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Swaptree: The Next Cool Free Internet Thing

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:50:00 GMT

We were hoping to get our "Netflix For Books" idea off the ground for years now, but realized it was probably too expensive for us cheap hobo literary types.

That's why we're secretly thrilled that Swaptree, if it works, has taken over where we gave up...

1) Join swaptree.

2) List books you'd be willing to give away-- or, better yet, trade. Hell, list DVDs, CDs, dirty lingerie, and anything else with a barcode on it and they might let you do it.

3) Slap a printable mailing label on it, ship the bastard Book Rate, and wait an unsuffering long time (such as 14 days) for your trade to make it's way 50 blocks.

4) Seriously, then you should figure out what you want in exchange. Or swaptree will-- or at least, they say they will. Think this is a scam? How does this site make any money?

Check it out here.

Celebrate Banned Books By Buying Everything On This List

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:52:00 GMT

We forgot to remind you that it's Banned Books Week here on Earth... as opposed to on Mars, where some of these anti-First Amendment types like your future VP (the rumored basis for Voldemort in the oft-banned Harry Potter series) apparently hail from.

Here's a list of banned books, plus events promoting authors rights in your area...

1984

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Alice in Wonderland

Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl

Beloved

Brave New World

The Bible

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

The Call of the Wild

Canterbury Tales

Catcher in the Rye

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The Clan of the Cave Bear

The Color Purple

...pissed yet? We're not even through the C's... and, after all, this is a very abbreviated list...

If you want to express your concern, here's a taste of events going on all over the country. Find an event near you on this page.

San Francisco Center for the Book (ongoing)
Banned & Recovered: Artists Respond to Censorship

Black-Eyed Sally's in Hartford, CT (tonight)
An ACLU event "dedicated to appreciating the music of artists who refuse to let authorities dictate their freedom of expression."

Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, GA (was Saturday)

Wine and Cheese Party with readings from favorite banned books

The Nyack Library in Nyack, NY (October 4th at 2pm)

High school students will read from banned books. Additionally, we will have a Banned Books display for the whole week.

For more events, click here.

Related:

Big Brother Has Boobs and Our Attention

Olympic Committee to Stop Pretending Chinese Gymnasts Are Actually 16

Apparently, A Naked Woman Is Automatically Lewd And/Or Erotic Now

Nude Photo Book Just Made Famous French Actress A Lot More Famous

John Hodgman Has Great Taste In Women

This Week In Gayness: Sam Ronson's Gay Tell-All About Lindsay?

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:42:00 GMT

Any idea why more same sex couples are raising kids in the Bronx than any other borough in New York City?

San Diego Harbor Police were ruled to have committed a homicide in the death of a gay man on a pride cruise in July.

The Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal (R), is letting protections for gay and lesbian workers expire:

"I don't think it is necessary to create additional special categories or special rights," Jindal told reporters Wednesday. State and federal law already prohibits discrimination, he said.

If the state already protects those rights, as you claim, then why did everyone except you feel it was necessary to implement them? Scumbag.

Gays will be banned from taking in foster kids under a law likely to pass in Arkansas.

A woman was ejected from a Federal building in LA, where she had gone to pick up her son's social security card, after a guard objected to her shirt, which read: "lesbian.com."

And Michael Lohan, ever Lindsay's hero, says his daughter should break up with Sam Ronson because the DJ is a user:

A source tells Eonline, "She's certainly telling friends she's planning to write a book. It's supposed to be about her, allegedly. But come on, you know Lindsay will be all over that book. She's the only one people want to read about."
And the rumours have infuriated Lohan's father, who claims the DJ is just using his daughter to get her own slice of fame.
He says, "I've shut up about this long enough. She's using my daughter. People never even knew who Samantha Ronson was until she met Lindsay. She was just some Los Angeles DJ. And now she's writing a book?
"Let's just say I hope Lindsay starts opening her eyes and realises who the people using her are."

Via WENN.

Samantha Ronson and Her Trusty Fingers Take Care of Lindsay Lohan

This Week In Gayness: Man Gets 150 Days For Being Accessory To Gay Murder

This Week In Gayness: Doctors Shocked To Learn They Can't Reject Gay Patients

Harry Potter Rock Stars Adorably Nerdtastic

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:46:00 GMT

These Wrockstockers are so endearingly nerdy, we may just marry them in a Wiccan ceremony presided over by Dumbledore and go on to have little Mugwumps for children, but only so long as they haven't picked up any Hogwarts along the way.

Seriously, if you live in New York, Green Bay, or Chicago, look out for book dorks rampaging on the countryside this summer...

Apparently, the duo is part of some sort of "wizard rock" music cult that is sweeping the nation, threatening the very Christian cult values we hold dear. Look at them-- they are clearly rebellious Catholic schoolgirl types, in ties and Converse sneakers, probably smoking Mary Janes and eating unsanctioned rice cakes between classes.

Too late now-- they're both in college on the East Coast and have a CD coming out next week. Lord Almighty, there is no stopping these, lest He Who Must Not Be Named comes back and smites them down. And let's hope not-- 'cause, in all seriousness, these girls rule. Check out their songs on MySpace-- we're loving "I Was There" and "Transparent." It's like the Moldy Peaches, with a way more impressive repertoire and only ten dollars more of a recording budget.

We plan on being the first Harry Potter lookalikes in line to try to sneak backstage and try to impress them with our JK jive and black-and-white shoes. (There are going to be other bands, apparently 14 more, at these Wrockstocks, whatever that means, including Harry and the Potters, but the Myrtles are the real draw on the below dates...)

Jul 10 2008

8:00P

Portus 2008

Dallas, Texas

Jul 18 2008

7:00P

Barnes and Noble HP Mourning Party with Liane Graham

Bridgewater, New Jersey

Aug 6 2008

12:00P

Hilton Chicago Hotel for Wrock Chicago at Terminus!

Chicago, Illinois

Aug 17 2008

8:00P

TBA

Somewhere, Pennsylvania

Aug 23 2008

12:00P

Wrock for Darfur! in Waryas Park

Poughkeepsie, New York

Sep 21 2008

1:00P

NYC Wizard Rock Festival!

Brooklyn, New Yor

Via Honolulu Advertiser.

Join The Progressive Book Club

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:25:00 GMT

Dave Eggers, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Chabon, and other liberal authors who don't write about politics have put together the latest nerd sensation.

The Progressive Book Club, which officially launched Monday, combines the offerings of a traditional book club with the interactive features of an online social network and the ideals of a grass-roots political party.

[The above authors] are among the editorial board members for the new club, which offers a selection of works each month, at discounts from 10 percent to 40 percent, and perhaps up to 80 percent. For most sales, the club will donate $2 on the member's behalf to a range of educational, environmental and other organizations.

We'd have suggested "The Book on Bush" by Eric Alterman and Mark Green, plus "Don't Think of An Elephant" by George Lakoff... but those are pretty dated titles. Sounds like they'll have political books by people like Joe Conason, plus books by the founders of the club and good books with at least some progressive content or message (Watership Down, etc.), with that $2 being the real "progressive part."

What would you recommend?

Via Yahoo! / Photo via Bloomberg