Saturday, August 23, 2008

Latest Addictions

So, I have some new online addictions. Here they are.

1. FACEBOOK. Ian's been on my case for some time to make use of it. Courtney begged me. Froshty was the most recent family member to invite me. And then Fem came to visit. I've caved, despite all my inherent resistance, and have resurrected the old account I created eons ago when Becky (who, I'm sure, being far more hip and technologically savvy than I am, has moved on to bigger and better things at this time) first invited me. If you know me i.r.l. and have an account, come and find me. Not much there, but I'm taking my baby steps, you know?

2. GOODREADS. I don't know whether to curse or kiss the ground upon which Marissa walks, as she's the one who introduced me to this spot, which is a terrific one for sticking all the TBR titles I get from reading blogs. I'm having great fun trying to come up with 2-3 sentence descriptions (a self-imposed limit, because so many write way too much. They really ought to be book bloggers, which is where I expect to find lengthy essays) of all I'm reading/have read. I'd prefer to keep up with friends and family via this site, but (sigh), it seems most of my friends and family prefer to keep up with each other via Facebook.

3. WORLDCAT. The BEST! Where else am I going to go find out what libraries have which books I'm finding at Goodreads? Actually, Worldcat has the capability of being pretty much the same as Goodreads, but, unfortunately, I started all my tracking at Goodreads before I knew that. If I weren't so lazy, I'd go to the dealer and trade in my Saturn for this Jaguar.

Huh. Friends and books. They're not really new addictions, are they? They're just, you know, new cocktails for the alcoholic. Well, I'm about to spend a week in detox, as I head down to the Florida Keys sans laptop. Sort of. Accompanying me will be those tried-and-true, faithful little cocktails known as books. Here's what I'm taking:

For Key West Flavor:

The Mango Opera by Key West author Tom Corcoran (read it years ago, but want to re-read it, because it was the first book that ever made me long to visit Key West)

Because I'm learning to knit and this one was recently recommended:
The Friday Night Knitting Club

Because I'm halfway through both of these and can't possibly leave either one behind:
Ross Macdonald: A Biography
Hearts and Minds


Hoping to pick up some Hemingway while down there (and hoping to get over the irrational, life-long bias I've had against him. We'll see.

Now, if you happen to run into me in some seedy Internet cafe in Old Town, selling my body for one quick fix, please drag me back to the dive boat.


10 comments:

Rebecca H. said...

Well, I'll have to hunt you down on facebook. And I do enjoy getting your Goodreads updates; I don't really have time for another website to keep updated, so I don't think I'll be an active member, but I like following what you put up there!

Emily Barton said...

Dorr, gets to be too much to keep up with, doesn't it? Glad you're enjoying following my Goodreads updates, though.

Anonymous said...

I've never even been to Facebook, too much to keep track of in other places! I also enjoy your GoodReads updates even though I don't update mine all that often. Which reminds me, I've finished some books of late...

Becca said...

Facebook seems to have undergone a huge resurgence lately, for, prompted by some former students, I've done just as you have and "resurrected" my old account.
And yes, I too am hooked :)

As for your vacation reading, I loved The Friday Night Knitting Club and I can't knit a stitch (or a purl!) Hearts and Minds is one of my all time favorites.

Hope you have good weather in the Keys. I've been in Naples, Florida, since Thursday and we keep having unexpected downpours. Take your umbrella!

ZoesMom said...

Looking for you on Facebook, but I am not sure which one is you. Send me a clue or a friend invite so I can keep up with you there as well as here and GoodReads. :-)

Anonymous said...

Hope you are having lovely weather!
Yes, I am gone from Facebook, but because I was finding it a chore to keep up with rather than any hipness of mine (I was never one of the cool kids). And I have stayed away from Goodreads - although it now seems to be the only book site not owned by Amazon so I may have to take a look.

litlove said...

We are linked on facebook, aren't we? Or did I dream that? I'll check and find you if not. And I must get around to using Goodreads - I haven't yet figured out quite how the site works. Or perhaps ignorance is bliss....

Hope you are having a wonderful time in Florida!

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking of starting a Hemingway reading blog in January. I want to read his collected works slooooowly and have discussions. But first I think I am going to partake of the RIP challenge to see if I can actually get involved in challenges again, and then if I do that successfully move on from there.
And, YAY for facebook! I don't know where we go from here, but YAY.

Emily Barton said...

Stef, glad to hear you're enjoying my Goodreads updates, which need to be updated yet again. No need to do Facebook. Goodreads is good enough, better, actually, because it's all about books.

Becca, thanks for the good wishes. You'll see from my most recent post that, for the most part, the weather cooperated. And I'm enjoying The Friday Night Knitting Club, too.

ZM, I see you found me. Love your photo!

MFS, I don't believe Worldcat is yet owned by Amazon either :-)!

Litlove, yes, we are linked. So many places now for me to keep up with you, it's great!

Court, oooo, a Hemingway reading blog. That sounds great. I'm fascinated with him now, having visited his home. Ever heard the quote I read there that goes something like this, "Half of all American writers are trying to imitate him, and the other half are trying not to?" That one gave me pause,since I'm an American writer and have never read anything except a couple of obligatory short stories in h.s. that I don't remember at all.

Susan said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one to not know quite how Goodreads works! I'm even slower than you at getting on this stuff!! I'm on LibraryThing, but have like 1/20th of my books catalogues so far. I am on Facebook though, and check it about once a month!!
as for Key west, I was there long ago, on our sailboat, and sadly that was at the end of our two-year trip on the sailboat, and I'd lost my glasses again, so maybe I never actually saw anything of Key west since we had to hurry to Miami! You make me want to go back though! Carl Hiassen is another really good Florida author - sorry I'm late with the recommendation, maybe you could try one and it would bring back memories of your trip!!!