The list of the best selling books of all time.

Hi everyone.  Where did your favorite book end up on this list?  I can't believe A Tale of Two Cities sold over 200 million copies.

Cheers. Tom.  

More than 100 million copies

Book	Author(s)	Original language	First published	Approximate sales
A Tale of Two Cities	Charles Dickens	English	1859	over 200 million[1]
The Lord of the Rings	J. R. R. Tolkien	English	1954–1955	150 million[2]
The Hobbit	J. R. R. Tolkien	English	1937	over 100 million[3]
红楼梦 (Dream of the Red Chamber)	Cao Xueqin	Chinese	1759-1791	over 100 million [4]
And Then There Were None	Agatha Christie	English	1939	100 million[5]

[edit] Between 50 million and 100 million copies

Book	Author(s)	Original language	First published	Approximate sales
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	C. S. Lewis	English	1950	85 million[6]
She	H. Rider Haggard	English	1887	83 million[7]
Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince)	Antoine de Saint-Exupéry	French	1943	80 million[8]
The Da Vinci Code	Dan Brown	English	2003	80 million [9]
Think and Grow Rich	Napoleon Hill	English	1937	70 million[10]
The Catcher in the Rye	J. D. Salinger	English	1951	65 million[11]
O Alquimista (The Alchemist)	Paulo Coelho	Portuguese	1988	65 million[12]
Steps to Christ	Ellen G. White	English	1892	60 million[13]
Lolita	Vladimir Nabokov	English	1955	50 million[14]
Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre (Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning)	Johanna Spyri	German	1880	50 million[15]
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care	Dr. Benjamin Spock	English	1946	50 million[16]
Anne of Green Gables	Lucy Maud Montgomery	English	1908	50 million[17]
Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions: The autobiography of a horse	Anna Sewell	English	1877	50 million[18]
Il Nome della Rosa (The Name of the Rose)	Umberto Eco	Italian	1980	50 million[19]

[edit] Between 30 million and 50 million copies

Book	Author(s)	Original language	First published	Approximate sales
The Hite Report	Shere Hite	English	1976	48 million[20]
Charlotte's Web	E.B. White; illustrated by Garth Williams	English	1952	45 million[21]
The Tale of Peter Rabbit	Beatrix Potter	English	1902	45 million[22]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [23]	J. K. Rowling	English	2007	44 million [24]
Jonathan Livingston Seagull	Richard Bach	English	1970	40 million[25]
A Message to Garcia	Elbert Hubbard	English	1899	40 million[16]
Angels and Demons	Dan Brown	English	2000	39 million[26]
Как закалялась сталь (Kak zakalyalas' stal'; How the Steel Was Tempered)	Nikolai Ostrovsky	Russian	1932	36.4 million copies in USSR[27]
Война и мир (Voyna i mir; War and Peace)	Leo Tolstoy	Russian	1869	36.0 million copies in USSR[27]
Le avventure di Pinocchio. Storia di un burattino (The Adventures of Pinocchio)	Carlo Collodi	Italian	1881	35 million[28]
You Can Heal Your Life	Louise Hay	English	1984	35 million[29]
Kane and Abel	Jeffrey Archer	English	1979	34 million[30]
Het Achterhuis (The Diary of a Young Girl, The Diary of Anne Frank)	Anne Frank	Dutch	1947	30 million[31]
In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?	Charles M. Sheldon	English	1896	30 million[16]
To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	English	1960	30 million [32]
Valley of the Dolls	Jacqueline Susann	English	1966	30 million[16]
Gone with the Wind	Margaret Mitchell	English	1936	30 million [33]
Cien Años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude)	Gabriel García Márquez	Spanish	1967	30 million[34][35]
The Purpose Driven Life	Rick Warren	English	2002	30 million[36]
The Thorn Birds	Colleen McCullough	English	1977	30 million[37]
The Revolt of Mamie Stover	William Bradford Huie	English	1951	30 million [38]
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (original title: Män som hatar kvinnor)	Stieg Larsson	Swedish	2005	30 million[39]
The Very Hungry Caterpillar	Eric Carle	English	1969	30 million[40]

[edit] Between 20 million and 30 million copies

Book	Author(s)	Original language	First published	Approximate sales
The Late, Great Planet Earth	Hal Lindsey, C. C. Carlson	English	1970	28 million[41]
Who Moved My Cheese?	Spencer Johnson	English	1998	26 million[42]
The Wind in the Willows	Kenneth Grahame	English	1908	25 million[43]
Nineteen Eighty-Four	George Orwell	English	1949	25 million[44]
The Celestine Prophecy	James Redfield	English	1993	23 million[45]
The Godfather	Mario Puzo	English	1969	21 million [46]
Love Story	Erich Segal	English	1970	21 million[47]
狼图腾 (Wolf Totem)	Jiang Rong	Chinese	2004	20 million[48]
The Happy Hooker: Her Own Story	Xaviera Hollander	English	1971	20 million[49]
Jaws	Peter Benchley	English	1974	20 million[50]
Love You Forever	Robert Munsch	English	1986	20 million[51]
Sophie's World	Jostein Gaarder	Norwegian	1991	20 million[52]
The Women's Room	Marilyn French	English	1977	20 million[53]
What to Expect When You're Expecting	Arlene Eisenberg and Heidi Murkoff	English	1984	20 million[54]

Covers Sell Books?

