Book Talk

Ah books, what is to become of them in this modern digital age? Will they survive?

There are those who love the feel of a book in their hands and they can not bring themselves to go digital and I can understand that because although I don’t feel that way about books I do have similar feelings about magazines. The sad thing is that magazines here cost way too much after shipping so I now subscribe to two and download them via Zino on my iPad.  I like reading them on the iPad and I like that you can increase the font for those tired old eyes at night but yes a nice glossy in your hands feels much nicer.

Last week our only “large” (and it would not be considered large by anyone living in a big city)  bookstore here in Muscat, Borders, closed its doors. This week another small book shop in Qurum (Family Book Store) also closed up and from what I read in the paper today if the small Borders Express in Qurum does not meet its sales targets in the next three months then it too will shut up shop for good.

Today I stopped by the express store and purchased two book for Laith’s birthday on Saturday as the Amazon books I had ordered had not yet arrived which was my own fault for not leaving enough shipping time (it can take 6 weeks from the US). The two books I purchased were 9.500 rial each (hardbacks) which is equivalent to $25 USD each and if I ordered it online at Borders at full price it would be $18 and in fact it is listed discounted for $13! Needless to say it is not hard to see why Borders has closed as many people choose to order online and have it shipped. The catch is the shipping costs and time so sometimes if you want the book now it was better to suck it up and just buy the book at Borders but now that is not even an option.

There is a great option to order via Amazon UK you can have books shipped to Al Manahil Bookshop in Al Khuwair and you pay 1.000 - 1.500 rial per book shipping (check the instructions on their page as I got a bit confused with the charges per item vs. weight when I just went to look now). However I have just found out that if you don’t book via their link then they will much more per item so be sure to click on their link. It has been years since I last ordered with them but their customer service was always very efficient and friendly so if you are in Oman then this is an excellent first port of call.  Detail are on their web page just look in the bottom right hand corner for instructions. Occasionally I have found some books available on Amazon US and not on Amazon UK so I shop at the US store but the shipping is a killer!  My sister has been kind enough to bundle my books together and send them to me when she passes through New York.

Ready for some good news? I have come across a wonderful site for books thanks to my Mum who heard about it from her brother-in-law in Ireland. It is called Better World Books. You can order new and USED books .

If I ordered the hardback of Ted Bell’s book that I got today from BWB then I would have paid between $9.50 - $16.48 (there were two shop options) USD with FREE SHIPPING!

And, it gets better, if I chose to be very Mother Earth Friendly and purchase a used copy then I would pay the princely sum of $7.33 again with FREE shipping. So folks you do the math!

BWB rocks! I tell you their selection is fantastic and shipping is FREE worldwide. Laith is a book muncher! Thank goodness that his school has an exceptional library but still there are times when you want to buy books and BWB will be my first port of call. I have just placed an order with them and nearly all the books I chose are used so I will update you when they arrive as to their condition. When you look at a book on their site it describes the condition so you have an idea of “how” used it is. Isn’t this a wonderful thing for the environment!

It all started with a couple of guys selling textbooks online and then boom it was a huge success and it has raised millions of dollars for literacy, and saved countless trees. Here is their story. They also have a Facebook page here.  The downside is that they do not accept credit cards from Oman but I am so use to that by now, grrrr, and they do accept paypal so there is an alternative.

Now here is my final closing comment on my new BBF (book best friend ). I got an email today to say that my books have been shipped which is super fast. I am going to copy the email below as it really made me laugh.

“Hello Clodagh,

(Your book(s) asked to write you a personal note - it seemed unusual, but who are we to say no?)

Holy canasta! It's me... it's me! I can't believe it is actually me! You could have picked any of over 2 million books but you picked me! I've got to get packed! How is the weather where you live? Will I need a dust jacket? I can't believe I'm leaving Mishawaka, Indiana already - the friendly people, the Hummer plant, the Linebacker Lounge - so many memories. I don't have much time to say goodbye to everyone, but it's time to see the world!

