exercise 54

Books, Readers and Beyond: Exercise 54:  Social Networking Through Books

 

Exercise One

I am currently a member of the North Channel Book Club, which is an in-person book discussion group held at our county library branch on the fourth Wednesday of the month.  So far, it is the only experience that I have with a book club.  I enjoy the face-to-face discussions of the books that we read.  I am going to try out the online Teen Book Club this summer and plan to try out some more online book clubs.

Exercise Two

 

Since my library already has an active book club meeting here, I was thinking of starting a young adult book club.  I think it would be interesting to read and discuss the books that teens are reading these days.  I would like to have two versions of it: in person and bulletin board style available online.

 

As far as a book for the Book Club that meants now, I chose "the Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield.  (http://www.readinggroupguides.com/content/index.asp#)

 

For the teen club, I would like to start with "Shades of Simon Gray" by Joyce McDonald. (http://www.teenreads.com/guides/shades_of_simon_gray1.asp)

Exercise Three

The ratings for "The Thirteenth Tale" was similar on Shelfari and GoodReads.  Of course, the way that the ratings are presented are a little different, but overall similar.  There are good reviews and bad, and discussion.  I like the break down of information GoodReads provides. Shelfari shows the editions and whether or not "I should buy this." 

 

(But my favorite thing is the neverending literary quiz on goodreads.  It is soooooooo cool.)

exercise 54

Books, Readers and Beyond: Exercise 54:  Social Networking Through Books

 

Exercise One

I am currently a member of the North Channel Book Club, which is an in-person book discussion group held at our county library branch on the fourth Wednesday of the month.  So far, it is the only experience that I have with a book club.  I enjoy the face-to-face discussions of the books that we read.  I am going to try out the online Teen Book Club this summer and plan to try out some more online book clubs.

Exercise Two

 

Since my library already has an active book club meeting here, I was thinking of starting a young adult book club.  I think it would be interesting to read and discuss the books that teens are reading these days.  I would like to have two versions of it: in person and bulletin board style available online.

 

As far as a book for the Book Club that meants now, I chose "the Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield.  (http://www.readinggroupguides.com/content/index.asp#)

 

For the teen club, I would like to start with "Shades of Simon Gray" by Joyce McDonald. (http://www.teenreads.com/guides/shades_of_simon_gray1.asp)

Exercise Three

The ratings for "The Thirteenth Tale" was similar on Shelfari and GoodReads.  Of course, the way that the ratings are presented are a little different, but overall similar.  There are good reviews and bad, and discussion.  I like the break down of information GoodReads provides. Shelfari shows the editions and whether or not "I should buy this." 

 

(But my favorite thing is the neverending literary quiz on goodreads.  It is soooooooo cool.)

Books, Readers and Beyond #53 Finding Books Online

Exercise 1
WaldenBooks--yes- http://www.borders.com -A chain bookstore. Typical website, busy, cool "shelf" search. Colorful.
Family Christian Bookstore-yes- http://www.familychristian.com --A chain bookstore. Typical website, somewhat busy, easy to search for items.
Barnes and Noble-- yes- http://www.barnesandnoble.com -- A chain bookstore. Typical website. Busy, sectioned out, searchable.

Exercise 2

I chose Tamora Pierce's Woman who Rides Like A Man. It is available from Barnes and Noble's website (6.99 for a paperback, and 11.99 for a hardback) I found an audiobook version available at Hcpl.net


Exercise 3
I tried to download an eBook from the hcpl.net site, but it wanted me to download an Adobe edition. (I wound up just looking for an online edition of the book.) I found one copy of RObinson Crusoe at www.online.library.upenn.edu I chose one : HTML at Virginia. I have a hard time with reading materials on the computer screen. After a while my eyes are tired and I have trouble focusing on the screen. I find it also difficult to find a position where I am comfortable for long periods of time and I just can't shift around as easily while I am using my computer as I can with a printed book.

That's not to say that there aren't advatages to having a digital reader or eBook. The fact that you can store hundreds and thousands of books in a relatively small samout of space is a definite factor. Being able to access any book you have stored or can download to a portable device is wonderful. There are limited titles, however, though this won't be the case for long. Physical constraints are a minor drawback, as is the specialized software that may be called for with some formats. But the biggest concern for me, being in a part of the country where hurricanes can wipe out power for weeks, is that without electricity, you only have so long before you can't access your portable device.
Printed copies have their ups and downs too. Space and cost constraints can limit the storage and puchase of printed editions. Pages can tear, yellow or even burn. Printed copies are only as portable as what you can carry them in, so not as many can be carried at a time, thus limiting access to the titles you possess. There is something, though, to being able to turn the page, to go foward and back in the story that I prefer to reading online (where, yes, you can scroll up and down and back page.). I prefer to read where I am comfortable and sometimes that is too difficult when I have to consider my laptop. (I don't have one of those fancy readers.) I also like to read at the beach and the pool, so books have a definite advantage because I just can't bring myself to risk an expensive device to water or theft.
So while digitization has its benefits, I think I am going to stick to print.

Exercis e 52

Books, Readers and Beyond

 

#52  What to Read

 

Exercise 1--I like to read Suzanne Brockmann novels(It's my guilty pleasure).  I started with her Tall, Dark and Dangerous series (Think hot, hilarious SeALs) and moved on as she began the Troubleshooters. 

 

I began looking for read-alikes with NovelList Plus.  that brought me to Nora Roberts (as J.D. Robb), Linda Howard, Elizabeth Lowell, Fiona Brand and Matthew Reilly. (Amazingly enough I have read all of those authors except for the latter two. Plan to try them soon.)