Hi Everyone. Next time you are choosing a book  may be it is the cover that sells it to you. I have always thought this was the case and now I know.

by Dan Poynter

Packaging is everything. Each year, corporations spend more than $50 billion on product packaging and design. $50 billion, not for the products themselves or for the wrapper but $50 billion just for the design of the wrapper.

Everyone judges a book by its cover. No one reads the book before they make a buying decision. Consumers do not read it in the store. Sales reps only carry book covers and jackets to show bookstore owners/buyers while wholesalers and distributors say "just send us the cover copy." All buying decisions are made on the illustration/design and the ad-sales copy on the outside of the book. Yes, packaging is everything.

The bookstore browser averages less than eight seconds looking at the front cover and fifteen seconds reading the back cover. You must hook them immediately and keep them reading the back cover or they will put the book back on the shelf.

Finding the right work environment

Hi Everyone.
Thought you all might find this interesting. I hope you enjoy it and learn something from it.
Cheers. Tom.

By Ron Visconti
Have you ever gone into a new environment and felt the vibrations? Maybe you've gone to a party, or a volunteer project, or your new workplace and either gotten a good feeling, or felt like you wanted to get out of there right away. That is your instinct telling you about what's right or wrong for you.

I recently visited a company and was greeted at the door by the CEO. He handed me a cup of coffee and offered some small talk. It was obvious the message of his company was: "We are friendly; we talk to everyone. There are no barriers here." His company was driven by customer-service. The George Zimmer commercial demonstrates a similar philosophy at the Men's Wearhouse. "You can talk to the CEO."

Work environments are like onions; they are layered. There is the physical atmosphere, and then there are the various components of human interaction—from how the janitors are treated to the "perks" given to the top employees.

Job seekers give little thought to choosing their preferred work environment. Rather, they passively wait for companies to pick them. This is a big mistake. It is like investing in the Lotto, hoping for something good to happen.

Work is perhaps one of the most intense short-term or long-term commitments you can make. You will be putting in thirty, forty, fifty, or perhaps more hours at work. Why not make it satisfying and productive?

Work environments are like unique countries. They all have their unique styles. Every country has its own language, customs, music, food, and history. So it is with companies.

What are the components of the right environment?
The most obvious is the physical part. How does it look? Are there cubicles or an open work environment? Is it pleasant to look at? Is it crowded? Messy or tidy?

The human element is critical. Who you go to work with for forty to sixty hours a week is critical. When you think of it, they are the ones who share your victories, your political battles, your common enemies, the numerous daily tasks
Perhaps, you should ask and then answer the following:

• How would you typify working at XYZ Company?
  
• What best describes the work environment—cooperative or competitive?
  
• Are workers friendly? Do they smile?
  
• Is it a creative environment?
  
• Do they value diversity?
  
• What programs do they have in place to recruit a diverse workplace?

Further, does your workplace give you energy? Work environments can be energy sources. Do you remember working at a job that seemed tedious, boring, draining? Stifling work environments draw energy like a sponge.
Exciting work environments provide stimulation, a sense of purpose, and a mission for both the individual, and the team.

Management is the foundation of a good and purposeful work place. Robert Levering, author and international authority on great workplaces, asserts that a great workplace must include a sense of fairness. In other words:

• Are you treated fairly?
  
• Are you adequately compensated?
  
• Are you recognized and acknowledged for your work?
  
• What specific programs are there to recognize workers?

A critical part of a company's management style is the organizational structure. How do the individual workers fit in the whole system?

• Are there appropriate career ladders?
  
• What is the reporting system like?
  
• Is the overall organization bureaucratic or open and flexible?

And finally, how do you do your work? You can be quite successful in one environment and not in another? Why is that? My guess is that circumstances are different. Your personality and interaction with others and your external environment will either promote a sense of success or on the opposite end of the continuum, a sense of desperation.

How do the workers dress? Are workers formal or not? Do they dress like the high tech industry with jeans, or in the banking industry, with suit and tie?

Perception of your personality is important. I can be placed into two separate environments and be seen in two different lights. Someone who is seen as assertive in one context might be seen as aggressive in another.

When I hear applicants say, "I could have done that job." They are maybe missing the point. Perhaps, they should be asking, "Do I really fit in that workplace?"

The workplace is a blending of personalities, styles, management, and workplace culture.
Remember, it is your job to be the ultimate anthropologist, to find how people really live, otherwise, you will find your experience like that of Bill Murray in "Lost and Translation," disoriented and out of touch. Companies don't know you, or what's best for you – only you can determine that.

