This is the review I wrote for this book on Amazon and bn.com:

Saving the World in Your Spare Time is the perfect response to this all-too-common excuse: 'I wish I could do something to help the environment/my community/charity/etc. but I just don't have the time/money/energy/etc.' Klotz expects her readers to have very full plates to begin with, and her multitude of varied suggestions reflects this. Whether you want to help the homeless, animals, the environment, your community, or a host of other causes, there is something in this book for you, regardless of how much you can commit. The section on charitable and philanthropic websites is especially useful in this day and age, proving that yes, it really does only take a minute to change a life. Perhaps more importantly, this book is very accessible. The guilt trips so common in other books of this genre are nowhere to be found. Saving the World in Your Spare Time is brief and direct, and Klotz's conversational tone gives the impression of getting advice from an old friend. I highly recommend this book.

This is a slightly different edition from the first copy I purchased - it's taller, wider, thinner (only 67 pages), and has no writing on the binding. However, the text and cover art appear to be the same.

Registered in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.

I'm starting a perpetual bookray for this book! Please PM me if you would like to join. I will edit this entry with any changes to the bookray.

The list as of April 26, 2004:

weeblet (Virginia)
SugarKane (DC)
Seferim (Maryland)
GuinevereII (New Jersey)
Zmrzlina (Massachusetts)
BunRab (Texas)
Xanocas (Portugal)
lim1bd (UK)
therubycanary (Maine)
Ebumu (New York)

The book has been shipped, so anyone who joins will be added to the end of the list and I won't be able to guarantee shipping preferences.

UPDATES, August 5, 2004: The original ray is finished, Ebumu's re-ray is finished, and LCBane is starting yet another leg! See this forum post for details.
ALSO: This book was mentioned on CNN! http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/28/pf/saving/willis_tips/index.htm

Released on Saturday, January 03, 2004 at N/A in n/a, Bookray Controlled Releases.

The bookray begins!

yip! as soon as i finish what i'm reading, i'll jump into this, and pass t on ASAP.

1/16- that's a pile of info! i'm going to copy down some of the resources, and get this off to sugarkane next week.
thanks!
BTW- foiled by yet *another* magic eye... :P

mailed 1/16

This book just arrived. Thanks for passing it on, weeblet. Nice image there by the way... >:) And thank you, Melydia, for starting this off in the first place. I'll read it and pass it on soon.

This is a quick and inspiring read. My favorite part was Chapter 2, the "Idea List", with helpful ideas ranging from composting and recycling to welcoming new neighbors to feeding birds to teaching someone to read. The ideas in here range from free or even moneysaving to expensive, and from taking a few seconds to requiring a commitment of months or even years.

It took some doing, but I saw the Magic Eye image. Awwwww! A tip: it helps to put something dark behind the postcard. The contrast with a light background can be very distracting.

Mailed off today to seferim. The Post Office estimates it will arrive by tomorrow.

Received yesterday and could not journal until now because my Internet was down! I have already started it-Thanks!

Recieved today from Seferim! Thanks a bunch. The book is slimmer than I expected, but it still looks great. I recieved it a few hours ago, but I've made my way to Chapter Two because I'm really excited! :)

I liked this book. I was expecting it to be thicker and a little more comprehensive on the encouragement and advice end. Nevertheless, it was inspiring and gave me some neat-o ideas. It's also a nice resource tool. I'm vice-president of my school's Environmental Club, so I marked down some organizations I wanted to check out. I didn't get around to visiting every single site listed, but I did take note of the links that appealed to me.

Thanks melydia for organizing this one! I couldn't get the 3D postcard image, though. My eyes never could grasp those things. *shrug*
--------------------------------------------------

Mailed to Zmrzlina in MA today. Enjoy!

I've only glanced through this but will read it through tonight. It looks like the best idea of all is the one that starts it...a volunteer workbook, journal really. I may just add that to my own website tonight. If so, I'll post a link here.

Thanks for starting this bookray!

This is a wonderful beginner's activism book. Give plenty of ideas and starting point. I have been researching all sorts of non-governmental and non-profit activity for many years so the information is too basic for me. I think it is more appropriate to the junior high or high school level than as an adult resource.

