My New Toy

I got a new toy. Well, actually, it is a reading accessory. I was reading blogs and saw a bookmark that could keep track of the time spent reading mentioned. That intrigued me.

I recently participated in a couple of read-a-thons when knowing how much time I actually spent reading would have been useful. I wandered over to Amazon and searched. This is what I found: The Mark-My-Time digital bookmark.

This bookmark will either count up time or count down time. It is actually advertised as a way for kids (and parents) to keep track of time spent reading because research has shown that 20 minutes a day of reading time for kids has measurable benefits in school performance.

I will certainly be using the count up function much more frequently since I have no problem reading at least 20 minutes a day. I used it today for the first time when I read The Time Weaver by Shana Abe. I learned that I read the book in 4 hours and 4 minutes of actual reading time. I first set the mode to count up. Then I just pressed the red button each time I began reading and pressed it again each time I stopped. I also found that I started and stopped reading a lot. I would go off for a drink of water or check out an inning of a baseball game or go check on the laundry.

The Mark-My-Time bookmark comes in a variety of cool colors and is quite inexpensive. I paid $8.45. I chose hot pink for mine because sometimes I want to be a girly-girl.  I recommend it for both reluctant readers and avid readers who want to know how much time they are really spending reading.

Reading Habits Meme

Simcha at SFF Chat Blog came across this fun meme today at Floor to Ceiling Books (who got it from The World in the Satin Bag) about books and reading habits and I thought I would give it a shot myself.

Here I go...everything you ever wanted to know about my reading habits...

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack:

I usually do snack while I'm reading. I favor chips or little candy bars depending on whether I'm craving salty or sweet.

What is your favorite drink while reading?

My favorite dring at all times is Diet Pepsi. I usually have one with me no matter what I am doing.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I never write in books. I even hated highlighting my college textbooks. I like my Kindle because I can make notes or highlights without permanently damaging the book.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

I have a large bunch of bookmarks -- but I have been known to leave a book laying flat open if I'm just leaving in for a bit. I also have been known to leave it flat open over the back of my couch. I would never dog-ear a page in a book.

Fiction, nonfiction, or both?

99% of the books I read are fiction and generally genre fiction at that -- paranormal romance, urban fantasy, science fiction, mystery, romance

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?

I prefer finding a stopping point like a change of scene within a chapter or a chapter end but I have also been known to stop in the middle of a sentence. When I begin reading again, I always start with the first sentence on the left hand page to catch up.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?

I don't throw books. I gently close them and put them back on the TBR stack to try again another day. If it still irritates after a couple of tries, it goes into a bag to sell or donate.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

Context clues are usually enough. I do not stop to find a dictionary.

What are you currently reading?

Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman

What is the last book you bought?

Flight of the Outcast by Brad Strickland

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?

I read one book at a time before beginning another.

Do you have a favorite time/place to read?

My living room couch is my reading place. I read in the evenings when I get home from work (and most of the weekends).

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?

Both. I do like series books because I want to keep up with characters I care about. I pay more attention to the author and story than whether or not a book is part of a series or stand-alone.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?

I have been recommending Beautiful Creatures by Kami Stoll and Margaret Garcia to all of my students lately. To adults, I tend to recommend The Sharing Knife series by Lois McMaster Bujold or the Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

How do you organize your books?(by genre, title, author’s last name, etc.)

My books - even my TBR piles - are in alphabetical order by author (must be a librarian thing).

My Bookshelves

After seeing the wonderful vlog that The Story Siren did of her bookshelves, I was inspired to do something similar of my own. I have been teaching my students how to use Photostory 3 for Windows so that is the tool I used. I decided to go without my narration (because I can't remember where I put my microphone and didn't want to go looking for it.)

I hope that you enjoy it.



In case you are wondering why we start and end in the office. Here is the story.

The authors starting with A used to be in my Family room, letters continued into the Master Bedroom, and the end of the alphabet was in my Office. However, the Family Room shelves were overcrowded and I needed to shift books around.

After packing away the very old TBR books (which are more the 8 years old), I had space in my Office.  I could have moved everything backwards but decided to work smarter, not harder. I shifted the leftover recent TBRs that didn't fit in the two bookcases in my living room to the end of the Office shelving. Then I shifted from the end of the alphabet until I had filled two of the three bookcases there. The first bookcase in my Office now holds the As and some of the Bs which gave me room to spread out the rest of my crowded Family Room shelves without greatly disturbing the books in the Master Bedroom.