How to write a book - the short honest truth

Hi Everyone.

Since I have been writing I have received over 100 emails for people asking me to explain WHY I started writing and what is involved in the process. I have chosen an article by Scott Berkun, author of three bestselling books.  I hope you enjoy and now have an insight in to what is involved. Cheers. Tom.

Every author I know gets asked the same question: How do you write a book?
It's a simple question, but it causes unexpected problems. On the one hand, it's nice to have people interested in something I do. If I told people I fixed toasters for a living, I doubt I'd get many inquires. People are curious about writing and that's cool and flattering. Rock on.

But on the other hand, the hand involving people who ask because they have an inkling to do it themselves, is that writing books is a topic so old and so well trod by so many famous people that anyone who asks me, with the serious intent of discovering secret advice from my small brain and limited writing experience, is hard to take seriously.

Here's the short honest truth: 20% of the people who ask me are hoping to hear this – Anyone can write a book. They want permission. Truth is you don't need any. There is no license required. No test to take. Writing, as opposed to publishing, requires almost no financial or physical resources. A pen, a paper and effort are all that has been required for hundreds of years. If Voltaire and Marquis de Sade could write in prison, then you can do it in suburbia, at lunch at work, or after your kids go to sleep.

If you want to write, kill the magic: a book is just a bunch of writing. Anyone can write a book. It might suck or be incomprehensible, but so what: it's still a book. Nothing is stopping you right now from collecting all of your elementary school book reports, or drunken napkin scribbles, binding them together at kinkos for $20, slapping a title on the cover, and qualifying as an author. Want to write a good book? Ok, but get in line since most pro authors are still trying to figure that out too.

Writing a good book, compared to a bad one, involves one thing. Work. No one wants to hear this, but if you take two books off any shelf, I'll bet my pants the author of the better book worked harder than the author of the other one. Call it effort, study, practice, whatever. Sure there are tricks here and there, but really writing is a kind of work.

Getting published. 30% of the time the real thing people are asking is how do you find a publisher. As if there wasn't a phone book or, say, an Internet-thingy where you can look this stuff up. Writers-market is literally begging to help writers find publishers. Many publishers, being positive on the whole idea of communication, put information on how to submit material on their website. And so do agents. The grand comedy of this is how few writers follow the instructions. That's what pisses off all the editors: few writers do their homework.

The sticking point for most wanna-be published authors is, again, the work. They want to hear some secret that skips over the hard parts. Publishers are rightfully picky and they get pitched a zillion books a day. It takes effort to learn the ropes, send out smart queries, and do the research required to both craft the idea for a book, and then to propose it effectively. So while writing is a rejection prone occupation, even for the rock-stars, finding a publisher is not a mystery. In fact the whole game is self-selective: people who aren't willing to do the leg-work of getting published are unlikely to be capable of the leg-work required to finish a decent manuscript.

But that said – it's easier today to self-publish than ever. Really. But again, this requires work, so many prefer to keep asking writers how they got published instead of just doing it themselves.
Being famous and wealthy: Now this is the kicker. About 50% of the time the real thing people want to know is how to become a famous millionaire rock-star author dude. As if a) I qualified, b) I could explain how it happened, or c) I'd be willing to tell.

First, this assumes writing is a good way to get rich. Not sure how this one started but writing, like most creative pursuits, has always been a less than lucrative lifestyle. Even if a book sells well, the $$$$ to hour ratio will be well below your average corporate job, without the health benefits, sick days, nor the months where you can coast by without your boss noticing. These days people write books after they're famous, not before. And if the only books you read are bestsellers, well, you have a myopic view of the publishing world. Over 100k books are published in the US annually, and few sell more than a few thousand copies, and what causes books to sell may have little to do with how good a book is. Either way, to justify the effort you'll need reasons other than cash.

Discouraged yet? Good. Here is the upside: I love writing books. I love reading books. I love the entire notion that people can make things up in their mind and then make them real on a page, for the pleasure or utility of someone else. That's just awesome. If you like writing, if you enjoy the bittersweetness of chasing words into sentences, then you might love writing books too, despite, or even because of, everything I said above. If so, get to work – now :)

Is there such thing as black magic? Topic of Tom's next book.

Hi everyone. I am using this topic as the back drop for my next book
"PLAYING CHESS WITH THE DEVIL."

I would be interested in your own views on this topic. I look forward to reading them.

I have been asked by many people: "What if I just don't believe in Voodoo or Magic? How can it affect me?"
This is a very good question! And here is the simple answer: Magic works based on the following premises:

1. Science cannot explain everything at this time, if it ever will!
2. Magic is defined as any process of using phenomena that is not understood (not explained by science at this time) to produce known effects.
3. Therefore, even scientists would have to agree, that by this definition, there is a LOT of magic left in the world!

