goodreads vs. shelfari

I love online communities. Most people find them stale and uninteresting, but I think they're awfully fun. You can join groups, take quizzes, fill out profiles, and add 'friends'. You're probably thinking of Facebook and Twitter, right? Certainly those are the major ones on the internet right now, but what about a networking site that's all about books? Whaaaat?
It's actually quite interesting. I'm going to focus on two particular sites: Goodreads and Shelfari. Here are some photos to demonstrate:

Here's the goal of these websites in a nutshell: to help you organize the books you've read, write short reviews and rate them between 1-5 stars, compile a list of books that you want to read, and connect with friends over reading. I've got an account on both sites, so I can go at this fairly.

Goodreads:

Here are the good things about it:

-It has more of a community feel, with tons of groups to join, book polls to vote on and quizzes to take.

-You can browse through pages and pages of quotes, and add them to your personal collection. 

-It encourages members to add their own writing, and to critique others on their writing.

-There's more emphasis on 'friendship'.

-There's something called a 'book swap', in which a person puts some of their books up for 'swapping'. You request it, they ship it to you, you pay for the shipping, and viola! You have the book.

Some bad things:

-It's kind of hard to navigate around in... 

-It's tough to find and add books to your library.

-Once you get them, it's difficult to view them.

Shelfari:

Good things:

-This site is generally much easier to move around in. Plus it looks much cleaner and simpler.

-It has a virtual shelf on your profile, on which the books you added rest (something that Goodreads lacks).

-The books are divided into three sections: I've read, I'm reading now, and I plan to read.

-It's very easy to add, rate, and review books.

-You can 'favorite' books, which automatically puts them on a specific list.

Bad things:

-There's nothing for writing... :(

-The profile options are somewhat limited.

If you've read thus far without falling asleep, let me summarize what I think of the sites:

Goodreads is a community-centered site with great ideas, but a lot of the time it's poorly executed.

Shelfari is a more book-centered site that looks much better and is easier to navigate around.

If you're a book lover, I urge you to check these out! Like I said, I am a member on both, so do add me if you make an account on either :)

Shelfari account. Goodreads account.

I am such a nerd

So. This was an experiment.

I've seen these types of videos before: a compilation of photos set to music.

You would honestly not believe how long it takes to make one.

Or maybe it's just me. I try to get the timing of each picture right on the beat of the song.

Ha. That's not happening.

Anyway, just watch this video I made. I do hope it makes you smile :)

By the way, look for parts when the lyrics are matched up to certain pictures.

Example: Picture of the Von Trapps to "You make me sing"...

god rest ye merry people

Snow has been piled up on the sides of driveways, breath has been released in puffs of chilly, visible air, scarves have been knitted, cookies have been baked, and holiday secrets have already slipped from the lips of clueless children. Teens are franticly exclaiming over their bad gift shopping skills and their lack of money. "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer" are being watched with dedicated excitement.

Guess what? It's Christmas time! :) December the 25th is bouncing merrily in the very near future, and meanwhile, we get to have the fun of preparing for it. After all, the preparation is the best part, right? Advent calendars tick down the days, but the focus is on the fun of doing the calendar, not the last day.

I love the Christmas season for another reason too: things that sit around collecting dust the rest of the year are used enthusiastically at this time. The Christmas tree (that is, if you have a fake one like we do), the ornaments for the tree, the special Christmas books, the light-up reindeer, the cookie cutters shaped like the Abominable Snowman, and even the jolly old people who pretend to be Santa at the mall. And the Nativity scenes set up on front yards and in front of churches, to remind everyone just what Christmas is all about.

