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Dear Members,
Why is it that we love books so much? Is it the solid feel of them in our hands? The cover art? The new-book smell? The old-book smell? Is it being able to tell how far we've read into the book (and how much is left) without even looking? Is it that they can be read anywhere, without batteries or technology of any kind? Is it that our eyes get tired from screen reading in a way that they don't from reading ink on paper? Is it that we can continue to read our printed book on an airplane during those times when digital devices must be turned off? Is it that we actually own printed books (not just the right to read them), and can put them on a bookshelf when we've read them, or lend them or swap them?
For us, it's all of those things! And we're clearly not alone: publishers are again reporting a significant fall in ebook sales, while the sales of print books continue to rise, for the second year in a row.
We have nothing against ebooks -- we think any kind of reading is great! We know that ebooks have their conveniences (for example, they're lightweight to pack for travel, and the ability to enlarge the font can be useful for visually impaired readers). But we're glad they haven't replaced the real thing. Because we love the real thing so much. Don't you?
We bet you do! In fact, we're inviting you to tell us the one main reason why you love print books in a comment on our Blog for a chance to win a free book! The book is a brand-new hardcover of a very heavily wishlisted book (see the Blog to find out which one!!). Make a comment on the Blog post before noon ET on Friday, May 27, 2016, and that will enter you into the random drawing to receive the book.
Good Luck, and Happy Reading!
Richard and
The PaperBackSwap Team
Amazon Showcase Book
By popular demand, we're showcasing a Wishlisted book that is not currently available in our Market, but which is available in NEW condition at a substantial savings off retail. Use any of the Showcase links below to go to Amazon -- remember, your purchase (of anything) there will help support PaperBackSwap!
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The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley |
Used Books Currently Available for Swapping
Order these books for credits; repost them when you're done reading and get the credit back!
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The God of Small Things by Southern India 1969. Here, armed only with the invincible innocence of children, Rahel and Esthappen fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family....read more |
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Dying to Please by Sarah Stevens is a woman with many distinct qualities. First and foremost a butler par excellence, skilled at running large households smoothly and efficiently, she is also a trained bodyguard and expert marksman ... read more |
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Gallows Thief by It is 1817 and Charles Corday, a portrait painter, has only seven days to live. He has been found guilty of murdering a Countess whom he was in the process of painting.....read more |
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The Killer Angels by In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation's history, two armies fought for two dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life..... read more |
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My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life by Audio CD, Unabridged. In the fall of 2009, the food world was rocked when Gourmet magazine was abruptly shuttered by its parent company. . No one was more stunned than its beloved editor in chief, Ruth Reichl, who suddenly faced an uncertain professional future....read more. |
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Finder's Fee by A terrifying phone call sweeps rich and powerful businesswoman Judith Find into a desperate search for a kidnapped boy. If she involves the authorities, the child will die...and Judith's darkest secret will be revealed to the world. ...read more |
Market Spotlight Books
In the PBS Market, available new at bargain prices!
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Z : A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by
Picture a late-May morning in 1918, a time when Montgomery wore her prettiest spring dress and finest floral perfume. Thus begins the story of beautiful, reckless, seventeen-year-old Zelda Sayre on the day she meets Lieutenant Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald at a country club dance ...read more Retail Price: New in the PBS Market (Hardcover): $3.39+1 credit (save 86%) or $7.29 (save 71%) Browse Historical Fiction currently available in the Market
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Where the Moon Isn't by |
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The Chosen One by |
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Tapestry of Fortunes by |
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Hit Me by |
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The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by |
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The Outcasts by |
NEWS
Refer and Earn! Have you invited your friends to join the club? Remember that you can get up to $5 for each friend, with no limit! You can share to Facebook (easily done from the Invite page); you can also send Invite emails directly from the Invite page. Make a YouTube video! Your invitees will get a discount on membership, you'll get $, and the club will get more books to share! It's a win-win-win! Read more about the referral program on the Invite page.
Update your software, protect your computer... Because of a known serious vulnerability in older system software, everyone needs to be using the most current Security Protocol when on the Internet. PaperBackSwap is required to update too, and older, vulnerable browsers will not be able to access the site after June 30, 2016. So if your software is old, update now! It's a quick task that will protect your computer and your personal information. If you are using Internet Explorer, go here to update. If you are using Mac, upgrade your MacOS for free on the Apple site. Read more here.
PBS Local Chapter News
New Local Chapter: Southern Maine - Chapter Leader: Karen B ( iambusyreading)
Upcoming Local Chapter Meetups:
- The North Texas Chapter meets next on June 5th, to discuss The Time Traveler's Boyfriend by Annabelle Costa. Check out the group's facebook page! Their meeting schedule is in the Chapter topic; contact Shellie (aylamonster) for more information.
- The Charlotte, NC Metro Area Chapter has been meeting for seven years! Their next meeting is June 6th, and the book for discussion is The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Check out their Chapter topic and see the full list of books they'll be reading in 2016! Contact Kimberly (KimberlyN) for details, and to get on their e-vite list.
- The Laveen Arizona Chapter plans to meet June 25th to discuss In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. For more details, please see the Chapter topic -also check out their facebook page! Contact lisaparks for location and more information.
- The MN/WI St Croix Valley Chapter meets quarterly. If you live nearby, check out the discussion in the Chapter topic!
We'd love to share your Chapter news - if you have some, please submit it to us!