You do not have to "believe" in magic, any more than you have to believe in "science" for it to work. It is simply a fact; they both exist.
Key note here: Some magic does use belief as one of its tools but a lot of magic does not require any belief at all.
The difference between science and magic is simply the level of understanding, and the ease of repeatability of results; even then the line can be blurry between the two.
The difference between the scientist and the sorcerer is simply the goal:

1. The scientist seeks to understand the phenomena in terms of some mathematical model, or in terms of the mechanism at work.
2. The sorcerer seeks to use the phenomena without regard to understanding the nature of the mechanism(s) at work.

Of course, these are extremes. Most scientists do seek to at some point exploit the findings into some application. And many sorcerers put forth theories as to how they think the mechanisms of their magic work.

These basic definitions create a boundary line between science and magic that is often crossed by both scientists and sorcerers.

So it is not a matter of belief as to whether or not something is possible. What matters is how real a phenomenon actually is. There was a time when many people didn't "believe" that gun powder existed, or that a substance like that was even possible. Belief had no place in its possible existence.

So I will share with you the following concept: Almost anything is possible if you know how. This is a fundamental basis for our universe. It is a phenomena associated with a universe based on free will.
Let me explain:
In order to have free will, it is necessary to have

1. Reality (which offers Choices)
2. Perception ( the ability to distinguish reality)
3. Self- Awareness, which includes:

• A Belief System with The Concept of Morality
• The Idea of Reality
• A Subconscious
• Life-Will - an order generating phenomena that is the basis for life itself.
• Life will is what organizes random atoms into, well, us.

If you look at the history of invention, you will see that the only limitations on the potential abilities of science is resources and imagination. Therefore, anything you want to achieve is possible, if you can just figure out how to do it. This does not mean that any process is viable, it just suggests that any result is!   Magic is a valid process (if not a well-understood one) as long as it does bring about the results that are intended. It is just as valid as scientific processes, which also have quantified amounts of uncertainty and confidence associated with them.

So while your belief system can make something real (i.e., make something possible with a combination of visualizing a goal), and then figuring out how to make it possible, or real, much magic can be done without belief. This only covers magic, in its most basic sense.

What about Sympathetic Magic? This gets a little more specific, and to understand how this works we must understand the concept of Life-Will.
The concept of Life-Will is rather abstract, so I will not try to cover fully. However, I will seek to explain it enough to explain the nature of sympathetic magic.

Life-Will is a directive of the universe that seeks to create order out of disorder. It is a low-level manifestation of the non-corporeal that directs matter into patterns that produce life-generating benefits. It is usually controlled into what we might call a subconscious level. This level of awareness is very powerful, as even modern scientists have become aware of.

Life-Will can be directed by congruent individual wills to produce more viable results. One of the great example that I illustrates this concept was a simple experiment involving chicken eggs and a heat lamp.
The lamp was set up to blink randomly, and to be on only about half the time (statistically). But when the eggs were placed under the lamp, the light tended to stay on longer, and was on for more than 50% of the time intended. Something that the researchers could not understand was keeping the light on longer than it was supposed to be, but only when the eggs were placed under the lamp. This is an example of congruent subconscious will directing Life-Will to help produce life-generating or sustaining benefits!

The eggs were aware, as they could "feel" and "react" to the heat of the lamp, via metabolic processes that increased and were sustained when the lamp was on. This awareness directed the Life-Will to keep the lamp on longer than it had been programmed for - something the researchers had not planned for! The end result was that more of the chicks did eventually hatch.

This egg experiment is a scientifically repeatable example of magic. This is essentially the basis of sympathetic magic, and indeed for religious dogma and the cause of many miracles.
With the subconscious will this powerful, imagine the power of the directed conscious mind! By creating congruent belief systems (religious dogma), a collective consciously driven mechanism for directing Life-Will can be produced and sustained. The power of this system is only limited by the belief system.

There is an old adage: "You can make anything true if you believe hard enough." This is simply one way of activating Life-Will. The fact that you exist in this universe, on this plane of existence, means that you are affected by it and that you have some control over life will.

All forces work at a distance. Even the force of physical contact is actually an expression of quantum electromagnetic forces, which do not allow for any two objects to actually touch but rather the forces are expressed before any actual contact is made. To even come "very" close is to produce nuclear effects such as fission or fusion, and this is still not "touching". The point is that the idea of "force at a distance" is prevalent in modern science.

To explain the last paragraph more simply, just realize that every atom and even every part of every atom has space between them. Everything affects everything else before they actually touch. When you pick up a glass, the electrons in your fingers push on the electrons of the glass and they never actually touch each other. This is known and measurable scientific fact.

Furthermore, these forces extend to infinity, by definition. They may be basically consciously imperceptible, but they are there. This means that collective influence is always possible. So by existing in this universe, you are subject to influence by everything else that exists in it and you affect everything else in it too. And in this way, we are all just expressions of one, bigger collective experience called the universe.

It is impossible to destroy or create mass or energy. But Life-Will seeks to do neither. Instead, it directs already existing energy and matter into more organized states that benefit life. This means that magic does not violate any "known" laws of physics, but rather works with laws that we may be aware of, as well as in congruence with those laws we are not aware of.