Sigh. Christmas time is just… lovely. And to leave this post…

“Have a holly, jolly Christmas… and in case you didn’t hear, oh by golly have a holly, jolly Christmas this year.”

what I'm thankful for

Thanksgiving draws near, and, as we are constantly reminded throughout the Week of Turkey, there are so many things we take for granted in our day-to-day lives. So many things to be thankful for. Of course, what immediately springs to my mind are the big things- my family and friends, my house, my cat, my church. Then food gets thrown on the list as I devour cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
Certainly, these are all things to be grateful for. Heck, they should be at the top of the list.
However, I was recently pondering several smaller things that don't make the cut. They're not as significant, to be sure, yet if you think about it, we really are indebted to them. At least I am.
I compiled a list for your convenience, as seen directly below these words :)

| Pillowcases. Or, as I like to call them, Exchangeable Pillow Shields. (a) When they get dirty, you throw them in the washing machine. No need to wash the pillow. (b) They come in thousands of colors and patterns. Room makeover just another pillowcase away. (c) They can transform into a large sack, to keep stuffed animals, PJ's, and goodness knows what else in for a sleepover or long road trip. Useful? I think so.
| Sporks. Now I know this is random, but I really fall in love with restaurants that have sporks. Especially Chinese places. It's like, the waitress hands you chopsticks, and you die a little inside. Then you unroll the napkin, hoping to find some utensils... and YES! A spork! Now you can capture the meat and scoop up the rice in one bite. Score.
| Pixar movies. I love 'em with a burning passion. I cry bucketloads of tears watching almost all of them. Again and again. It never fails. But I also laugh at the clever jokes and marvel at the incredibly detailed story lines. Again and again and again. Pixar is a shining light in an age of generally cruddy movies. Thanks, Pixar!
| Comfortable hoodies from Target. Seriously, they've saved me from freezing numerous times.
| Mechanical pencils. So much more convenient than regular pencils. Always sharp. They sell in lots of colors. Sometimes they come with special, colored lead. As an added bonus, they squeak on certain types of paper!
| Jo from Little Women. I know it's extra super nerdy, but I love Jo. She's such an inspirational character for me. She's a writer... she struggles with scenes, she thinks about her characters 24/7, once she even lost an entire manuscript (been there, done that!). She's clumsy and sometimes she feels like she doesn't fit in. She's overly dramatic. She's hungry all the time. Yeah, I like Jo.
| Alarm clocks. I'm honestly thankful for alarm clocks. If alarm clocks didn't exist, I'm positive I would show up to every class and every church meeting quite late. Even though I want to destroy them in brutal ways sometimes, alarm clocks have saved me (and, I'm sure, countless teens) in the mornings.
| Picture frames. Think of the alternative. Taping pictures to the wall, tacking, gluing, velcro-ing them? Give me a picture frame aanyydayyy.

So, yeah. Just a few things that popped into my head. I would encourage you, yes YOU, to think about it. What are some small items in your life that you're grateful for?
Enjoy turkey! :)

typewriters

Back before there were computers with keyboards, there were typewriters.

I love them. A lot. I love the clicking sound the keys make. I love this font that the ink conforms to on the new, white sheet of paper. I love how you have to push back the carriage return every time you finish a line. I love how, unlike computers, there's nothing else to distract you, like email or YouTube videos... just you, the typewriter, and your ideas. There's the simple factor as well; you don't need a charger cord, you don't need any internet connection, and you don't need to download Microsoft Word for a couple hundred dollars.

I don't know. Maybe I'm a nerd, but I find it extremely appealing. Or maybe it just seems like a very writer-ish thing to have. Anyway, I really want to get one ;)

dressing up for halloween

Now, Halloween. October 31st. That creepy 'holiday' with jack-o-lanterns and plastic skeletons and the 'paint it yourself!' wooden cutouts of witches and ghosts from Michaels. Oh yes. It's so pleasant to see all those things on my neighbors' lawns a month preceding the actual day. And then the actual day comes, which means trick-or-treating little kids and toilet papering teens. Sigh.
We never did any of that as a family, because there was the Harvest Party at church. That was quite fun. Free candy for playing games? Heck yes! And this year, I am able to help.
There's a catch, though. I have to find a costume. Now, I loved dressing up when I was yea high (sp?). But I've grown out of all my princess dresses and my colonial nightcaps, you see. To what do I turn?
A ninja in disguise.
Yep. Like a superhero in disguise (Peter Parker?) I shall subtly show off my ninja skills to the small children, while balancing it out with a friendly, nerdy disposition. It's incredibly creative, I know.
Speaking of creativity, my brother has decided to go as Buddy the Elf, yellow tights and all.
...heh. So, do tell me what you think of ninja idea. I think it's brilliant, but everyone is entitled to their opinion...