Home Exchange Academy e-Book
January 29, 2008
Home Exchange vacationing has been around for in excess of half a century and during that time, countless businesses have sprung up, eager to reap a living from promoting the concept.
A few have weathered the trials of time and still remain today, but the vast majority has fallen by the wayside, although quickly replaced by fresh contenders.
This has left the inexperienced swapper with next to no guidelines, no course of action when selecting a club to join. A few books on the general subject of home exchange have come and gone, but none have taken the aspiring home exchanger by the hand and walked him through the entire process step by step. That is, until now …
A brand new e-book–Home Exchange Academy–has just hit the market and I see it as a winner! Athena Ricky, the author has been home exchanging with her family for more than twenty five years, she’s the veteran of more than forty swaps so it’s not difficult to see where her depth of knowledge springs from.
The opening title describes the e-book as a “Blueprint to Swap Homes For Your Next Vacation and Get Out Of The Hotel Rut”, and that’s a perfect summation. Home Exchange Academy could not be more detailed. It explains exactly how to compare all the clubs presently available, what to look for on their web sites, plus the red flags to guard against.
Once a club has been chosen the author explains right down to the last detail exactly how to set up a listing, what text and information must be included. She also has some excellent suggestions for integrating more photographs and information than the website listings can accommodate.
Also covered in extensive detail are: correspondence between members, developing likely inquiries, preparing your home for an exchange, writing Home Exchange and Car Exchange Agreements, and creating a Home Exchange Book which provides visiting guests with detailed information about your home and its idiosyncrasies, emergency contacts and phone numbers, recommended local restaurants and attractions, plus much, much more.
Samples of these documents are incorporated in the e-book, plus purchasers can download actual working copies in Microsoft Word and PDF formats from the e-books website.
May potential home exchangers marvel at the notion of vacationing almost anywhere in the world, without ever having to pay for accommodation, but because of reservations about allowing “strangers” into their home, they continually resist making a commitment and joining a club themselves. I think this e-book does an exemplary job of allaying all those unfounded fears. As the Ms. Rickby so succinctly states:
“The question I’m most often asked by the uninitiated is: How do you trust complete strangers to live in your home for two weeks?
My response is usually concise and along the lines of: “How do they know they can trust me?”
I think those words speak volumes!
I especially like the author’s clearly expressed decision not to promote any current club above another within her book. She chooses not to reveal which clubs she herself belongs to and never so much as mentions any club by name. Instead, she walks her readers through how to search for, and list all the current clubs by dint of Google, Yahoo, etc. Surely, this tactic alone will keep her e-book fresh for significantly longer than would otherwise be possible, plus no club can feel slighted or complain because they have been left out.
CHECK OUT => Home Exchange Academy.com, the website dedicated to the book reviewed.
Why are some people taking great vacations all around the world, often several times a year? Anne Pottinger has been a stalwart of home exchanging for more than 20 years and has written numerous articles explaining and promoting the concept. VISIT => ExchangeHomes.com
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Book Review - An Inmate’s Daughter, by Jan Walker
January 29, 2008
Engaging, Powerful, Informational
Raven Publishing, Inc. has succeeded again by providing another book of fiction to address the contemporary issues facing today’s preteens and teens. “An Inmate’s Daughter,” by Jan Walker, is designed to increase awareness of the daily conflict faced by children who have an incarcerated parent.
The story is about thirteen year old Jenna, whose father is serving time in prison for murder. After a move to a new community Jenna found herself without friends. The stigma of her father’s imprisonment and her mother’s obsession about keeping this fact within the family leave her feeling insecure about making new friends. Jenna is half Native American and is also confronted with Bi-Racial bigotry. Jenna writes in her journal to help sort out her feelings.
While on a family visit to the prison facility on McNeil Island to see her father, Jenna saves the life of a young child from drowning. News coverage of the event becomes a problem. Jenna’s mother is afraid that the family’s identity will be discovered exposing their embarrassing secret. Jenna is concerned how this will impact her evaluation status in a secret club, if members find out about her father’s imprisonment.
Jan Walker has masterfully written a story that weaves a plot around a secret club, a soccer team, a hurting family, and the standard for true friendship in this warm, true to life, exciting adventure story. The pen and ink drawings of Herb Leonhard enhance the feelings and emotions of the narrative.
Jenna is faced with three choices. She can continue to live a lie. She may bring hurt and shame to her mother and younger brother, or she can choose to experience living in the freedom of truth.
Young readers, grades five through eight will enjoy this book. It is an ideal book for classroom teachers, child counselors, pastors, correctional officers, and social workers, or anyone who regularly has contact with children who have a parent in prison.
