Download EBooks: Your Guide to Green Reading

Have you ever wondered how many trees it takes to print your 300-odd pages of paperback bestseller?

In recent years, the Green Movement has gained momentum to such a degree that green has become, in a word, "in". Different industries have made tremendous efforts to put the environment into their corporate social responsibility agenda.

Environmentalists can enumerate many ways that you can take part in this global movement for environmental awareness, but one major contribution that an avid reader - a certified booklover, bookworm, and bibliophile like you - can do is to begin shifting from paper-based publications to digital ones.

Remember when you first started building your personal library? Starting a book collection of paperbacks, first editions, special editions, hardbound tomes, signed copies, and rare finds is a gargantuan task, and once your collection has grown, it's even more difficult to part with it. Fortunately, this guide is not a die-hard fan of the uber-radical. What this guide suggests is for you to keep your library as it is...as well as to shift your focus from buying printed copies to downloading eBook versions of books that you want to read. You'll be surprised at how easily you can start building an eBook library from scratch - and how convenient the switch would be.

Why download eBooks?
There are other advantages to making the move from printed to digital versions. For one, thereare literally millions of eBooks to choose from, and, depending on the memory size of your reading device, you can own as much book as your public library. All of these books are readily available for you in a format that saves you precious space and waste: no clutter, and no guilt of wasting paper.

Another advantage of having a digital library is that you can organize your collection in an instant. This makes retrieval easier as well; you don't have to go through shelves and piles to look for one title that might have been misplaced. Also, there are no paper hassles, no clutter, no moth-eaten or torn pages, and no more vandalized covers. There will no longer be unreturned, missing or misplaced books. Best of all, no paper trail: you can horde as many eBooks as you like without the guilt of having a tree, or two, or three killed for your reading enjoyment.

Building an eBook Library
The good thing is that building an eBook library from the ground up is so much easier than starting a printed-book collection. For starters, there are millions of ready-to-download eBooks online. The web is replete with eBook versions of classics like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens to recent bestsellers like John Grisham and Anne Rice; you just have to know where to look for the best sites that can offer you the choicest versions.

For classics, you can start by checking out Project Gutenberg's enormous collection of fiction and nonfiction works using their user-friendly site feature that works just like any OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog). Bestsellers from major publication houses may be a little bit more difficult to find - difficult, but not impossible. At present, most publications offer digital versions of books that readers can pore over on their eBook reading devices.

Some online catalogs that you can visit include those of major publication houses like Random House and HarperCollins; bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Booklocker; and eBook websites like eBooks.com and Borders.com. Even developers of eBook reading devices like iPad and Kindle offer free eBooks to go with your newly-purchased device.

If you're the kind of reader who wants to explore books without bias towards genre or author, there are several indie publishers and self-publishers who showcase their fiction and nonfiction works in eBook format for little or no cost. There are many sites where you can download eBooks for free. The key is to keep the passion for learning alive and burning.

The trick here is to pick a reading device that allows you to read your favorite page-turner whenever you want, wherever you may be. If you had to spend most of your time on your laptop for work or academic reasons, it might be best to keep it simple: just install the latest Adobe Reader and download eBooks in portable document format (pdf). Portable reading devices like Kindle, iPad, and iPhone give you the same feeling as having a book lying flat open on your lap, but with additional features like digital bookmarks, marking pens, and text-to-speech software to enhance your reading experience.

Now that you know the basics, have fun building your digital eBook library!

Escape From the Land of Snows - A Peak Into the Struggle of Smiling Noble Laurate

A Nobel peace prize laureate, Dalai Lama lives in a compound atop the hills of Dharmasala, India a mountain town dotted with exiled Tibetans. No lama had ever fought a million communist Chinese, who were bent on stamping out Tibetan freedom, but his holiness not only escaped from the clutches of the enemy but he also has been able to set up a government in exile and involve the international community towards the Tibetan cause.

Born on 6-July-1935 as Lhamo Dondrub in a small farming family, at the age of two he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso after subjecting to series of tests by government search parties who used prophecies and omens to identify next leader. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.

At the age of four, he set out on his 3 ½ months journey to Lhasa from his home to learn the secrets of Buddhism and ways of ultimate power. Next 2 decades his holiness gained holy knowledge. The teenaged Dalai Lama remained himself. In 1950, battle trained 80K Chinese soldiers fought against 8500 badly trained Tibetan soldier. Tibet reacted with spiritual rearmament by reading Tibetan bibles at public ceremony. His holiness was ascended the throne at adolescent. He became the leader with no training in politics, leadership.But Buddhist scriptures provided him the inspiration and guidance.

