Top Ten Things That Make My Bookish Life Less Stressful (32)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I'm an anxious kinda gal who has this terrible tendency to procrastinate. I'm also incredibly impatient and something of an OCD perfectionist. Basically, I'm a complete and utter contradiction and need lots and lots of help to function as a human and keep the grey hairs at bay (I've pulled four in the last couple of week. I know they stay for everyone one you pull two grow in, but whatever, I'll just be bald). As such, I'm constantly looking for shortcuts. Here's a list of Ten Things That Make My Bookish Life Easier.

1. BARNES & NOBLE

Other bookstores too, but the best and closest to my apartment is Barnes & Noble. Bookstores are on this list for a bunch of reasons. 1. It's on my short list of places that actually calm me down. I walk in, hang out with my books, maybe sit and read a quick, fluffy romance and my day is suddenly better. 2. I can sample the books in person. Order something online or reading an Amazon preview just isn't the same as giving a physical item a trial run/read. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS. I can go to the store, talk to someone in the Teen Section, get into it and get a very personalized recommendation. Obviously I can get the same thing from my (blogging) friends, but a stranger's impression can also be very helpful towards managing my insanity.

2. GOODREADS

This is a given. If I need to explain myself, you clearly haven't been on Goodreads. So go get on that.

3. LOTS O' LISTS 

I'm a compulsive list maker. I make lists of books I need to review, books I intend to read, discussion topics, Top Ten Tuesday topics, blogging projects I'm working on and other random drivel. I keep my lists on my laptop though - I have a Mac and I use the Stickies app - because if I had hardcopies, I'd obsess and I just can't. But I do have it set up so the Stickies app opens up when I turn on my computer. So there's that.

4. A CALENDAR

My iCal app also opens as soon as I turn on my computer. It syncs to my phone and iPad. I always know what I have scheduled/what I want to have scheduled on hand. It calms me to see it all laid out instead of all crammed into my head. 

5. OODLES OF BOOKMARKS

I actually have a Ziplock bag full of bookmarks at home. I mostly use tickets or other bits of paper that have sentimental meaning to me - not formal bookmarks you'd buy or get as swag. It just means more. Anyway, I don't lose track of them the way I did as a kid anymore (I would buy the nice ones at the store and constantly misplace them) but I still have upwards of 50 potential bookmarks and it's nice to know I'll never lose my place. 

6. FRIENDS WHO READ

This refers to my blogging friends, my IRL friends who actually like books and even some of you. I might say: "I want to read this book." And someone might reply: "Oh, that's not a Gaby book." Or "That one wasn't very good." While I'm not one to not read a book because everyone says not to (I'm actually more likely to go ahead and read that book) I like going in with intel. Goodreads comes in handy for this, but so does going to the bookstore with bookish friends. Also, these friends who read? They're generally pretty good at lending me books/ARCs I don't have and even sometimes giving me books they don't want anymore. Which is also pretty awesome.

7. MY LIBRARY

Books I don't have to pay for and can borrow for 3 weeks at a time, not counting renewals? Sign me up. Oh wait, I've already signed myself up. In two different states. I LOVE YOU BOSTON AND NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARIES. YOU'RE GREAT. NEVER CHANGE. (Unless you're getting more books or renovating or getting more librarians or somehow acquiring more money. Then CHANGE AWAY.) Also, the online sites for both these libraries are awesome. 

8. TWITTER

Twitter sometimes makes my bookish life a little stressful (there's a lot of drama on the Interwebz) but mostly it's a really fun place where I connect with other awesome bookish people and find links/read about things I, as a bookish person, should know. It's also really fun to follow your favorite authors and "get to know them" (as much as you can in 140 characters). Or even follow publishers who like to interact with the readers. SOMETIMES THERE ARE EVEN GIVEAWAYS ON TWITTER. It's cool, to say the least. 

9. EBOOKS

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in saying I LOVE PHYSICAL BOOKS. I even prefer them to eBooks. But when you're going on vacation or you're physically running out of floor space in your home or there's some amazing deal on Amazon or Nook, YOU JUST CAN'T SAY NO TO THAT EBOOK. Also, when you pair this whole eBook thing with the whole Library thing? Let's just say, when I was abroad, this saved me. Times a million.

10. MY EREADER

Given what number 9 is, I feel like number 10 had to happen. But guys, you know how indecisive I am. So Nook? Kindle? Nah. I have an iPad Mini. I can have Nook, Kindle, iBooks, OverDrive, 3M Library Cloud, Bluefire Reader and I don't even know what else. I don't have to curse at myself for not being able to get the best deal or not be able to download something because the little iPad Mini That Could very literally can. IT. CAN.

Are any of these things helpful to you too? Am I forgetting something? If you can think of something I missed, be sure to remind me in the comments below!