After the highly successful review-a-thon the thought to create a list with all the books reviewed didn’t sound quite so bad anymore. Somehow it is nice to see a complete list of books that I blogged about. And quite an eclectic mix it is, too….:)

First I was going to embed the Google spreadsheet on a page but the width was too wide, you would have had to scroll down AND right and that would not have been very practical. And it just didn’t look good.  So I decided to just link to the spreadsheet which is one click more but a lot more convenient to read. 

If you would like to have a look, click either here or go to the reviews page in the top menu.

 

A few days ago in my post for mini challenge 3 for the review-a-thon I mentioned the easy Text Template plug in for Windows Live Writer. If you are wondering how to use it or whether it is something you might find useful I thought I’d show you how easy it actually is.

I am starting with a simple sentence with a link that I want to add at the end of some of my posts. You can create whole pages with images and tables that way and use the templates over and over.

1. First you write your sentence with the link just like you would in any post.

2. Go to –>View –>Source to look at the HTML code, highlight and copy it.

3. Click on the Text Template Plug in in the right sidebar and select “Add new template”.

4. Choose a title and a category. You can create a new category here or choose an existing one from the drop down menu. Then paste the copied html into the textbox.

5. Click ok and save your template in the next window. You can just leave the file name as is and click “Save”.

That’s it! Next time you want that sentence in your post just click on “Text Template”, select your created template from the list and click “OK”. There it is!

You can do this with images also, of course. Just make sure the image is already uploaded, because you will need to enter the URL of the image. The code for that will then look like this (or similar, depending on the style of your image): <p><img src="URL of your image" >

Isn’t that really easy? Try it, it is a real time saver.

If you have any questions, let me know!

The review-a-thon is over, so I wanted to do a little recap to see what I got out of it.

What did I get accomplished?

 

Miscellaneous tasks:

• I added the info where I got a book from and why to the product info table at the bottom of my reviews.
• I created a “Review: To do” checklist.
• The last reviews I posted I also cross-posted on GR and amazon.
• I created a tutorial on how to use the WLW plugin “Text Template” which I will post shortly.
• I didn’t create a reviewed books list but I am considering an embedded Google spreadsheet for that sometime in the future.
• I created a Google spreadsheet for books to review with publication date etc. to keep better track.

Reviews:

During the review-a-thon

• I posted two full reviews (Stitch ‘n’ bitch crochet: The happy hooker by Debbie Stoller & The track of sand by Andrea Camilleri) and two mini reviews of short stories by Milan Kundera.
• I prepared four reviews either completely or to the point where all I need to do is write up my thoughts. 

I am very happy with the outcome of the review-a-thon. Thanks to the Book Monsters for organizing it. If you were a participant, what did you get done?

Today is about organizing your bookshelves.

I don’t think I want to do that. If I started organizing our bookshelves I wouldn’t be done any time soon, and frankly, my three weeks of vacation are too precious to spend them organizing our books.

There is a post about our bookshelves with a picture of some of our books. There are more. I usually find the books I want (I created an additional shelf in the bedroom with books to read and review since) so I am getting by ok.

However, to go back to challenge 4, from reading a post at The Book Vixen I got an idea for an easy to implement reviewed books list with the help of an embedded Google spreadsheet. I have to think about that for a little while. I sort of like the idea.

Today’s challenge is about organizing upcoming reviews.

“Today, your mini-challenge is to work on organizing your upcoming reviews of books you haven’t read. Create an organizer… update… reorganize. The choice is yours. We’d like to see what you do to organize and how you think you’d improve it.”

Until today my reviewing habits were unorganized. I read books, I wrote a review, I posted the review when I felt like it.

After being such a slacker yesterday I felt I had to pull myself together today and come up with something re my organization.

