World Book Night

World Book Night is a campaign to find light or non-readers in the community and hand them each a book. Person-to-person. To get more people reading.

World Book Night is a celebration of reading and books which sees tens of thousands of passionate volunteers give away books in their communities to share their love of reading. Successfully launched in the U.K. in 2011, World Book Night will also be celebrated in the U.S. and Germany in 2012, with more countries to come in future years.

How does World Book Night work?

In the U.S., 30 titles have been specially chosen and will be printed in their thousands in special World Book Night paperback editions. Givers apply to give away a particular book (you get a first, second and third choice) which they must commit to give away to those who don't regularly read to share and spread their love of reading. Each Giver receives 20 copies which they pick up from their local bookshops and libraries - the very heart of our reading communities - in the week before April 23. (The Regulator will be a World Book Night pick up location).

The greatest reading journeys start when you put a book in to someone's hand and say 'this one's amazing, you have to read it' and by applying to be a Giver you can help World Book Night give that experience to a million new readers on April 23. World Book Night, through social media and traditional publicity, will also promote the value of reading, of printed books, and of bookstores and libraries to everyone year-round.

Why April 23?

April 23 is a symbolic date for world literature. It is the date of the birth and death of Shakespeare, as well as the day Cervantes, the great Spanish novelist, died. It is in their honor that UNESCO appointed it the International Day of the Book and that it has been chosen to celebrate World Book Night.

Be a part of World Book Night! Go to http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/ to sign up to be a Giver, and to learn all about this fabulous program. All you need to become a giver is a little time, a love of books, and the desire to give something to your community. Think about where you'd like to give away the books before you go online to apply. You pick the place: hospital or diner, school or ... well, lots of possibilities. Be creative. And thank you! We love this idea and we will be your community center for World Book Night support.

The deadline to sign up is February 6th! And yes, you can give your books away during the day of April 23rd as well as in the evening.

Read Digital and Shop Local!

If you're doing some of your reading on a digital device, we have some exciting news for you. Now its easier than ever to read digitally and shop locally. And most of the time you'll be paying the same price buying from us as you do when you throw your money at the big boys.

In December, The American Bookseller's Association debuted the IndieBound Reader, which works seamlessly with all Android (and now with all IOS--Apple--devices). All you have to do is download the Reader, which you can do here and then buy your ebooks through the Regulator's web site.

With the IndieBound Reader, you get:
* Adjustable font, font size, line spacing, margins, and more to customize your reading experience
* Note-taking and bookmarking functions
* Brightness controls and "Night Mode"
* Support for eBook standards, such as Adobe Digital Editions, ePub, and PDF
* Google account integration and easy, behind-the-scenes activation
* Integration with the Regulator's IndieCommerce website for eBook browsing & buying (this is not available for IOS)

What more could you want? Competitive pricing? Yes, we have that too.

Surely you've seen the headlines announcing "Amazon loses price advantage on digital books?"

Yeah, well me missed them too. This has to be one of the best-kept digital secrets ever. The fact is that the six biggest U.S. publishers have adopted the "Agency Model" for their eBook pricing. Which means that no matter where you buy their eBooks, the price is the same. And these six publishers account for 75 to 80% of all the books we sell at The Regulator. What all of this means is that it is high time to

Retire Your Kindle!

The kindle is designed to make you order eBooks from Amazon. And let's face it. Amazon is Non-Local Number One. None of the money you spend at Amazon stays in our local community. And not only is Amazon non-local, for the past few years they have been vigorously anti-local as well, fighting tooth and nail to remain exempt from collecting sales tax, even in states where the have warehouses or other facilities. Their philosophy has been clear. Let other suckers pay the taxes that keep the roads maintained for the trucks that deliver Amazon's packages. Amazon has been insisting on literally getting a free ride, and by and large they have succeeded.

For those of you out there who are supporters of things like the local food movement--if you are doing your reading on a Kindle, perhaps you need to think again. Because now you can read digitally and shop locally! We thank you.

Local author makes the front page of the NYT Sunday Book Review

A great review from Adam Hochscild of Laurent Dubois' new book Haiti, the Aftershocks of History. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/books/review/haiti-the-aftershocks-of-history-by-laurent-dubois-book-review.html?src=me&ref=books

Laurent, who was spotted leaving a local restaurant New Years Eve wearing a sticker that said "Local Author," will discuss his new book Thursday evening, January 12th, 7:00 at The Regulator. It's hard for me to imagine a more engaging author.

--Tom Campbell