A few of my favorite things

*Note: I did not receive any compensation or free items for writing this post. I just love these things and wanted to share them with you.*


Christmas is fast approaching & lots of us still haven't gotten the gifts we want to get for people. It's not too late! I found some deals on sites that I visit regularly and wanted to tell you all about them!

Better World Books

Every time you purchase a book from this site, money goes to fund literacy worldwide. You get great books and people get to learn how to read because of it. It's a win/win situation. And every single book I've ever ordered from here has been in excellent condition (yes, even the ones that said they were "used, slight damage" looked brand new!) and I've never had to spend a fortune to get them. Plus right now, if you use their Expidoodle shipping by tomorrow (12/9), it will get there by Christmas Eve.

CSN Stores

I absolutely adore CSN Stores and have gotten many wonderful things from them. And yes, I have received products from them at no charge for reviews and giveaways on my cookbook, but I've also purchased many items from them and have always been happy with what I received. They have over 200 sites that offer everything from furniture to school supplies. And right now they are offering Stress-Free Holidays: Items that are marked with a snowflake are guaranteed to arrive by Christmas & returns have been extended through January 31st.

Amazon

I actually love Amazon so much that I have my own personal Amazon stores on the sidebars of all my blogs. That doesn't mean you have to shop at my stores (although I wouldn't complain at all!). There are so many things that are available through Amazon that I know you could find a gift or two (or three, or twelve) there. If you qualify for prime shipping then your order arrives two days after it ships. Plus they offer gift wrapping!

JibJab

JibJab is a really fun site! You can Elf Yourself (like I did here), send holiday e-cards and buy personalized gifts starting as low as $4.99. Check it out. I think you'll like it there.

I hope I gave you a few good ideas and took a little bit of stress out of your holiday shopping! Merry Christmas everyone! It will be here before we know it!

Get you some books....or maybe a marmoset...

I received this email the other day and thought it was just awesome! What could be better than books at a great deal? Humor to suck me in! I clicked the marmoset just in case you're wondering. I'm adventurous like that :)

By the way, I was a good girl and emailed Better World Books to make sure it was ok for me to post this. They were nice and said yes. Now I'll have to go buy some books...

One last thing --and it's important-- buying books from Better World Books funds literacy programs all over the world because they rock that way!




According to our email stats, you guys are fond of the Bargain Bin.


Seriously - it doesn't matter what promotion is in the email, how small we write it, or how far down the email message it shows up.  It could be a tiny text link at the very bottom of a superhuge sale, and you guys have proven time and time again that you want to click on the place where 5 used books are $15.


Heck, it could be a pygmy marmoset with laser eyes, and you folks would still click on the Bargain Bin link.  Okay, you love the Bargain Bin!  We get it.


In fact, we're going to try something.  Just to prove our hypothesis, we're going to show you both:  A laser marmoset, and a link to the Bargain Bin. Since there's almost no way you're reading this (already clicking on the Bargain Bin, no doubt), it's probably a valid test.


So go ahead, just click naturally:

Are you still here? Why? Get clicking already!

Reading IS fundamental

I'd like to start off my post today by telling you that I am not getting anything for writing this. I'd also like to tell you that I find it frightening the number of people who can not read in this day and age. According to the CIA World Factbook there are 785 million illiterate adults (over the age of 15) in the world today.

Now I'd like to tell you about a website that I visit and use often. It's called Better World Books. The books that they offer on this site are used but I can tell you from personal experience, you can not tell. I bought several of my Stephen King books from there (for as little as $3.50) and was very pleased with the products I received.

I was worried the first time I ordered. I thought that the book would be torn up. I mean who would sell a book that cheap that was in good condition? Better World Books that's who. It looked brand new. No lie. I was amazed. It said it was "heavily used" but honestly it didn't look like it had been touched.

Another plus, no shipping charges in the U.S. None. Zip. Zero. If you live outside the U.S. it's only $3.97. Can you beat that?

The very best part? The money they make off the books goes to fund literacy programs all over the world. According to their site they have raised $7,438,991.22 for global literacy and the number is still rising. I think that's amazing.

If you're an avid reader like I am, go visit them today. They even have a deal to get 5 books for $15 right now. You won't regret it I promise!

Click here to visit Better World Books