DaniReads

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3.5

I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did, the characters were relatable, the writing was good, the chapters were short, love the diversity of the cultures.

Only two things the ending felt rushed and I didn't quite like Margot, I thought she was a little annoying and perfectionist... and Peter, let's not forget about Peter, I think I'll like him better in the second book.



View all my reviews

It's all about love during the Valentine's Week. Each day of the Valentine's week will present one book love story with a different genre insight. Today, it's all about non-fiction. We're happy to welcome Mike from Book Thoughts on BookLikes blog. 

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A guest post by Mike from Book Thoughts

There is no excuse for history to ever be boring - no excuse for that!

David McCullough

David McCullough on Why History Matters 

(click to view a video)

I am very excited to have a chance to share my passion for reading history with you all. I have had a life-long love of history, and grew up in a house where my father spent all of his free time either reading or talking about history.  I have always been fascinated about the past, and my childhood experience led to what is now a career reading and teaching history.

I have taught history at the high school and community college level for 15 years and my love for history has only grown during that time.  Too many adults think back to their history classes when they were in school and remember being bored and having to memorize facts and dates.  History is so much more than that!  To understand where we came from and how the world we live in was created by those who came before us is fascinating.  

We often have an arrogant perspective when we look back at the people of the past. We have this idea that we are smarter than them, we know more than they did, we would never possibly have made the same mistakes they made, and therefore why should we waste time reading about them? Nothing could be further from the truth. While it is true we have more technology and more access to information than at any point in human history, we must always try to put ourselves in the shoes of those who came before us and understand that they did not know what was coming next.

Like David McCullough talked about in the video above, most importantly to me, history is about people. One of my favorite parts of reading about great historical figures is to learn about the lives they lead before they became famous or before they made their great contribution. I want to know what their childhood was like, what schools they went to and what they studied, their loves gained and lost, and how all of those experiences led to the pinnacle of their lives that make them worthy to be studied and written about. Those stories, those experiences - those are the lessons and examples we can read about and make a part of our own lives. Those in the past experienced the same range of emotions that we experience day to day. They are not stone figures - they laughed, they cried, and they were silly just like most of us.

This photo shows a couple from the Victorian era.  It was considered socially awkward to smile in photographs at that time, so most photos we see show very serious people. These photos show two people that were not able to keep their serious faces together.

For someone that might be intimated to read a history book, I have a few suggestions. These books read like novels and will introduce you to the real stories of some famous people that you may only know by name. Not only will you learn about their lives, but you will learn about the time and society they lived in. I kept the list focused on famous people rather than events, because for those who are new to reading history, learning about individuals will be a much better introductory experience.

John Adams by David McCullough (Biography of our second President. Also tells one of history’s great love stories of John and Abigail Adams.)

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin  (Tells the story of Abraham Lincoln and how he brought together political rivals into his cabinet to help him during the Civil War.)

Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie (This book tells two stories - that of the last Czar of Russia and his family, and that of the Russian Revolution.)

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris (Tells the story of Teddy Rosevelt from his birth to his elevation to the Presidency. This is the first book in a trilogy that is some of the best historical writing out there.)

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (This book has become very famous in recent years due to the Broadway Musical, but it had been one of my favorites for many years before that.)

***Any books by these authors are great reads.

I hope I have convinced you to give a history book a try!  I bet you will enjoy it, and you will finish the book wanting to know more.  

If you are still not convinced, here is a short video I show my students at the start of each year.  Great tune and hopefully will inspire a desire to read history!

Why Study History - Viva la Vida Video (click)

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Watch out for more Book Love Stories on BookLikes blog this week! If you'd like to join, please do! Write your book love story on your blog and add the link in the comment section below. Make sure to add why I love tag to your post so we could find it and share it. 

It's all about love during the Valentine's Week. Each day of the Valentine's week will present one book love story with a different genre insight. Today, it's all about fantasy. We're happy to present YouKneeK's story on BookLikes blog.

