Goodreads knows better than I do what I’m looking for

Why yes, that is exactly what I meant!

Hello to you too, Goodreads!

Sharing reviews outside the blog?

I have a question for you today :

Why do you, or do you not, share your reviews outside your blogs – for instance, on Goodreads, Librarything, Amazon, etc?

I’m mostly considering maybe sharing my reviews on Goodreads, something I haven’t taken the time to do much in the past. I can see advantages to do so, but inconvenients too.

In the past months, I didn’t have much time to blog at all, so when I posted a review here, I didn’t take the time to put it on Goodreads too. But I like the idea for many  reasons : it allows you to share your thoughts with more readers who don’t follow your blog, some who don’t follow blogs at all! Also, I personally use Goodreads a lot when I wonder whether I should get a book or not, sometimes when standing in the bookstore and hesitating between two books, it will be a quick way to gather more information on the books. In these moments, I can’t imagine going through a series of blogs to find the same information. So I love the idea of adding my words to the mix.

But in reality, I don’t spend much time on Goodreads. I add my books, rate them, sometimes I look at what my Goodreads friends are reading, and that’s mostly it. But for those who spend a lot of time there, I’m wondering, does it feel repetitive (or annoying), to see the same review on a blog, then on Goodreads, on Librarything, on Amazon…? I personally prefer to read reviews from the blogs, and use Goodreads when I “research” a book, which makes me wonder, how do other readers use it? Are there other reasons I’m not seeing, to share or not to share reviews elsewhere?

Time for a new look!

Yes, yes, there is something new on the Infinite Shelf!

If you stop by, you’ll notice a small change in the banner and the background; it’s nothing big, and the organisation is still all the same, so you shouldn’t get lost :-p I’ll be doing a few more little changes in the coming days – mostly just making sure the colors are all matching.

I think this new banner translates many of my passions at once; my love for books, photography (and thus, art), comics, pink, happiness, etc. I’m still trying to find a way to incorporate some “yarn” in the design, but I’ll find something I’m sure… unless someone here has an idea?

Anyway, I love it! And I sure hope you will too!

I’m finally, officially back! :)

Hi guys!

It is official :

I’m back!!!

Also official :

I turned in my last paper yesterday, which concluded not only my semester, but also my undergrad degree.

Yippeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

This has been a roller coaster, really, not only the semester but the whole “getting a diploma” thing. I’m really glad I did; it’s been an amazing experience, after all these years waiting and planning for it. There’s been a few bumps, but there always are in life, and in conclusion I’m just left feeling very happy and proud 🙂

However, I am beyond excited to finally have some me-time. I’ve barely touched my books in the last three months, and I cruelly missed it. Hours of reading and blogging are planned for the next few weeks! I missed reading reviews, thoughts on reading and writing, general posts by bloggers I follow, writing my own reviews and other kind of posts, etc.

So, see you out there in the big bad internet world – FINALLY! 😀

On my way back…

Hey guys!

Been a while huh?

Well my semester is almost over – only a week to go – and I’ve turned in most of my papers already. I can’t tell you how much lighter I feel right now! So even though I’ve got a nasty cold (I really need to work on that immune system!), things are looking up.

I’ll be working on a few reviews and posts for the blog, and meanwhile I’ll be visiting your blogs, because I missed you all so much!

Hugs and Kisses,

Kay 🙂

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel… almost!

Howdy all!

I’ve been absent a little bit lately, and I wanted to stop by to tell you I’ll probably be more or less absent until mid-April. I have a few reviews planned here and there, but right now I really need to focus on school.

My health has been slightly better since I was really sick last fall, but there are still some bad days (although now, there are also good days in between! 🙂 ) But I’ll say I feel mentally exhausted.

Last year, I had an extra course load for both semesters and took an intensive Italian class for the summer. About two weeks after that, in mid-July, I started to get sick. Then in September 2010, I had a huge semester, which was prolonged by my generous professor to give me extra time on my paper, but which also means I had less than a week of winter break.. Then it was this winter semester, which is my last one to get my undergrad diploma. Yay! I should feel ecstatic at the idea of finally concluding this exciting chapter of my life, but I’m so tired, I just want it to be over. All this to say, I feel so tired physically and mentally, I more than need a break!

So I probably won’t be around much until the semester ends (April 22nd), but I promise I’ll be back. And I’ll probably do a few posts here and there until then, and I’ll try to stop by your place.

Take care, and I can’t wait to discuss books and life with you all again!

– Kay –

xoxox