As reviewed for Midwest Book Review
Richard R. Blake, Christian Education Consultant, Book Store Owner
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_R_Blake
Be Trendy! Start a Book Club!
January 29, 2008
Book Clubs are Trendy!
Thanks to Oprah and her cult like following, book clubs and reading groups are all the rage. And why not? For those who love to read, what could be more fun than discovering a great new book, or an author you’ve never read, and coming together with friends each month to talk about your reading experience. Throw in some good food, good wine, and a cozy setting, and let the conversation flow!
But is it really that easy? I’ve talked to several people who’ve tried to make a book club work, without much success. People lose interest, or there are personality conflicts, or they aren’t committed to reading the book that has been selected. Groups can get too big, or not big enough. What, then, are the ingredients of a successful book club?
Size Matters: You don’t want your club to be too small. If you have fewer than about 6 people in your group, you can run into problems if people are sick, or on vacation, or too busy to read on a given month. You also wouldn’t want more than about 12, because it would be difficult to accommodate a group of that size in someone’s house. It would also be hard for everyone to make their points and participate. For good conversation, 8-12 members is ideal.
Like Minds: You may want to invite your best friend, but if she doesn’t LOVE books, should you really include her? Seek out READERS. You want people who are excited to see what the next selection is, and can’t wait to tear into it. Reluctant readers will be unlikely to finish the book, and won’t contribute much to your book club meetings.
I Don’t Have Enough Friends To Start A Club: You don’t necessarily want everyone in your club to be friends, or even to know each other at first. A group of close friends will have a history and possibly personal issues that could affect the dynamics of the book club in a negative way. Seek out people from a variety of places: parents of your kids’ friends, neighbors, work, church, etc. Once you have a core group, ask those people to invite others. You want a good mix of people with different backgrounds and life experiences, but you might not want them to be so diverse that they don’t have much in common.
Make Decisions in Advance: It’s good to have some guidelines or “loose rules”. Our group decided to limit our selections to paperbacks, to keep costs down, and to keep our selections right around 400 pages (although we broke that rule this month!). We read mostly fiction, but are open to other things. We rotate meetings in each other’s homes, and we do potluck. In some clubs, whoever is hosting does all the food for that month. These things can all be decided on at your first meeting.
Decide on a Method for Selecting Books: Some clubs take turns. Others have members bring suggestions and then vote. Some groups have the hostess for that month choose the book. Some go off book club lists or stick with Oprah. There are a variety of ways to go about it. It’s good to decide on a system early on.
Pick Great Books! When it’s your turn to decide on a book, take the time to look at reviews and read up on it. Do a little research so that you can “sell” it to the group. Chances are you’ll pick a great book if you’ve done your homework. Here are some ideas to get you started: Book Club Picks 2007
Designate a Group Leader: Generally, this is the person who started the group. You would be the one to keep in touch with everyone between meetings, send out invitations for the next meeting (we do ours through evite.com), update everyone with any news or changes, and keep people motivated to read the book!
Designate a Discussion Leader: It can be the same person each time, or it can be the person who selected the book, but there should be someone to facilitate conversation. It’s important to have someone to do a bit of background research on the author and on the book that has been selected. Discussion questions (whether from readinggroupguides.com, bookmovement.com, or other online sources, or questions the leader has come up with) are a natural jumping-off point for book discussions. Your group may want to have each member bring a discussion question for the group, or a favorite quote or scene from the book. Involve everyone as much as possible. The discussion leader should move the conversation along, giving each person a chance to have their say but also knowing when to step in if someone is going on too long, or going off on a personal tangent. Book clubs are definitely social, but primarily we are there to discuss the book.
Eat! Drink! Have fun! Our book club meetings would not be half as fun without lots of great food and wine. Sometimes the book we’re reading lends itself to a theme, so we will bring food that goes along with that (i.e. Chinese food for Snow Flower and the Secret Fan). In our group, everyone brings a dish to share, and we eat first. This is a great time to get to know each other better and talk about our lives before jumping into the book discussion. And there is always chocolate for after.
Lisa is a wife, mom, blogger and book club organizer. Read more from Lisa at Books On The Brain, http://www.lisamm.wordpress.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Munley
Why Writers Should Not Join Major Book Store Writing Clubs
January 29, 2008
If you are a totally fresh new writer you might want to join a Writer’s Club at a Major Book Store, but be careful many of the writers in these groups are not so knowledgeable and only like to feel self-important give advice to newbies.
So, indeed if you are brand new listen to what they have to say, but then ditch the place and move on. If they were totally great writers they would have several books by now and indeed be well on their way and perhaps too busy writing to socialize at a Bookstore Writers Club.