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A guest post by YouKneeK

Anybody who has followed me for more than, say, a week could tell you that I love science fiction and fantasy books.  Of those two genres, fantasy is my favorite.  Unlike many fantasy readers who could regale you with tales of their childhood favorites that inspired a lifelong love of fantasy, I didn’t get addicted until my early twenties.  It all started with a computer game called Betrayal at Krondor.  It was a role-playing game in which the text was actually written like a book, and the player feels like a character in that book.  I loved the game and wanted more.  When I learned that it was based on a series of books by some guy named Raymond E. Feist, I decided to try them.  I started reading Magician: Apprentice, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Before this discovery, the fantasy genre wasn’t even on my radar.  I associated “fantasy” with some of the books from my childhood, such as The Wizard of Oz, and I didn’t think of it as a genre for adults.  Actually, fantasy is a very diverse genre, with far more types of stories than the “fluffy” ones you might remember from your childhood.  Some of the popular TV shows and movies in recent years, such as Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings, have gone a long way toward proving this to the masses by adapting well-known fantasy books that appeal to adults.  Some fantasy books are very dark and gritty.  Some are full of political intrigue.  Some have twisty plots and mysteries galore.  And yes, some are fluffy and silly.  I think what I enjoy the most about fantasy is that it appeals to my imagination while encompassing a wide range of story types.  How could I get bored with the genre when it has so much variety? 

I particularly love epic fantasy stories in which the author builds a detailed world with many races and a fleshed-out political climate.  I love to immerse myself in a complex world that becomes my world-away-from-the-world for as long as it takes me to read the series.  I especially like it when that world is populated with believable, complex characters.  A fairly recent and complete series (published 2011 – 2016) that hit all the right epic fantasy notes for me was the five-book series The Dagger and the Coin by Daniel Abraham, starting with The Dragon's Path.  It has a diverse set of races, political intrigue, interesting and well-fleshed-out characters (including one of the villains), some enjoyable friendships, and even a little bit of humor.  Be warned, though.  This isn’t a series to try if you just want a quick taste of fantasy. The story has barely even gotten started by the end of the first book.

If you want to try something with a smaller time commitment, Carol Berg is one of my favorite authors and she tends to write duologies and trilogies.  I’ve loved all three of her series that I’ve read.  They have multiple layers, starting out deceptively simple and growing more complex, and I think they have satisfying endings. They’re also very character-driven.  I’ve become attached to every main character she’s introduced me to, and many of the secondary ones.  Two of her series that I would recommend are the Rai-Kirah trilogy, starting with Transformation (pay no attention to the horrible cover; the book is good, I swear!), and the Lighthouse duology starting with Flesh and Spirit.  If you like audiobooks, I can vouch for the quality of the Rai-Kirah trilogy.  I’m not a good audiobook listener but the narrator, Kevin Stillwell, works well for me. I’m currently enjoying this series for a second time, after reading it in print several years ago, by listening to it during my commute.

Although the above books I’ve mentioned all have their dark sides, Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series takes it to a new level and is considered part of the “grimdark” subgenre.  These books are full of characters you’ll probably both hate and love at the same time, and there’s very little long-term happiness to be found.  Despite that, there is quite a bit of humor and it’s hard to avoid getting invested in the story and the characters.  The starting point is usually The Blade Itself, the first book in the original First Law trilogy.

If you’re looking for something a little more literary, and perhaps a book that stands alone, I recently read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.  This might be considered part of the “magical realism” subgenre.  It’s set in England in the early 1800’s and it has an interesting mix of real-world history and made-up fantasy, with many fictional footnotes to add an authentic tone to the story.  It has a very slow plot, focusing mainly on the characters, many of whom aren’t very likeable, but it has a subtle humor and a unique writing style.

Neil Gaiman is a well-known fantasy author who has written several standalone fantasy books set in the modern-day world. Neverwhere, set in modern-day London and featuring a mysterious underground world populated by forgotten people, is one of his better-known works.  Gaiman also has some anthologies that may appeal to those who enjoy the short story format.

I couldn’t possibly write an all-inclusive post about fantasy books; my post would be so long that it might break the Internet. There are subgenres I didn’t discuss because I’m less familiar with them, and there are many great fantasy authors that I love but didn’t mention, because I had to stop somewhere.  I hope other fantasy lovers will comment on this post to talk about some of their favorites or maybe, if you’re feeling ambitious, you could write your own blog post and link to it in the comments. Thanks for reading!