So what does it matter that you "don't believe in magic"? It means that you probably won't be able to use it, because you won't let yourself, much like someone who doesn't believe in cars will be unable to let themselves drive.

It does not mean that you can't be affected by it, only that you won't consciously use it yourself. This is much like the person listed above, who will not drive, but could still be easily struck by a moving car should they step in front of it at the wrong time. It also does not mean you can not get pizza delivered to your door by someone driving a car.

What about doing spells to people who don't believe in magic? The practitioners of magic will be able to direct magic to their will, regardless of what the belief systems of the intended are. Of course the intended has their own life will and their own beliefs and they are exerting force on their own lives too.

Key note: read the last to lines again. Then realize that this means that some spells will have a lot more effect than others. An example is that a spell to find a true love will work better than a spell to make a specific person love you but both can and will have effects.

This does not mean that the spell caster should use this as an opportunity to practice black magic of any kind on such individuals! There are other subconscious systems at work that will keep this from repeating should a spell caster abuse his powers. Instead, merely realize that you can perform beneficial magic, and the in-congruent belief system of the intended recipient may have little effect on the spell.

However, consciously driven congruent belief systems will always produce better results! This means that if you and the recipient both believe in the effectiveness, you will both "empower" the spell to be much more effective.

So, although belief may not be able to stop the effects of magic, it does make magic more powerful when it is present. The stronger the belief, the stronger the resolve, and the more powerful your magic becomes.

This is the power of faith. It does not require that everyone believes. Only you.

The Benefits and Advantages of Ebooks

by Remez Sasson

 

An ebook is a book in electronic format. It is downloaded to a computer, PC, Mac, laptop, PDA or any other kind of computer, and is read on the screen. It can have numbered pages, table of contents, pictures and graphics, exactly like a printed book.

Ebooks present many benefits and advantages, and this article shows some of them.

It is very simple and easy to purchase and download ebooks through the Internet. It is exactly like purchasing any other product. The only difference is that after payment you will either be directed to a download page or receive the download link in an email. All you have to do is click on the link and the ebook will automatically download to your computer, to a folder of your own choice.

After download you don't have to be connected to the Internet in order to read the ebook. You can stay offline. If you wish to have it printed, it is very easy. Just click on the print button in the ebook, to print it with your home printer.

So what are the benefits and advantages of ebooks?

1. Ebooks are delivered almost instantaneously. You can purchase, download and start reading them within minutes, without leaving your chair. You don't have to go to a bookstore to buy them, neither wait for them for days, weeks and sometimes more to arrive in the mail.

2. No trees are required to manufacture paper for the pages of ebooks.

3. When you need certain information, you can get it immediately, by downloading an ebook.

4. Many ebooks are sold nowadays with bonuses, which you usually do not get with a printed book. This adds value to your purchase.

5. Ebooks take up less space. You practically don't need any space to store them. You don't need a library or a room for them. You can store hundreds and thousands of ebooks in your computer.

6. Ebooks are portable. You can carry a whole library of hundreds of books with you, on CD, in a laptop, notebook or any ebook reader, without worrying about their weight.

7. With today technology you can read ebooks anywhere, on the bus, train, airplane and while standing in line.

8. Ebooks are more safely stored and carried from one place to another, than ordinary books. They also withstand time more than books.

9. Ebooks can show links, for easy access to more information and related websites.

10. Ebooks are searchable. You can easily search for any information in an ebook, instead of turning page after page.

11. Ebooks can be interactive and contain audio, video and animations, which can enhance the message that the author is trying to convey.

12. As ebooks are delivered through the Internet, there are no packing and shipping expenses.

13. Ebooks can be printable, so that if you wish to read an ebook in the traditional way, you can very inexpensively print it with your home printer or at any printing shop.

14. Fonts in ebooks can be resized, making it easier to read for people with disabilities. With an additional software it is possible to turn some of the ebooks into audio books.

15. Ebooks are very easy to to sell and distribute.

16. It is very simple and easy to purchase and download an ebook. People living in big modernized cities, in a remote village in a far away country or on a small island, can equally access an ebook. It takes them the same amount of time to purchase and download an ebook, provided they have an Internet connection.

17. It is possible to purchase an ebook 24 hours a day, every day of the year, from the comfort of your own house or office. You can purchase and download an ebook, even if you are on a vacation, if you have a laptop and wireless Internet connection.

18. People are already spending a lot of time in front of their computers, so why not read and ebook, instead of doing something else?

Nowadays one can find ebooks about every possible subject, fiction and nonfiction, free and not free.

Considering non-fiction ebooks, such ebooks disseminate knowledge not pages, which means that it is not correct to evaluate the price of an ebook according to the number of its pages. The price should be determined by the information it contains, its usefulness and relevancy, and on how much it gives you in terms of practical knowledge, inspiration, motivation, tips and advice, and also by the uniqueness of the information it contains.

