Do you have a hard time parting with your books?  Me too.  Aside from the classics I’ve saved my entire life for my kids (1979 edition of The Velveteen Rabbit, anyone?), my many signed books, and my children’s ever-growing library, it’s sometimes necessary to say good-bye to books that won’t be read anymore.  Donating to the local library is always a good way to go.  But, now there are two book stores/services that can ease your pain about buying books and sharing them as well…

 If you clicked through the Harry Potter link last week, you would have found Better World, a great new- and used-book store that blends environmental awareness with funding literacy.  When you buy books, a portion of your purchase will go to various literacy nonprofits all over the world.  Choose to fund a library in Africa or the library down the street.  Best of all, Better World ships their books using “CarbonFree Shipping” - meaning, they use pennies from your purchase to offset the cost of the carbon emissions (ie, planes, trains, and automobiles) to get the book to you.  This is Al Gore, stuff, people, and we like it.

Then, feel GOOD about giving that book away!  BookMooch is a free service that allows you to exchange books with people all over the world.  Search for what you want around the globe - you only pay for postage.  BookMooch works on an easy to follow point system.  Plus, you can donate points back to Book Mooch to various charities they support.  It’s a win/win all around!

Thanks for the tip, Shallah!