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Watch out for more Book Love Stories on BookLikes blog this week! If you'd like to join, please do! Write your book love story on your blog and add the link in the comment section below. Make sure to add why I love tag to your post so we could find it and share it. 

No matter whether you're a regular BookLikes visitor or a newbie, we hope you'll find these tips useful in your blogging adventure. Here's how to set up your book blog and make your first steps in the blogging community.

We're happy to see newcomers to BookLikes, the BookLikes team says warm and loud Welcome, welcome! :)

7 tips how to start a book blog

1. Choose your blogging platform and register. If you're reading this on your Dashboard, we're more than happy to see that you've chosen BookLikes as one of your blogging companion.

2. Think of a catchy blog name. Make the blog title work for you and your content, it should be compatible with the reviews and texts as well as your personality. 

3. Meet the bloggers. The blogging community is huge and very diversified. You can follow everyone but you can get in touch with those who are your favorites and to whom you look up. Make them your inspirations.

4. Make your place comfy and stylish. Your page should be your showroom. A lot depends on your computer knowledge but if your tech skills aren't your assets, don't worry. Use the free templates and remember that what really matters is the content, show your masterclass in reviewing and content writing.

5. Add a personal touch. There is a real person behind each blogging page and a blog project and readers like to know who is backstage. Take a minute to create About me and Contact page where you can add a couple of details about yourself, your reading habits, books you love and your reviewing policy.

6. It's all about networking. Make sure to add your social profiles links and other pages you're sharing your pieces on. We would also suggest creating a separate e-mail address to make it easier for the blogging community and writers to reach you.

7. Write. Write. Write. And have fun.

BookLikes tips on staring a book blog

1. BookLikes is a webpage which combines features of a blogging platform and a book cataloging site. Our aim was to create a place where creating a personal webpage with a book blog and a virtual bookshelf will be easy for everyone and won't take longer than several clicks. The intro tutorial guides you around the crucial BookLikes' features and helps to make your first steps in the book blogging community.

To take advantage of all BookLikes features make sure to open a welcome e-mail from the BookLikes team with a verification code. Once your BL account is verified, BookLikes is all yours :)

2. On BookLikes, the blog name and the username are two different things.

Your username is the nick you're choosing when registering, it will be part of your www address, e.g. yourusername.booklikes.com. You can change it anytime but keep in mind that the www address of your BookLikes webpage will be changed along with the username.

The blog name (the blog title), on the other hand, is a name you're giving to your blog page. If you won't create a separate title for your blog page, it will automatically present your username as your blog title so it's worth to add it as soon as you register, either during the intro tutorial steps or in Settings/blog.

Both the username and the blog name can be changed any time.

You can change the username in the general Settings (main menu->Settings), whereas the blog name can be altered in Settings/blog (main menu->Settings->Blog).

3. Once you're all set, go and say hi to the BookLikes community. The intro tutorial gives you the opportunity to follow several bloggers but if you missed that point or want to check out other blogs, please use the Explore page where you can search bloggers by their reading preferences and popularity. The moment you start following a given blog you'll see the blogger's reviews and bookshelf updates on your Dashboard.

Visit the Book catalog page to know what the community is reading, shelving and reviewing. Click the book cover to be moved to a book page where you can view the community reviews which lead to separate blogs that you can follow.

Once your Dashboard is boosting with your fellow bloggers activities, start a reading challenge -- a great way to show your reading life step by step, book by book.

Also, make sure to say hello in the discussion groups where you can count on BookLikes team help and the community tips and tricks.

4. Customizing your BookLikes webpage is a painless process also for those not too tech savvy. To customize the webpage go to Settings/blog and click the Customize button. You will be moved to the customization tab, where you can choose a design template for your book blog (choose Themes to view free and paid blog templates).

Click Done or Customize to add more personal touch. Remember to Save all the changes and see how it looks on your webpage live.

If you feel good with your coding abilities you can also edit HTML or upload a template of your own design.

