Shelfari

From the Stack(s): Intrigued

With my TBR list growing at an alarming pace it's crucial I make a concerted effort to get the stack(s) under control. These 5 books are likely to be next in line (assuming I can check them out of the library or break down and buy them):

1. Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets, by Sudhir Venkatesh
2. Atonement, by Ian McEwan
3. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, by Oliver Sacks
4. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah
5. The Ministry of Special Cases, by Nathan Englander

Que su leyenda sea feliz*!
Amanda

*Our Spanish speaking developer assures me this conveys the "Happy Reading" attitude more directly as 'may your reading be happy'. 

Widget gets better

Shelfari widget has been greatly popular since the first day we released it. Bloggers love its sleek look and the ease of installation. Today we made the widget even better. When your blog visitor hovers over a book in the widget, she’ll see a popup with your review of the book, your rating and the associated tags. If the visitor is on Shelfari she will also be able to add the book to her shelf with the click of a button. And even better, if she purchases the book through your widget you’ll get commission from Amazon, providing that you entered your Amazon Associate ID in the widget wizard. I hope you like the changes!

If you don't have a widget yet, you can create one from http://www.shelfari.com/widget.

Mike 

PS. You can turn the popup on and off from the My Widgets page

Readers in Thongs

Up for a challenge?  You have a lot of catching up to do!  Watch out for Road Blocks and take a breather at Pit Stops on the Amazing Page Race Book Challenge.  To learn more about Readers In Thongs visit their Shelfari group or blog.

Happy Reading,
Amanda

Worthy of a loan?

"Borrowers of books—those mutilators of collections, spoilers of the symmetry of shelves, and creators of odd volumes."

Charles Lamb (1775–1834)
British essayist and critic.   

Alas!  How often loaned equals lost.
-Amanda

Address to a Haggis: Remembering 249 Years

Robert Burns ~ 1759-1796

"His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
        Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
        Warm-reekin’, rich!”
(more from Address to a Haggis)

Inspired by a friend whose great, great, great, great grandfather was Robert Burns, I determined to dig deeper into the intriguing customs surrounding the celebration of his birthday.  This is assuming my stomach can handle all the haggis references, but I digress. 

Shortly after his death, friends continued to celebrate his birthday.  The festivities began with a special guest reciting Address to a Haggis while (you guessed it!) haggis was presented amidst applause and (lots) of whisky*. Oh, what culinary delights followed: Cock-a-leekie soup, Haggis warm reeking rich wi' Champit Tatties & Bashed Neeps, Typsy Laird and A Tassie o' Coffee.  Mmm--mmm!  While I enjoy the poetry, I hope Burn's fans won't be insulted if "one" chooses a pint and greasy burger or salad (depending upon your New Years resolution) in lieu of centuries old tradition. 

Here's to Rabbie Burns!
Amanda

*Apparently there is no "e" in Scottish whisky (my spell-check begs to differ).

Fantasy Author Gail Z. Martin's New Release

Fantasy author Gail Z. Martin discusses the upcoming release of her second book in The Chronicles of the Necromancer series.

 

One of the more surprising stories last year was the success of Gail Z. Martin’s debut novel “The Summoner”, which was a launch title for new speculative fiction publisher Solaris Books. Whether or not the author can do it again with her sequel “The Blood King” remains to be seen, but with the novel’s release date just around the corner I thought now would be the perfect time to give readers a chance to learn a bit more about Ms. Martin. (more)

 

Gail Z. Martin is part of a growing number of authors using social networking sites like Shelfari to market their books.  Thanks for mentioning us, Gail.  Good luck with your upcoming release!

 -Amanda

 

And they say kids don’t read anymore

Ingenious.  Leave it to a high school teacher to discover an innovative way to immerse students in great literature.  While many are complaining of an illiterate generation this teacher is making sure her students understand the importance of a good book.   And what, may you ask, is this brilliant idea?  

"I used Shelfari with my students last semester and it was GREAT. Kids who don't normally read at all were reading and posting great discussions. I have several other teachers in my school doing the same project with their students now.  I LOVE Shelfari and am completely addicted!"                                                                                      -Debbie                                                                                                                                                

Shameless promotion?  Perhaps.  Somehow I think parents, teachers and students will forgive us for this little bit of boasting. 

Happy Reading!
Amanda

Tell me what creative ways you’ve used Shelfari and you (or your grand idea) could be featured on our blog.

Shelf activity

The shelf is a great place for Shelfari members to explore book collections, but one thing that it’s been missing is the history behind it. We just added a new panel to the profile page which should give you an overview of the recent shelf activity of the person whose profile you’re viewing. Take a look:

Life-long obsession and a new role

It started innocently enough. Mom reading my favorite books aloud and encouraging weekly trips to the library. Books were fuel for my overactive imagination and a grand “escape” during time-out (is that really punishment?).  Junior high and high school saw me build upon the foundation, reading and collecting at every turn (so what if you only have $25 to your name, there’s always enough for a book).

During college, I resisted much of the required reading (perhaps “encouraged reading” would have worked better). Ironically I enjoyed reading the books I’d written papers on, but only after graduation.  Now my obsession with accumulating books far outweighs my ability to read them. And this compulsive buying + reading habit is undeniably ingrained in my DNA.  Help?  This brings me to my 2008 New Years resolutions: read 2 books per week, look for new bookcases and hit the ground running in my new position as Shelfari Community Manager.

*I'll explain more about my new role in the community in an upcoming post; what it means, how it's good news for everybody and why I'm so excited for it.

-Amanda

Get your shelf on the go

Have you ever been in a situation where you’re at a bookstore and you’re wondering what to get for your friend’s birthday? If so, we have good news for you. We just released a simple mobile site which will let you view your shelf and the shelves of your Shelfari friends on your mobile phone. Just go to http://m.shelfari.com in your mobile browser, type your email name and password and voila, you can access all of your friends’ wish lists. Or if you’re using Shelfari to keep track of the books you’re planning to read, just select “My Shelf” and scroll down to your “I plan to read” list. 

Happy reading!
Mike