The Bare Necessities

The Bare Necessities

• Aug 20, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists - so it makes perfect sense that I'd love this feature!

Top Ten Things That Make My Life As a Reader & Blogger Easier

1. Goodreads / Goodreads App for iPhone

Okay, so I had to start with Goodreads because joining this site is what ultimately led me to start my blog. I first discovered Goodreads in 2010, and I immediately created an account. A website devoted to books? You better believe I was interested. I used it sporadically in 2010 - not really interacting with anyone and just adding read books to my shelves.

Then, in 2011, I finally started using it to keep track of what I read. That led me to adding friends, reading others' reviews, and finally... joining the book blogging community! I probably go to Goodreads at least once a day. I use it for so many things: checking a book's rating,  tracking my reading progress, seeing what my friends thought about books I'm considering reading, adding books to my wishlist, etc. I could go on and on! This is absolutely one of my reading and blogging necessities these days.

 

2. Kindle App for iPhone

While my Kindle certainly deserves its own spot on the list, in many ways, the Kindle app makes my life even easier. I love that I always have my books available on the go. I'm rarely without my iPhone, so it's been invaluable to have this app always within my reach. Whether I'm waiting for a meeting to start or standing in line at the grocery store, I can read a few pages without anyone even realizing it!

3. iPhone Camera

I'm addicted to taking pictures of books on my camera phone while out and about. I love browsing around the bookstore, but I usually end up looking at way more books than I can ever buy in one trip. If there are some books in my stack that aren't already on my wish list, I'll snap a quick pic so I can do some research when I get home and decide if it's a book I really do want to own. I'll spot books in a magazine, at Target, on Twitter... and it's so easy to just add them to my Books album on my phone. Once I add them to my Goodreads wish list (or decide it's not the book for me), I just delete the pic and snap some more!

Source

3. My Local Library

I am in love with my local library system. Y'all, I can't even begin to tell you how fabulous each of these libraries are, and the one pictured is the branch closest to me. The selection here is so awesome, and I'm constantly surprised by how many new releases are available on their shelves. My other favorite part is how easy it is to request a book if my local branch doesn't have it in stock. Consistently, as long as there isn't a waiting list, I'll have the book waiting for me on hold within a few days. Not to mention the fact that the library is clean and nice - a place where I'd actually want to sit down with a big stack of books.

My library also now offers ebooks and audiobooks for download online, and I'm in love with this option. While their online catalogue is still growing, I'm still so excited that this option is still available and is so easy to use! I love the library - it's introduced me to so many authors I may never have discovered before and gives me the opportunity to try books that I might be too unsure of to buy. 

4. Feedly

I wasn't really fazed when everyone was all in a tizzy about the end of Google Reader because I had been using Bloglovin' for as long as I've been blogging (which goes back longer than this book blog). However, all of the posts comparing different readers made me investigate some of the other options. I've only recently tried out Feedly (as in, within the last few days), but I'm already obsessed with so many of its features. It's clean, pretty easy to navigate and has some functions that were lacking in Bloglovin' but I've found really helpful now that my reader has gotten so out of control. It may look organized on the sidebar, but don't let it fool you. That's with a lot of "Mark as Read" clicks because I let it get crazy this summer!

6. May Books

I'm addicted to May Books in general, but I most often use my two blog-related ones. May Books are 5x8 in size, and they have soft canvas covers with stitched spines. You can completely customize them - from the pattern on the outside to the type of pages inside. I'm in love with monogramming things, so it only stands to reason that I'd love customizable notebooks, too. The two pictured here are ones I designed for my blog!

The chevron one is a calendar that I use to plan and schedule blog posts. There are month-at-a-glance pages where I can pencil in what I've got to post each day, which makes it easy for me to tell where there are holes in my blog content. I write down my scheduled posts on the weekly pages, too, but those also include release dates for review books I've got or just new releases I can't wait to read!

The zebra one has blank pages, and I use it to jot down all my ideas. Ideas for discussion posts, notes on a current read, brainstorming a new feature... this one has a little bit of everything! While I could probably keep track of this info on my phone or computer, there's just something I love about putting pen to paper.

7. Twitter

Oh Twitter! While it can be a total time suck, it's also helped me get to know my blogging buddies better and often helps me find new books and/or blogs that I ought to be reading! I'm still terrible about promoting my blog posts on Twitter, and I often feel like I have nothing important to say... but I still love it to keep up-to-date on what's happening in the blogging and publishing world.

 

8. iPhone Reminders

It may seem like this contradicts the May Books item on my list since I just said I like writing things down on paper. While that's still true, there are a few things I prefer keeping up with on my phone using the iPhone Reminders app. Using this, I keep up with two important lists: 1) books I've read and need to review and 2) books I've added to my shelves that month. Since these typically change frequently, I like having them saved on my phone rather than on a piece of paper. One quick glance, and I know exactly what reviews I ought to be writing!

9. Audible App for iPhone

I used to have the monthly Audible subscription, but I ended up canceling it after about six months. But let me explain why! I don't have that long of a commute to work (the only time I typically listen to audiobooks), and I went crazy when I first joined and bought a bunch of audiobooks during sales AND racked up a ton of classics that were free with a Kindle/Audible promotion.

When I looked at my Audible account and realized I had more than enough books to last me at least a year of listening (at the pace at which I listen to them), I figured I didn't need to keep doing the monthly thing. However, I'm still in love with this app and the website. Whenever I run out of the books currently on my account, you better believe I'll be back to stock up again.

10. Book Light / Kindle Paperwhite

Okay, no post would be complete without mentioning my e-reader. It's made my life easier in a bunch of ways, including the fact that I'm now able to carry so many books with me at a time and can easily stash this in my purse for on-the-go reading. But I'm including on the list today to highlight the light feature (as well as including my trusty book light) because that's what keeps this night owl up reading at all hours. It doesn't matter what time my husband wants to go to bed - these two things allow me to keep turning the pages for as long as my eyes and brain will let me! And, you know, when I ignore the fact that I have work first thing in the morning. Either way, yay for nighttime reading!