47 Comments

Hi Gayla. First off great Friday links newsletter as always. Enjoy your trip on the cruise. Thanks for mentioning our newsletter. It always makes us happy to hear you enjoy it 😀

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Thanks for reading, Mark and I can't wait until the cruise and the sightseeing after.

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The Frye festival of books omg. 😳

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I know, isn't that crazy. I spent way too long following all the threads. Entertaining, but time I'll never get back, for sure. lol

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I am so glad that you are finding my tips about using Libby tags to be helpful! I love Libby! The app has completely transformed how I manage my TBR for the better. Thanks for the mention.

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I don't know why I fought tags for so long, but shame on me. I'm a convert for sure. Thanks for reading!

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+1 thanks for linking to these tag tips. This solves a big problem for me when books become available on Libby and I have NO IDEA what motivated my past self to add this book to my TBR list.

Also want to shoutout to Fairfax County public library. They allow non resident cards for $27/year. I know other libraries do it as well, but their dollars to titles ratio seems especially 👍👍.

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That is very good to know about Fairfax County public library! Thanks! I haven’t tried that library yet.

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Unlike the rest of the online world, you can’t quite ‘set it and forget it,’ but they are really helpful and responsive when it’s time to renew.

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/non-resident-library-card-application

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I've paid for the Fairfax card for the last several years and it's been a great addition to my Libby library cards. I agree, it's more reasonable that other libraries I've seen.

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May 10Liked by Gayla Gray

While in Seattle Twice Sold Tales is a must! Although if you are allergic to cats I would avoid as they roam the store freely.

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Not alergic to cats, I have one of my own. I'll make sure I stop into that one for sure. Thanks for the recommendation. :)

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Thanks so much for this Gayla. Really chuffed that you liked the Eurovision post on This Week, Those Books.

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Thanks for reading, Rashmee!

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Thanks for writing, Gayla

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Can confirm, that list of Seattle bookstores is legit and what I would recommend too! Once upon a time, the University of Washington bookstore was on my list, but it is a shell of its former self. :-(

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I hope to be able to get to all of the bookstores on the list. It's sad when bookstores go downhill or fail. :( Thanks for reading!

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Thanks for the link to Bookishly Delightful and the Libby info. I use it often but have not checked out the tagging function. And I agree, Finding Dorothy is a fabulous book! Enjoy your trip!

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The only limit on tags is your imagination in the ways you want to keep track of books you want to read. :)

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Love you links posts and this one is so helpful. Thanks for sharing about the Libby tags, that's exactly what I need to start doing to help me better organize my tbr. I also want to listen to that Culture Study podcast episode and I had no idea about the craziness of that book festival in Denver

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Thanks for reading, Renee. I'm a recent paid subscriber to your newsletter (I love the community you are building there) and I'm a part of the Book Talk etc. Patreon and enjoyed listening to you there (sad that you left). That book festival was definitely crazy. Thank goodness there are few that are like that. What a way to give book festivals a bad name.

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May 11Liked by Gayla Gray

Definitely go to Ridgecrest Books in Shoreline! It’s a brand new indie and they have an adorable shop dog, Oscar

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Just added it to my list of definites. Thanks for the recommendation.

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Hi Gayla, I live in Portland but I've spent many happy hours at Elliott Bay Books! And Goodreads--ugh. So many people have told me I need a presence there but I hate it. So non-intuitive to me, I can never figure out how it is supposed to work and then I read about all the brouhahas that happen there and again, ugh. Thanks for all the great links.

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Thanks for the vote for Elliott Bay Books. It was already on my list. I use GR only to track my books. I don't follow people and I don't want people following me. lol I will occasionally read a review, but for the most part, it's just a way to track my reading. I've thought about other apps but I don't have time for that, so I'll stick with GR probably forever.

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I would certainly be willing to entertain the idea of other apps! I just don't know any that are as widely used.

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Storygraph is one that many people are using as it provides much more reading analysis than GR does. Bookmory is another one that I've heard about. There are several, I just haven't tried any other than Storygraph, which seemed fine, but I don't want to invest additional time in tracking since I'm already using GR.

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Thank you for these suggestions. I will check them out. I'm totally not invested in GR so not an issue for me.

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The list of Seattle’s indie bookstores is missing one of the best bookstores ever - Book Larder!!! It’s an amazing cookbook store, you must check it out.

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It's been added to my list and my sister-in-law will love it. I'm not much into cooking (she is, though), but I will never pass up visiting a bookstore, no matter what its focus is. Thanks for the recommendation. :)

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Thanks for the tip about Finding Dorothy. The Wizard of Oz was my childhood favorite and I'm adding this to my Audible library asap!

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How exciting! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I'd love to be able to read it again for the first time, it was so good.

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Erik Larson's books terrify and thrill me. I haven't read this one yet.

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I've only read one, Isaac's Storm, and I've tried to read a couple others, but DNF'd them. I enjoyed Isaac's Storm even though it was slow in places. I want to read a couple others at some point.

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Lots of great stuff in these links. I am mostly interested in the drama with Goodreads. I have been a dedicated user for years but last year I started using StoryGraph. I have not let go of Goodreads yet though.

Also, I live in California so can't wait to read California Mishegoss.

And the RTD debacle? This is the first time I've heard of it, but excited to find out more. 📚🐛

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I was quite surprised when I started reading of all the bad things about RTD on Threads. I tried using Storygraph a couple of years ago, but I just didn't have the bandwidth to keep up with 2 tracking programs (GR & SG), so I let it go. I might try it again, who knows. Thanks for reading!

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May 17Liked by Gayla Gray

The Frye Festival of book omg 😅

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Isn't that crazy? I'm glad I wasn't there for so many reasons.

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I worked at Elliott Bay Books back in the early 80s when it was still in Pioneer Square. Be sure to head to The Book Larder in Fremont for cookbooks, too.

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Thanks for the recommendation. I can't wait to stop in at as many bookstores that I can while I'm there.

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If you are in Port Angeles to see Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, be sure to visit Port Book and News. Then come visit my house for a piece of pie! Also Munro’s in Victoria BC (take the ferry from Port Angeles).

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I don't know if we'll make it to Port Angeles or not as we haven't finalized our after the cruise sightseeing yet, but if we do, I'll definitely message you at least to say Hi!

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