The Things You Can Read Stops to Smell the Roses and Reflect

We here at The Things You Can Read are in a reflective mode.  In other words, we want to stop and smell the roses and see what path to follow next in the journey we call The Things You Can Read.  We are a tad bit over over two years old now and we want to hear from our readership. Below you will find what I call our Statement of Purpose.  We'd love to hear from you.  What do you want from your reading experience here at The Things You Can Read and a SUPER BIG Thank You for sharing our journey with us.

Statement of Purpose:

The Things You Can Read's has several goals.  One of its primary goals includes featuring  reviews of Children's Picture Books, Young Adult Novels and Adult Literary Fiction/Nonfiction.  A second goal for our blog is to be a resource for teachers of English and writing, where teachers can find the following:  examples of student created writing, writing tips, lesson plans, resource links, and the opportunity to pick the brain of a seasoned English teacher.  A third goal for The Things You Can Read is to feature bookish information which includes interesting news in the book community or perhaps letting our readership know of current giveaways.  These bookish posts  provide information of interest to people throughout the book industry.   To spice things up...every now and then, our blog will also include random quotes, thoughts on education or posts for those living a life filled with books and "life long learning".  Our ultimate goal is to reach out into the blogosphere and be a "Book Whisperer" and "Writing Whisperer" to children and adults of all ages.

Again, we'd love to hear your thoughts on what we have created here at The Things You Can Read.   

Happy Reading☮

The Things You Can Read!

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge: Day 8

 

Day 8:  Quick!  Write 15 bullet points of things that appeal to your on blogs or questions that I consider as I visit a new blog! 

1. Interesting sidebar information
2. Reviews that fit my reading habits
3. Are there any resources this blogger is using that I might find beneficial? For example: Net Galley
4. Is the blog visually appealing?
5. Are they posting on a regular bases?
6. Are they participating in any Blog Hops I might enjoy?
7. Do they use Goodreads?  If they do, what Goodreads information are they sharing on their blog?
8. Do they have what they are currently reading posted?
9. Is the blogger doing something that I should consider doing?

10. Are they involved in any challenges I might enjoy?
11. No noises/music when the blog loads
12. I'm still working on 12-15

Additional Resources:

Day 1 and 2 of Challenge

Day 3 of Challenge

Day 4 of Challenge

Day 5 of Challenge

Day 6 of Challenge

Day 7 of Challenge

 

How would you answer this one?  Let us know here at The Things You Can Read!

Happy Reading

The Things You Can Read!

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge: Day 7

 

Day 7:  Talk about your blogging quirks.

Well, I hadn't really thought of them as quirks, but I guess they are quirky habits I've established over my year of blogging.  I save lots of what I call "Possible Future Posts" in the draft folder of my blogging template.  To give you an idea, I have 700 drafts in my folder right now.  In comparison, I have only 330 published posts (remember I've only been blogging for a year).  Now these might be simply a quick fragment of an idea or an article that I found, which will ultimately lead to a germ for a future posts or they might be partially written posts.

Recently, I've developed another habit of making sure I have scheduled at least five posts to automatically post over the upcoming five days.  Right now, I have seven scheduled to post, which is great because next week I am very busy as a helper/teacher with VBS plus all my children's other summer activities.  This is also a really good quirk to have established because we will be going on vacation in a few weeks, and I don't have access to the Internet during that time.  In connection with this quirk is another little thing about these five or so posts-of these posts-I like to have at least one or two reviews in the mix.

I never write on paper first.  I always type my posts.  I don't care if it is in Word or in the template of the blogging post, I type.  I learned early on that I am a far better writer when I type.  In relation to the actual writing, if I am typing a review, I like to have the image of the book posted first then I write the written word that goes along with the post. 

During the day, I check my blog, at various and sundry times, to see where folks are visiting my blog from and what material they are viewing.  This helps me plan content for my blog as I begin writing those scheduled posts.  

 

One of my blogging goals for the year is to develop more blogging friendships, so I have seen another quirk develop, and that is to make sure to [TRY] and reply to any comments I receive on my blog, and to try to leave comments on blogs I visit.  This is sometimes harder than you'd think it would be because of the time this takes.