I can't wait to meet you! You sound like such a well read person. Although, I have to say, it sure has taken you a while! I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but how would you like to spend five months sandwiched between Jane Eyre (drama queen) and Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (pyromaniac)? At least Jane was an upgrade from that stupid book on brewing beer. How many times did the ol' brewmaster have one too many and topple off our shelf at 2am?

I know the trip to meet you will be long and fraught with peril, but after the close calls I've had, I'm ready for anything (besides, some of my best friends are suspense novels). Just five months ago, I thought I was a goner. My owner was moving and couldn't take me with her. I was sure I was landfill bait until I ended up in a Better World Books book drive bin. Thanks to your socially conscious book shopping, I've found a new home. Even better, your book buying dollars are helping kids read from Brazil to Botswana.

But hey, enough about me, I've been asked to brief you on a few things:

We sent your order to the following address:XZY

Order #: XYZ

We provide quick shipping service to all our customers. You chose International Mail shipping, your book should arrive within 10 - 21 business days. Some shipments may take slightly longer to arrive. Tracking is not available on these shipments. If you have any questions or concerns, please email my friends in Customer Care at help@betterworldbooks.com. If you could please include your order number (11522368) that would be very helpful.

Eagerly awaiting our meeting,

and then it listed the books I ordered …

Isn’t that cool? So friends if you are in the market for some books you now have an earth friendly choice too. By the way I am not affiliated with them just passing on the “lurve” to you all.

Thanks for stopping by …

Summer Thoughts and Teeth

The kids and I came up with some ideas for our summer fun, you know the type of things we would like to do, experience, etc.

I am making them a Summer Journal to record their events, feelings, stories, or pictures and I thought a word cloud would be nice on the back.

I like these, this was my first

I made it on Word It Out.

Here are the books ready to go.

Covering these in clear contact paper brought back lots of memories of covering my books at school and let me tell you I did not like doing it then and I still don’t like it now ~ those air bubbles kill me!

And on the teeth front, my little cherub Eyad cut his first tooth today! Oh how quickly they grow.

Of course everything goes in his mouth and I mean everything. He pulls down chairs, his high chair and other rather hard objects and just has a good chew on them! He has no interest in teething rings, ha-ha.

Thanks for stopping by …

A few clicks of the camera in the past two weeks.

I have managed to catch  myself a “nice” summer cold and chest thing so no great posts coming from this little black duck today. Instead I will share some recent pictures of my darling angels

Little Eyad is now almost 8 months old! Yikes.

He is very good to his Mumma. He likes his music too.

Ah look at that smile, come on, who doesn’t like fabric shopping?!

Cooling off while the kids enjoyed the slide and pool.

But then Lujayne thought Eyad’s tub looked better. We have to put the freezer ice blocks in to cool down the tap water as is it so hot from the sun beating down on the water tank all day.

Then Sami moves in on the action.

Inseparable.

Me educating the kids on “State of Origin”. Sadly it was the second game of the series and Queensland lost. Lulu liked cheerleading, Sami rooted for the Blues instead and Laith asked a zillion questions (thankfully it was recorded so I could pause) and well Eyad just kept staring at the popcorn, lol.

Thanks for stopping by …

Summer Holidays Begin

We are in week two of the 12 week long summer break. The last week of school was crazy busy and I needed that first week of holidays just chill out with the kids and slow down to the normal sped of life.

In the last week Lulu had her “Letterland Party” and she chose to go dressed as “L”.

This is the original Lucy Lamp Lady.

I was not sure how to replicate the dress so instead I played around with the colour and letters and came up with this …

The children in her class came dressed as different letters, it was very cute.

She also had a splash day but I did not take any pictures of that but be assured they had a blast.

Sami had many parties at school and also a few birthday parties out of school that week. Here he is with his “girlfriend” Aspa.

