Top Ten Tuesday- What I Need

This week the Broke and the Bookish ask us to list ten things that make our lives easier as readers and bloggers. 

1. Peace and quiet- I'm able to ignore a lot of things (I am a high school teacher, after all), but I really prefer a quiet, lonely setting for reading. At home, my favorite spot it outside by the pool, as long as the neighbors aren't being obnoxious. Otherwise, give me a nice coffee shop, the reading room in UCLA's Powell Library (man I miss those days), or a quiet train or plane.

2. Readings (ALOUD, etc...)- Attending author events is motivating in terms of reading and writing (the blog and personal projects). I'm incredibly thankful to live an hour or so from LA, allowing me to utilize the programs put on by LA Public Library's ALOUD program, Live Talks Los Angeles, and the Writer's Bloc.

3. Photo apps- Over the past few months I've tried, on occasion, to get a little more creative (ie: not as lazy) with the photos I use, and since I'm not going to shell out the big bucks for Photoshop I use what I've got, app wise. I'm a big fan of Pic Stitch, Color Cap, Phonto, Instagram, and am starting to play around with Afterlight.

4. My exercise ball ottoman- I refuse to be the type of person who doesn't use their great room- that room costs us approximately $461 a month, so I'm not about to let it go to waste. My only problem: I can't find an ottoman I like and I have to have something to prop my feet up on when I read (I know, first world problems and all that jazz). For now my exercise ball is working well (I think a friend suggested this).

5. Twitter- Great to interact with others, promote posts, and find links to great articles with book recommendations.

6. Amazon- I'm a fairly unapologetic Amazon fan. I live in an area with approximately three independent bookstores (and that's probably generous), none of which are really that close to me. Plus, to be honest, I'm on a budget. Oh, and I can order naked in my pajamas, in bed.

7. Bloglovin'- I shunned the various reader sites for so long and I have no idea why- apparently saving them all as bookmarks and clicking on each one individually was my idea of a good time? I'm a total convert.

8. Purchasable Designs- The fifty bucks I forked out to Designer Blogs for my set up was worth every penny. My blog looks a million times better than it did before and it was incredibly easy. If I ever move over to self-hosting I know that they'll be there for support, if I choose. 

9. My credit card- I like to buy books. The end.

10. Time- In order to read, and blog, the amount I want it all comes down to time. The desire is absolutely there, but life tends to get in the way.