How to Sanitize Used Books

At local libraries and during garage-sale season, used books for sale abound. For the ridiculously low price of, say, ten cents, you might be able to snag a hardcover classic like “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” or timeless gems like “The Joy of Sex” and “Cooking with Julia Child!”

 But the joy of augmenting your book collection may be quenched when you consider the germ-factor. Just how many filthy fingers have been on this book?  

Fortunately, there are simple ways to sanitize books. You can protect yourself and your family by doing the following:

Vacuum out the Pages

If you have an attachment hose on your vacuum cleaner, use it to suck up excess dust from old books. Simply hold the hose to the book with one hand, while flipping the pages of the book with the other. The fanning of the pages will release dust lurking on the pages. Remember to set your suction to the lowest setting to avoid yanking out the pages.

Get Some Help

For the hard-to-reach areas near the spine of the book, try using an air duster. Air dusters, originally used for cleaning PC keyboards, are aerosol cans of compressed air that offer an effective, thorough cleaning method. The narrow pin on the can’s top is tiny enough to fit into places average-sized fingers cannot. At less that $3.00 a can, they’re inexpensive enough to buy in bulk and keep on hand. Find them at major office-supply stores.

Soap and Water

While water damages a book’s pages, it can actually help restore a book’s cover. Combine warm water with a dime-size of mild detergent (Try not to make suds or bubbles). Use a cotton cloth to wipe away both dirt and dust from the front and back covers.

Chill Out

Just as warm temperatures foster the growth of bacteria, cool temperatures have an opposite effect. Store old books in a cold sunroom or attic for a day or two to halt burgeoning bacteria. As an added bonus, this method will usually get rid of any foul odor the book might be harnessing.

Be Careful

It’s important to remember that water, humidity and sunlight are the enemies of book pages. Also, never use harsh chemicals like bleach or ammonia when trying to clean a book. Such cleansers will only accelerate any damage the book has already undergone.

By E. E. Kelley

Are you worried about your lack of sleep? Maybe you don’t need as much as you think.

Paul Kern was a Hungarian soldier during the First World War. While in battle, he suffered a gunshot wound to the frontal lobe of his brain. Though the wound didn’t prove to be fatal, it did prevent him from ever sleeping again. Physicians and Psychiatrists were baffled by this mystery. They tried drugs, acupuncture, sedatives and hypnosis; but none could get Mr. Kern to even become drowsy, let alone fall asleep. None thought he would live long, but he fooled them all. Not only was he able to have a career, but he also lived in good health for years.

This medical mystery, needless to say, rattled experts, causing them to question everything they thought they knew about sleep. It made them inquire if sleep is really something we all need.

Although most insomniacs spend their sleepless nights worried about the lack thereof, studies prove having insomnia can actually be good in at least a handful of ways:

1. Your Work: Work is a competitive arena; an area where ambitious souls not only put in fourteen-hour days, but where they pack toothbrushes into their desk drawers for those nights when going home simply wouldn’t make sense. When sleepless nights take hold of you, use those hours to read or do research. That way, by the time most people are waking up to go to work, you’ve got almost a full day’s worth under your belt already.
2. Your Relationship with a Higher Power: In the King James Version of the Holy Bible, the word early appears eighty five times. In Psalm chapter sixty-three verse one David cries, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee.” The wee hours of the morning are ideal for prayer and meditation because it is then that we have no noises or distractions to keep us from hearing the voice of God.
3. Your Creativity: In a 2006 issue of the Creative Research Journal, a study was conducted comparing sleep habits of highly creative children with a control group of children. The research indicated a significant difference between the two groups with the creative bunch reporting higher sleep disturbances. If Insomnia and creativity are correlated, embracing the inevitable and using it to hone your craft proves far more beneficial than walking the floors at night.

Sam Untermyer, a famous lawyer and insomniac said on the subject, “Nature will take care of itself.” And he was correct. A body requires sleep even before food and water. Therefore, rest assured that if you were truly exhausted, sleep would not escape you.

I’d wear more jewelry than clothes,

Even an earring in my nose,

I’d wear fishnet pantyhose,

and red and rhinestones on my toes.

I’d slather on oil til my skin glows,

 and adorn my bald head with beads and bows

     Did I mention I’d wear more jewelry

than clothes

if I were free

to be me?

May 4, 2007

As temperatures grow warmer and city residents more restless, gun violence increases on the streets of Detroit.

Last evening on the city’s northwest side, 20-year-old Michael Parker and 19-year-old LaKeesa Jones were gun down in front of their own home. They were high school sweethearts, neighbors say, and had two children together. While the couple’s children were not at home when the violence occurred, many other youngsters witnessed the shooting.

One onlooker reports, “The kids were in the backyard playing in the pool. All of a sudden, we all heard gunshots, so we ran to the front of the house. I didn’t see who pulled the trigger but I saw a black van speed away. And the bodies were left bleeding in that driveway over there.” He points to the bloodstained pavement.

Family members and neighbors have created a memorial to the couple – a collection of teddy bears, flowers and candles – to honor the memory of the deceased. While gestures such as these are sincere in their intent, they are largely inadequate to quench the grief of this suffering community.

Unfortunately, as with too many homicides in the city of Detroit, the suspect is still at large. Police promise they are doing everything they can to catch the killer. Having no eyewitnesses and no clear motive, however, they have little with which to build a case. Still, police urge anyone with any information to come forward immediately.

Bullet shells from the .40-caliber Glock semi-automatic pistol still litter the street on this 12000 block of Gainer. Perhaps stunned that the crime was committed in broad daylight, or shocked that yet another murder has occurred, residents of this community simply sit on their porches, wait and wonder.

This is the fourth incident of its kind to occur during the last 3 months.

Contact E.E. Kelley at e.e.kelley@hotmail.com

I don’t have long hair or wear size three;

I don’t have lush lashes, I’m not six feet tall;

I’m not pretty at all.

My complexion is dull, my lips are thin;

I pray true beauty really comes from within;

Because there’s nothing at all that’s special about me;

I embody mediocrity.

To cheekbones, lips and eyes, I add color,

then emerge, confident, to search for a lover;

but all my efforts are in vain.

All I am is plain.