-----------------------------------------------------------

© Copyright Remez Sasson

Remez Sasson teaches and writes on positive thinking, creative visualization, motivation, self-improvement, peace of mind, spiritual growth and meditation. He is the author of several books, among which are "Peace of mind in Daily Life", "Will Power and Self Discipline", "Visualize and Achieve" and "Affirmations - Words of Power".

Visit his website and find articles and books filled with inspiration, motivation and practical advice and guidance.
Website: http://www.SuccessConsciousness.com
Books: http://www.successconsciousness.com/ebooks_and_books.htm

 

 

End of bookstores? Don't read too much into it

The Star/Asia News Network
I WAS at the Marylebone branch of Daunt Books last month, hailed by Lonely Planet as one of the world's greatest bookshops. The London bookstore is unique in many ways. With its long oak galleries, polished floors and enticing skylights, the bookshop offers books you don't normally find in ordinary shops. From outside it looks very unspectacular; step in and a new world awaits you. I have been to all kinds of bookshops in the United Kingdom - big and small -- from a stuffy yet astonishingly well-stocked cubicle belonging to a Jewish bookseller in Brick Lane to a religious books haven in Birmingham and a little corner shop selling nothing but poetry books in Glasgow. But Daunt Books stands above the rest. I have nothing against big chain bookshops. These are professionally managed, well-funded and efficiently run by an army of eager and willing helpers. Smaller chains and privately-owned bookshops have a role, too. You will be surprised what you can find in these little bookshops. The one belonging to H.P. Lovecraft in Greenwich Village, New York, is owned by a true book lover. He amazed me by introducing some very interesting "Malayan collections" he kept when I was there ("Life and Times of a New York Bookseller", July 12, 2003). Then there was the two-level "KnigoMir" bookstore I discovered in Vladivostok many years ago. I was surprised that in a Russian city in the easternmost civilised corner of Russia, known for its port, military garrisons and Trans-Siberian Railway, there was a bookshop that offered 50,000 titles and quite a good collection of publications in English. What would you do in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan? In a landlocked country of about four million souls, excitement equals lots of watching football and Russian and Hindi films. You'll be surprised at the level of discourse on literature and the arts there, probably a legacy of the old Soviet Union. There are many fine bookshops to surprise visitors. Conakry is not a city you might find exciting, being the capital of Guinea in West Africa. It has the feel of Kuala Lumpur in the 1950s. Someone brought me to the most famous bookshop in the city, sandwiched between a sundry shop and a dirty eatery. It has probably the best collection of books on voodoo, which is big business, I was told, in many parts of Africa. Bookshops reflect the mental health of a nation. Books are mirror to society. Perhaps it is true about the permanence of books in an impermanent world. Perhaps it is even true that the era of the printed book is at a crossroads. Books are now read online, on the iPad, even smart phones. The young are avoiding books. They simply spend too much time browsing the Internet. Let's get the facts right. A book is born every 30 seconds. A million titles are published a year. There are 167 titles per million habitants of the planet now, compared with 0.2 in the 1450s and 100 in 1950s. So do not write the obituary of books yet. Where do all these books end up? Many would be in the godowns waiting to be shipped to bookshops all over the world. Many remain there forever. Remember, for every best seller, there are 250 titles that barely move. Most titles will be displayed in the libraries but sadly, there are too few libraries to cater for so many books published. Some will end up in private collections, many gathering dust on the shelves, for these books are bought for posterity. No furniture was so charming as books, someone famously said. People simply buy more books than they can read. In the same breath, humankind writes more than it can read. Bookshops are closing, yes, but in fewer numbers compared to music and video stores. So there is still room for bookshops among mankind; at least for an addicted book browser like me. While it is true that books are getting more expensive, but what products are not? Books are not soap or deodorant. Books are products of human brains and intelligence. You simply don't mass produce creativity. What you are holding in your hand is the work of a literary person, slogging through many weeks or months of anxiety and sometimes despair and writer's block, trying to put his characters in shape and organising the plots and polishing the language to make it readable. The author is lucky to get his or her book published. For every published author there are probably 10,000 who are not as fortunate. Whether his or her book will end up in the stores of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, undistributed or unsold, or a place at the MPH or Kinokuniya bookstores is another matter. Perhaps some of the world's authors would end up at Daunt Books or the Liberia El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, Argentina, considered to be the most beautiful bookshop in the world, or one of the secondhand bookshops in Chowrasta Market in Penang. Talking about secondhand bookshops, no one can beat the Japanese. They even dedicated an area for such goods -- Jinbocho in the Chiyoda area. Jinbocho is home to the Tokyo Book Binding Club, Literature Preservation Society and many prestigious universities. It is better known as Tokyo's secondhand book district. This is a haven for book lovers -- you can find almost everything under the sun. I remember frequenting at least two bookshops there offering good collections of English titles -- Book Brother Genkido and Sobun-So Bookstore. At Genkido, you will find art books in all forms and sizes, some in English. I like to believe that is the best secondhand art bookshop in Japan. Sobun-So sells "antiquarian and fine books". There are many gems here, first editions that sell for thousands of ringgit. Like all things, Jinbocho is undergoing a transformation. I wonder how many of these bookshops will stand the test of time. I wonder, too, how long bookshops will last with the advent of online marketing, eBay and books on the Net. Perhaps book lovers are a romantic lot, harbouring the belief that book browsing is a fruitful pastime forever. I will still argue the case for books. I will certainly cherish the times I spent in big and small bookshops, in big cities and far flung towns and reminding myself of the splendour of the world of books. Alas, people like me are fast becoming dinosaurs. -The Star/Asia News Network

