This year’s Grand Prize is even more grand: An iPad!  (Yes, really!)

If you love tomatoes, poetry, and/or iPads, visit the contest page and enter by July 31st. And for more regular updates, become a Fan at our Facebook page.

(cc) Flickr user spisharam - AWAY

Related posts:

1. 2009 Hot Tomato Haiku Contest
2. Hot Tomato Haiku Contest: 2008 Winner
3. Hot Tomato Haiku Contest Winners 2009

We’re pleased to announce that our new warehouse is completely dry and the Command Center there is running at 100%.

Two full-time Fools had their houses flooded and cleanup has begun on that front. The most picturesque disaster was the collapsing of one of our backyard hills:

The hill before.

The hill after, part 1.

The hill after, Part 2.

Stay safe out there, people. We will post to our Twitter feed as updates become available.

Related posts:

1. Buy Direct from BookFool.com
2. Quick Update: June 2009
3. Google & BookFool.com: Separated at Birth

At this point, you know what to wear and how to act. Now you must know what to know.

PART III: THE KNOW

(cc) Flickr user Joel Bedford

Gnarly Gnashville gnowledge can be divided into a gnumber of subcategories. The following is a handy study guide. It may be prudent to keep this taped to your mirror for a few weeks.

Music:

Take a look at the city you live in. Music is oxygen. It’s important to always know a little bit more about music than everybody else. Here are some starting points:

• Animal Collective is the best band ever (for the time being).
• Anyone with the word “bear” in their name is worth knowing right now. See: Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, Minus the Bear, Berenstain Bears, Bear Grylls.
• You are required to adore The Beatles and Radiohead. Be prepared to discuss favorite songs/albums. (Hint: In Rainbows is not your favorite Radiohead album.)
• Vampire Weekend is so last year.
• Significant local bands: JEFF the Brotherhood, The Kopecky Family Band, Shirock.
• Need further assistance determining which bands are cool and relevant? Make Pitchfork.com your homepage.

Movies:

(cc) Flickr user Mockstar

Independent films featuring unwashed actors with undiscovered talent and indiscernible plotlines are CROOSH.

• The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, The Life Aquatic…and anything else by Wes Anderson. He is Yoda.
• The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the White Stripes video with the Legos…and anything else by Michel Gondry. He is the other Yoda.
• Go to the Belcourt. Anything shown at the Belcourt is cool.
• A note about Garden State: You need to have seen this movie, but now you must roll your eyes at it. You now realize that the film is not the triumph it was once touted to be. Zach Braff, put your scrubs back on.

Books:
Scholarliness is next to hipness, which is next godliness. Think of yourself as an artsy intellectual now. Read books.

• Your first reading assignment: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. You will hear your own soul speaking from the pages. (Unfortunately, six months from now you cannot like this book anymore. It will seem “immature.”)
• Once you have moved on from Wallflowerdom, you may begin Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Make sure to quote Salinger on your Facebook.
• Finally, you must familiarize yourself with the Literary Hipster Triumvirate: Dave Eggers, David Sedaris, and Chuck Klostermann.

(cc) Flickr user CarbonNYC

Sports:
Forget about sports.

Miscellaneous Tidbits:

• Know who Whit Smith is. Facebook him or something.
• Learn how to pronounce “Demonbreun.” (Hint: It’s not “Demon Bruin.”)
• Find out where the Moran rope swing is.

At this point, we’ve told you all that we can. You’ve got the Look, the Rec, and the Know. Now, you must venture out on your own. If you get lost, lick your finger and hold it in the air. The wind will guide you.

Related posts:

1. How to be a Hip Freshman in Nashville: The Rec
2. How to be a Hip Freshman in Nashville: The Look
3. Tour of United Record Pressing in Nashville

Part II: The Rec(reation)

(cc) Flickr user Darin Barry

Looking cool is only one third being Nashvegas. You must also act the part. Nashvillians have developed a culture based on doing trendy things. To be cool, you should do these things and act these ways:

1. Take your guitar everywhere you go. This is especially important on campus, where you will be meeting many other hip freshmen. Memorize four or five relevant songs by indie bands.

2. Attend shows. Go to every single show. You can never go to enough shows. This will build your cred as a cool individual.

3. Become a regular at an independent coffee shop. Learn your barista’s name. Forget that chain coffee shops ever existed.

4. When you meet a new person, ask them what bands they like. Nashvillians LOVE bands. We love talking about bands. We can’t get enough of bands. Most of us are in bands. Join a band. Start a band. Be your own band.

5. Spend a Saturday afternoon browsing used vinyl at Grimey’s or The Great Escape.

6. Use abbrevs. (“Abbrev” being the abbreviation for “abbreviation.”) Example: “Hey rooms, I’m gonna caf it for some fro-yo and maybs some coff. Meet me at the lib and we’ll stud for philos. Lates bro.”

