The Green Frugal

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I love birthdays- especially mine.

I’ll confess (to the surprise of absolutely no one who knows me) that I love getting gifts. But as I’ve grown older (or maybe just since I started living in Portland), I’ve been volunteering more, which I’ve found to be as rewarding- if not more so- than unwrapping presents.

I don’t know if it’s an actual trend but I’ve been reading a lot of instances in which people who are celebrating some sort of occasion in their lives would ask their family and friends to donate money to a particular charity they’ve chosen in lieu of gifts. I always like to point out to people that money isn’t the only thing they can donate. Time is a valuable commodity as well.

What I decided to do for my recent birthday was have a special volunteer session at one of my favorite local non-profit organizations- the Children’s Book Bank. I knew my core group of friends was already of the charitable sort so it wasn’t that hard to convince them to do this for me. I wanted to do something that made a difference, to make some sort of impact, and I wanted to share the experience with others. I, for one, enjoyed myself and appreciated my friends more in the process.

If there’s a charitable cause or charity you’re passionate about, ask the organization if they hold birthday volunteer sessions. Let your friends know what you’re planning and why it’s important to you. It doesn’t have to be a four-month advance notice like mine. (I told you, I love birthdays!) More importantly, have fun!

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Portland has a reputation for being different. It is also known for being a great literary city. So, of course, there would be some things that makes it weird- or, at least, unique- for its residential readers. Let’s take a look at a couple of these.

The Bookstores

It’s no surprise that when bibliophiles come to Portland, one of their first stops is Powell’s Bookstore. With its four floors of color coded rooms, it really does seem that you’ve stepped into a “city of books”.

There are also many local independent stores specializing in a specific genre. For mystery maniacs, Murder by the Book is “the scene” in the Hawthorne Neighborhood. It’s all Agatha all the time (and other Mystery greats as well.) There are not one, but two children’s bookstores for young ones and the young at heart. A Children’s Place is in the beautiful Beaumont neighborhood. My favorite is Green Bean Books (in the Alberta Arts district) where you’ll find vending machines selling finger puppets and mustaches. Those features just help the imagination run wild.

Reading Frenzy is a great store for anyone interested in supporting popular self-made mini-publications called zines. Whatever range of topics people want to read about- from mundane and trivial to innovative and awesome, there’s sure to be something for everyone there.

Everywhere You Go, There’s Something to Read

For anyone who feels that walls are too confining, walking around Portland can be a reading experience in itself.

In “Portland’s Living Room”, check out the brick squares and read the names of those who raised funds for Pioneer Courthouse Square. And, although they weren’t sponsors, Sherlock Holmes, George Washington, and Elvis Presley (just to name some famous few) can be found among the names.

Popping up around Portland are poetry posts. These are just nice little distractions when one stumbles upon them.

While riding the streetcar, I noticed a man tattooed with words. I guess you can literally read him like an open book, which I didn’t. That would just be too weird, even for me.

There are many other ways Portland is weird, word wise. When you’re here, keep your eyes open. If your city has some interesting literary character, we would love to hear about it!

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Aside from buying one of those electronic reading devices, one of the greenest things you can do in your reading life is to get a library card. It’s free and one of my most favorite things ever. It might seem odd that I’d be touting the merits of libraries since I work at a bookstore. I can go on and on like the Titanic song about how I much I love public  libraries but I just want to focus on the most basic service they offer: lending books.

Readers are often asked which they like best- libraries or bookstores. And it makes it sound as though the choice should be exclusive. In a reader’s world, there’s room for both and each has their own pros and cons.

Libraries are great places to sample authors and their works without having to fork over some hard-earned cash. It’s not uncommon that you’ll find that book that you absolutely must have. That’s where bookstores come in. Sometimes the pages are just asking to be highlighted or underlined or personalized in a way that you can’t do to a library book- at least, you shouldn’t.

For those new releases and current bestsellers that you either want to read right now or at your own leisurely pace, the bookstore is where you want to be. You don’t even have to necessarily buy the book. Just read it there and then. If you’re willing to wait, libraries often get the same titles the same time but it’s the holds list that may try your patience. On the off chance the library does not have a particular title in their system, there’s usually also the option of suggesting a purchase.

Libraries and bookstores may have different sets of rules but, as long as they provide the books readers need and want, there’s no way I can choose between them.

Do you have a preference over the two? What are some things you love about each one?

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So, you have book clutter. Let’s talk about ways to deal with it.

Cash for Books

The first option is to sell the books you no longer need or want. You can check your local independent bookstores to see whether they offer this service or not. Sometimes, they only offer exchanges or give in-store credit.

If that doesn’t appeal to you, check out Cash4Books.net. It’s fast and easy. Type the ISBNs and get an instant price quote. Box them up and print the mailing label. There are no service charges and shipping is free.

Created by Earl Dizon. Illustrations by Michael Bowen.

Books for Everyone

Donating your books to Goodwill or your favorite library is another great way to get rid of that clutter.

There’s also BookCrossing which dub themselves as “the world’s library”. You print out their labels and “release” the books into the wild. You can track where they are- if the recipients take the time to record it.

Books Make Great Gifts

My favorite thing to do is to give books as gifts. A warning, though: Just because you love your first edition hardbound James Patterson novels or your well worn copies of Nora Roberts, it doesn’t mean other people will. Keep their likes and dislikes in mind. And make sure the books are in good condition.

Happily Ever After

After doing any or all of this, remind yourself not to let it happen again. Don’t buy any new books until you’ve read everything in your library. And only add more if you’ve got room.

Parting with books is sometimes difficult. But, at least now, you can properly maintain what you have.

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American Library Association's Banned Books Week Poster 2010

Imagine walking into your favorite bookstore or library and finding certain titles- Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Judy Blume’s  “Forever”, J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”, and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, just to name a few- missing from the shelves not because of budget cuts or any financial reasons but because they were banned.

Scary thought, right?

In these modern times we live in, you wouldn’t think literary censorship still occurs. But it does. Only recently in Stockton, Missouri, Sherman Alexie’s Young Adult novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” was removed from schools citing objectionable language and sexual content. In Texas, Ellen Hopkins was uninvited from the Teen Lit Festival because her novels tackled topics that were deemed age inappropriate.

Due to language, violence, sex, the topic itself, or even just a different viewpoint, lots of people will find something unacceptable in many books. That’s fine. Unfortunately, there are also people that band together to demand these types of books be banned from schools, libraries and bookstores. That’s not fine. They may have the best intentions but if their challenges result in actual banning, others are denied the opportunity of reading the books and forming their own opinions.

Banned Books Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of this issue and to make sure censorship doesn’t occur. It’s a constant battle and not always successful. As readers, we have to do our part. Back in Texas, with the whole Ellen Hopkins controversy, several authors who were slated to appear at the Teen Lit Festival withdrew to show support. The event has since been cancelled.

BannedBooksWeek.org is a great resource to find more information in regards to its history and purpose, actions on what’s being done to combat literary censorship, and lists of banned and challenged books.

Share your thoughts with us on your favorite banned books and celebrate your freedom to read!