This is not to say that many of these clubs are not great, but most left me so under whelmed, well let us just say even as an amateur writer, well I could not stay. As an amateur writer or should I really state online article amateur author it is obvious that I have a lot to learn about writing too.
Nevertheless you are a writer and you are reading this article right? So, then it makes sense if I got a writer to read my article then obviously I am doing something right and know a little bit about what I am talking about too.
And I have traveled around this nation and I have been too at least 30 of these book store writing clubs in many different states on the East and West Coast and a few in the middle too and they are not very good really and you should indeed be careful which ones you attend. By all means check them out, but be leery for obvious reasons. Consider this in 2006.
“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow
Childrens Book of the Month Club - The Perfect Gift
January 29, 2008
Reading is almost becoming a lost art. Between the video games, children’s DVDs and the endless variety of shows that are geared towards children it’s hard to imagine a time when a child would actually sit down and read a book for enjoyment. It’s kind of a shame, really, because when you read you can be anyone or anywhere you want. There are some children, however that love to read, and they say that this stems from them being read to at a young age, plus having access to some material that they would actually enjoy reading.
I can remember, as a child, when we would have the childrens book of the month club in our school. Ever month we would go home with an order form that would be chock full of the latest and greatest books for children. When that order came in we would absolutely devour those books. It was always an exciting time. I feel sorry for children that do not have that same love for books as I did when I was a youngster. Fortunately some people are not allowing that to happen to their child, or grandchild.
There are plenty of services out there that now offer a book of the month club that is specifically geared toward the younger reader. If you have young children or perhaps know someone that does they can really benefit from having such a subscription. Giving the gift of reading is a very precious thing, and when you watch a child grow up loving books it adds so much more to their lives than when they only have the video games and TV to fill the quiet moments.
Tim has a love for reading and is following a life long dream of being an author.
If you want to share the gift of reading with someone you love, or are looking for some great book clubs for yourself we can guide you to the program that suites you best. Visit us online at http://www.bookclubz.info/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Shank
A Review of Book Club Recommendations
January 29, 2008
You find that you’re nowhere near the friends and share your literature tastes. It’s been a Stone Age since you’ve been in school and you don’t have access to a hip librarian or brick-and-mortar bookstore or informative publications like the New York Times Book Review. But it dined the oldest of quality literature. So what do you do?
A really great way to find excellent books to read is to look at book club recommendations. Of course, you might want to nose around a little too get an idea as to which book club profile fits your tastes first, so the following are a few descriptions of the clubs and the kinds of recommendations they put forth, whether direct suggestions or indirect tips:
MAIL ORDER BOOK CLUB RECOMMENDATIONS
When I was a kid, Mom—a voracious reader—belonged to a mail-order book club. Later, when I was old enough to have my own account, I joined with her. I don’t remember exactly which club that initial one was, but these are the most popular:
Book-of-the-Month-Club
Quality Paperback Books
The Literary Guild
Each mail-order set up is unique, but does have a common, tedious trend: they send you a notification of the recommended title (based on the information you signed up with about your reading habits) and or whichever bookends the hat at the time. If you get the card first and do not refuse the offer, you get the book…and have to pay for it. If the books are automatically sent to you, you have to return it within a relatively short period of time after getting it or you will be charged. This is the main complaint of these clubs, though a close second complaint is the title listings aren’t all that inspiring. These aren’t always the current bestsellers and they’re obviously inventory that they want to clear out.
TV BOOK CLUB RECOMMENDATIONS
On TV there to television shows that discuss books that I can think of. Charlie Rose’s author interviews and Oprah’s Book Club. Both are, in my case, American offerings, the former showing only on public broadcasting, but 214 of them throughout the country.
Charlie Rose runs the gamut by covering just about any kind of literature. The authors that he usually speaks are contemporary fiction and nonfiction writers. A few of the authors that I’ve seen on these very shows include such literary luminaries as the embarrassingly liberal Maureen Dowd, action man Tom Clancy, James Risen, Toni Morrison, and Seamus Heany.
Oprah is a horse of a different color. She generally interviews authors, too, but her book club goes a bit further, she is an avid reader and because of that she finds the authors of books she loves, which is of course completely understandable. She first introduces the book and then panels a book discussion session on the book. If you find, as I did, that Oprah’s recommendations mirror the kinds of work that you enjoy reading, or what you once read and agree is a must-read, then it only makes sense to follow her recommendations in the future. She has been dead-on about such titles as Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone; Kaye Gibson’s Ellen Foster; and, of course, all (or most) of Toni Morrison’s works—books that you must read, as Morrison is one of the most prolific authors of our century.