7. Stalk Ben Folds and Jack White.

8. Ride a road bike like this:

(cc) Flickr user richardmasoner

This list contains only eight of the numerous trendy things there are to do in the Ville of Nash. Start by perfecting these and leave the rest to your brilliant, creative mind. We believe in you and your burgeoning hipness.

Stay tuned for the final installment later this week: THE KNOW.

Related posts:

1. How to be a Hip Freshman in Nashville: The Know
2. How to be a Hip Freshman in Nashville: The Look
3. Jim Coudal’s Greatest Failure

This is our attempt to help college freshmen acclimate hiply to the supremely cool city of Nashville. In three riveting installments, we will reveal exactly what it takes to be the coolest kid in Music City. If you are a freshman, adhere to this advice with utmost seriousness. If you are not a freshman, print this out, pass it on, help a bro(ther) or sis(ter) in need.

PART I:  THE LOOK

First impressions are uber-important, especially in Gnashville. This city is a quintessential locus of hipness. In order to fit in, you must understand that what you wear is who you are. You must look Nashville, you must dress Nashville, you must BE Nashville.

The overall look to emulate is the “thrift store chic.” This means buying clothes that look like they were purchased at a thrift store, but in reality, were bought at a faux-boutique, indie outlet. Think American Apparel or Urban Outfitters. Here are some suggestions, from the bottom up, to get you started:

The Shoes:

• Bros: Acquire for yourself some Vans. Multiple pairs. Various colors.
• Babes: Find some flats, or perhaps sparkly Jellies. Also, have at least one pair of pseudo-ankle-boot-things. Tell people you found them at Southern Thrift.
• Everyone: Buy some Toms. Forty dollars to look rad and be a good person.

The Pants:

• Bros: The skinnier the better. If you can squeeze into Levi’s 510s, buy them. Cuff them.
• Babes: Find some patterned tights or leggings to wear under a skirt or some shorts. Skinny jeans are also a must. It is good if they come up to your chest.

The Upper Half:

• Bros: Deep V’s to help you show off your rosary (also hip in certain sectors). A vest or two. No plaid; plaid is too hip right now.
• Babes: Also deep V’s. Baggy, awkwardly fitting dresses. Over-sized sweaters.

The Outerwear:

• Bros and Babes: Buy at least three Am Appy hoodies in varied hues. Everyone must also own a peacoat.
• Babes only: Rainboots with a fun/interesting pattern such as polka-dots, fishes, or umbrellas.

The Adornments:

• Bros and Babes: Buy a million scarves. Get a new piercing. Start saving for your first tattoo.
• Bros: Buddy Holly glasses.
• Babes: Your grandma’s glasses.

You must hurry. Outfit yourself now, because first impressions only happen once. And as a last though, consider choosing one iconic item that summarizes your personal outlook, like maybe a feather.

Check back soon for part two in kewlnezz: THE REC.

Related posts:

1. How to be a Hip Freshman in Nashville: The Know
2. How to be a Hip Freshman in Nashville: The Rec
3. Moving to Nashville

However, if they’re speaking with us, it’s clear their standards for sources have slipped! But seriously, we’re honored to be included in Jennifer’s article, especially if it helps students find another option for cheap textbooks. As I said there, “If we can’t give you the best price, we’ll show you who can.” This is a core tenet of our Mission and stems from our desire to put students first.

Jennifer and I had a discussion about textbook rentals as well. We Fools think textbook renting is an interesting idea that works for a certain kind of student. However, we still believe that most students will come out ahead by buying their books used and then selling them back at the end of the semester. Consider this example:

Let’s say Joaquin can buy his Chemistry textbook new at the bookstore for $100 and used online for $60-70. (These are pretty standard figures.) That book would rent for around $50, and Joaquin appears to save $10-20 on the book by renting.

However, there’s a really good chance Joaquin can sell that used textbook to us at the end of the semester for $50 or more. The used book that cost him $70 puts $50 back in his pocket, which means he effectively “rented” that used copy for only $20. And what if he really found a deal when he bought it and paid only $50 in the first place?!

It all comes down to a calculation like that. If the numbers make sense for renting a book, we say go for it.

We do not currently rent our textbooks, though we are watching the trend closely. If we could find a way to rent books that served students’ long-term needs, we would start renting them tomorrow!

About BookFool.com

We love what we do and don’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re happy when students are happy. Read more About us. And why not sign up in the sidebar to receive occasional updates from the Fools?

For more information, consider some of our recent blog posts:

• HUMANKIND Thrift is Ready to Serve: The Rados are changing the world, one school uniform at a time!
• How to Find the Cheapest Textbooks, Vol. 1: A few thoughts from the cheapskate masters.
• 7 Tricks to Score the Job You Want: Part 1 (and Part 2). Advice from a Foolish perspective.
• Photographic Tour of United Record Pressing in Nashville: A Foolish field trip.
• The results of the 2009 Hot Tomato Haiku Contest: An East Nashville favorite.
• And finally…We’re hiring! Our first Customer Care Fool.

