Tuesday Top Ten

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers create their own lists based on the chosen topics and post links to our lists. It’s a way of all sharing our thoughts and our love of books.  And who doesn’t love lists??

So this week’s challenge was to list the things that make my life as a reader and a blogger easier…

1. MY HUSBAND!!!  Without his support and understanding of my bibliophile ways, none of this would be possible.
2. MY KIDS!! My kids keep me young and keep me interested in new titles and genres that I might not otherwise be drawn to.  My son picked up The Hunger Games first…  And my daughter got me to read the Divergent series…  Our story times together at night also give me a chance to try out new children and young adult books and get reactions from a different audience.
3. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY!!!  Without this I would be lost and broke!  The ease with which I can get access to any book that I want to read, for free, is astounding.  As the director of a public library I also get to order all of our new books which makes my to-read list very, very long.  An occupational hazard!  😉
4. Other bloggers.  I love to see what others are doing, what they are reading – there is so much out there to learn from.
5. Goodreads and Shelfari.  I use both of these to track what I’m reading (only Shelfari has everything I’m reading – GoodReads just has what I have reviewed) and to look up information about a book that I may have forgotten by the time I write about it…  What was that character’s name again??
6. Audio books.  These make blogging easier because they allow me to experience some of my favorite series when I don’t have the time to read them all!  That leaves me time to actually read the stuff I want to blog about!
7. The gift of being a fast reader.  Luckily, I’ve always been a fast reader.  If not, there would be no way I could get through as much of my to-read list as I do (and the list never gets shorter!).
8. ARCs.  Whether hard copy (my preference) or e-book, it is always great to get a chance to get ahead of the curve and read and review something early.  It’s also a great way to try out new authors, genres, or series without making a commitment!
9. WordPress.  I know how to code in HTML and have developed websites before, but WordPress definitely makes it easier to get my blog out there, connect with other bloggers, and even keep on top of my blog via my phone.
10. Email lists.  OK, I get way too much email, but there are great lists out there that keep me in touch with what is coming soon, what is receiving good reviews, etc.