(I already had an ‘all in one’ social plugin, but it seems that you get better results on your site/blog score if you have dedicated facebook and twitter buttons.)
Mission accomplished!! If you use wordpress, all you have to do is go to your control panel and then to plugins. Then, go to ‘install plugins’ in the top right hand corner. Enter ‘Facebook Likes It!’ into the space and you’ll see where you can install it. After installing the plugin, click the activate plugin button. Then, go to your settings on the left sidebar and scroll down to Facebook Like It! to place the button where you want it to go.
Do the same thing for the retweet button and search for ‘twitter anywhere plus.’ Continue the procedure above. Now when you get to the settings for this plugin, you’ll see a link to follow for a twitter API key on the twitter site. Enter the information, and then you’ll get a code to use. You don’t have to enter this code. Instead, use the long number after id= in the code and put it in the box for the API key on the settings page. (Edited to add: if you want a shortened code to the url of your post you must put %u in the content box under the ‘retweet button’ section)
You’ll have to play around with the settings to get it the way you want it. Mine’s not perfect, as the facebook like button is above my linkin boxes and the retweet is below it, but oh well, I can live with it for now.
Also, please facebook like or retweet this if this post was helpful to you and you decide to use these features.
Sorry, I didn’t realize that my Mr. Linkys weren’t working for the last week or so, but everything’s fixed now on the challenge blogs. Let me know if you find one that isn’t, though!
You will not believe the amount of reviews I have to write. The list below isn’t even complete! I’ve seen some other bloggers ask for questions on certain books that they will answer in their review post, so I thought I’d try that out as well. Please help me get out of my review backlog quagmire by asking me some questions about the following books. I will be in your debt! I’ve put my star ratings for each book below so you can guage my general reactions. Please, ASK AWAY!!
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
We’re moving in a couple weeks (the first time since I was 9 years old), and I’ve been going through my library of 3000+ books, choosing the books that I could bear to part with and NOT have to pack to move. Which made me wonder…
When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?
Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)
And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?
I had to weed out when we moved to IA from KY. First I used PBS and bookmooch and mailed out any book that was wishlisted by someone. Most of these were children’s books. I ended up having 250 credits! That was when media mail was only $1.59, so even though it was expensive at the time, it was definitely worth it. Shortly after that it jumped up to over $2.00.
Then I gave several books away to my very small local library, some to Goodwill, and some I sold to Half-Price books. I estimate I gave away over 1000 books.
Then, I still had over 50 book boxes to move!
That experience has taught me to try to stay away from hardbacks, and to swap/mooch a book after I’ve read it — particularly if it’s on a wishlist because later on I might not be able to get rid of it.
I rarely buy books anymore. I use my library A LOT, and I go to Goodwill (books are only .59) and shop at library sales (anywhere from .10 to 1.00). That way if I did have to move again, I won’t have to feel as invested in my personal library as I once did. I still buy books like translated works from foreign authors because those are hard to find.
Weeding my books was a painful experience, but I’m convinced that even without a pending move, it’s a necessary evil every 2-3 years at the very least.
I love my library. Not only do they have most of the newer titles that I want to read, but they have ordered every single book I’ve requested they purchase. Then of course, I’m first in line to read it as well. Not that I expect my requests to be 100% fulfilled in the future, but I’ve been more than satisfied so far. A couple of weeks ago, I requested three books not in the system. A few days ago I noticed they were on my hold request list as ordered. And, because I usually have a good idea when a book is coming out, I’m also usually first or second in line for it if it is already on order. I couldn’t ask for much more. That’s why I feel comfortable not accepting ARCs anymore. I won’t have to worry about the new FTC guidelines, and I can still read for free most of the books I’m interested in. Yay!!!!! for public libraries. Oh, and the books I requested that are now on order:
The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
This past week, Borders re-released it’s 100 Favourite Books of All Time. Do you vote in these kinds of polls when they arise? Do you look through the list, or seek out books featured?
I do vote sometimes, and it’s always fun to do research on the ones I haven’t heard of. Like I really need to add to my TBR pile!
I love lists, so I couldn’t resist bolding the ones I’ve already read and asterixing the books I’m most interested in reading. This is from Borders in Australia, though, so some of the titles were unfamiliar to me. Still, it’s all in good fun. I’ve read 38 of the 100 on this list. I thought it interesting that I’ve read all but one of the top ten.