Thanks for stopping by! We hope to hear from you.

Related posts:

1. Union University Textbook Buyback Spring 2010
2. Foolish Ephemera: Humble Beginnings
3. Transient Peddler – Yep, that’s us!

URP is one of five record pressing plants left in America (that they know of, anyway), and the largest presser of vinyl. Ever. But what’s all the more worth noting is that they are, in total, the only one that matters. Period. Our friend Alan gave us the show-around, which was informal and fantastic. I’d be hard pressed (HA!) to see a group of people so geeked out/fascinated ever again. It was like embodying this lady at a cat museum or this guy at the fair. Or something.

Upon our arrival in the building, we saw that it quite literally appeared to be frozen in time: 60′s art decor, aquatic tiling, etc. We were initially greeted by a signed picture of Rick James, thus confirming our suspicion that 4th Ave. South is in fact the Stargate.

We were greeted by our comrade and treated to free coasters made from the centers of discarded records. Seriously. We got a stack for the entire Fool-office and subsequently increased our cool factor exponentially. [Ed. note: It's true. They are much cooler to us now.] Moon Dog: Bing-o Bang-o.

Lining the walls were some of the records they had printed. From A Tribe Called Quest to Animal Collective, Bob Dylan to the Beatles, Elvis to Eminem, the Stooges to Sly and the Family Stone, it seemed the magnitude and myriad of bands represented knew no bounds.

The first part we visited was affectionately known as the Motown Suite. URP started pressing back in ’49, exclusively doing 7″ until (I think) ’99. Back in the 60′s and 70′s, Motown records was one of their biggest customers. Seeing as Nashville tends to be about 5-10 years behind the curve with anything, segregation was still prominent here, thus the representatives and artists weren’t able to get a place to stay. So these guys at URP put them up in a pretty posh apartment-esque part of their upstairs. They have perfectly preserved it to this day and we were enamored of the space. The artists also used to listen to the records there for the first time, and so the vibe was simply incredible. Good people, practice, and tunes. Jam.

We went downstairs to the pressing plant and watched how records were made…obviously. Vinyl actually starts off as tiny chunks, is then melted into “patties” or “pucks”, which are put into the machines where the process begins. I won’t go in to the details, but there are videos you can watch, both on the URP website and one at BookFool’s Flickr that I took. [Ed. note: Awesome vid! Also embedded at the bottom of this post.]

We saw the room where they make the master mold of the record that is used to press the rest. One in our company declared that room to be the place where, “in the first Batman movie, the Joker was melted,” simultaneously confusing the seminal Batman/Keaton film with the pathetically lesser 3rd one, Batman Forever/Clooney, and also describing it to a perfect T. (In his defense, Joker did fall into a vat of craziness, right? I remember not liking that part as a child.)

The epic experience also included the pricing info, seeing where they keep all the “mother” presses, and seeing the grooves under a microscope, which was a funny incident in and of itself. We were blown away by seeing that up close, and the more questions we asked about records on the micro level, the less anyone knew. “Uhh, ask Andy.” “Uhh, you’ll have to ask Thomas,” etc. We had our suspicions about music and records being the witchcraft-voodoo of the devil (our moms told us about Elvis!) and once we got to the science of it all, our suspicions were confirmed. Sorry to the Parents.

All in all, it was a gorgeous outing. We were baffled and enlightened and mystified and geeked out. God bless music; there’s nothing better than music. And these people were uncompromising in their handling of its vinyl medium. Ben noted how nothing seemed nostalgic or “touristy” simply because this was all they had ever done. Sure, they’d watch their product rise, fall, and rise again, but they stuck with it. Minus the historicity of the bangin’ Motown Suite, they just did their thing the same as it ever was. (They don’t even make the machines that press records anymore! Incredible!)

If you live in Nashville, visit. It’s free. If you don’t, come and see it. It’s worth it. And the best “tourisity” thing I’ve done in a while.

Further viewing:

• Video tour of URP on YouTube.
• The Dead Weather’s “Will There be Enough Water?” shot at URP.
• More photos on Flickr from the Fools’ visit.

Related posts:

1. Thirth of July Street Party in East Nashville!
2. How to be a Hip Freshman in Nashville: The Rec
3. How to be a Hip Freshman in Nashville: The Know

WANTED: Customer Care Fool in Nashville, TN

If you accidentally rear-ended another driver in a low-speed collision, could you turn them into your best friend before the police arrived to write the accident report? If you found a box of unlabeled family photographs in your grandmother’s attic, could you use the internet and your incredible powers of organization to turn that box into a fully realized family tree? Are you passionate about Customer Service in a way that your colleagues think is a bit over the top?