My last thoughts on the subject of blogging quirks are in relation to returning to a post.  I will often go back to posts and edit or add information if I think it should be modified.  Especially, now, with the five day ahead scheduling system, I can let a post sit a few days and then read over it with "fresh eyes" to catch basic grammar mistakes or even add a thing or two to the post. 

Well. these are my blogging quirks or preferences, I'm sure I'll be coming back to add a few that I think of later, but in the mean time, what are your blogging quirks?

Additional Resources:

Day 1 and 2 of Challenge

Day 3 of Challenge

Day 4 of Challenge

Day 5 of Challenge

Day 6 of Challenge

 

How would you answer this one?  Let us know here at The Things You Can Read!

Happy Reading

The Things You Can Read!

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Writing: Defeat the Do’s and Don’ts of Blogging with Three Unconventional Perspectives

There are a lot of different ways pro-bloggers tell newbies they can generate more blog traffic, get more followers, subscribers, comments, likes, etc. And we dutifully follow their suggestions. I mean, they are the pros, right?-Momcomm

Defeat the Do's and Don'ts of Blogging by checking out this post which is a great reminder to those of us who are new to blogging, as well as, to those of us who have been blogging awhile.  Let us know your thoughts after reading the article:  Click HERE to read the full post.  What are your DOs for blogging?  One of ours is to try and post at least five times a week.  Our golden rule for posting is to make sure the post needs to contain something we would like to read if we were visiting another blog.  Let us know here at The Things You Can Read!

Happy Reading and Happy Blogoversary to
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Writing Prompts: The Writing Whisperer

We wanted to let our readership know about our other blog, which is more writing oriented.  We use The Writing Whisperer with our students.  The mission of The Writing Whisperer is as follows:

The Writing Whisperer is intended to inspire higher level thinking and discussions, which will culminate in a thoughtful written response.  The Writing Whisperer is intended primarily as source of writing prompts, which often encompass a visual piece to aid in a more contemplative response.  The Writing Whisperer is geared to be used in the classroom, however, it can also be used for writers seeking a prompt to get their "writing juices flowing". In addition, The Writing Whisperer, from time to time, will also feature writing related information and resources.  Now, start writing!

Please feel free to send suggestions for prompts via The Writing Whisperer or The Things You Can Read...of course we will properly credit you, and of course, we will provide a link back to your blog for your contribution!  For the writers and the readers in The Things You Can Read's audience please consider following The Writing Whisperer...Now, start scribbling!

Happy Scribbling!

The Writing Whisperer

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the power of the Written Word!

Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Bloggiesta 2012 Ole!

Having Fun with  Bloggiesta 2012 
Image Credit: Free Vintage Digistamps

The Things You Can Read is participating in Bloggiesta 2012, which is happening September 28th through the 30th!  Stay tuned for further details.  Check it out, and let us know if you plan to join the fun!

Ole,

The Things You Can Read
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and  the Power of Books!

Image Credit:  Bloggiesta Participants

Book Blogger Appreciation Week-Day 5: Saying Goodbye for Another Year

Book Blogger Appreciation Week-Day 5: 

Saying Goodbye for Another Year

Jane Austen
The thing that I will take into the future is the Classics Club 

September 10 -14, 2012 is Book Blogger Appreciation Week, so welcome to Day 5 of Book Blogger Appreciation Week.  Unfortunately, Day 5 is the final day.  On this, the final day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, bloggers are asked to consider the following:…what did you get out of this week? What will you take with you in the future? 

What did I get out of this week?  Well, I found a number of great blogs that I had never visited before.  I'm still slowly maneuvering through  the list of participants.  As I visit each blog, I am in awe of the talented bloggers out there in the blogosphere, and hope that I have the stamina to keep blogging as long as some of the veteran bloggers out there.  More importantly, the quality of the blogs is inspiring.  Again, I only hope that I can continue to write quality posts that have value to my readership over the long haul.  What I don't want is for The Things You Can Read to be a flash in the pan.  Seeing what others have achieved, offers me hope and insight as my blog moves forward.  Book Blogger Appreciation Week  may end today, but I'll be visiting participating blogs well into October.