 

Then I tried "What Should I Read Next," coming up with Julie Garwood, Genita Low, Johanna Lindsey (surprisingly), Rachel Lee, Jessica Hall, Julia Quinn, Sandra Brown, Elizabeth Thornton, Susan Carroll and Kathleen Eagle.  (I think this was too generic. Some of the ladies on this list write in a romance subgenre that I do not particularly favor.  There are some exceptions, but very few.)

 

Lastly I tried "If You Like (but which one?)" through the Library Booklists and Bibliographies link,  which gave me Susan Andersen, Fiona Brand, Beverly Barton, Justine Davis, Dee Henderson (I loved the O'Malley series), Linda Howard, Merline Lovelace, Lindsey McKenna, JD Robb and Kathryn Shay (Loved her series, too.)  

 

So there were overlaps in a couple of searches, but not so many in others.  I have found a few names that I can't wait to try as soon as my current stack of books has dwindled.

 

Exercise 2--- I went through Library Booklist and Bibliogrpahies to Children to Nature, Weather and Environment to Bibliogrpahy: The Real World to find Fce to Face with Lions by Beverly and Dereck Joubert, and An American Safari by Jim Brandebourg.

 

For her brother I used Novelist Plus, to locate tow titles, Ghost, Spooks and Spectres by Charles Molin and Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories by Paul Yee.

 

Exercise 3---I used NoveList Plus and came up with Greg Bear, John Sual and Dan Simmons.  I also used Library and Booklists "Monsters and Maniacs" and got Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Dobyns and Whitley Streiber.

 

Exercise 4--- The series she is reading is called "Song of The Lioness."

Alanna: The First Adventure is the first, In the Hands of the Goddess is the second, The Woman who Ride like a Man is the third, and The Lioness Rampant wraps it up as the fourth title in the series.  I used NoveLIst Plus to gather this information.

A Consumer's How To #43: Buying & Selling Online

I have used Ebay to buy things such collectibles and a 8Gb minidisk for my Mp3 player. I like it well enough. I really enjoyed looking at the stuff on Etsy. I haven't anything from this site, but I liked the different mash-ups they have that enhance the site by enabling users to search item by color, or location of the seller. I like all the sites well enough, but I honestly don't do that much media buying so I don't really plan on using Half.com that much. Amazon I would use only for books. Craigslist is kind of cool because it is fairly local but there are some horror stories about people being robbed or killed when trying to purchase items they find on the list.

I would love to sell things that I have made or things that I no longer need. It seems like a fairly straight forward way to make extra money. (Yes, I know it can really complicated too.)

I have used PayPal for all of my transactions on Ebay. The only problem that I have had is when I forgot the password and it took an inordinate amount of time to retrieve it. I had a hard time getting a response from them. Since then I have been reluctant to buy things through PayPal, but only because I can't remember the password. But it would not keep me from using it totally.

Going Green Part Two no. 41 (act. 3)

I think it would be easiest for me to start conserving electricity in my house. I have already begun replacing my regular light bulbs with the compact flourescent bulbs that last longer and use up less energy. I need to replace my older thermostat with one that we can program, but we already adjust it so that our house is comfortable but neither cold nor hot. We are constantly on the look out for air leaks that need to be plugged. We are also very good about getting the system checked and filters changed. One thing that I do need to work on is shopping for our energy and looking for better renewable sources of energy.

The one thing that I believe would require the most commitment (at least for me) would be to recycle items. It is so easy and yet it would be so difficult to remember to sort the stuff into the bins and take it to the recycling place. My area doesn't have the recycling pick-up like parts of Houston. Knowing what and what not to hang on to is a little confusing too. I looked at the chart on the http://www.obviously.com/recycle/guides/shortest.html page and it is a little wordy. Also, who knew that so much is actually BAD for recycling. I would still love to give a shot and encourage my family to do the same.

Staying Healthy No. 42

I looked up acupuncture on the National Library of Medicine's medline. Within ten miles of my own home there are 3 or 4 Acupuncturists.

San Jacinto Chiropractic Wellness Center
106 Massey Tompkins Rd.
Baytown, TX 77521
281.422.2004
Map and directions

Description: We implement safe and natural chiropractic care for the entire family. Our goal is to optimize the health and well being of our patients.
URL: http://sanjacintochiropractic.com/

4.52 miles from zip code 77562

Baytown Acupuncture Clinic
1600 North 5th St.
Channelview, TX 77530
281.427.1833
Map and directions

Description: Specializing in pain relief, weight control, allergies, asthma, insomnia, smoking cessation, paralysis.

Languages Spoken: Chinese (nonspecific)

4.88 miles from zip code 77562

Pain Clinics
Allergy Asthma Arthritis & Pain Center
4721 Garth Rd., Ste. G
Baytown, TX 77521
281.420.9886
Map and directions

Description: Allergy, asthma, arthritis & pain center. Board certified in internal medicine, rheumatology, chronic neck/back pain, headaches, auto accidents/personal injuries.

4.52 miles from zip code 77562

I also tried out the pill identifer at http://www.drugs.com/pill_identification.html. I found that it was fairly accurate at identifying pills. I tried several combinations of shapes and colors and it was interesting to me that there are gear- and figure eight- shaped pills.

I created a family medical history tree. I think it is an interesting mash-up of straight genealogy work and medical records. It would interesting to trace conditions, traits and diseases through the family tree across generations. It might even provide great information in the search for vaccines and cures for common ailments by providing a link to a person who might have shared their family cure-all with other members of the family.