Making Life Easy

Tuesdays are quickly becoming one of my favorite days of the week, soley to read all the TTT posts. I love all the different answers and ways people make the lists their own. This week is sure to be great: "Top ten things that make your life as a reader/book blogger easier". I would LOVE to add more things to my short list!

As a Reader:

-The ease of buying and discovering new books with my Kindle. I have stumbled over a lot of blah books but also some hidden gems!

-Book lights. So I have a second gen Kindle. Love it. But Hubby threw away the charging cable?!?!? And because I haven't bought a new one (for 6 months now), I read all my Kindle books on my Android (go Galaxy s4!!). But back when I read physical books and e-ink, book lights were mandatory. 

-Goodreads. I probably don't need to say much more. Keeping track of books to read and discovering new books TO read.......yes. yes. and some more: YES!

-Snacks. Okay. So I don't snack too much while reading these days, but if I do have a snack near me, life is easier. I don't have to get up from my comfy reading nest and forage. I do find myself drinking a lot of Mike's hard lemonades while reading though....hmmm..

-a GOOD book. This seems obvious. But to make life as a reader easy it would be great to always have a GOOD or better yet, a GREAT book to read. Not all books are created equal. It's another reason why I love Goodreads so much. I can easily see what my friends are reading and enjoying or what has been rated fairly well and spend my time and energies there. 

As a Blogger:

-A good rating system. Specifically for book blogging of course. It is important to have a rating system in place, ANY kind of rating system, as long as you understand it and can adhere to it. As readers, we can read hundreds of books in our life times. Understanding why we liked this book and not that book can help lead us to books we will truly enjoy and even enrich our lives.

-Netgalley. This makes live as a book blogger way more FUN, and maybe easier. I love having the opportunity to read and review different kinds of books and am so grateful that publishers share this resource with us. 

-Blogging resources. I love the How They Blog Planning Kit, my Intentional Blogger ebook, and sites like Problogger. I also use Pinterest a lot for finding helpful designing sites. 

-Organization and TIME. Okay, I jumbled these 2 together :) If I can keep my posts organized I am golden. I also need to find time to draft, write, and read!! I know many mommy bloggers have to write in the 'after hours', aka the blissful period when all the kids are finally asleep. This is double-y golden for me because my husband is also gone at work during this time! 

-Blogging 'mentors'. I don't have an official mentor :( So raise your hand if you want to volunteer!! But when I started Sunrise Avenue, I contacted three LOVELY generous book bloggers and asked them a few questions to get me started. They were suuuuper nice and helpful and I have tried to implement all their hints and tips. I also spend a lot of time stalking a few favorite blogs. I watch what they do to interact with readers, how they write their reviews and how they rate books, etc. I try to take what I see and make it work for me as well, Alyssa style. It doesn't always work, but I try to learn anyways. And sometimes something works fantastically for that blogger, but doesn't fit ME or my calendar so I skip it or try to find a different solution. 

Hmm..that is getting a bit long :))

Remember to leave your blog name/link below!! I always visit back :) Happy Tuesday, friend!