I recently reard and then saw on Oprah yesterday that it uses electricity to keep appliances plugged in even if they are turned off! I'd like to brainstorm a bit about how we could easily unplug things. Would a surge protector turned off accomplish it rather than having to go by hand and unplug?

As for books my library always has a huge shelf of books for sale for 25 or 50 cents and magazines for 10 cents which is a great deal if you like to keep your books. Ebay, half.com and Amazon also have great deals on used books if you are looking for a certain title. Great thread.