5. To add additional pages, like About me or Contact, go to Settings/Pages and create a page where you can add more information about yourself and your blog.

6. Adding your social profiles is another gateway for your readers to find and reach you. Make sure to add your actual social profile links in the customization tab (see point 4), they will be automatically added on your webpage. Tick social network buttons to make it easier to share your content, the Facebook like, Twitter, G+1 and Pin buttons will be added to each of your blog post.

7. And now the real work starts. Read, write, meet, share, comment, stay active and enthusiastic. Show your energy and spread the book love. Write great book reviews. Make your text stand out, be honest and never stop writing about reading.

Your book blog is your place now. A perfect place to be.

And remember that the blogging community is made of awesome people. If you have any doubts or questions, ask your fellow bloggers. We're sure they will be more than happy to give you a helping hand.

As always, you can also mail the BookLikes team with any concerns. We'll do all to help and support :)

One month checked, eleven still to go. How did you do in the first month of your 2017 reading challenge? Have a look at BookLikes bloggers January bookish results. Our 2017 TBR pile is growing up high ;)

Click the blog headings to visit the blogs, and click the book covers to go to a book page where you can +Post and +Shelf the titles. 

Okay, I read six books in January, half of them re-reads. Not my best month, but oh well.

1. Ten Years in the Tub: A Decade Soaking in Great Books - Nick Hornby   ***** My only five-star this month, and a rerun. I love Hornby's non-fiction, so a collection of his book criticism for Believer magazine is perfect for me, and seeing him struggle with the magazine's "acid-free" policy is hilarious (I couldn't do it, myself, as you'll see shortly). Plus, a loot of great recommendations, albeit in a more mainstream vein than my usual tastes. Still, any book that got me into reading Sarah Vowell is aces... read more

I read a total of 9 books in January. Not too bad! Most of the books I read were absolutely amazing/enjoyable. Two of them did not really keep my interest, but I still manage to finish them (and they got 3 stars because I feel like these books could be enjoyed by other people... read more

So this past month was a good reading month. I read from a TBR so as to not waste time looking for my next read and donated three bags of books to betterworldsbooks. I read ten books in total. I DNF'd quite  a few- returning them to the library or donating them. It felt good to move things along reading wise... read more

Started the Romance Bingo and Pop Sugar Reading Challenges this month. Participated in Bout of Books cycle 18. Participated in #24in48 read-a--thon.

Library Love challenge is going great; thinking I should have gone for the top level (50+ books), but may stay at the current level (36+ books) for now. I also got in 11 hours of volunteer time at the library, despite a constantly changing school schedule that saw my son out of school more than in school... read more

5 books. Not that bad. I was hoping for more but you can't always get what you want. I'm still very proud... read more

I read and reviewed 26 books this month. I guess I have to give props to whatever cold thing kicked my butt this past weekend and the fact that due to real world events I have been pretty much throwing myself into books... read more

So I will admit, for me, I have started this year out slow. Only 3 new books and one re-read. I do re-read the Psy/Changeling series alot though, I just cannot seem to get enough of that fantastic world Nalini has created. However I think for February I am going to aim for 5 new books... read more

Click to view more of January wrap-ups by BookLikes bloggers. If you're not included in the list, let us know and we'll add you up :)

It's time for Bloggers write section! One thing we love more than books and bookish gadgets is a bookish gift box full of personalized goodies. Here's a step by step instruction how to create one:

1. Read the following piece

2. Join Bookish Box Swaps on BookLikes

3. Meet other book lovers

4. Prepare fancy gadgets

5. Send a box with a smile

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A guest post by Jessica from Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile:

So you’re wondering about Bookish Box Swaps, and what they are? Well friends, let me take you on a quick trip into a world filled with boxes of goodies. A world where that fluttery feeling of filling boxes with things you know someone else will love, comes more than once a year. If there’s one thing we bookish people know, it’s that books can soothe the soul. This is exactly why I created the Bookish Box Swaps group.