Faith transformed the 14th Dalai Lama just as Tibet entered fatal crisis. There was little/no support from other countries.Eight years had passed by where Chinese were trying to convince Tibetans to accept alien rule. Aided by Buddhist scriptures and religious training, he was negotiating with Chinese and taking help from Americans (CIA). But Atrocities of Chinese army on Tibetans were increasing and all negotiations failed. China started its operations to capture Lhasa.

But his holiness escaped from Lhasa aided by his trusted men through the difficult terrain of Himalayas much to the surprise of Chinese and world leaders. For many days His holiness aided with men were crossing a Himalayan pass, the lower ones covered in thick mud from melting snows and the higher ones frozen in ice and snow. As the news of slaughter reached him, the wild temper he had worked so hard to tame returned to him. He closed his eyes and recited Buddha's teaching 'One's enemy can be its greatest teacher' to calm himself. A mythical solution was not available.

World powers negotiated and it was agreed that Dalai Lama would stay in India. India had granted his holiness the asylum. But his holiness did not want to enter India as a refugee but as a head of sovereign authority. So In front of monks, soldiers, villagers his holiness inaugurated a new government which had no country to administer.

After dropping of his holiness on Indian border most of the men who accompanied him went back to stop the Chinese troops who were coming to the border in search of him. The soldiers never returned. Dalai Lama still remembers the people who gave this great sacrifice. But Tibetans belief in the powers of his holiness, increased after his miraculous escape through the enemy/harsh conditions.

The freedom movement started from India. In exile 14th Dalai Lama modernized Tibetan culture in such a way that 13th daily lama could only have dreamt of. Some of the changes are:

1. Future dalai lama be religious figures and political power be given to elected representatives
2. Next incarnation could be women
3. Tibetan people could vote dalai lama out of office

Dalai Lama of today could be un recognizable to a Tibetan of 1930 or 1850. For centuries/generation Dalai Lama was an occult figure, hidden behind bull shouldered monks and object of extreme reverence. But 14th made himself ordinary and approachable as possible. The world is quite is home now and he travels it in a never-ending service to Dharma. Every refugee arriving in Dharmasala is granted an interview with holiness; it is a policy unchanged since 1959. That means his holiness had consoled thousands of men and women, bewildered, people with stories of persecution and loss

Buddhists believe that Dalai Lama perfected his gift for compassion in the course of many incarnations. Unbelievers may question that. But if you read books such as 'The Art of Happiness in a Troubled Water' authored by his holiness and psychologist, it reveals how his holiness shows that there are no magic bullets or secret formulas to solve problems but there are places to start with which are practical and some of them are proven scientifically..

The Dalai Lama's message of compassion has transcended Tibetan Buddhism and enchanted people of all faiths. For instance he says that spiritual practice does not mean doing an activity like reciting of prayers. But rather he says 'spirituality is a mental attitude' that you practice at any time. What he means is that if you get tempted to hurt someone then you should control yourself. Also if you get tempted to yell at someone or loose temper than we should control our mind and say "this is not the right way". So by doing such small spiritual practices we establish a peaceful mind, be more patient and be optimistic towards things.

Once his holiness was asked a question "If he was a free man after being in exile for 50 years", he replied 'mentally, yes" We can choose our own freedom by being honest within ourselves and expressing that honesty openly with others. Compassion gives you freedom to feel good about yourself and others instead of being a prisoner of anger and negativity. The Dalai Lama can inspire us all to inject some humor into difficult situations and shower compassion on ourselves and others. If at some point in our live, we meet a tragedy we can react in two ways

- We can lose hope. Let ourselves slip into discouragement, into alcohol, drugs, unending sadness

- Or we can wake ourselves up, discover in ourselves an energy that was hidden there and act with more clarity, more force

Whatever I wrote today about his holiness, is thanks to this book. When you find time you can read this book. More books written by his holiness and information about his moment can be see at the website of his holiness

Across the world there are so much problems due to the land for which borders have been created by humans. Human race have come together lot of time to fight problems unitedly. Hopefully Tibet Exile Government and Chinese government forget the past and arrive at a solution that will benefit the coming generations.