The workbook idea which caught my eye when I first opened the book isn't played out nearly as well as it could be. The answer to each of the 10 questions ends almost the exact same way..."if you don't want to do X then you should consider not doing Y." It would be better to not have the questions and just have an outline of the things that need to be considered before embarking on a volunteer effort. However, the idea of a journal has inspired me to start my own. It is just a very small loose leaf notebook that fits in a small purse or pocket that I have three focus points...literacy, agriculture (including food and hunger) and peace. Every time I think of something that might help in one of those areas, I will add a page with that idea and note the actions I take, and any results. The notebook will be scribbled and messy, but it will be the basis for an activism page on my website, which won't be scribbled or messy :-)

Thank you melydia for offering this book as a ring and thereby inspiring me to jumpstart my dormant activism.

Lightweight - mostly a list of ways to volunteer for organizations, and the organizations to volunteer for. However, it is handy having a chapter with all the names, phone numbers, and URLs of these organizations together - I've used it to go ahead and bookmark several, especially the "click to have the sponsor give money" type sites- there are more of them listed here than I had heard of.
If you're already an experienced volunteer at local soup kitchens and shelters and fundraisers, then there won't be much new information for you here, other than a few more names.
Very quick read; I got it today, I read it before going to the computer. It's taking me longer to bookmark all the web sites than it did to read the book. Anyway, I'm PMing the next person now, so I can forward it right along.

Release planned for Saturday, April 03, 2004 at Post Office in By Post, By Post Controlled Releases.

off to Portugal it goes!

Received it yesterday afternoon and read it right away.

A lot of the information is valid only for the United States, but has a lot of interesting ideas and sites. Is an interesting book, although I think is more appropriate for teenagers.

Received this in the post.

I'm glad that someone has written this book and that people are reading it, although I found it very America-centric and pretty basic. I don't think it had anything new to say to me.

I am contacting the next in line to post it on.

Thanks
Briony

What a small book on how to save the world! I guess it is all rather simple after all.

I love when I get bookrings I'd forgotten I joined.

Update 5/17. I didn't find much new information in this book for myself, but I hope that it helps others, and think it is a great thing for someone to have done. Other sites I would add to the great list of websites in the book are www.thehungersite.com and www.democracynow.org.

Thank you, therubycanary. I got this in today's mail and it's still in good shape (but the magic eye is gone!). I'll have a look through it. Meanwhile...

Update: Our founder, melydia, points out that this little book was discussed on CNN in July 2004. Cool!

With melydia's blessing, I've posted to the Forum to announce the continuation of the ray. Please PM me to sign up, and I'll add your name to a new list:

Saving the World Bookray, second leg

compscigirl in Ontario
LCBane in WV
you?

A trifle of a book, but useful as an a reminder and encouragement to do SOMETHING.

I was intrigued to learn that St. Jude's Ranch for abused children is no longer accepting recycled greeting cards. It seems they have received so many they can't store any more. Now they'd like us to send them labels from cans of Campbell's Soup.

One of my favorite causes is Amnesty International, which helps victims of government-sponsored and other abuse. Maybe I just missed it in the book.

And then there's Dragonfly's Delight, a NM charity that prepares thoughtful gift baskets for women recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

I'll mail it to compscigirl tomorrow (June 4)--DONE! airmail.

Arrived last week while I was away. Is now top of my TBR pile, so I can have it on its way again asap. Thanks Ebumu!

I was really glad for the chance to read this book. I liked the writer's style: no-nonsense and no-guilt trip. While I can't say I agreed with everything she had to say, there was enough useful information to make it worth the quick read it is.

Will send this on as soon as I can get to the post office...

Finally got to the post office today. This book is on its way to LCBane.

The book arrived yesterday. It's thin, so I will try to get it out on the forum and out in another bookray by the end of the week.

This book seems to have taken a rest with a bookcrosser. The original intent about a year ago seems to be that this book would continue in bookray status and was offered on the forum but then there have been no more updates to this books journal entries.

It is hoped by previous bookray participants that this book will keep moving and that a short stay with the Lost Book Island will help to get this book moving along once more. In the meantime, the Lost Book Island Resort would like to offer many services such as drink service by the poolside and a beutiful room with a view to rest in. It is hoped that this book will get that new journal entry very soon.