The idea behind it all is simple. Our group chooses the next swap we want to do, a minimum spending requirement is set, a list of fun themed items is created, and the rest is all up to the swappers! We do a quick poll at the beginning, before people are paired up, to give the swappers a glimpse at the people behind the emails. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the people you interact with on a daily basis, and see what you have in common! Each swap is unique, and a brand new chance to meet someone new.

As an example, our “Cozy Up Swap” at the end of 2016 was about all things comforting and warm. The rules called for a book, a warm drink, something edible, something handmade, and a card. I was absolutely floored by the types of boxes that were curated by our members. There were so many thoughtful, handpicked, handmade items. It’s a lot of fun to watch the pictures roll in, as the swappers receive their packages. The amount of love thrown around is infectious.

Have I given you enough of a reason to join us yet? We would love to have you! You can find us here: http://booklikes.com/groups/show/746/bookish-box-swaps. Keep in mind that our swaps aren’t mandatory, and all our members are welcome to participate whenever they can!

My hope for this group was always that it would foster more of the bookish love we all already have, and bring people closer together. It seems to be doing just that! When the world looks bleak, at least we have this little piece of kindness and light to hold onto.

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If you've missed the previous "Bloggers write" post here's a link to catch up with the BookLikes Librarian's tips & tricks on editing and adding books on BookLikes ->

1. Do you have a certain place in your home for reading?

Yes, my room, usually my bed and sometimes the kitchen counter.

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

Most of the time a bookmark, I have a few watercolor bookmarks handmade by myself. When I don't have one near by, random things like a bobby pin.

3. Can you  just stop reading or do you have to stop read after a chapter / certain number of pages?

When I'm reading physical copies it needs to be after a chapter, e-books a certain number of pages and audio-books anywhere. I've got myself down to a T. 

4. Do you eat or drink while read?

Yes and no, well sort of. I'd snack here and there but most of the time I ended up with crumbles everywhere or spilling my drink on my book. The struggle.

5. Multitasking: music or TV while reading?

Not at all! I get distracted easily or maybe I just need to get better at multitasking.

6. One book at a time or several at once?

More like 6 at a time :/

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

Both, I carry a physical book with me just in case, I also use my kindle app if I happens to not have a physical book.

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Silently in my head 90% of the time, reading out loud 10% of the time.

9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

All. the. freaking. time.

10. Barking the spine or keeping it like new?

I like to keep most of the time in pristine conditions, not always succeed when your sister borrow your books. 

11. Do you write in your books?

Nope, not even textbooks 

Reading is a personal thing but some reading habits are common for all book lovers. We're happy to present some findings based on the recent reading habit tag Q&A.

BookLikes bloggers love reading on a comfy couch under a soft blanket but this pattern doesn't stop them from reading any place. A cup of tea or coffee is a perfect companion for a bookish night. Some books, though, require a big glass of red wine or a chocolate bar, a big spoon of ice cream or simply any kind of a sweet treat.

BookLikes bloggers tend to be polygamist readers who like to shift between formats and genres. Similar freedom takes place when replacing a missing bookmark with anything nearby, like ribbons, receipts, tickets, boarding passes and random pieces of paper.

Many readers choose music to enhance the book atmosphere but a large group of book lovers cannot stand any kind of distraction, including their own voice. The silent reading isn't required when reading to kids or immersing into vivid poetry pieces.

Book bloggers agree that books are important personal objects and need special attention. Spine barking is justified for paperbacks and library editions which already have this intense reading trace. Note taking is reserved for textbooks.

Skipping pages is hardly understandable, whereas peeking ahead is a sign of curiosity and book praise.

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If you haven't participated in our tag fun game, we'll be more than happy to welcome you. Copy the following questions and share your reading habits on your blog. Please remember to add a reading habit tag to your post:

1. Do you have a certain place in your home for reading?

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

3. Can you  just stop reading or do you have to stop read after a chapter / certain number of pages?

4. Do you eat or drink while read?

5. Multitasking: music or TV while reading?

6. One book at a time or several at once?

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

10. Barking the spine or keeping it like new?

11. Do you write in your books?

If you're curious how your fellow bloggers answered, here's a list of BookLikes bloggers reading habits posts.

My favorite fairytale :D

I can't wait to get a hold of these books!