Well if you ask Sami he says he does not like any girls but Aspa tells her Mummy that Sami is her boyfriend so it kind of sticks . Sadly Aspa and her sister Iffragina in Lulu’s class are returning to Greece, that is the downside of being part of an international school in an expat community there are always people leaving.

Laith had a “Camp Learn A Lot” theme for his last week. This is us at his Parent Share morning.

I also went in and did a craft with the kids as part of the camp activities. We did some weaving to make a bracelet or bookmark.

The kids really got into it and it was great to see their creativity.

 

By Wednesday we were all exhausted. We ended the school year with a trip to the cinema to see Kung Fu Panda 2 but Laith did not come as he was feeling very poorly. It was the start of “pass the lurgie” in our family. To date we have all been sick and some of us remain so.

The big question is … what do you do with the 3 active kids over a 12 week period in the dead heat of the summer (currently 49 C outside), ummmm …. pray!

Thanks for stopping by …

Fathers Day 2011

I am fortunate to be married to a great Father. Sure our parenting philosophies are often different and we do tend to be good cop bad cop every now but overall I think we compliment each other.

Today was his day.

A day when we remind him how appreciated he is.

He loved his gifts and cards. Do you like his new hat? The kids and I thought he needed one so we can walk to the coffee shop and he won’t get a headache from the sun because it is brutal here in the summer.

Later we had mini cupcakes.

The kids helped him blow out his candle.

It said Happy Birthday too as he was in France for his birthday so we did not get to celebrate together.

Today I also remember my Dad. I so wished he could be here to meet his grandchildren.

To all the fathers around the world … Happy Fathers Day.

Thanks for stopping by …

Star Wars Party–Laith’s 8th Birthday

It was an afternoon / evening like no other I had experienced. 16 rowdy but generally well behaved boys all “training” to be Jedi’s and they took on their 5 trials with great gusto and enthusiasm, it was brilliant!

I will write a separate post about the party preparations and items in case anyone is interested in planning a Star Wars party in the future. I have a sneaking feeling this won’t be our last. We held this party one month early as school breaks up this week and most of the boys will be going “home” for the summer. Given that Laith’s class is made up of nearly all expatriates the summer months here can be a bit lonely.

Here is a recap of the day.

The boys started on the waterslide until everyone had arrived and we could begin the activities.

Each boy has a Trial Card that had the five trials listed. As they passed each trial I punch a hole in their card.

They needed all five trials punched in order to receive their Jedi certificate.

 

The first trial was one of Flesh – which was achieved by having no injuries on the waterslide.

The second was Skill – this was achieved by putting together a Lego spacecraft. They worked in small teams to put together their “masterpiece”.

The third trial was one of Courage – this was achieved by the ability to dress them selves in their robes and go on an asteroid hunt in the garden. You would understand courage if you saw sixteen 8 year olds trying to dress themselves in a tunic and then battle the heat outside for their treasure hunt! On the back of their cards was 5 different coloured pieces of tape and they had to find an asteroid to match each colour. This way each child got to get a full amount of goodies. This is the bucket of asteroids before I placed them all over the garden, and a sample of the back of the card.

They each had a Star Wars backpack that they could collect their asteroids in which also served as their “sweetie” bag when they were going home.

 

The fourth was one of Spirit – achieved by learning how to use and control their light sabers for good and not evil!

These were the “bad guys” they were allowed to use their real force on.

Oh and this other “bad guy” got in on the action too!

The fifth and final trial was one of Insight – achieved by mindfully focusing on the contents of the Death Stat Piñata and cracking it open.

Then all our Jedi’s feasted before settling down to watch a Star Wars movie.

Luckily Laith then reminded we had not done the cake!

So a quick blow out of the candles and the movie started with a promise of cake during intermission.

During intermission they had the ice-cream birthday cake and Yoda Soda which was a great hit.

 

With their Certificate they also got a pack of Star Wars trading cards so there was a lot of wheeling and dealing on going on.

Laith said he had a great day and the boys all seemed to have loved their challenges.

I was exhausted, but happy .

Thanks for stopping by …