Good morning my pretties! It's time for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the lovely The Broke and The Bookish, and today's topic is Top Ten Bookish Websites, Apps, Organizations, etc. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it to ten, but we'll see...1. Goodreads - Now I feel like a hypocrite for even suggesting Goodreads, because I'm never on it anymore. But it is a pretty awesome website - you can add books to your "shelves", post reviews, make friends, join groups, etc. I used to use Goodreads everyday, but my job finally blocked it and I spend most of my online time at home doing bloggy stuff instead. I do still use to it keep track of my books though - I just don't get to take part in groups like I used to. If you join Goodreads, I highly suggest the Chicks on Lit group, as well as the College Students group.
2. Amazon - I love Amazon because I can almost always find the book that I'm looking for, it's usually way cheaper than it would be in the store, and I can get free shipping if I spend over $25. (Plus I love it for buying music & DVD's). The only thing I wouldn't use Amazon for is to look at the ratings of something. Amazon's ratings are usually skewed by a people complaining about the price, or typos. And the people complaining about the price are usually referring to the Kindle prices, but those reviews show up on ALL editions of a book. Use Goodreads for ratings instead.
3. Amazon App - I don't have a lot of apps on my phone, but one I use often is the Amazon app. It's really hand when I'm out & about and want to look up a release date for a book, or see what their price is compared to in a store. And occassionally I look at it for the ratings too, but that's only because I don't have a Goodreads app!
4. Paperbackswap - I love PBS. You can post your unwanted books on there and ship them off to others, and use the credits you get for that to "purchase" the used books that you want. I have over 90 items on my PBS wishlist, and I love when I get that email saying that a book I'm waiting for is finally available. And because I don't get rid of books very often, I just pay the $3.45 per book. I have SO much money this way!
5. Wordle - I don't know if it counts as bookish, but wordle is just a really fun time-waster. You type in a bunch of words, and it creates a pretty jumbled up picture of all of those words. You can change the font, colors, etc. But Wordle doesn't really let you save the stuff you make, so if you like it you should do a screenshot of it and then save it directly onto your computer. Try it, it's fun!
6. Collectorz.com - I daydream about one day finally splurging and trying out this book cataloging software! You can buy the package that comes with a scanner, and you can literally scan all of the books on your shelves to catalog them! It would be so much easier than me typing all of the info into my Microsoft Works datebase, since I have over 800 books and counting.
7. Amazon Kindle for PC - OK, those of you that know me also know that I am one of those obnoxious people that HATE e-readers. I think they will eventually be the downfall of real books and real bookstores, and I am very partial to my real books. I have however noticed something very annoying lately - a couple of authors that I like have recently released short stories that are only available in e-book format. So to be able to try enjoy these short stories, I've recently downloaded the Kindle for PC app. I purchased two short stories by authors that I like, one for $1 and one for $2.
***Authors, pay attention here - I would be willing to buy your short stories in REAL book format for $5, or even for the cost of a regular mass market paperback. Please don't cater only to the e-book crowd, it sucks. ***
I haven't actually read anything on the Kindle for PC app yet, because I'm saving those short stories for my Summer Mini-Readathon in July. But I guess I appreciate that I don't have to go buy the stupid Kindle to read these stories.
8. Borders (store and website) - I know a store probably doesn't count here, but I'm doing it anyways. Borders is my absolute favorite place to buy books. Sadly their selection has been kind of sucky lately, but I think that's part of the whole being-broke thing. I love the store though - I love the way my Borders store is organized, and I love the coffee bar. I LOVE my Borders Rewards Plus membership - I get 10% off of all of my purchases, I can earn Borders Bucks, and I get every 6th beverage free. For instance...
The other day I went into Borders and selected a baby book for my sister for $12.99, and a book I'd been wanting for $7.99. But I had a 40% off coupon to use on the baby book, plus I had $5 in Borders Bucks from shopping there a lot in the previous month, plus I got an extra 10% off with my membership... I only paid $10 and some change for those two books. I pretty much got my book for free, and still saved money on the most expensive book. How awesome is that??? Plus your membership and coupons are still usable on their website, and all Plus members get free shipping ALL THE TIME. Again, awesomeness.
9. JaneAusten.org - So, say that you're at your desk job and pretty bored. You're not allowed to read a book, but you've finished all of your work and are trying to kill time. How about you read a Jane Austen novel online? I encountered this problem about two years ago - I was so efficient at my job that I'd have an extra couple hours EVERY DAY with nothing to do. But we were allowed to go online.... see where this is going? I found this website and I was able to read the entire novel of Pride & Prejudice while I was at work on the computer. NO DOWNLOADING REQUIRED. So if you're bored at work, need to look like you're working, but want to read some Austen, then here ya go. My gift to you :-)
10. The Author's Attic - This website is ah-mazing. This website features jewelry to cater to lovers of Charlotte Bronte, Anya Seton, Diana Gabaldon, and Jane Austen. (Plus some other random jewelry as well). For the past three years, my wonderful honeyman has gotten me a piece of Outlander / Diana Gabaldon jewelry for Christmas, and this is where he gets it. So far I have Claire's ring, the Thistle pendant necklace, and the Da Mi Basia Mille heart necklace. I just have to decide which piece of Outlander jewelry to ask him for this year :-) So if you're a fan of any of the authors listed above, please visit this awesome website. Or, contact the authors and suggest other authors! I'd love to see a wider selection someday.
Holy crap I made it to ten! Yay me! Please, check out some of these website because they truly are worth visiting. And if you have a special bookish website you want me to check out, tell me about and leave a link in your comment!
