NoveList-My Constant Companion #12 Completed

I sing NoveList's praises almost on a daily basis. This is probably the database that most surprises patrons who bring in lists of authors and titles but don't know "which came first" or those who have just discovered a new author and wonder what else they may have written. Searching by series has also been a popular request and with authors such as Karen Kingsbury, NoveList's arrangements by series is a major time saver. Patrons are impressed when I print them a list from which we can order titles and many actually keep them and bring them in the next time they visit so we can keep track of what they've read, what's on order and what's next.

One patron loves Stephen King and after exhausting all my ideas, we went to NoveList's Author Read-alikes where we came up with Neil Gaiman with whom I was not familiar. This is a terrific resource and I frequently encourage patrons to explore it!

Author Resources-Something to Bookmark! #11 Completed

I had not heard of the Book Report Network before, and believe that I'll use this frequently when helping patrons. Great biographies of authors, and the Books into Movies is good for letting people know what's coming up/out when.

Faithful Reader seemed misleading to me as I expected it to be a place for Inspirational titles, but most that I looked at were Historical Romances.

I would have to say that for myself, I'd be most likely to use the Reading Group Guides both for book clubs and for booksellers and librarians. I'm just a book club kinda gal.

Looking at the Biography Resource Center, I decided to check out a new writer I'm reading: Dorothea Benton Frank whose novels are set in South Carolina's lowcountry; a place my sister has visited on many vacations. Having grown up along the east coast "shore," I enjoy the descriptions of the beaches and the homes and lives lives along the water. Something that surprised me about this author is that she was "A one-time fashion buyer who traveled the globe in search of haute couture."

A Major Dose of Reality!

I have decided to work on my webolution as a means of trying to ignore what is happening in my home.....

After a wonderful vacation, I am now dealing with a flooded kitchen and living room. The carpet is torn up, 3 industrial fans are going ALL WEEKEND, baseboards have been removed and holes drilled into the wall in hopes of drying it out, the refrigerator is in the middle of the kitchen and the entertainment center is in the middle of the family room. Water is still seeping out from under the tile and has finally dried where it seeped through our foundation and down the driveway. I am waiting to hear back from someone who MAY be able to disassemble and remove our wood burning stove under which there is sopping wet carpet no one can yet get to, and STILL have not had anyone from the insurance company come out to look at the damage.

Mark is away so it was I who shopvacced all the water up before anyone came and used my steam cleaner to mop up as much as I could from the carpeting. Why do these things seem to happen when he's gone?

The upside is, I could have been gone with him and then it would have been 3 DAYS instead of overnight that the water ran.

I am no longer a happy camper.

Anyone for Coldstone Creamery???

EBSCO: I use it all the time! #10 Completed

Health conscious friends have been telling me I need a Vita-Mix blender after I just bought a WalMart cheap one a few months ago and have already had one broken part. Consequently, I thought this a grand opportunity to check out Consumer Reports on Blenders. While Vita-Mix had the highest rating at 85%, there was a Braun blender that was touted as the "best buy." At $400+, the jury's still out as to whether or not I'll be a Vita-Mix groupie.


Checked on Samuel Clemens after looking at the Book Lush's photo (which reminded me of SC). Interestingly enough, nothing came up under Clemens, Samuel but only when I changed to Mark Twain. Found some fun tidbits: (Penny might know this) He got his pilot's license in 1859. Was also challenged to a duel by a rival newspaper man and escaped to San Francisco rather than illegally participating in the duel.

There were 12 Biographies, and 246 Magazine and News articles on Mark Twain.

Weebly Wobbles (but it don't fall down)! #9

Okay, I'm sharing this one with reluctance. Had no idea what to do with a website; have no use for one at this point. But I played around and had some fun with it. I started with Google since I already had an account, but decided I liked the templates at Weebly better (besides I don't want Google to think they've got a monopoly going).

And, yes, I know my grammar isn't correct in the title. Some of us will get the reference and understand!