Friday, July 10, 2009

TGIF: Friday Meme Fun (July 10, 2009)

This week's Musings Monday question is about library company:
Who, if anyone usually accompanies you to the library? Is it somewhere you go alone? Or is it a regular outing with family or friends? Which do you prefer?
I love my library. The bookshelves are overflowing with books and there's a coziness to it that I cannot find anywhere else. I sometimes will visit my library by myself. I like to browse the shelves, remembering books I have read and craving the books I have yet to. My husband is a frequent fixture there. He comes and goes with or without me, depending. I never mind his company, although sometimes it is nice to have a some time with my books to myself.

I often have other companions too. My library companions are the best I could ask for. They are quiet and do not complain if I linger long over the books. I can settle on the floor or curl up on a couch and they are content going their own way. They like to explore the library too, taking in the sights and smells. Sometimes they may be curious about what I am reading and come see what's caught my attention.

There are those moments, however, when my companions have other ideas. Climbing on books to sit in the window has become a popular past-time. According to at least two of them, books make a good perch all their own. The one who isn't quite so agile sees the stacks of books not yet on the shelves as part of an obstacle course. Unfortunately, he hasn't quite mastered how to clear the jumps as of yet.

I once dreamed of living in a library. Just imagine! Not having to go far to check out a book, no waiting for the doors to open and being kicked out by a certain time, no deadlines and late fees, thousands of books to choose from . . . Doesn't that sound like a slice of heaven? Fortunately, dreams do come true. My house is my library.




For this week's Tuesday Thingers, Wendi asks

Christine over at Erotic Book Junkies / Romantic Crush Junkies actually gave me the idea for this post a while back. There are so many wonderful resources available to us as bloggers and individuals. Take a look at just a few of the many social networking sites: Facebook, MySpace, Library Thing, GoodReads, Twitter. . . the list can go on and on!

Sometimes it is hard to keep up with everything, and sometimes we all need a place just for us - where we don't have any blogger responsibilities.

Questions: How do you feel about social networking sites? Do you have any you like more than others? Are there any you don't like? Do you have any that you don't associate with your blogs and/or book reviewing? If you could only belong to one of these sites, which one would it be and why?
Pen palling was my first experience with social networking. There is a huge community out there made of people who share an interest in making friends via letters. Pre-computer days, I belonged to a birthday club and several other pen pal related clubs. There were monthly newsletters full of opportunities to meet new people as well as share in the love of the craft.

I eventually was able to connect with other pen pals online, but that was not until much later in my life. I discovered pen pal clubs much like those I belonged to before only these were strictly on the computer. I made friends and found new ways to connect with old ones. It was through these types of groups that I discovered online reading groups. Yahoo and MSN had what seemed to be an endless number of them. To this day I still belong to several Yahoo online reading groups, each of them unique. We talk about books and life. We share resources and make recommendations. We discuss the books that make us think, those we love and as well as those that disappoint us.

It was through those groups and with a big shove from my husband that I discovered blogging. I took to it like a fish in water. Well, not really, but at least enthusiasm-wise. My blog opened my eyes to a slew of other social networking communities out there. I still don't have a handle on them all and doubt I ever will.

I did not join LibraryThing for the social networking aspect initially. I was looking for a place to catalog all the books I own. I researched similar sites right along side LibraryThing and decided that LibraryThing was, in fact, my perfect match. Since joining, I have explored the more social features of the site and taken part in a few of the discussions.

My first attempt with GoodReads was disappointing. I could not see a purpose for it in my already busy online schedule. Last April, I decided to give it a try again. This time I am using the site a little bit differently, logging in the books I read this year. I have not ventured too far into the more social side of GoodReads. I imagine it is a combination a lack of time and being unsure exactly where to begin.

Along with the several online book groups I belong to through Yahoo, I also belong to Book Blogs and Readers Anonymous, Ning sites that are very much a part of the social networking environment. I am still learning my way around both of these communities, but I have to say, I have enjoyed exploring the different nuances of each site. I like the individual and community aspects that they offer.

I do belong to Twitter, and, I confess, I am totally overwhelmed by it. I have heard its praises sung from the treetops, but frankly, much of the appeal is still lost on me. I have had some good conversations on Twitter, gotten closer to a couple of fellow book bloggers, and reconnected with an old friend. I guess that's something.

I have stayed far away from MySpace and FaceBook and have no intention of joining either one. I am quite content with my blog and other social networking sites. I belong to. I mean, I can barely keep up with what I already am involved with!

At this point in time, my online identity is closely tied to books and my blog. I do not talk about my work other than in vague generalities, and I tend to be guarded in what I share about my personal life.

Social networking has provided me with the opportunity to interact and get to know people I may never have come in contact with otherwise. It has opened doors for me that I never thought would be opened to me. But what I value most from it all are the friendships I have made.