Everything you want me to be by Mindy Mejia 

Published January 3, 2017

Full of twists and turns, Everything You Want Me to Bereconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town’s darkest secrets come to the forefront...and she inches closer and closer to her death.

High school senior Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good citizen. When she’s found brutally stabbed to death on the opening night of her high school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of her small town community. Local sheriff Del Goodman, a family friend of the Hoffmans, vows to find her killer, but trying to solve her murder yields more questions than answers. It seems that Hattie’s acting talents ran far beyond the stage. Told from three points of view—Del, Hattie, and the new English teacher whose marriage is crumbling—Everything You Want Me to Be weaves the story of Hattie’s last school year and the events that drew her ever closer to her death.

Evocative and razor-sharp, Everything You Want Me to Be challenges you to test the lines between innocence and culpability, identity and deception. Does love lead to self-discovery—or destruction?

The Girl before by J.P. Delanny

Published January 24th 2017

Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.

The request seems odd, even intrusive—and for the two women who answer, the consequences are devastating.

Emma
Reeling from a traumatic break-in, Emma wants a new place to live. But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece: a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules. The enigmatic architect who designed the house retains full control: no books, no throw pillows, no photos or clutter or personal effects of any kind. The space is intended to transform its occupant—and it does.

Jane
After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street she is instantly drawn to the space—and to its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the home’s previous tenant, a woman similar to Jane in age and appearance. As Jane tries to untangle truth from lies, she unwittingly follows the same patterns, makes the same choices, crosses paths with the same people, and experiences the same terror, as the girl before.

The Room Mate (Roommates #1) by Kendall Ryan

Published January 24th 2017 

The last time I saw my best friend’s younger brother, he was a geek wearing braces. But when Cannon shows up to crash in my spare room, I get a swift reality check. 

Now twenty-four, he’s broad shouldered and masculine, and so sinfully sexy, I want to climb him like the jungle gyms we used to enjoy. At six-foot-something with lean muscles hiding under his T-shirt, a deep sexy voice, and full lips that pull into a smirk when he studies me, he’s pure temptation. 

Fresh out of a messy breakup, he doesn’t want any entanglements. But I can resist, right? 

I’m holding strong until the third night of our new arrangement when we get drunk and he confesses his biggest secret of all: he’s cursed when it comes to sex. Apparently he’s a god in bed, and women instantly fall in love with him. 

I’m calling bullshit. In fact, I’m going to prove him wrong, and if I rack up a few much-needed orgasms in the process, all the better. 

There’s no way I’m going to fall in love with Cannon. But once we start…I realize betting against him may have been the biggest mistake of my life.

The hundred lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

Published January 3rd 2017

A teenage misfit named Hawthorn Creely inserts herself in the investigation of missing person Lizzie Lovett, who disappeared mysteriously while camping with her boyfriend. Hawthorn doesn't mean to interfere, but she has a pretty crazy theory about what happened to Lizzie. In order to prove it, she decides to immerse herself in Lizzie's life. That includes taking her job... and her boyfriend. It's a huge risk — but it's just what Hawthorn needs to find her own place in the world.

We've decided to start up a brand new section on BookLikes blog where we invite our bloggers to write about important and interesting BookLikes initiatives and other bookish topics. We have a huge pleasure to welcome Jenn from Murder by Death, one of the BookLikes Librarian, who would like to share some tips and tricks concerning editing the book catalog on BookLikes. It's a must read, boys and girls :-)

P.S. If you haven't visited Murder by Death's How to BookLikes group yet, you need to catch up, just click here.

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Guest post by Jenn from Murder by Death:

Help!  I can’t find my book on BookLikes!

Trying to add new books (or new-to-you) to your shelves but can’t find them in BookLikes?  Here’s what to do to find them, add them or edit them.

First try searching… again.

Like all databases of any size, BookLikes periodically indexes it’s book database.  To paraphrase Wikipedia, indexes are used to quickly locate data without having to search every row in a database every time a search is done.  An index is a copy of selected data from a database that can be searched very efficiently, but the actual process of creating that copy, or index, is no small thing; especially for large databases, so it’s only done periodically.  What does any of that mean to us?  It means that if a book you’re looking for has been added after the last indexing, it might not come up in a title search.

