Top Ten Tuesday #8

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 

This week's Top Ten topic: Top 10 Things That Make My Life as a Reader/Book Blogger Easier. This should be fun!

1. Goodreads! Though it also complicates it. I cannot tell you how much bigger my to-reads list got because of Goodreads. But it is a great resource for finding out about new books, getting ARCs through their giveaways, and keeping track of what I've read, what I want to read, et cetera.
2. Shelfari. It's a bit like Goodreads powered by Amazon. Some of you have probably seen my handy-dandy little Shelfari widget on my blog, listing the books I've read this year! It's made my blog so much more efficient. No more having this HUGE list of titles people have to scroll all the way down to the bottom to see what I've read recently. Shelfari keeps it all tidy - and people can see what the book looks like! It's also a great way for me to keep track of what's on my "reading now" shelf without having to get up and go to my library for a peek.
3. Youth Services librarians. They are another great source for new YA and Middle Grade books.
4. My pretty blue planner! Sometimes I forget when I have something scheduled - or when. So having a calender is nice, and it's also a great way to keep track of authors and fellow bloggers I need to stay in touch with - or blog tour sites.
5. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest. I am putting these all under one thing, because they are my networks. Still have to add Google+ to that list, and Blog Lovin'. My blog wouldn't be where it is now without networking, and these three have been great ways to gain attention!
6. Public library. Naturally, I don't buy every book that I have reviewed. I would have bought a lot of bad books this year if that was the case. If I like a book, I'll buy it, but I definitely use my local library for all it's worth. True, it means I'm a little late in getting some books in, but I would rather that than spending money on a novel I won't enjoy. And to be fair to the library, they do a pretty bloody good job of getting new material in on time.
7. My book bag! Wait, you say - how can a book bag make my reading/blogging life easier? Well, for one thing, it cheers me up and gives me a moral boost. Where does the moral boost come from? Because I made it all by hand, and I did a bloody good job. Also, because I made it by hand, I also customized it to my needs. So I can fit everything I need in there for a trip into town. I don't go anywhere now without my recorder, USB drive, reading light, notebook, special pen, and - of course - whatever book I am reviewing. And it all fits handily into my book bag - and it's still very compact!
8. No-slip bookmark. Seems like a pretty simple thing, but I really cannot expound the wonders of a no-slip bookmark. It's fast and easy to slip in between the pages, it doesn't constantly keep slipping further down the pages, and it doesn't get bent at all!
9. My Anubis Book. What's my Anubis Book? It's the book I keep all of my reviewing notes in. Yes, I write notes as I read. Why is it called an Anubis Book? Well, if you know anything about Egyptian mythology, you know that Anubis was responsible for weighing the hearts of the deceased before they entered the Afterlife. That's sort of what I do when I review books; I weigh their worthiness of being called literature. And because I write down what ultimately equals my opinion of the book's worthiness in this little notebook, it is my Anubis Book. :-)
10. And last, but certainly NOT least, my reading chair! Where would we bookworms and book bloggers be without our special reading chair? It comforts us and is witness to all of our emotions and struggles to write a review that conveys all that we thought of a book (which can sometimes be very difficult). I only recently acquired a proper reading chair (pictures will be up someday on my blog; they can, however, be found on my Facebook). I don't know how I did without for so long.