Graphic courtesy of Tonya!
*Click on the image above graphic to get to the Friday Fill-In headquarters, hosted by Janet!*


1. The last thing I ate was a turkey sandwich and pretzels.

2. A little bag of gummy bears for my husband is something I recently bought.

3. When it rains, I like to put on my boots, grab my umbrella, and go for a walk, or, better yet, curl up on the couch with a good book.

4. My husband was the first person I talked to today.

5. Hugs are a cure to a bad day.

6. After the week I've had, I am definitely in need of extra comfort.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to celebrating Riley's birthday; tomorrow my plans include sleeping in and sneaking in a little reading time when I can; and Sunday, I want to continue with the celebrating, this time with my husband for our 11th wedding anniversary!

The Birthday Boy


© Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty 2009. All rights reserved.
If you're reading this on a site other than
Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

25 comments:

  1. Wait you actually bought lollies AND handed them to someone else? I am in awe of you. Those lollies would never have made it out of the shop!

    Congratulations on 11 years! Hope your celebrations go well.

    My cats are my library companions as well, whether I want them or not LOL

    My Friday Fill Ins are here.

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  2. Oooo meant to say I agree with you on the whole social networking thing. Most of my twitter friends are other bloggers and it has been fun getting to know them better. Otherwise I am still a little confused as well as to the point.

    Blogging seems to be taking over my other social networking sides (in fact my whole internet usage really).

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  3. Living in the library- now that mine has a cafe, it's actually possible, LOL :-)
    I know what you mean about Good Reads. I like it okay but it's a bit much. I just recently updated it and now I don't know what else to do with it!

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  4. Twitter does have a slight learning curve and can be overwhelming, but once I got used to it, I love it! Riley is just gorgeous!

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  5. I miss the libraries, but fortunately I've enough books to last me for a few years?! :P

    For me, I love going to the library by myself. I'll most definitely bring my daughter to the libraries once she could recognize most words and be able to read a book by herself! Right now, I'm reading picture books and simple story books to her. :D

    I hope you've a great weekend ahead, Wendy! And a very Happy Birthday to Riley and Happy Anniversary to you & your husband!! :)

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  6. Riley is adorable! Happy anniversary :)

    I don't appreciate Twitter yet - maybe because I haven't taken the time to figure it out. But I do love Facebook to keep up with old friends and new. It does make me feel more connected to their daily lives even if we can't see each other often.

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  7. Happy Anniversary! 11 years... that is fantastic! Riley is absolutely adorable too. Happy Birthday Riley!

    I go to the library by myself all of the time as well. On the few occassions my husband has gone with me, he is very patient, waiting while I check everything out and holding all of my treasures. Though he doesn't read, he fully appreciates and encourages my reading! Have a fantastic weekend!

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  8. I like the idea of social networking sites, but keeping up with them can be so overwhelming. I belong to Facebook but I don't "friend" everyone just for the sake of having them. I only have people on there that I genuinely care about catching up with. Twitter I also like but it is too hard to keep up with. Sometimes I want to wash my hands of all it.

    Happy Day for Riley and I hope you have a wonderful Anniversary with your husband. I love reading your blog so I am happy you continue to do it. :)

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  9. Happy anniversary to you and Anjin, and happy birthday to Riley! (Since you have a Riley and an Anya, I often think of your pets when I'm watching Buffy :-).)

    It was your enthusiasm for LibraryThing that got me started over there, for the same reasons. I really don't take much advantage of its social aspects, I'm afraid.

    Thanks for mentioning Readers Anonymous - I didn't know about that site. I'm on Book Blogs too, but not very active.

    Like you, I'm still more excited about blogging than most of the other social-networking opportunities out there.

    Have a great weekend, Wendy!

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  10. First- Happy Birthday to Riley! And Happy 11th wedding anniversary! I hope both celebration bring together lot of loves, laughters and many more memories to come :)

    I'm on twitter, and it take lot of getting use to it in order to enjoy it. I use it to keep chat with friends and family. And get update from book authors. Also get an update news about the world out there too :) You'll be amaze at how fast the news get to twitter :)

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  11. You should read the book for kids:
    Bats in the Library. You would love to be one of the bats. LOL

    Happy Anniversary to you & hubby that is really special. Congrats.

    Riley is sooooo adorable and Happy Birthday to him from all my fur babies and me.

    I hate Twitter.
    I feel the same as you do about Facebook. Although I joined and now I refuse to use it. It is too lame and commercial.
    I love Library Thing to keep my library organized.
    I use Goodreads to network somewhat more than at Library Thing.
    Like you I belong to Book Blogs, but don't have the time to keep up with conversations.
    I would rather focus on my blog and my blogger friends through my blog network throughout the week. I wish I had more time to visit everyone everyday, but that would be impossible.