INTERNET BOOK CLUB RECOMMENDATIONS
The Internet is a great place to find niche books sites. That is, if you are an adolescent seeking highly recommended books, you will find TeenInk.com to be a wonderful destination for locating the best books for your age group. If you are Christian who enjoys reading fiction, you will find like-minded individuals on FocusonFiction.net to be most helpful in listing and detailing the best books for Christian fiction lovers.
And single genre sites and top 100 book list sites serve do pretty much the same thing. These include the following:
Nextbook.org – a gateway to Jewish literature (comprehensive archive)
Storycode.com – book recommendations made by way of a unique search tool
Random House’s List of 100 Best novels [of all time] – at http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
These are more than a half to keep you happily reading for many, many years to come.
Morgan Hamilton offers his findings and insights regarding the world of books. You can get interesting and informative information here at Book Club Recommendations
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Morgan_Hamilton
Are You A Book And Food Lover? Then, Combine Both And Have A Book Review Dinner Party!
January 29, 2008
If you want a slightly different dinner party idea, consider gathering your book lover friends together for a dinner over which you can discuss and review a book.
You could suggest the book title that you will focus upon and guests can organize to buy the book or borrow it from the library. Allow a reasonable amount of time for the book to be read.
Alternatively, you could invite your guests to come and talk about the best book they have recently read - books that you might be inspired to read if you haven’t already.
If you do decide to all review and discuss the same book, you could include food that may have been mentioned during the book you’re reflecting on - these extra little touches can make a difference because friends will notice that you have gone to the trouble.
You could literally take turns around the table to say your piece.
I’d try to pre-prepare most of the meal so that you can focus on your guests if you can but you may be a complete whiz in the kitchen and have everything under control. The focus tonight is more on the book review theme. The food is like a bonus! That’s my opinion anyway.
You never know, if this idea works well on the night, you may be able to take turns with your friends and start a book club meeting - over dinner and drinks on a regular basis.
People love to be invited to dinner parties because they can enjoy an excellent event of great food and company and all it costs usually is a bottle of wine - and maybe a taxi fare home. But it’s not about the money - it’s just great to be spoiled by your hosts.
For more dinner party ideas, feel free to visit my blog at http://www.dinnerpartyideas.blogspot.com
I love good food and good wine and I love to socialize. Dinner parties give me the opportunity to indulge both my passions. I love dinner parties so much that I host a blog which provides ideas for your next dinner party. They provide such a great way to catch up with the important people in your life.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Randa_Magdi
5 Sure-Fire Ways To Attract New Customers Now
January 29, 2008
1. Give Away An Electronic Information Product
The product could be a simple report posted on your Web site or autoresponder to a downloadable e-book. The information product should relate to your target audience. Just place your advertisement somewhere on the product. Allow other people to give away the information product to attract even more customers.
2. Offer Free Consulting Via E-mail
Allow potential customers to ask you specific questions relating to the subject of your business. Giving away free advice can show your prospects your expertise and give you instant credibility. Another benefit is when you e-mail them back the free advice or information include your signature file to get free advertising.
3. Hold A Free Chat Room Seminar
People go to seminars to learn about a particular subject. With chat rooms you don’t need to fear public speaking or spend money to rent out a seminar room. You can use your own chat room or hold the seminar in someone elses. Holding a chat room seminar is an incredible way to get free publicity. Just send a press release to the media announcing your free seminar.
4. Start A Free-To-Join Club
Having people join your club is a creative way to attract new customers. People want to belong to something, why not your online club. The club should be related to your product or service. You could give away a free e-mail newsletter for club members only . Have a members only message board, e-mail discussion group or chat room. Post your advertisements on all the club information.
5. Provide Your Product Or Service For Almost Free
Tell potential customers you’ll accept barter deals for your products or services. You may not be getting money but they will become your customers. If they are satisfied they might pay money the next time they make a purchase. Barter for things to improve your business or your own personal life.
About the author:
Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rojo_Sunsen
Audio Book Rental Clubs Review - Getting Your Membership Started
January 29, 2008
Do you love books but somehow never have the time to sit down and read them? The introduction of audio book rental clubs means that there are no more excuses - you can listen to your favorite novel and still perform the other million necessities that are required in your busy life. There are many clubs to choose from so it is advised that before you jump in and sign up you should do your own mini audio book club review. Most clubs will provide you with a free section whereby you can listen to a novel and sample the style of audio that is on offer. After you have sampled the audios from a few different clubs your next logical step is to select the one that best suits your needs and sign up for a formal membership.
There are usually two types of audio book clubs; The first offers the option of choosing your preferred format and physically renting the audio book, or secondly you can listen to the download through the internet. You decide whether you wish to keep the book, or simply rent it for the set period of time (which is obviously the cheaper option). For the busy lifestyle that we lead today these clubs are fast becoming an invaluable resource. If you listen to an audio book at least once a day then this is usually a good indicator that you are ready to take the plunge and join an audio book rental club.
Which One Is Right For You?
By understanding your audio book needs, requirements and habits you will be better equipped to choose the audio book rental clubs that are right for you. Once you are armed with this information then seek out the club or clubs which best suit your needs. Over the past couple of years there has been an enormous amount of money spent on developing this industry and both the audio book download and rental services have become indistinguishable from each other, with both services offering what the other offers.
The customers of the audio book rental clubs have, over time, become more discerning about the service that they require and would prefer to have the freedom of either renting books, or perhaps buying the download to add to a collection. When these clubs were originally formed there was a restriction of choosing one of the other, however, this is no longer the case. When choosing which club you are going to join it is important that you firstly consider how you view audio books - are you looking to add to your collection or simply wanting a one-off rental.
The audio book clubs are the perfect choice if you wish to start a collection. If you’re always on the road or prefer to not collect things, then renting out would be your best option. Either service can give you the option to buy or rent so the next things that you need to take into consideration would be the regularity that you intend to listen to your audio books.
There are rental clubs that offer packages based on your listening habits. These plans tend to offer a degree of flexibility so you are not locked into a subscription that is no longer suitable for your needs. There are plans that even reward you if you rent or download more books than what is specified in your agreement. Great savings can be made with these rewards and are usually in the form of a rebate or a price reduction on future purchases.
Pricing should also be seriously considered when you are researching and performing your audio book clubs review. The price to rent an audio book is usually slightly cheaper than the download option and varies depending on which club you join. Take all these things into consideration before committing to a particular audio book rental club, that way you will be happy with your commitment and your listening experience will be much more enjoyable.
If you would like more information on audio book rental clubs and the products that are on offer then go to Audio Books Retreat
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Madonna_Jeffries
So You Want To Start A Book Club?
January 29, 2008
Book Clubs are loads of fun.
When they are done right.
And this can be very tough.
So many clubs get started but do not succeed because they do not understand the secret that keeps them going.
That secret is having rules! And following them! Book clubs that are successful follow a plan. Of course you can tailor the plan to your specific needs, but all good reading groups that follow these guidelines are successful:
The First Rule of Book Club is…
1. Start with four core members, including yourself. After each member has hosted once, you can choose to add ONE MEMBER EACH. Your group should never more than double in size. Remember the old adage too many cooks in the kitchen?
2. Choose a specific day and week to hold your meetings each month. For example, if the first Tuesday of every month is free for everybody put it on your calendars. Meetings should never change unless there is an extreme emergency and the group makes a collective decision to move it. Otherwise, book club is a commitment that everyone must keep!
3. Each month a different member hosts. If you are the founder, chances are you will host first. This means you get to pick the book! Set up a hosting schedule and stay in rotation. The only change would be when adding new members. The host is responsible for the communication and entertainment for the evening.
4. Here is the CARDINAL, UNBREAKABLE rule of book club - you MUST read the book! The next book will be presented at the meeting by the person choosing it and like it or lump it you have to read it. Not reading equals dismissal from the group!
5. Each member should come prepared to each meeting with either a couple of discussion questions/topics or a favorite passage to talk about. An unfocused discussion leads to talking about which contestant got kicked off American Idol that week!
6. Be nice and have fun! Ask any book club member and they will tell you - the more controversial the book the more heated the argument the more everybody love loves your meeting, leaves happy, and cannot wait to pick up the next book selection!
I know, I know, it seems silly right? I speak from extensive personal experience! Book clubs that choose not to follow a set of rules never make it. They turn into large gatherings of people who sit around and complain about their jobs, their kids, their salaries, etc. This is not because the group has no interest in book talk but because they have no structure! Humans thrive on structure. The trick is finding a couple of people who share your passion for reading and are willing to give the guidelines the good ol’ college try. If you really love to read and really want to talk about books, you will be rewarded by following this plan!
Happy Reading!
Queenie D
Queenie D is an English teacher, mom, and lover of books!
Want more information on book clubs? Looking for a book to read? Want to share something you’ve read? Visit http://www.book-club-queen.com for a fantastic adventure in reading!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Desiree_Difabio
This site offers tips and guides how to open a community book club.
