East West Bookshop of Seattle's Blog

From the Used Book Aisle

July 15, 2010 — Rick

Rick Johnston, used book buyer You’re likely aware that you can sell us your used body, mind and spirit books, CD’s and DVD’s. I’m Rick Johnston, and I buy them!

Our customers sell us their used books for lots of reasons. Downsizing and general cleanup are the most common reasons, with Spring cleaning bringing lots of used books our way! But many of our customers are just finished with those particular books, and want them to find their way to a new home. It’s especially satisfying to see the joy of discovery as a customer unexpectedly spots just the book they’d been looking for.

Though we see the occasional rare book, most are those which you’d find as new books on our shelves. With new books, we consider those which have sold 100 copies or more to be “bestsellers”. And surprisingly, several of our used titles are on their way to achieving that same distinction! Eckhard Tolle’s Power of Now and Caroline Myss’ Anatomy of the Spirit are two used book titles that sell as quickly as they come in.

A couple of 70’s classics, Ken Keyes’ Handbook to Higher Consciousness and Ram Dass’ Be Here Now are two others which never stay on the shelf for long. Though we normally look for books in good condition, I make the occasional exception for Be Here Now, which our customers continue to purchase in any condition. Perhaps it reminds them of their old VW bus!

Speaking of VW bus, the largest purchase we ever made was a VW bus-full (literally!) of use books and CD’s. By the time we’d counted them all up, there were some 40 bags and boxes piled behind the front counter. Our poor staff could barely get to the registers!

You needn’t have that many to bring them by though—I’m happy to look at a single book that you might like to sell. Just drop them off at the front counter, and I’ll look them over and make you an offer for those we’d like to buy.

We, and our used book customers, will be grateful!

Rick

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Skype events are fun!

May 19, 2010 — Susan

Susan McGinnis I was a bit skeptical when our events coordinator first suggested bringing an author to the store via Skype. After all, we’re known for bringing people together with teachers and healers in a personal way. I wondered if the event would seem somehow robotic or antiseptic.

After being a part of our first two Skype events, though, I have become a fan…they are fun! There is something that happens when a person talks to you from there own home environment that lends a cozy, friendly informality to the experience. Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior visited with us on a Saturday morning from his home office wearing his running gear. Behind him we could see his bookcase and photos. He shared with us in a very sweet way- even saying at one point “I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told a group before.” People in the room at East West had the opportunity to share with him very personally about how much his books had meant to them.

Jon Gabriel, author of The Gabriel Method, chatted with us from Australia- one evening- or should I say morning! Again, the visit via a large screen seemed completely natural: he could see and hear us; we could see and hear him- and a very nice group dynamic developed. His talk was very animated- and in interacting with us to answer the numerous questions that arose, he gave out his phone number to participants who needed further wisdom from him.

While we will never replace all our in-person events with Skype ones, from what I have experienced, they can be every bit as meaningful, moving, and transformative. I’m looking forward to our next ones: Sonia Choquette shares with us from her new book Travelling at the Speed of Love on April 24^th. And on May 12 we have an in-person & Skype event, that should be very lively – Bruce Lipton, author of Biology of Belief, joins the incomparable Swami Beyondananda, to inspire us from their new book Spontaneous Evolution!

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Bookbuyer’s Lament

January 20, 2010 — admin

Marilyn, East West's bookbuyer

Part of my job as book buyer here at East West Bookshop is returning unsold books to our distributors for credit on our account—sort of a book un-buyer role. I’ve been working on that task this week, culling out books that have been on our shelves, unselected, unchosen for a year or longer….and reflecting on the fleetingness of popularity.

A “returnee” this week is one of my own all-time favorite novels, Life of Pi by Yann Martel. My daughter-in-law loves it too, requesting for Christmas one year that I find her more books like Life of Pi. I never have managed to find anything similar.

Another “returnee” is our local hit Grunt, a book/CD combo of “Pigorian Chant.” Cindy (our own book-orderer, web designer, and choir leader) discovered it a couple years ago and her enthusiasm made Grunt a holiday bestseller here. Now, it is too is leaving our store shelves.

Do odd situations and quirky humor ever go out of style? Probably not, but attention moves to new creations, leaving these favorites behind in our hearts, minds, and personal book cases.

For me, one of the sadder experiences on the East West sales floor is telling a customer that we no longer have in stock that wonderful-book-that-changed-their-life 10 or so years ago. Now, they want to share it with a friend-in-need. Or, they have already loaned the prized possession to someone who didn’t return it.