BTW, I am not a big beer drinker. We had to pack up my HS Media Center last fall so that the ceiling could be repaired and new carpeting laid and a local beer distributor gave us bunches of boxes to use. They are really a perfect size for loading with books. You can get lots of books in a box and can still lift the box. I brought some home when we unpacked because I knew I had to reorganize my book collection.

The plastic crates in the closet (and a few more) used to hold my recent TBR books but I could never find anything. The crates weren't well organized and what I wanted was usually in the bottom layer.

I do have all my books listed on my LibraryThing account (username kmartin802) and I have set up a collection for those books that are in storage by box. So, if I decide I need one of those books, I can find out just which box it is in.

I am feeling so organized. What do you think?

Edited to add:

Oops, I forgot about this pile. These are new adult books that arrived during my Christmas Break and unread story collections. They will not be sitting on that chair in my living room by Monday but right now I don't know where I am going to pile them.

Ok, got it! Here is a revamped picture of the top of my entertainment center in the living room. I hate blocking my boy and girl reading but that will encourage me to read those books faster.

An Unplanned Day Off

So, what do you do with an unplanned day off? Is it your chance to bake, clean house, prepare for the holidays? Do you do catch-up work for your job? Me? I'm catching up on some school work and taking the opportunity for some quality reading time. Oh, and blogging.

I'd like to finish viewing and commenting on the sixth graders' xtranormal internet safety PSAs. I also want to do some reading. I recently finished Evermore by Alyson Noel and enjoyed the story of a girl who is coping after losing her entire family and waking up with new psychic gifts that forces her to hear the thoughts of everyone around her. Naturally she meets a boy. This one is immortal and has loved and lost her many times through history. He is determined to keep her this time. I have almost finished Blue Moon by Alyson Noel which is the second in the series. During which true love runs anything but smoothly. And I am looking forward to the third in the series --  Shadowland which has been shipped and, weather permitting, I will receive tomorrow.

So, while waiting, I am going to read The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. (Edited: I read 50 pages before it got too silly for me. I'm putting it down in favor of The Magic Thief: Lost by Sarah Prineas.) Wimpy Kid is much in demand at my elementary school and, for some reason, the books have never made it onto the book order. So I bought 2 copies of each to donate to the Elementary Media Center as my Christmas gift to the students. Amazon.com had a terrific deal on them. Hardcovers for $6 or less was a deal I couldn't pass up. Three of the four books arrived yesterday and I stayed late to get them processed so that they could be checked out. Roderick Rules should arrive on Friday and be ready to go on Monday. I am always excited to see kids excited about books and reading.

Those activities ought to take care of my unexpected day off.

The Journey of Reading

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/02/10/the-journey-of-reading/

This entry really describes my relationship with reading only in much more fluent and lyrical language than I could ever use. Check it out.

I have heard Lois McMaster Bujold talk about, and read her thoughts about, the author/reader relationship too and thought her ideas were also very insightful. I just wish I could remember where I read it!

I agree with both.

Successful readers must have active participation in what they are reading. The author puts the words on the paper and they mean something to them. The reader reads the words and they mean something to them. The somethings aren't always the same or even similar. It is part of the wonder of reading for me.

Summer Days

I love summer!! Summer gives me a chance to try to catch up on the books I have been adding to my ToBeRead baskets during the year. Summer gives me a chance to spend time with my family. Summer gives me a chance to think and reflect on the past year. And later in the summer, gives me a chance to plan for the up-coming year.

Thus far, I'm still in the wind-down stage of summer. I've been buried in a book most of my days off so far and have read 18 books already since June 6. I have been using the LibraryThing 50 Book Challenge group to keep track of my summer reading. I have been averaging about a book a day so far this summer which should mean I'll pass 50 in mid-July if I keep reading at this pace.


I've made a couple of trips to my favorite casino. That looks like it will be a once a week thing to do. It is a fun way to spend a few hours while my brother is at work. Of course, I have to fit in my casino time around another favorite activity. I watch the Braves play baseball on my computer thanks to MLB.TV.


I've slept in late and stayed up late too. Because my brother generally works from 2 to 10, my brother's schedule is regularly staying up late and sleeping late. I find I adapt very easily to the same schedule. The thing I hate most about the school year is the alarm going off at 6 AM.

I love summer!!

Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book

Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book

Hooray for eccentrics! And hooray for The Onion.

And now to practice my own eccentricity and finish reading Inda. I even brought it with me to my tax appointment and my preparer wrote down the author and title to check out for her own reading. NOTE: I am a pusher and darn proud of it!