1. Jane Austen – Pride & Prejudice 2. Harper Lee – To Kill A Mockingbird 3. JRR Tolkien – Lord Of The Rings (I’ve read the first two books) 4. Jodi Picoult – My Sister’s Keeper 5. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga 6. JK Rowling – Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone 7. Audrey Niffenegger – The Time Traveler’s Wife 8. Markus Zusak – The Book Thief 9. George Orwell – 1984 10. Raymond E. Feist – Magician 11. Khaled Hosseini – A Thousand Splendid Suns 12. Paullina Simons – Bronze Horsemen 13. Gregory David Roberts – Shantaram 14. Margaret Mitchell – Gone With The Wind* 15. Bryce Courtenay – Power of One 16. Dan Brown – The Da Vinci Code 17. Dan Brown – Angels & Demons 18. Paulo Coelho – The Alchemist 19. Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eyre 20. Tim Winton – Cloud Street 21. Khaled Hosseini – The Kite Runner 22. Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights 23. Arthur Golden – Memoirs of Geisha* 24. LM Montgomery – Anne Of Green Gables 25. Joseph Heller – Catch-22 26. Elizabeth Gilbert – Eat Pray Love 27. Niv Mass Market Bible With Bible Guide – International Bible Society Staff and International Bible Society 28. JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit* 29. Yann Martel – Life of Pi 30. AB Facey – Fortunate Life 31. Douglas Adams – The Hitch-hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy 32. Lewis Carroll – Alice In Wonderland & Through The Looking Glass* 33. Diana Gabaldon – Cross Stich 34. Rohinton Mistry – A Fine Balance* 35. David Pelzar – A Child Called It 36. Li Cunxin – Mao’s Last Dancer 37. John Marsden – Tomorrow, When The War Began 38. Frank McCourt – Angela’s Ashes 39. Frank Herbert – Dune 40. JD Salinger – A Catcher In The Rye 41. F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby 42. Gabriel Garcia Marquez – One Hundred Years Of Solitude 43. Bryce Courtenay – April Fool’s Day 44. Ken Follet – Pillars Of The Earth 45. Patrick Suskind – Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer 46. Matthew Reilly – Ice Station 47. Carlos Ruiz Zafon – The Shadow Of The Wind 48. Stephen Hawking – A Brief History Of Time 49. Christopher Paolini – Eragon 50. Louisa May Alcott – Little Women 51. Mitch Albom – Tuesdays With Morrie 52. Jane Austen – Persuasion 53. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones 54. Ian McEwan – Atonement 55. Leo Tolstory – Anna Karenina 56. George Orwell – Animal Farm 57. Anthony Burgess – A Clockwork Orange 58. Antoine de Saint Exupéry – The Little Prince 59. Roald Dahl – Charlie & The Chocolate Factory 60. CS Lewis – The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe 61. Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Love In The Time Of Cholera 62. Bill Bryson – A Short History Of Nearly Everything 63. Fyodor Dostoevsky – Crime And Punishment* 64. Anthony Bourke – Lion Called Christian 65. Arundhati Roy – The God Of Small Things 66. Paullina Simons – Tully 67. John Grisham – A Time To Kill 68. John Grogan – Marley & Me 69. Vikram Seth – A Suitable Boy 70. Alexandre Dumas – Count Of Monte Cristo 71. Neil Gaiman – American Gods* 72. Cormac McCarthy – The Road 73. Aldous Huxley – Brave New World* 74. Brendan Shanahan – In Turkey I Am Beautiful: Between Chaos And Madness In A Strange Land 75. Tim Winton – Breath 76. Bryce Courtenay – Jessica 77. Graeme Base – Animalia 78. Donna Tartt – The Secret History* 79. Mario Puzo – The Godfather 80. Anne Rice – Interview With The Vampire 81. Steig Larrson – The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo 82. Stephen King – Stand* 83. Helen Fielding – Bridget Jones’ Diary 84. Eckhart Tolle – New Earth 85. Matthew Reilly – Seven Ancient Wonders 86. Jung Chang – Wild Swans 87. Nicholas Sparks – The Notebook 88. Bret Easton Ellis – American Psycho 89. David Eddings – Belgariad Vol. 1: Pawn Of Prophecy; Queen Of Sorcery; Magician’s Gambit 90. Louis De Bernieres – Captain Corelli’s Mandolin 91. Melina Marchetta – Looking For Alibrandi 92. Celia Ahern – PS I Love You 93. John Irving – A Prayer For Owen Meany 94. Colleen McCullough – The Thorn Birds 95. John Kennedy Toole – A Confederacy Of Dunces* 96. Terry Pratchett – Good Omens 97. Hunter S. Thompson – Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas 98. Joanne Harris – Chocolat 99. William Goldman – Princess Bride 100. Charles Dickens – Great Expectations*
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 1:20-21, ESV)
You will not believe the amount of reviews I have to write. The list below isn’t even complete! I’ve seen some other bloggers ask for questions on certain books that they will answer in their review post, so I thought I’d try that out as well. Please help me get out of my review backlog quagmire by asking me some questions about the following books. I will be in your debt! I’ve put my star ratings for each book below so you can guage my general reactions. Please, ASK AWAY!!
by Kathryn Stockett
by Jhumpa Lahiri
by Khaled Hosseini
by David Long
I love my library. Not only do they have most of the newer titles that I want to read, but they have ordered every single book I’ve requested they purchase. Then of course, I’m first in line to read it as well. Not that I expect my requests to be 100% fulfilled in the future, but I’ve been more than satisfied so far. A couple of weeks ago, I requested three books not in the system. A few days ago I noticed they were on my hold request list as ordered. And, because I usually have a good idea when a book is coming out, I’m also usually first or second in line for it if it is already on order. I couldn’t ask for much more. That’s why I feel comfortable not accepting ARCs anymore. I won’t have to worry about the new FTC guidelines, and I can still read for free most of the books I’m interested in. Yay!!!!! for public libraries. Oh, and the books I requested that are now on order:
