Happy Friday Links

7-7-23

Hi friends,

It’s a short work week for me as I was off work Monday and Tuesday this week for the holiday. I’ve been MIA around here lately; I woefully underestimated the amount of time and brain power needed to train my replacement and put into motion all the spinning plates necessary to move and retire at the same time.

I spent some time working on the website over the last few weeks, and I’m pleased with the results. Substack recently created “tags” that allow for categorizing newsletters on the website's home page. I write about lots of different bookish-related things, and tags provide a way to group the newsletters based on the types of posts. Hopefully, this helps readers find lots of bookish goodness for their reading pleasure.

This week’s links are numerous and varied and include several that aren’t book related but are always interesting and fun. Let’s get started.

• I love Libby!! I know some users are sad Overdrive went away and are struggling with the conversion to Libby. Change is hard; I understand. Here are a few “fun” secrets from Libby to help make the conversion a little less painful.

• Like Overdrive, Libby has a way to recommend a book to your library if it isn’t in the catalog. Notify works hand in hand with “deep search” to help the reader recommend the library purchase an e-book.

• Some old and “not needed anymore” train stations have been converted into hotels, and the results are gorgeous. Make a note of where these are located and check one or more out in your travels; I plan on doing just that.

• As a reader, I can’t say I’ve thought much about “fake” books before. After reading this article, it seems there are many reasons and uses for books that aren’t books.

• Italictype.com has done a reader survey for a couple of years. This is a great article on the 2022 State of the Reader survey results with lots of data about “why we read books in 2022.”

• The American Diner is “Americana,” according to Eater. Diner Land is a series of articles highlighting the charm, nostalgia, myth, and comfort of these restaurants across the U.S.

• One of my favorite cooking competition shows is Top Chef. I’ve mentioned it before, and I’m sure I’ll talk about it again. I’m sad that Padma decided to leave the show and focus on other pursuits, but I can’t wait to see what her future holds. This LA Times article explains her reasons and gives fun facts about her time on the show.

• There are many author names that I’m not sure I’m pronouncing correctly, and some I don’t even attempt. This article gives a phonetically correct written pronunciation along with a video of an author talk to help the reader learn the correct pronunciation.

• In looking for some decorating ideas for my new apartment, I stumbled across this Spruce article showing twenty ways to store books. There are ideas for adults’ and kids' spaces and some pretty great pictures.

• One of my favorite Substack authors writes

  Books & Bakes
  and also writes for BookRiot. I enjoyed this article about reading reviews after you read the book. Laura says that reading reviews after she reads the book is one of her favorite reading rituals. She makes several other good points worth reflecting on for your reading life.

• This Washington Post article (gift link) is making the rounds, and if you haven’t already read it, do yourself a favor and read about the early rivalry, cancer diagnosis, and long friendship these two women have had. Pretty profound.

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How has your summer reading been? Have you been to any place fun and interesting? Have you read any books you think about long after closing the book? I’d love to hear about all of this in the comments below.

My reading life so far this year has been just meh. I’ve read several good books, but nothing that really stands out as an outstanding read. I feel very unsettled right now, and I think it’s affecting my ability to concentrate and maybe my ability to choose a good book to read. I’m hoping once I’m retired and settled into my new life, my reading life will also look different. Have a great weekend, and happy reading!