Beloved books are mortal, too. Sometimes we are able to find them a fresh, new copy. Sometimes the book is completely out of print and all we can offer is to have our used book buyer give them a call if someone brings one to us. This is not a judgment of the book’s value. Very, very few of even blockbuster hits can stay in print for many years. The attention of the book world moves onward seeking the next newest, hottest “thing.”

Except sometimes it looks backward again, and a classic is reissued for a new generation.

Marilyn

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Mike Dooley on Nov 8

December 1, 2009 — admin

Guest post by Emily Zillig

I will be honest with you—I love Mike Dooley! So when I heard he was coming to speak on his newest book, Infinite Possibilities, I knew I had to go.

Infinite Possibilities is based on the 12-CD audio program that Mike Dooley created many years ago. The book has much of the same information, and I love them both.

There is something about the way he looks at the world that is just…uplifting. I feel better any time I read or listen to any of his work (and I get his free Notes from the Universe every day, so there is a little piece of wisdom in my email each morning—check it out at www.tut.com.) His work is based on the Law of Attraction: the idea that we create our own realities (literally and completely), that we are responsible for what happens to us, and that we have the power to change our lives by changing our thoughts.

With the popularity of The Secret (to which Mike is a contributor), there are many people teaching the Law of Attraction, but there is something different about Mike Dooley. You get the distinct feeling that he isn’t just jumping on the bandwagon—he really cares, and because of that has spent a great deal of time working out the details. He also makes it fun—we are all adventurers; time, space, and matter are part of a Universal game of hide and seek; and his favorite catch-phrase is “Jambo Fellow Adventurers!”

He isn’t afraid to answer the tough questions, either. He has had a lot of time to think about it—he takes questions on his website and answers in his Ask Mike column. The book has answers to questions like:

What do you do when you seem to be making no headway in your life…?
What’s the catch? Why does it seem so hard?, and
Your writings…seem to contain a ‘blame the victim’ mentality that seems very shortsighted. What am I missing?

Mike talks about how we create our realities, why the Universe is designed this way, what it all means in the real world, and even why people have “bad” experiences. From beliefs, intuition, harmony, and gratitude, to creative tools and techniques, to the meaning of life, he’s got it covered.

Mike is an amazing guy, really. I mean, who else can so perfectly and convincingly write as The Universe?

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Using The Secret to empower teenagers

October 6, 2009 — admin

East West Bookshop staff, Rebecca Davis interviewed Nitai Deranja, Co-Director of the Living Wisdom High School in Nevada City, CA, about how he uses The Secret to empower teenagers.

Over the years, East West Bookshop has witnessed the growing popularity of books on the timeless knowledge of using consciousness to shape one’s life. The Secret, in particular, has had a wide and unique impact on many, having a few years ago crossed into mainstream readership with Oprah’s endorsement. Yet one may sometimes wonder: are there living examples of people using the principles with consistently positive results?

We were excited to hear about a program for young people that uses the principles in The Secret to inspire them to achieve goals that they may not have even considered otherwise.

Nitai Deranja, Co-Director of Ananda Living Wisdom High School in Nevada City, CA, shows the DVD version of The Secret to his high school students—and they love it. According to Deranja, that’s because it teaches exactly what they need at their stage of growth. He explains that as a society, we do teens a disservice by not giving them a chance to exercise the “muscle” of the will. “We’re missing the point of what teens are all about. They need to feel empowered, not by being given privileges, but by developing the ability to manifest.”

At Living Wisdom, students are challenged to start manifesting right away: they have to come up with $900 per year of their own tuition. The school does help them to find ways to earn the money, jobs from babysitting to web design. But they have to manifest the money themselves—no gifts allowed. “By the end of they year, they’re feeling really good,” reports Deranja. “And they get the idea. They can earn extra money and go to Europe, or buy a car. They’re excited to see they can make things happen by focusing their will.”

“It’s about intentionality; setting clear goals and staying positive about manifesting them.”

To learn more about Living Wisdom High School, you can visit livingwisdom.org (or go to www.livingwisdomschoolseattle.org to find out about the Living Wisdom school in Seattle).

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Richard Bach on Sept 26

September 29, 2009 — admin

Over 150 people came to East West Bookshop to see Richard Bach last Saturday! He spoke engagingly on a variety of topics including his most recent book, Hypnotizing Maria, which was inspired by the question: what if a hypnotist realizes that hypnosis also applies to everyday life – and one is able to awaken from the suggestions of this world?

Answering questions from the audience, he also talked about his amazing experience writing Jonathan Livingston Seagull, offered lots of encouragement for writers in the audience, and of course touched on his love for flying airplanes.

A woman from Russia commented that everyone she knows in Russia has read his work and that it is tremendously popular there. Richard was humbled and grateful to hear that. Needless to say, Richard is just as admired here, and we are very grateful for his visit!

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