back on research to select the name. No one understands your organization and your positioning objectives better than you do. Don't allow popularity to determine the name. The most popular name is not necessarily the strongest name for the long-term.
5. If it's comfortable—forget it. Everyone else will. The most successful names over the long-term are often those that are initially the most controversial (think Google, Yahoo!, Chipotle, and Ikea). When you select a name, you are looking for something to punch through the marketplace clutter, not add to it. Overtly literal meanings can sometimes limit growth and show a lack of company creativity.
6. Keep it brief. One word brands are most effective. Lengthy, multiple word names lead to truncation. When people abbreviate your name, you lose control over your brand.
7. Employee contests don't work. While they are often well-meaning, they do not result in names that are based on the appropriate strategic rationale.
8. It's about strategy, not emotion and politics. Many clients are surprised that selecting a name is such an emotionally charged decision. Naming decisions are fraught with politics, turf issues, and individual preferences. Stick to the strategy and do not allow the lowest common denominator solution.
9. Manage the decision-making process. There is always someone who will try to derail the process. Determine at the outset who the decision makers will be, and then work diligently to keep the decision-making process on track.
10. Always be prepared for leaks. It is very difficult to keep a new name a secret. At the beginning of the naming process, prepare your press release and press kit in the event of a leak.
11. Don't expect unanimity. In the first few weeks following introduction, there is often a lot of discussion and publicity about a new name. Familiarity breeds comfort. As people become more familiar with the name, they will become more comfortable with it.

Excerpted from the presentation entitled "Brand Building Strategies," given by Rick Jacobs, Principal, Monigle Associates, at various professional conferences.