So, if your search yields “No books found!” when you search by title, try searching again using the ISBN.  8 out of 10 times, you’ll find the book you’re looking for. The bonus of using the ISBN (ASIN works too!) is that if it isn’t in the BookLikes database, BL will automatically query its affiliate partners, e.g. Amazon, and if they have it, BookLikes uses the information to add the book record to the database. Easy peasy, right?

Adding a new book

But what if you’ve tried searching by ISBN and you still have no book love from the database?  Then you can - and should! - add a new book.  Any BookLikes member can add a new book to the database by using either the “Add a new book” button in the search results, or by clicking “Add a new book” on any author’s page (“Add New Edition” is only used when you’re adding a new edition of an already existing work/title).

When you click the button to add a new book, you’ll go to the add new book page. Upload the book cover (or check the box for “There’s no cover yet”), and fill in the blanks: title, author, series, etc.  Please fill in as many of the fields as you can; everyone appreciates a complete book record. :)

Please note:  the Author field and the Series field are both search fields. When filling these in, wait a moment before hitting tab or return: you’ll see the spinning wheel and then a list of author or series names to choose from.  Select the correct name from that list.  If it’s a new series, hitting return will add it.

New books are sent to the librarian’s queue for checking, so remember these important tips - the librarians will thank you and think good thoughts about you!

1. Please include the ISBN/ASIN for all new books you add. These are almost always found on the publisher’s page, library page, Amazon’s page, and about half the time, the author’s website. You might have to search around a bit, but they’re there. Either ISBN 10 or 13 will do; both is great if your feeling completist.  For kindles and audible editions, the ASIN is both on the Amazon (or Audible) page and in the Amazon link to the book page.   Books without an ISBN or ASIN will either be merged with book records that do, or will be changed to match a new edition with an ISBN. That might mean a different format or cover than you wanted for that record.  

So now you’re asking “What if the book I’m adding doesn’t have an ISBN or and ASIN? What then?” Excellent question. If you’re adding a book older than the ISBN system (pre 1970’s, approximately), or if you’re adding a short story from an author’s website, or a self published piece that the author did not obtain an ISBN for, then check the box for “No ISBN/ASIN” and make sure you include a valid source link that librarians can use to verify the information. Valid sources include the publisher, the author’s website and worldcat.org.  

2. Please keep in mind that there are only two types of books that need an ASIN: kindles and audible audiobooks. If you are adding any other format (paperback, hardcover, ebook, etc.) please do not add an ASIN.  If you’re an author adding your books to BL, add a new edition for each format: one for ebook with an ISBN, one for kindle with an ASIN, etc.

There are a few more tips for adding books that make everyone happy, but these are the two biggies. For a more complete list, or to ask questions, see this thread: http://booklikes.com/thread/2822/dos-and-don-ts-for-adding-new-books

Handy tip for Amazon and BookDepository users - with a caveat:

You can add books to BL directly from the Amazon or BookDepository websites AND get them on the right shelf at the same time. BookLikes offers a handy little widget-thing called “Shelve It!” and you can find it on your BL bookshelves. In the upper(ish) right area of your book shelves you’ll see a small black book icon. Drag that to your browser’s bookmark bar, and the next time you’re on Amazon or BD and see a book you want to shelve, click that button and voila!

PLEASE NOTE:  The Shelve It function is currently part of the BookLikes coding review, so if you try to use it right now, your results may vary.  Amazon and BookDepository have changed their website functionality and this widget needs to be adjusted accordingly.  If the widget doesn’t work for you now, at least you know about for the future!  ;)

Editing book records

So what if you find your book, but it’s missing the cover, or series information or it’s marked as a Young Adult and it most certainly IS NOT YA?  Edit that record!  Fix it and help BookLikes towards perfection!  

Hyperbole aside, BookLikes allows anyone to edit a record to fix incorrect data for that edition. There are two ways to do this: either via the “edit” button, which allows you to make the edits yourself, or the “report” button which allows you to notify the librarians of the issues so they can fix it for you.  Both of these are on every book edition page.

