August 28, 2009 • reading •

TBIF: Thank book/blog it’s Friday! This week in bookishness

BOOKKEEPING: The Reading Status Report


By the Numbers:

  • Book reviews posted in 2009 so far: 28
  • Books read for the RYOB 2009 Challenge: 12 (goal is 20)
  • Books received for review in 2009, to date: 30
  • Books acquired in 2009, to date, from all sources: 97 (!) (Evidently, receiving review copies of books is not having the slightest detrimental effect on my book-purchasing habits!)
  • Books in the LibraryThing “To Read” collection: 229 (That number is going in the wrong direction. Oh well!)

Currently reading:
The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel by Garth Stein (for the RYOB 2009 Challenge)

Teaser: “What Eve said was not out of line, as most dogs cannot help themselves; they see an animal running and they track it and they go after it. But that sort of thing doesn’t apply for me.” (page 36)

New books for the Wishlist:
The Favorites, by Mary Yukari Waters
In the Heart of the Canyon, by Elisabeth Hyde
More Than It Hurts You, by Darin Straus

Tuesday Thingers, hosted at Wendi’s Book Corner: “Updating Books in a Hurry!”

Wendi says:

Last week I was looking for a quick way to update some tags on Library Thing, so I went to my ‘Your Library’ tab and started looking at the different views. I accidentally clicked on the covers link and viewed all my books simply by their cover. I decided to click on one to add the information I wanted to. . . after adding some tags and hitting the save button, I was AMAZED that I was taken right back to my cover list! I was then able to click on a few other pictures to add some more tags quickly and easily.

I thought I’d share this in case anyone was not aware of how quickly you could edit your existing book information simply by going to your book list. 🙂

Questions: Were you aware that you could edit the book details from the cover images under Your Library? Do you have a quick way you like to update books that are already in your library? Do you have any topics/areas you’d like to explore on Tuesday Thingers or general blog/book topics for the coming weeks?

My Answer:  I don’t think I was aware of that functionality in LT, because I usually prefer to use the List view for my library; there are certain items you can update right there without going to the book itself at all. But I tried out Wendi’s tip, and it’s pretty cool. When you click on a cover, it opens up a pop-up window with the links that will take you to the book details and editing screens. I’m not sure it’s faster, but it is effective, and it does give you a different perspective on your collection.

If I’m updating info for a book I’ve recently added to my library, the link may still be in the “recently added” section of my LT home page (if you don’t have that module on your home page for some reason, I highly recommend adding it; click the “customize this page” link near the top of the page, next to your name and profile picture); in that case, I go directly to the book info from there. If I’m not sure exactly how long I’ve had the book, or I know I haven’t done anything to it recently, I’ll use the search box to find it quickly rather than comb through my collections. Generally, I find editing and updating in LT pretty painless, once I locate the book I’m looking for.

Booking Through Thursday: “Recent Fluff”

btt button
What’s the lightest, most “fluff” kind of book you’ve read recently?
The obvious response to this would be something “chick-litty,” but I actually haven’t read all that much of it this year, and what I have read hasn’t been exactly cotton candy. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown and Jessica Shattuck’s Perfect Life weren’t particularly heavy reading, but they both had statements they wanted to make about contemporary upper-middle-class society; I don’t think either of them was entirely successful, but for me, the intent takes them both out of the “fluff” category. I enjoyed Certain Girls, as I’ve enjoyed all of Jennifer Weiner’s novels, because – pink covers aside – I don’t consider her books to be lightweight. They’re fun, and funny, but they’ve got some depth.
Having given it a little more thought, I’d say that my lightest recent read is probably as far from chick-lit as you can get, given that it re-interprets a Shakespearean tragedy. But when Christopher Moore takes on King Lear in Fool, tragedy becomes pretty darn funny.

Friday Fill-ins #139

Serendipity

1. He was a two-bit player in a one-horse town. (I have no idea what I mean by that, but I like how it sounds!)

2. The resumption of normal – that is, awful – commute traffic is what I look forward to with the most dread this time of year.

3. My best friend has to put up with a lot.

4. I hope it won’t upset you if I try to be honest with you.

5. Appearances can be more important to some people than the facts.

6. The last person I gave a hug to was Spencer (when he said goodnight).

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to ??, tomorrow my plans include ??? and Sunday, I want to ????
(I’m not actually sure what’s going on this weekend, but I’m taking today and Monday off from work. Things are slow at the office right now, and I have lots of blog and BBAW stuff to do!)

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9 comments

  2. I have the same problem – I keep buying books even though I have more than enough to read. I buy paper books instead of Kindle books for some odd reason.

  3. Hope you are enjoying The Art of Racing in the Rain. It was a book that grew on me as I was reading it. The racing turned me off a bit but I was over that by the end.

  4. Madeleine – Thanks for stopping by!

    Kathy (Bermudaonion) – I don't think that the Kindle will stop me from buying "real" books, although I'd have a lot more room around the house if it did!

    Ti – I like it; I'm about halfway through it. I actually don't mind the racing/driving stuff, and I love Enzo.

  5. You're right #1 does sound good! I loved Racing in the Rain and the author is so great to chat with online. Hope you enjoy!