Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Things That Make Your Life As A Reader/Book Blogger Easier

Hi there! Welcome to Life in the Pages! My name is Alex and I originally started book blogging earlier this year on tumblr. Much as I love tumblr, I wanted to create a more "official" blog where I could create my own content and write more detailed posts. Life in the Pages is primarily a YA blog, though every now and then I might blog about adult contemporary fiction as well. I hope you enjoy! :)

To start things off I've decided to participate in Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly book meme created by The Broke and the Bookish (be sure to check out their blog!). This week's topic: "Things That Make Your Life As A Reader/Book Blogger Easier." So, in no particular order, here is my list:

1. Goodreads/Goodreads mobile app
It's thanks to Goodreads that I currently have a to-read list that is approximately 500 books long and growing. And since I've download the app to my iPod, I've made it a habit to have it open whenever I'm at the library or bookstore so I can scroll through my to-read list and see what to look for. And if I happen across another book I'm interested in, I can just snap a picture of the barcode and the book is instantly added to my list.

2. Libraries
Free books. What more can I say?

3. E-book previews
Although I don't have many full-length books on my e-reader, I do have quite the collection of free previews. I like being able to read the first ten or so pages to get a feel for the book and see if it's something I'm interested in reading.

4. Tumblr/Other book blogs
Book blogs are my favorite kind of blogs (obviously). They're the perfect resource for reviews, lists of upcoming releases, fun book surveys, and other awesome bookish goodness.

5. Booktubers
I. Love. Booktube. If I'm not reading, I'm usually on YouTube watching Katytastic or booksandquills or one of the many other fantastic booktubers out there. I especially love watching book tag videos --because, I don't know about you, but I love survey/quiz-type things -- and bookshelf tour videos, which always inspire me to rearrange my own shelves. I almost always come away from book tube videos with even more books to add to my to-read list.

6. Fanmixes/Author playlists
When I read, it's like I'm seeing a movie play out in my mind. So when I throw music into the mix, it only makes my reading experience even more epic. I'm constantly scouring author websites, tumblr, and 8tracks looking for playlists to listen to while I read.

7. NetGalley
NetGalley is an awesome resource for book bloggers, librarians, and other "professional readers" to request advanced reader copies of upcoming books. The ARCs are in e-book format and, if your request is approved, are available for immediate download to whatever device you prefer. Although you're not guaranteed an ARC just by requesting one, every now again you'll get lucky. In early July, I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Samantha Shannon's The Bone Season from NetGalley (and you can read my review here). I had requested it, totally not expecting to get a copy at all since it is such an anticipated book, and when my request was approved I could hardly believe it! I was so excited!

8. Bookmarks
Because really - where would we be without them? One of my biggest reading pet peeves is having to stop reading only to find that I don't have anything to save my place (ain't no way I'm dog-earing that page!).

Okay, so I didn't quite make it to ten. I'll try to do better next week. ;)