Good things to know and remember:

1. If you do the edits yourself, you won’t see your changes instantly; your edits go into the librarian queue and can be rejected if they don’t meet the BL guidelines.  Currently there’s no communication method in place between librarians and users submitting edits, so if you don’t see your edits in, say, 48 hours, (it can be longer - they’re volunteers!) one or more of them likely got rejected.

2. If you’re changing the cover, either via edit or report, include a source link that verifies that edition has that cover.  Because cover wars are not an urban myth, and as a rule, librarians are picky.  Rejections happen without a valid source link.

3. DO NOT CHANGE or REMOVE AN ISBN.  Just don’t do it!  It almost never ends well; gnashing of teeth and rejection will almost surely be the result.  If you can’t find your edition, add it.  Don’t change someone else’s to suit yours.  There are RARE cases when an ISBN is invalid - it happens but not often.  When you know the ISBN is wrong, then do let BL know - use the report button and the comments box to explain why you think the ISBN is invalid.  Also: BookLikes does not remove out-of-print editions.  If it ever existed and had an ISBN, it stays and keeps the information that was valid for that edition at the time it was released (i.e. covers and titles and author pseudonyms).

4. If you see records that have both an ISBN and ASIN, and are listed as a “Kindle Edition” (note the uppercase K and the word “Edition”), this is a quirk of the imports and until it can be fixed, librarians need to split those records apart to form the correct ebook and kindle editions.  If you want to let the librarians know about the ones you come across, use the Report button and choose “other” from the pull down menu and include a request to split them in the comments field.

Those are the highlights, if you want more details about how to edit like a BL pro, you can find more, or ask questions on this thread:

http://booklikes.com/thread/2823/dos-and-don-ts-for-editing-books

The bookish gadgets make us really happy. Not regular happy, we mean crazy joyful. Our heart rate increases, the blood pressure rises, the cheeks blush, both of our hand shake and lip corners lift up into a smile. A very big smile. Our reaction was the same when we teamed up with Mikołaj Adamczyk, the 3D designer and artist from Clonova, who decided to expand his portfolio with the collection of bookish gadgets. Yep, you heard us right, THE BOOKISH GADGETS! So, who's interested? :D

What's 3D printing anyway?

3D printing uses a printer to create three-dimensional objects in comparison to a regular printer where are only two dimensions: the front of the page and the back. 3D printing adds a volume to these two.

3D printed object are created by adding or depositing layers of material. Plastic is the most commonly used but you can print with number of materials including steel, silver or gold, basically anything that can be melted or put back together in layers. The technology is developing super fast and it's already possible to print buildings or eatable books. How cool is that!

But let's get back to the bookish stuff :) Our brainstorms resulted in the three projects listed below but worry not, more are coming! As always, we're curious of your opinion. How do you like them? Do you consider them useful? Would you like to ... get one of these? :) It's the very beginning of the 3D projects so we'd like to ask: if you had an opportunity to print yourself a 3D bookish gadget what would it be?

Please let us know in the comment section below.  We do plan on some surprises so stay tuned :-)

1. Cat a Stopper is a handy hand-free way to keep your books open. This book page holder and a bookmark is great to hold a book or a magazine wide open for easier viewing, it's also perfect for reading while standing or lying. A helpful gadget for all multitask readers who read many books at once (academic research) or prefers big format and hard cover books. Helps you keep your place while studying, enjoying a cup of coffee or taking an Instagram shot. Awesome for cookbooks, it will keep your books clean and spotless.

2. A transparent scrap page / note taking bookmark

This will help you stay organized and keep your books in a perfect condition, no more dog ears! Thanks to this note taking page you can highlight the passage you find essential and add all necessary notes. Perfect for students, analytic readers, quote lovers.

3. DIY Bookshelf

There are never too many books, only not enough bookshelves in the book lover's life. Here's a ready to go plan to create a shelf of your own design.

Can't wait to hear what you think of those! Add your comments and ideas for more bookish gadgets in the comment section below.

What are you guys reading this month?

Have you guys read any of these?