Top Ten Things That Make My Life as a Blogger/Reader Easier

 This week's topic is

TOP TEN THINGS THAT MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER AS A BLOGGER/READER

Goodreads
Well, of course. Friending lots of people on Goodreads (Here's mine. Add me up!) or reading people's reviews of a book on this site really, really help to decide what book should I read next. Also, it's easier to find quotes and the book details when you write a book review! :)

Tumblr
Social medias are awesome! There are lots of book tumblrs out there right now, and I loooove browsing through all the lovely pictures of books or fanarts. And tumblr posts tend to be shorter but also straight to the point, which I love about it. Check out IPR's tumblr!

Twitter
Yay for twitter! Now I could follow awesome people in the book industries (local or international), and it helps getting to know some infos or tidbits such as what book this publisher will translate next, or if my favorite translator/editor is planning to read these books that I love, the progress of a book's production, fun tweets from authors, giveaways(!) that are going on, andddd many others!

Bookmarks
I refuse to dog-ear my books, no thankyou very much. So I really, really like it when I buy a new book and the publisher provide a cute, lovely bookmark inside. Seriously, eventhough I could just as easily remember what page I'm up to, bookmarks help. And I could use almost everything as a bookmark: tickets, cards, sometimes my money, receipts or bills... Once, I used my socks. It was clean, I promise!

Awesome book blogs and its equally awesome owners out there!
Really. I love finding people who has pretty much the same preference of books and read their reviews; it's important to me. Sometimes I also get encouraged to try to read books that are out of my comfort zone, and I've never been more thankful. My fave book bloggers inspire me a lot in so many ways that they don't even know. To know my favorite book blogs that I frequently read and regularly visit each time I'm on the internet, click the Preference page. It's now back on!

Book Bloggers/Readers Community
Being a member of Book Blogger Indonesia and Goodreads Indonesia helps a lot especially when I want to decide what local books to read next. There's lots of interesting topics about books discussed and I always love reading them. And also, getting more people to read my blog ;) Some time ago, I also joined Underrated Books Project that started on Tumblr by Rebecca Day; the goal is to get people to read more good books that are underrated. I love finding hidden gems!

Not stressing about the amount of....
Books I read or reviews I posted here. Seriously, obsessing over the number is not healthy for me. Sometimes when I see a blog that successfully come out with a new, fun post almost every day (twice a day, even!) I get amazed. But then I just decided to go along with the flow (read: my mood...) when reading. If I don't feel like reading, okay I'll put the books on hold for a while. If I don't want to write a review yet, okay, let's move onto the next book. I know some people want me to review more regularly, but with the amount of tasks and activities I have to do in this first term of college, I think it'll be hard. Not that I won't, but I'll try! ;)

Google!
The main reason why google is helpful for my blogging life is when I want to design my blog (because, let's be honest, I don't have the budget to afford an amazing blog design *sad face*). I know, saying 'Google it' is so not specific and lame. But seriously, all the tips of how-to and easy tutorials of making things (like, those lovely 'quick search', 'the reader', 'blog archive', or how to style my blockquote), I get it by looking on Google. You just have to find the right keywords, and voila! And beside, I love learning new things ;)

Aldiko
I don't own Kindle, iRiver or any e-reader. I only have my phone and Android tab with me. So when I discovered Aldiko it was like getting a birthday present! From all the ebook reader apps I've tried, Aldiko book reader is the one that I feel very comfortable to use. Pdf, epub, mobi, no problem! Aldiko also provided some free books which are listed as public domain (Les Miserables, Jane Austen's books, Oliver Twist, and many others).

Blogging tips written by other bloggers
I check out Parajunkee's and Nose Graze's blogging tips almost every week; they're awesome. I need some serious learning on how to manage a book blog and surviving, so I read and google lots of tips. The Broke and Bookish also had brought this 'top ten tips for new book bloggers' subject on their Top Ten Tuesday and I'm so happy to be swimming on people's opinion on this!

Also, another one:
Memes and Reading Challenges!
Seriously. Participating in a meme like this one has given my blog an awesome impact. I learned how to beautify my blog (because I feel itchy everytime I open up a blog that has a wonderful design, ugh, sooo envy of them!), discover more books that maybe I haven't heard of but turns out to be AWESOME!, keeping up with my pile of books that I still need to read and getting to know more readers out there. It's cheesy but true, I feel like I learn something new everytime I visit another book blog.


Read other owesome entries on this topic, here! What about you? What makes it easier for you as a blogger or a reader? Leave your links and I'll be happy to check them out! :)