 

One's best friend

 

It is rightly said that books are one's best friend. The amount of knowledge they provide is simply amazing. Books transport you to a different world, to a different era altogether. They have their own charm, which is known only to book lovers. They offer such wide variety to the readers that they can satisfy anybody's interest. It is said that there is a book for everyone. However, the task of choosing a good one solely depends upon the reader. If you want to read a book, which interests you will find it on your own. Once you find the book for yourself, it will enrich your knowledge to the best of its capability. If you want to know how to pick a good book, read the article below.

 

Choosing a Good Book

• The first thing to do is to look at the cover. Read the title as well as the cover illustration.
• If the book looks interesting from the outside, read the first page and use the five finger rule, which states that if there are five or more words on the page that you don't understand, then the book is probably not for you.
• If you like a particular author read another book written by him.
• You can even go for a book from a series you enjoy reading.
• Choose a book that is based on a theme, topic or subject you are interested in.
• You can even ask someone to recommend a good book to you. It can be anybody like your older sibling, your mom, your dad, your best friend, even your English teacher. It's better to ask someone, who knows you personally, specially your interests.
• Read book reviews in newspapers and magazines. This will give you a fair idea about the new books in the store as well as how popular they are. Often the subject of the book is also given, which helps you great deal in choosing the book.
• Joining a book club can also help as you will get to know about new books, which you might never have had the motivation to read otherwise.
• If a library or bookstore near you has a computer, it will be easy for you to find books of your interest.
• You can even ask the librarian or book seller to help you out to find the specific book you are looking for.
• Once you have found your kind of book, read a few chapters just to make sure you don't get bored right away. You can also read random pages to get an idea.

 

 

The 26 Major Advantages to Reading More Books and Why 3 in 4 People Are Being Shut Out of Success

By Brad Isaac

I read an Associated Press-Ipsos poll revealing that 1 in 4 adults read no books last year. Yes, that's 25% of the adults out there are reading zero books. This is sad.

I knew intuitively the number of books read each year had gone down but to zero? Ridiculous!

And what about the adults who are reading more than zero books a year. How many are they reading in all? One? Five? Actually, the same poll reveals the average adult reads only four books per year. Half of those people read less than four.

If you are one of the non-book readers who feels you "don't need no stinking books", here are 26 great reasons to start the habit…before you are left behind!

1. Reading is an active mental process – Unlike TV, books make you to use your brain. By reading, you think more and become smarter.

2. It is a fundamental skill builder - Every good course on the planet has a matching book to go with it. Why? Because books help clarify difficult subjects. Books provide information that goes deeper than just classroom discussion.

3. Improves your vocabulary – Remember in elementary school when you learned how to infer the meaning of one word by reading the context of the other words in the sentence? You get the same benefit from book reading. While reading books, especially challenging ones, you will find yourself exposed to many new words you wouldn't be otherwise.

4. Gives you a glimpse into other cultures and places – What is your favorite vacation spot? I would bet you read a lot about that destination. The more information the better. Books can expand your horizons by letting you see what other cities and countries have to offer before you visit them.

5. Improves concentration and focus – Like I pointed out before, reading books takes brain power. It requires you to focus on what you are reading for long periods. Unlike magazines, Internet posts or e-Mails that might contain small chunks of information. Books tell the whole story. Since you must concentrate in order to read, like a muscle, you will get better at concentration.

6. Builds self-esteem – By reading more books, you become better informed and more of an expert on the topics you read about. This expertise translates into higher self esteem. Since you are so well read, people look to you for answers. Your feelings about yourself can only get better.

7. Improves memory – Many studies show if you don't use your memory, you lose it. Crossword puzzles are an example of a word game that staves off Alzheimer's. Reading, although not a game, helps you stretch your memory muscles in a similar way. Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures and in literature, plot lines, themes and characters.

8. Improves your discipline – Obviously, if 1 in 4 people don't read one book per year, then there is a discipline issue. There may be many causes for people not reading books such as the "quips" of information you can get on the Internet. TV is also a major distracter. Making time to read is something we all know we should do, but who schedules book reading time every day? Very few… That's why adding book reading to your daily schedule and sticking to it, improves discipline.

