Top Ten Tuesday (45)

Top Ten Tuesday is  a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

First off, I want to apologize to everyone for being a crappy team player the last week! I’ve been sick and I just CANNOT find the energy to get things done. I’ve slept most of the past week away and the computer was not interesting me at all, thus my commenting, blog posts and EVERYTHING sucked. Alas, I’m on the mend now so I’m playing catch up this week 🙂 Bare with me please, loves <3

NOW! I love this freaking topic!!!  I love finding out what tools and services others bloggers use so I cannot wait to see everyone’s answers!

1. Goodreads
What would I do without Goodreads?!? I keep track of all my books this way. I shelve them according to library, review, which ones I own, what year they are released, which ones don’t have a cover released, keep track of my challenge books… seriously if Goodreads ever went away, I would spend a great deal of time crying about it! I was so disorganized with my book lists before Goodreads(keep in mind though this was also before blogging so my TBR was far smaller than it is now, like 4 books at a time :P), I would write the ones I wanted to read on slips of paper and they would be lost for months. Nevermind the fact that I had no idea when anything was going to be released… oh how I did live like that? 😛

2. Excel
It’s not a secret that I am obsessed with Excel. It’s well past the point of a healthy love… I use it for everything, blogging being a huge one. I organize all my reviews with Excel, my challenges, I have a book buying spreadsheet… it’s endless. It’s a wonderful, wonderful tool and I recommend it to anyone for staying organized!

3. OneNote
I only just started using OneNote two weeks ago, thanks to Asti but it’s LOVE! I will never stop using this for blogging. It’s absolutely fantastic the amount of things you can do on here and PLUS you can insert EXCEL SPREADSHEETS! We were made for each other, OneNote and I.

4. Evernote
Evernote is fantastic, and not just for bloggers. It syncs within all your devices, which is great because I use it on the computer, my tablet and my phone. On a side note from blogging, if my boyfriend is out doing the groceries and I’m home and think of something for the list, I just update it and hits sync before he leaves and TADA! List updated 🙂 Other than that you can create separate notebooks, with notes to organize, clip things from the web… its fabulous. And the plus side is that it’s free up to a certain amount of usage per month and I have never gone over. And I use this a ton! Totally worth looking into if you don’t use it.

5. The Library
I know this isn’t the same for everyone but my library is absolutely amazing. I live in Toronto, and the Toronto Public Library is huge and extensive. I have not yet found a book that they haven’t had. You can place a ton of holds, sometimes months in advance of release(they are really good for ordering ahead of time), manage your holds and renews online, have a great e-book/audiobook selection and a ton of branches. Honestly, anyone in Toronto not using the library is really missing out. I am able to get a ton of books that I can review on my blog that I otherwise would have to purchase(and we all know unfortunately it’s not possible to purchase ALL THE BOOKS, wah) and also to try out a new genre or something I’m otherwise I’m unsure of.

6. OverDrive
This goes somewhat hand in hand with the library but I love the Overdrive App. I use it on my computer to listen to audiobooks, have it on my tablet and my phone. I love that I can listen to an audiobook while I’m running, or quickly read an e-book on my phone if I’m stuck in the line… it’s great and I love that it shows your return dates.

7. Amazon Kindle & Bookcloseouts
Although this may actually be a bad thing sometimes, the deals on these two sites are amazing. I’ve been able to get so many books for such cheap prices, which I subsequently review on the blog! I love Amazon because they have so many amazing indie authors and I LOVE finding new gems on there.

8. The Book Depository
This site is goldmine. Not only can I order alternate covers that I sometimes like better but its fabulous for giveaways. I love that I can open my giveaways up to a wider audience with free shipping

9. Netgalley & Edelweiss
Another great tool for book bloggers. I don’t receive ARCs in the mail from publishers normally, because I don’t generally reach out. Not because I don’t want to but my Canada Post is hit or miss on whether they will deliver the attempt card to my property management or take it to a post office(which is FAR away mind you) so I just don’t generally like to deal with mail unless I expect it. That being said, Netgalley & Edelweiss fix that problem! It enables book bloggers to access advances copies to review and there are SOOOO MANY! I have to restrict myself from requesting often 😛

10. The Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin
Do I have to talk about this?! I feel like everyone should have this on their list 😛 It’s AMAZING! Ashley has created the most amazing tool specifically for book bloggers and it makes your life so EASY! Review archives, reviews… the possibilities are endless. I’m in love.

Phew. We are done…I talked to much this time 😛 Anyhow, what are some things that you love and made your life easier?!! Link up please! I love experimenting with new tools & services!!!