Got that book inside you that you've always wanted to publish? Love to make something more of your travel shots? Blurb is a company that believes in the power of books.

Founded by Eileen Gittins in 2004, this publishing service can make an author of any would-be novelist, travel writer, or poet wishing to create and distribute affordable, bookstore-quality books. The company's BookSmart software application makes it possible to create a professionally-designed book using simple dragging and dropping of photos and auto-flowing text in about an hour.

Blurb recently announced that its new BookSmart beta release version 1.5 is available for download at www.blurb.com, (for Mac and PC) enabling customers to create soft-cover books and slurp blogs from any TypePad or WordPress account. And it's cheap! Prices start at just US$18.95 for up to 40 pages, while a whopping 440 page hardcover book costs just US$79.95