Keeping Track of Your Book Lists

A recent comment by fellow list producer, Katie C., on my blog about “Keeping a Book List” peaked my interest. Katie told me about a website called LibraryThing.com that she uses to list her favorite books. So I decided to check it out.

She’s right – it’s a great website. It’s a social cataloging site that lets you keep track of your favorite books, wish lists, etc. You can read other user’s reviews and it connects people who like the same types of books. It gives you suggestions about what to read next and can be accessed from anywhere – including your cell phone. So when people ask you “what should I read?” you’ll have all the information at your fingertips!

Basically it’s a social media site for book nerds. Well, I’m in! There are a bunch of other sites and even an application on Facebook that does similar things. But what I like about this site is that it searches the Library of Congress, Amazon sites and more than 80 libraries all over the world. It lets you organize your collection however you’d like – even by using the Dewey decimal system.

Signing up is free but it allows you to only catalog 200 books. That’s fine by me– I probably won’t need more than that. But if you’re a real bookworm you might want to get a paid account that costs $10 a year or $25 for a lifetime! Seems like a small price to pay to get your “nerd on.”

What other book sites do you like to use to keep track of all your reads?

Lists Can Tell Stories

Your lists can tell so much about you. Where you’re going, what you’re doing, how much you have left to do, if you need milk, etc.

More Than a Grocery List

An artsy guy named Bill Keaggy collected a bunch of grocery lists in his blog and book, “Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found.” People from all over sent in their lists or ones that they found and the results were pretty telling. There were normal grocery items like milk and eggs.  But some offer strange combinations like the one that includes hair detangler and Prozac. Bill’s commentary always makes me laugh.  Check it out for a chuckle. Read more

Hunger Games: Will the Movie Beat the Book?

By now you’ve heard of the Hunger Games I hope. It’s a trilogy that was originally written for teens but has a cult following with adults — both men and women alike.  I for one, am hooked.  So are all the women I work with.  We just can’t get enough.  I plan on seeing the movie soon but wonder if it will live up to the excitement in the book.

Here’s a list of some other books that were made into movies and my vote on which one won:

The Book Is Better

  • Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
  • Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
  • Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
  • My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
  • Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
  • The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
  • Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

What a Great Movie

  • Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
  • The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
  • Donny Brasco by Joseph D. Pistone
  • Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
  • The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
  • Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (original)

I Can’t Decide — It’s a Tie

  • The Help by Kathryn Stockett
  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker
  • The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Kidd
  • The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
  • Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

What are some of your favorite books that have been turned into movies?

Being Organized Helps Beat Stress

One of the things I love about being a health producer is that I get to cover “news you can use.” From the newest super food to a cutting-edge surgery — we often learn about it first.  Not only does this information help people but it makes me look really smart at cocktail parties.

That said — I had the opportunity to produce a segment with life coach and author Margaret Moore (a.k.a. Coach Meg) about her book “Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life,” where she gave all kinds of tips and tricks for being less overwhelmed, less stressed and more productive.  Love that!

Take a look at the video and accompanying article here for some ways to tame the frenzy in your own life.  Here are some of my favorite Coach Meg tips:

  • Think about what puts you in a calm state and do it!
  • Set small goals to focus your attention (say to yourself for 30 minutes I’m only working on x)
  • Turn off your cell phone and/or email to get more done
  • Even super organized people can overload — build in breaks and time to relax
  • In the end you are the only one to hold accountable for your productivity

Successful To-Do List Junkie Shares Secrets

Finally — someone who might be more obsessed with to-do lists than me. Sasha Cagen wrote a book all about lists called “To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us” and she actually analyzed lists sent in by ordinary people. I thought she’d be the perfect featured list producer this month so I asked her a few questions:

Q: Why do you call yourself a compulsive list producer? Read more