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.

7 comments:

  1. Good point about #9. I try to hide mine but when I find those books I really want to read, it ends up in my hand, ready for me to punch the code in xP

    It's funny, I had a Bloglovin account months and months ago before the whole "OMG Google Reader is shutting down" business happened. Never touched it until a few months ago and yeah, now I find it super easy to use and everything.

    I've been thinking of purchasing a design for my blog but haven't really come to a decision about it. I used to be able to make my own edits but ugh, too lazy and my knowledge is too limited these days. lol

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  2. I wish WordPress allowed purchasable designs. I had to break down and learn how to use CSS (which I had to purchase) to get my blog to look the way I want. I tend to be super picky about aesthetics, don't ask me why (I have no idea).

    I'm a big user of Amazon too, I was in B&N today and one of the books I wanted was available, but $28 for a hardcover - I do need to eat. After Google Reader bit the dust, I switched to Old Reader, which bit the dust, and I've finally jumped on the Bloglovin bandwagon. I still maintain it's a stupid name though...

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  3. Good list, I haven't thought of things like time or peace and quiet but it is true that those things help a lot when it comes to blogging.

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  4. Good list :-) I love Amazon and I'm ashamed. I have no independent book shops near me, so Amazon is the way forward!

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  5. Peace & Quiet - definitely and I agree with you about Amazon. If they want to take over the world, let them!

    Have a great week.

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  6. Wonderful list! Your blog looks fantastic- definitely worth the $

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  7. I'll have to look into those photo apps. Thanks for sharing.

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