If you can answer a resounding “Yes!” to those three questions and you have attended college, please consider applying for the new position of Customer Care Fool. Consistent customer care is vital to our continued success. We cannot grow without you.

Customer Care in Three Easy Steps:

1) Customer Support: You will delight customers by practicing both Responsive and Proactive customer service. Responsive customer service means responding to customers’ incoming questions in a timely and brand-friendly manner. Proactive customer service means actively finding new, unique, and cost-conscious ways to delight our existing and future customers.

2) Warehouse: Because customer care happens at every point along the supply chain, you will work with our Operations Leader to ensure customers are cared for in the way we run our warehouse.

3) Buybacks: Under the direction of our Operations Leader, you will also care for future customers by helping plan, organize, and execute our textbook buyback events. This task requires an organized mind, advanced communication skills, and a solid work ethic. You will coordinate with vendors, street team members, and dozens of employees to line up locations, work schedules, and much more.

Key Attributes of our Customer Care Fool:

• Extroverted, energized by interacting with people, even the occasional angry one.
• Organized and meticulous, like ridiculously so.
• Strong, concise communicator to a wide range of audiences.
• Work well as part of a team.
• Proficient with technology, especially the Internet, Office, and Apple computers.
• Creative, independent, and hardworking.
• Some experience in college. A degree is good but not absolutely necessary.

This is an entry-level position, so we’re more interested in finding the right person than the right set of experiences. You will report to our Operations Leader who will coordinate and guide your activities. You will also work closely with our Brand Fool to ensure your communication respects and furthers the brand we’re building.

About BookFool.com

BookFool.com makes students’ lives easier by giving them a better way to buy and sell textbooks every semester. We’re a 3-year startup with a proven business model and incredible recent growth.

We enjoy a seasonal rhythm with one super-busy time of year (Jan./Dec.), one somewhat-busy time of year (Summer), and 6 months of relative calm, during which we plan for the busy times. We don’t take ourselves too seriously but do work hard. During the busy season, we all pitch in to make sure the work gets done and done right.

Compensation:

Compensation is competitive for an entry-level position and includes some health benefits, paid vacation, support for continuing education, and a fun, laid-back atmosphere.

How to Apply:

We want to hear from you. Please send your resume and a cover letter detailing your passions and abilities to this address.

Resumes should include specific past accomplishments for each position you’ve held, not just your past duties. Interviewing begins in late August 2009.

Related posts:

1. Nicole: Customer Care Fool
2. How to get the Best Customer Service
3. WANTED: Marketing/Communication Intern for Spring-Summer 2010

But if you can’t make it out to see us this week, you can always sell us your books through our brand-new SELL page. Check it out!

View Larger Map

Related posts:

1. Vandy, TSU, and Lipscomb buyback today!
2. Summer Buybacks 2009
3. Welcome, Belmont Vision Readers

For $3.50, you get a generous helping of meat and rice. Add an egg roll and a beverage and you’re getting stuffed for around 5 bucks. It’s a no-frills kind of place, but the food is hot and freshly prepared when you order. Give it a try!

A good place for a quick lunch meeting.

View Larger Map

Related posts:

1. Moving to Nashville
2. Thirth of July Street Party in East Nashville!
3. How to be a Hip Freshman in Nashville: The Rec

1. Watch the storm.
2. Keep working (yes, there was one of us doing this and it wasn’t me or Lou).
3. Sit atop a large rack of books and relax.
4. Tell ghost stories.
5. Look for flashlights.
6. Lament.
7. Train your eyes to see in dim light.
8. Look for leaks in the warehouse roof.
9. Use your cellular wireless to check The Tennessean and NewsChannel5.com for up-to-the-minute weather news and check on the power outage in Nashville at http://www.nespower.com/OutageMap.  As of 10:30PM last night, our area was still in red b/c there are more than 100 customers without power.
10. Lou constructed a nifty Boomerang type throwing device out of two sticks.  It didn’t return to you, but we wanted more of a frisbee anyhow.  Here’s a a How To of the basic design Lou made.
11. Throw awesome boomerang into the weeds behind Clifford where it could not be retrieved (you know who you are).
12. At 3PM, after the electricity does not return, leave for the Red Door Saloon with the BookFool.com crew and/or to Ugly Mugs with your preacher. I did both.

What did you do the last time the power went out?

Related posts:

1. BookFool’s 100% Return Guarantee
2. Hot Tomato Haiku Contest Winners 2009
3. iPod Touch: Accidental Chic

A few shots from the day:

Having some Laughs

Telling war stories

Learning the program

Truck talk

Related posts:

1. Manager Training Fall 2009
2. Scenes from Buyback Spring 2010
3. Scenes from Buyback Fall 2009