9. Learn anywhere – Books are portable. You can take them almost anywhere. As such, you can learn almost anywhere too.

10. Improves creativity – by reading more books and exposing yourself to new and more complete information, you will also be able to come up with more creative ideas. As a personal example, I read many, many books on IT Networking. So often, when IT Admins are stumped with a problem, I can come up with a creative (smack your head simple) solution that isn't written anywhere. But the reason I can do that is because I have read so many books on the subject, I can combine lessons from all of them into new solutions.

11. Gives you something to talk about – Have you ever run out of stuff to talk about with your best friend, wife or husband? This can be uncomfortable. It might even make married couples wonder if their marriage is in trouble. However, if you read a lot of books, you'll always have something to talk about. You can discuss various plots in the novels you read, you can discuss the stuff you are learning in the business books you are reading as well. The possibilities of sharing are endless.

12. Books are inexpensive entertainment – What's the average price of a movie ticket these days? $8 – $10? You can buy a paperback for that price and be entertained for many hours more. If you have a used bookstore nearby, you can get them even cheaper.

Tip: Once you make reading a habit, you'll enjoy reading the books in your chosen career as well.

13. You can learn at your own pace – Where formal education requires time commitments, books have no late-bells or hourly commitments. So you can learn at your own pace when you read books.

14. New mental associations – I touched on this above. As you read more books the depth and breadth of your knowledge expands and your ability to form new associations increases. In reading a book to discover the solution to one problem, you find the solution to others you may not have considered.

15. Improves your reasoning skills – Books for professionals contain arguments for or against the actions within. A book on cooking argues that Chili powder goes well with beef and goes poorly with ice-cream. A book on building a business argues that testing an idea for profitability before setting up is a smart strategy and argues against just barreling forward with the idea without testing.

You too will be able to reason better with the knowledge you gain. Some of the arguments will rub off on you. Others you will argue against. Regardless, you'll be reasoning better.

16. Builds your expertise – Brian Tracy has said one way to become an expert in your chosen field is to read 100 books on the subject. He also said by continuing the same for 5 years you'll become an international expert. With the Internet and blogs, you could hone that time down to 2-3 years if you follow through.

17. Saves money – Apart from saving money on entertainment expenses. Reading books that help you develop your skills saves money. Reading books on how someone went bankrupt will be a warning to you against repeating their mistakes. Reading a book on how to build your own backyard deck saves the expense of hiring a contractor.

18. Decreases mistakes – Although I would never suggest putting off an important goal because you fear making mistakes, it is still important to sharpen the saw (link to A.L. post). When you gather the deep and wide wisdom that books can provide, you are less apt to make mistakes.

19. You'll discover surprises - As you read more books as a source of information, you'll learn stuff you weren't looking for. I've read many great quotes on life and love by reading books on marketing. I've learned facts about biology from reading about chemistry. Heck, I've picked up some facts about history while reading about programming. Since so many subjects intertwine it's almost impossible not to learn something other than the book's subject.

20. Decreased boredom – One of the rules I have is if I am feeling bored, I will pick up a book and start reading. What I've found by sticking to this is that I become interested in the book's subject and stop being bored. I mean, if you're bored anyway, you might as well be reading a good book, right?

21. Can change your life – How many times have you heard of a book changing someone's life? For me, it was Your Erroneous Zones (link) by Wayne Dyer – which is the first self-development book I read. It opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking that was not depressing and dull. It was the first step in my path of choosing my own life and being free of old habitual thought patterns.

There are many, many other books out there that have a reputation for changing lives including Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, Handbook to Higher Consciousness, Atlas Shrugged , A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Lord of the Rings and Black Boy to name a few. But you can start in your chosen field and work your way outward.

22. Can help break a slump – Being in a slump is uncomfortable. If you are a writer, you call it writer's block. If you are a salesperson, it's called – not making a sale in 23 days. But a slump can be a crossroads. It might be you are wavering on your commitment to a particular project or (with marriage) person. Or a slump can be simply a lack of new ideas. Books are a great source of ideas, big and small. So if you find yourself in a slump, pick a book on the portion of your life you are slump-ing and get to reading!

23. Reduces stress - Many avid readers (including me) unwind by reading. Compared with the person who gets home from work and immediately turns on the TV news, you are going from work stress to crime stress. But it's not just news. TV as a source of relaxation is too full of loud commercials and fast moving (often violent) images. If relaxation is something you want, turn off the TV or computer and pick up a book.

24. Gets you away from digital distractions – If you, like many others, feel overwhelmed with the flashing lights, beeps, boops and ring-a-dings that burn up our computing lives, then give books a chance. When you find some good books, you'll find yourself drawn into the subject matter. You'll want to spend more time reading. By spending more time reading books, you'll have less time for the plethora of the digital gadgets begging for our attention.

25. You'll make more money - If you make a serious effort to read in your chosen career, your expertise in that specialty will increase. As you become more specialized and learned, you join a smaller group of more qualified people. By being part of the small few with the highest level knowledge your pay will increase. It's simple supply and demand.

26. The book is always better than the movie – except for perhaps No Country for Old Men.