If you want to be a Local Chapter Leader for PBS, you just need to have a PBS Nickname, a viewable public profile, and enthusiasm! Check the Local Chapter Leaders Forum List of Official Chapters to see if your area already has a local Chapter. If not, and you want to do this, just contact us. There are no formal guidelines for being a Chapter Leader. All of the information is in the Local Chapter Leader Discussion Forum topic. If you are an official Chapter Leader and want us to include your upcoming meetup in the Newsletter, send in a message to us with the date, at least a week before the end of the preceding month.
MEMBER OF THE MONTH
(Matt B. - BuffaloSavage)
Members who read the Blog know that Matt B has long made Monday synonymous with Mystery! His Blog reviews every Mystery Monday are enjoyed by many. More than that, he has been a prolific and excellent swapper, sending out thousands of books during his 10 years of membership.
Matt, thank you for taking the cruel edge off so many Mondays! You are Member of the Month for May. Congratulations!
DEAR LIBRARIAN
Dear Librarian - I can't log into my account. I can't even access the site! I get a message like "the site is not available." What happened???? - Locked Out in Louisiana
Dear Lulu,
We're sorry you are having this trouble. You're not actually locked out! You are using an unsafe browser/software setup, and our tightened security won't let you access the site with that dangerous setup. We have had to implement heightened security recently, and ALL legitimate websites will be required to do this very soon. There is a known VERY serious security flaw with older systems/browsers, and we are required to upgrade our system to make sure that none of our members continues to be vulnerable. In order to continue operating, we are required to provide a secure environment, so members who are using old systems or browsers will need to update. It might also be a matter of adjusting your browser or system software settings.
We apologize for the inconvenience! It's part of using the Internet, unfortunately -- always having to stay ahead of hackers.
You can test your browser here, and comply with their recommendations to update your security protocol. You can also check if your Windows system needs its settings updated or a patch applied on this page.
If you are using a Mac, you can update your software from this page on the Apple site. That upgrade is free.
If you aren't able to upgrade your system software, or you can't upgrade your version of Safari or Internet Explorer, you can try using current versions of Firefox or Chrome as your browser. That won't eliminate your need to upgrade your system software (there are always hackers looking for vulnerabilities, so it's important to keep your system software updated as a rule), but it might have the appropriate security protocol to allow access the PaperBackSwap site for now.
You can download and install Firefox from here. You can download and install Chrome from here.
We hope that unlocks you, so you are both safer on the internet and can participate in swapping!
Dear Librarian - I'm having trouble removing a book from my Bookshelf (it fell into the bathtub and got water damaged!). When I go to my Bookshelf page and click "Public Bookshelf" I don't see any way to remove books there. What am I missing? -- Baffled in Boston
Dear Bossy,
Aha! You gave us the answer when you said you were looking on your Public Bookshelf. The Public View of the Bookshelf is a "read-only" (non-editable) view of the Bookshelf. It shows you what other members see, including your Bookshelf Header (if you have created one). You can't remove books or put them on hold from the Public View. To do that, just go to the My Bookshelf page by clicking My Bookshelf under My Account, and you will be able to edit your list from there!
Dear Librarian - I was wishing for a book, and it had been a while so I was getting impatient. I searched the system using the Book Browser and putting in title and author, and I found a copy of the book that was available! It was just sitting there, on a Bookshelf, while I was wishing for it! I was very happy to order it, but I wonder what happened? Why did the system fail me? -- Flummoxed in Fairfax
Dear Moxie,
We're glad you got the book! It sounds like you found an alternate version of the book you had on your Wish List, that happened to be available. The Wish List works by ISBN, so if you put a specific ISBN of a book on your Wish List, that is the specific version that will be offered to you by your Wish List. You will be notified about alternate versions, IF they are posted after you create the Wish and IF the system knows they should be linked as alternate versions of the same book. Some books don't get linked up by our database compiler; also, non-ISBN versions are never linked in the system.
Some great ways to make sure you aren't missing currently-available versions of the book you are wishing for:
- Do a Search, as you did, putting in title and author, and choosing "Posted Books" at the top left of the Book Browser. That will show any currently-available versions. Remember that sometimes member-created (non-ISBN) listings can have variant spelling (hey, nobody's perfect), so books can "hide" that way from a Search.
- Use the Wish Expander to find any already-posted, linked versions of the book. The Expand Wish button will appear on the Wish on your Wish List, all the way on the right. It will only appear there if there are known alternate versions in the database (available OR unavailable) that you are not currently wishing for. You can read more about the Wish Expander in the Help Center.
Now that you got the book, don't forget to take it off your Wish List ! When you mark an unlinked version of a book received, that doesn't prompt the system to remove alternate versions from your Wish List the way that marking a linked version received will.
You can opt into using the Wish Expander automatically every time you wish for a book -- that's an option that you can choose by clicking Options at the top of your Wish List.
We hope this info helps you find more Wish List books that may be hiding from you in plain sight!
The Last Word:
- Are you REALLY not reading the Blog? You don't want to miss out on Free Book Friday book giveaways, author interviews, awesome book reviews and giveaways, and so much more!
- As always, don't forget to start your Amazon shopping from the link at the top of the PBS site - when you do this, a small percentage of your purchase amount comes to us. So whenever (and whatever) you plan to purchase on Amazon, start from the Amazon link at the top of the PBS site. It's an easy, free way to support the club!