The Book Oasis

The Book Oasis Blog

Monday, November 29th

Holiday Sales

When I was a child, it always used to bug me that as soon as Halloween was over, the stores started putting up Christmas decorations. It was almost like all the stores were horses in a starting gate, panting and waiting to take off! Of course, now that I'm a merchant, I understand the logic a little better: stores think in terms of buying-time, specifically in allotments of weeks. Following Halloween, there are only seven weeks for customers to buy things. Not much time when you think about it.

So, is Book Oasis having a sale? You bet we are! On Wednesday, December 15th, from 6:00 PM until 12:00 AM all stock will be half off! That's absolutely everything, even the books in the rare cabinets. If you've had your eye on something, now's the time to buy.

The sale serves another purpose: I'm expecting a new load of stock in the next few weeks, and I need to make room.

Hope to see you there!

Book news: We've recieved a number of copies of Dr. Phil's books, including _Self Matters_ and _Life Strategies_. There are new books on Feng Shui design, an almost complete set of The Boxcar Children, man books on birds and birdwatching, as well as many new additions to the thriller section. As I've mentioned before, the stock changes constantly, so if you've not been to see us in a while, don't think you're going to see the same books as before. You won't! We're working extra hard to add new books to the shop. We hope to see you soon.

Larry Burdick on 11.29.04 @ 12:46 PM PST [link]

Friday, November 19th

Read By Example!

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, "How can I get my kids to read?" My response is always, "Do you read?" That answer has surprised many a person, which always baffles me!

No one can force kids to do something if they don't see any value to it! If your son or daughter sees you glued to the TV all the time, and your books or magazines gathering dust, what makes you think they're going to believe reading is any good? How many of you actually did something when your parents insisted "it's good for you"? ;)

This is the formula which I always recommend to people who wish to encourage reading in their families: you have to do it too! And there are benefits to reading more. Your blood pressure goes down, you learn more, you save electricity, and you can even multi-task with music or a glass of tea. :)

One of the complaints I heard from a non-reader boy was, "Reading's too much work." Okay, let's think about that. Yes, you do have to run your eyes over the pages and think about the words, and you have to turn the pages. As opposed to the Idiot Box which throws the images and sound straight at you. But let's take this a step further: what would you rather have, something you had to work for, or something which was given to you? Which would feel better when you got it, a gift, or a prize won? The fruit of your own labor, or someone else's? Yes, books take effort, but it's like a self-winding watch: the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

I, personally, grew up in a family of readers. My Mom loves mysteries, my father reads nonfiction, and I was introduced to the library at an early age; TV time was limited to a few hours a week, and evenings were given over to a great deal of reading. I quickly discovered the innumerable worlds between the pages of a book. the results of all this were good: throughout grammar & high school my reading level and vocabulary skills were always a minimum of four years ahead of my classmates. Reading is still a big thing to me. To this day, one of the first questions I ask a prospective date is, "Do you read?" And while I have no children of my own to set an example for, there's still the possibility. In the meantime, I can help other kids and parents open that first page!

Larry Burdick on 11.19.04 @ 07:05 PM PST [link]