The thing that I will take into the future is the Classics Club, which I've recently joined. The blogs goal is to, “unite those of us who like to blog about classic literature, as well as to inspire people to make the classics an integral part of life.” I love this idea. Bravo to the founders! I know this new find will enrich my life in the coming months, and I look forward to adding my voice to the Classics Club.

Classics Club

I hope our readership at The Things You Can Read has enjoyed Book Blogger Appreciation Week.  Please look for our participation next year.  As always, we look forward to your comments regarding BBAW 2012!

Happy Blogger Appreciation Week!
The Things You Can Read

Back to School Resource Series: Giant Cookie Message Maker

According to the Giant Cookie Message Maker, "Giant cookies are much yummier than their normal-sized counterparts."  So make as many as you want using the Giant Cookie Message Maker!

Happy Messaging,
The Things You Can Read

Another Tool in our Back to School Series

Here is another tool in our series of Back to School resources to use in your classroom or on your blogs.  Write your own message for your multimedia presentation using Back to School Chalkboard Message.  Fun, easy, and free, three things we love at The Things You Can Read.  Give it a whirl and share your messages in the comment section here at The Things You Can Read, and one more thing, don't forget to follow us via email or Google Connect.

Happy Reading☮

The Things You Can Read!

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Another Great Tool: Animoto for Educators

In The Things You Can Read's quest to find new and exciting resources to make teaching and blogging more exciting, we have found another great tool:  Animoto.  If you use YouTube in your classroom and you noticed all those great projects popping up many of them were created with Animoto.  Check out our one minute video to see how it works.  We haven't shared the best part yet, Animoto will give teachers a free trial for 160 days.  Since you are limited to 50 videos with the free educator account, you may want to consider a personal account too.  Here is the link for all those educators out there: Animoto for Education.  Just an FYI...We have both types of accounts here at The Things You Can Read because with over 100 students, we'll use up our 50 video limit in no time.  Now, if you don't mind being limited to 30 seconds, then you can create 30 second videos for free all the time, but you will still need to set up an account.  Let us know, here at The Things You Can Read, how this tool works out for you!

Happy Animotoing!

The Things You Can Read

Quotes to Turn a Quote into a Masterpiece: Create a Quote

Image Credit: L. Frank Baum

In celebration of the The Things You Can Read's discovery of Create a Quote.  We thought we'd share a few quotes from the inimitable L. Frank Baum, the writer of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series.  Enjoy and think about creating a masterpiece using Create a Quote, and don't forget to share your masterpiece with us here at The Things You Can Read.

Quotes courtesy of Goodreads:

“A baby has brains, but it doesn't know much. Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get.

“A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

“Oh - You're a very bad man!"

Oh, no my dear. I'm a very good man. I'm just a very bad Wizard.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

“I shall take the heart. For brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.
”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

“To be angry once in a while is really good fun, because it makes others so miserable. But to be angry morning, noon and night, as I am, grows monotonous and prevents my gaining any other pleasure in life.”― L. Frank Baum, The Emerald City of Oz

“As a matter of fact, we are none of us above criticism; so let us bear with each other's faults.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz

“Everything has to come to an end, sometime.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz

“Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with wonders.”
― L. Frank Baum, Rinkitink in Oz

“No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Lost Princess of Oz

“. . .It is the Law that while Evil, unopposed, may accomplish terrible deeds, the power of Good can never be overthrown when opposed to Evil. . .”
― L. Frank Baum, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

Image Credit: Create a Quote

Turn a Quote into a Masterpiece: Create a Quote

We, here at The Things You Can Read, are gearing up for our return to the classroom, and have been scouring the Internet for resources, which we can use to add a bit of spice to our multimedia presentations and our classroom walls.  First, we have to say that we love quotes.  We collect them!  So, imagine our surprise to discover our most recent find.  Turn your most beloved quote into a stunning masterpiece using Create a Quote.  The Things You Can Read is really in love with this Internet tool, and to start the year off, we plan on having our students bring in their favorite quote, and make their own masterpieces.  Do you have a favorite quote?  Share it with us here at The Things You Can Read, and enjoy creating your own masterpieces using Create a Quote.

Happy Reading☮

The Things You Can Read!

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!