The ThriftBooks Blog

By Beth Clark • January 22, 2019

If the term "self-help" makes you roll your eyes or the thought of going on a play date with your inner tween makes you cringe, then this blog is for you! (Note: we do use the term "self-help" but only because the thesaurus alternatives are lame and "independent quest for human improvement" doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.)

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By Beth Clark • January 17, 2019

Refrigerator art and experimental LEGO cars are proof kids have vivid imaginations, but sometimes they have ideas for ingenious things that change the world, like popsicles (age 11), the trampoline (age 16), swim flippers (age 11), and earmuffs (age 15). What would you do if your kidventor came up with a mind-bending invention that was actually viable? The parents of the kids below all answered, "Patent it, build it, and/or sell it!"

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By Beth Clark • January 15, 2019

When diets developed for certain populations or conditions go viral and become fads overnight, unintended chaos can ensue and create challenging fallout for the originally intended group. It can feel like suddenly being surrounded by decoys and finding yourself in a bad TV game show called "Will the Real Celiac Please Stand Up?" We zeroed in on a few 'fad' diets that are actually lifestyles, including gluten-free, vegan, and keto, and came up with some interesting pros, cons, and effects of their mainstream surge in popularity. (And found some excellent guides, cookbooks, and other resources a lot of you will want to put in your carts!)

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By Beth Clark • January 10, 2019

Peculiar People Day is a time to celebrate the quirky, eccentric, silly, weird, curious, colorful, irreverent, and intriguing oddballs in your life. You know the ones...they see the world a little—or a lot—differently, have a unique style that's all their own, and/or make you laugh when you least expect it by saying the things most people only think. If you're the peculiar one, lucky you! Embrace your wonderfully brilliant uniqueness in all its splendor and let your freak flag fly. (Your way, of course.) Keep reading for ten of our favorite peculiar literary characters.

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By Beth Clark • January 07, 2019

Aside from the obvious self-help category, books make life better in so many ways that it's hard to imagine existing without them...so we won'! Thankfully, we don't have to. Here are just some of the ways that reading books is as essential as, oh, breathing.

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By Beth Clark • January 03, 2019

Coming up in 2019: sequels, new novels, and LOTS of book to screen adaptations! Among other things. Here are just a few of the fantastic titles either coming out on the page or on the big or small screen to be excited about.

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By Beth Clark • January 01, 2019

New Year = Let the resolutions begin! Orrr...not. 2019 is new, but really, you woke up the same old you (older if you overindulged NYE), so maybe it's time to embrace your real, gloriously imperfect, weird self and say hello to anti-resolutions instead of the same old same old. (And good-bye to celery without peanut butter and raisins!)

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By Beth Clark • December 31, 2018

Instead of doing a typical "year in review" post like everyone else, we thought it would be fun to close the door on 2018 from a different angle: by looking back at the books that played roles in the careers of the year's biggest stars. Everybody has to start somewhere, but with hard work and a few lucky literary breaks, these household names didn't stop there.

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By Beth Clark • December 27, 2018

Are you curious what people around the world are reading? Us too! So we decided to find out. Compiling the literary faves of 7 billion people is challenging, but we succeeded, and it's cool to see how united we are by what we're reading, in spite of our different cultures and languages. Think you can guess the world's #1 book? Keep reading to find out!

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By Beth Clark • December 24, 2018

Ho ho ho...where did Santa go? One night a year on Christmas Eve, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) tracks Santa with live updates as he makes his way around the world. They also answer almost 150,000 calls to the North Pole, and they know if you're being naughty or nice. Keep reading for more on who they are and how they do it!

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By Beth Clark • December 19, 2018

'Clapping back' is the act of (or art of, depending) responding to criticism or any other form of attack (real or perceived) by putting someone in their place. How? With a 'clapback': a quick, targeted, and clever reply that establishes a boundary and shuts the conversation down. (Previously known as a 'burn.') Below are some current and historical examples, plus a few pro tips.

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