Tuesday 28 June 2011

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Bookish Websites, Organizations, Apps. Etc.



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish which I am taking part in. 

Due to my wife being induced last week I didn't post anything but luckily at the moment my newborn is asleep so I have some time to post this week! Anyway this week's top ten is about the top ten book related sites or apps that I use. As I am new to book blogging I doubt I have anything original in this list compared to other bloggers but I will give it a go anyway.

Goodreads
I have to admit I had never actually heard of Goodreads until a few weeks after I set up my blog. I really enjoy using it to help identify some good books to read and there are some great groups and communities there to get involved in. But I also like the fact that it lets me easily organise what I have read and what I plan to read.

Amazon UK
When Amazon appeared in the UK all those years ago it was amazing to me, no longer did I have to go and request books through bookshops that could take months to arrive. Now I could get something delivered to the comfort of my own home within a week at a lower cost. Also, with the UK Kindle store now also in place I felt happy to buy a Kindle and enjoy the space saving powers of an e-reader.

West Lothian Library Portal
I love reading but I can't always afford to buy a new book so the Library is used to provide my reading pleasures. This website enables me to check what it is availble in the entire county and arrange for books to me transferred to my local library for pick up. All this from the comfort of my own home!

Book Blogs Ning
The first community I joined upon starting a blog and one that has constantly proved helpful in enhancing my blog and understanding the wider community as a whole. I don't think I would have gotten anywhere in the world of book blogging without the people here.

Netgalley
This has proved to be a superb place for bloggers to get a hold of various ARCs to read and review. To be honest I don't use it that much as a lot of my reads tend to come from Indie authors but now and again I like being able to review an ARC from the publishing houses that use this site.

Twitter
I never used Twitter until I started book blogging as it didn't really interest me in any way. However, it has proved a very good tool in reaching out and talking with like minded readers, authors, publishers etc.

Kindle Iphone App
I don't really like reading on my Iphone as it is small and has a backlit screen. However, there has been times where I have been stuck with only my phone to keep me entertained. The Kindle app lets me read all the books I have bought on Amazon even if I don't have my Kindle with me.

Project Gutenberg
I actually have a blog post discussing Project Gutenberg here. Basically this site is a collection of novels in various e-reader formats that have expired copyrights. It opened up so many classic books to me that I never thought about buying and I am hugely appreciative.

Ebay
A godsend for me in finding books that aren't in my local library and are expensive to buy on Amazon. I have found many out of print books here for superb prices.

Baen Free Library
Free Ebooks from Baen that are Sci-Fi/Fantasy based. Not all of them are great but some are rather fun and have introduced a few new authors to me.

Anyway, please post any of your own favourite sites/apps and let me know if you think any of them may appeal to me.

2 comments:

  1. Project Gutenberg is a good one I forgot about. I do like that there's a group transferring all these books into Kindle formats for free ( I don't know if it's the same group).

    And congrats on the baby!

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  2. @Ellie
    Thanks for the congrats! I seem to be getting okay amounts of sleep at least :-)

    Project Gutenberg do produce mobi formats that can be used on the kindle. I know because I got most of the Sherlock Holmes collection from there.

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