In my Google calendar I entered days when there is a recurring post due (weekend cooking, needlework Tuesday etc.), but this has nothing to do with reviews per se, of course. Then I created a Google spreadsheet where I entered the books I need and want to review, where I got them from, their publication date and around when the review should be posted. The number of books I have received to review at any given time is small, I don’t like to inundate myself. So, I think this is as organized I will ever need to be.

Today is about updating review lists.

“Create one… update… reorganize.”

Sounds like a nice plan, but, no!

I like review lists to maybe check whether someone has reviewed something that I have read also, without having anything specific in mind. Other than that I have no use for them.

I have a review category on the blog, plus everybody can use the search box to look for a specific author or book. Call me stubborn and incorrigible, but I think I will give this one a pass.

The third mini challenge is about setting up future review posts.

This is easy. I do that already regularly. I am using Live Writer to write for my blog and use this nice little plug in called WLW Text Template Plugin. It is extremely easy to use and a real time saver.

Whenever I start reading a book I want (or have) to review I immediately create a new post in Live Writer, add my review template and the title of the book so I won’t forget. When I have time I also add the blurb and the product info in the table at the bottom.

I think this is quite a practical and convenient way to prepare reviews. I can see the draft all the time and won’t forget. When I am ready for the review all I need to do is write up my thoughts on the book and I am done.

If you don’t know the plugin Text template but are interested in using it, check back here again soon. I am planning to post a short tutorial on how to use it in a few days.

The next mini challenge is about cross posting our reviews. I suck at cross posting my reviews. I never do it. I post it here, mark the book as read on Goodreads and that is that. I usually don’t even bother to rate it a Goodreads, so this challenge IS a challenge for me indeed. However, if I get a book under the condition to post reviews on various sites, it goes without saying I will do that.

I have a review ready to go and another one to write this week, so I will make sure to cross-post them. I need to check on the publishing date of one of the books as I think it will only be out in a few weeks, so I might have to wait with that one.

Really, there is no reason not to cross-post, I am just too lazy to do it.

You might not know this, but I *love* lists. So what I need to do is create a little checklist to use, so I won’t forget…

…   …   …

…OK, now it is later and I made my to do list. That way, at least I know what to do next time I want to post a review. This is what it looks like. I hope it will make things easier for me.

I am not sure I even WANT to post on amazon. I will have to think about that. After all it is not mandatory for a book blogger to post anywhere but on your blog (unless you are out for fame and possibly fortune) so I might give amazon a miss. I only have so much time for blogging and, to be honest, I’d rather read and write more for my own blog than use my time to provide amazon with content. 

If anyone would like to use my list, feel free to download the letter sized larger version. Just click on the image and when it is open right-click and “save as” to your HD. There are quite a few lines for you to fill out yourself according to your needs.

Today’s mini challenge for the review-a-thon is about rethinking our review format. These are the questions asked:

1. Are you happy with your review format currently?
2. Scrutinize it a little more, maybe compare it to other blogs you like, anything you think you might change?
3. Implement some basic changes and tell us what you think. Or, you can tell us one or two aspects of your reviews that you like.

Good questions! I have only changed my review format recently and added the “In a nutshell” part where I simply say whether I liked a book or not and who I would recommend it to. So, yes, I am quite happy with the format right now.

I see lots of review formats that I like, some very short and poignant (which is not me), some long and extremely detailed. I sometimes like the haiku reviews, even though they usually don’t say much about a book, still they are fun to read. The only change that I want to make right now is to add the info where I got the book from (publisher, netgalley, bought it, etc…).

I think I will add this in the bottom table where I put the major product info. It is unobtrusive and people can still find out if they want to know. Will do that later today for future reviews!

Only today I saw a link to the Monster Review-a-thon at Judith’s blog.

Sounds like an interesting event with some encouragement for change. As I like change I decided to join and see what’s going to happen. As usual I am a little late, but we are only one day in, so I should be ok.

Feel like your reviews can do with some improvement?

Don’t know how to go about it?

Join the event at The Book Monsters and get some prompts! The kick-off post is already there, so go and have a look at the fun mini-challenges!