    I would like to be penpals more or less via email with some of the bloggers I have become closer to.

    When I go to the library I go alone. Always alone, so that I can feel free to look without pressure of time. I hate having to leave before I'm ready.

    Like you, I consider my home my library.
    Great post, Wendy....Lots of stuff to discuss.

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  12. Riley is adorable.

    Happy Anniversary!

    I belong to LibraryThing and GoodReads but don't really do much at either. I've been trying out GoodReads more during the last week.

    I'm afraid of Twitter & Facebook/MySpace swallowing me whole. It's hard enough to find time to read & knit. ;)

    Adrienne and I go to the library together frequently, come to think of it. Otherwise I go alone.

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  13. Happy Birthday to Riley! Happy anniversary to Riley's mom and dad!

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  14. For me, the "secret" of making Twitter work is not even trying to keep up. When I'm online I jump into conversations or start new ones. When I'm not, I just check my @ replies later and, unless I have time to kill, don't even try to read the rest.

    I'm not on Facebook either, though, and I can't see myself joining.

    Riley is adorable! Happy birthday to him!

    And happy anniversary :D

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  15. Happy Anniversary! And Happy Birthday to the Birthday Boy who is looking quite smart in the photo!

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  16. First of all, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

    I recognized you library companions. I used to have one of those. She loved rubbing her little cheeks on the corners of my books :o)

    I usually hang out in my own home to read, but there have been at least two libraries that I've enjoyed curling up in to read:
    Flagstaff Public Library -- they have a fireplace, couches and Navajo rugs.
    Tiburon Public Library -- a tiny little place where they throw open the windows during fine weather and let the ocean breezes blow through.

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  17. I'm with you on the social networking... I think it's all great but at the same time sometimes I feel like it's too much. I don't want more online "responsibilities". I already feel stretched for time and I'm not even working a real job.

    Anyway, hope you and your husband have a wonderful anniversary tomorrow! Wishing you guys many more years filled with happiness & love.

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  18. First thing first, a very happy birthday to the handsome Riley, and a wonderful wedding anniversary to your husband!

    My house is my library too. I recently joined the national library (NL) but I do better with my own if I'm looking at newer books. Having said that, I do use the NL for older books and for checking out certain authors.

    As for social networking sites, I'm on:
    1) Twitter and Facebook (I integrated both of them so I only status update at either side, and it'll show at both),
    2) Blogging (my posts are automatically imported to Facebook so my FB friends, colleagues, old acquaintances, etc knows what's up with me and about my blog too)
    3) LibraryThing (to catalogue my books. I use Facebook to catalogue too)
    4) LinkedIn (access to professional groups such as headhunters, etc)

    Facebook landed me an invitation to speak in the conference that I blogged about in March, so it is useful. :)

    I think once you find ways to integrate them and make them work together, they are no longer overwhelming but serves a good purpose. :D

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  19. Wendy, I meant to day "... and a wonderful wedding anniversary to YOU AND your husband!"

    I ate the two words! LOL

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  20. Caspette - LOL It was really hard to to keep the gummy bears for myself. :-)

    Thank you for the anniversary wishes. :-)

    I keep the door to my TBR room closed generally and so unless I'm going to be in there long, I prefer to keep the cats out. Of course, since it's a room they are not often allowed in, they have a tendency to be right there ready to sneak in before I can stop them.

    Blogging is what takes up most of my internet time too. Maybe eventually we'll get the hang of twitter. You are my main practice buddy. :-)

    Marie - Fortunately for me, my library has a built in kitchen bathrooms, including a shower, and, of course, my bedroom. LOL

    I need to update my GoodReads account. It's hard to remember sometimes where I've fallen behind.

    Kathy - I guess my learning curve is pretty steep. LOL I've been using Twitter for about five months now.

    Thank you. Riley uses his good looks to his advantage all the time. :-)

    Melody - You know, I don't really miss the public library. Is that terrible? Like you, I have enough books in my house to last me for years--it's my own personal library. :-)

    Stacy - Thank you for the anniversary wishes! All these compliments are going to go to Riley's head. :-)

    I think my problem with Twitter is that it is too busy. And staying in touch with friends--I do that via my blog, book groups and e-mail. And when appropriate, in person. Adding Facebook to that seems like overkill. At least for me. I know many people have put it to good use--and I think that's wonderful. It's just not for me.

    Kristie - Thank you from Riley and my husband and I!

    That is great that your husband is supportive of your reading, even if he isn't much of a reader myself. I have an uncle who strongly discouraged his wife from reading for many years--it always made me so sad to hear.

    I hope you have a great weekend too!

    Nicole - I can see how Facebook would be overwhelming if you didn't use it the way you do. I've thought giving up Twitter at various intervals too. I like the interactions I do have on there, but I feel like I miss so much. And I hate that feeling.

    I really enjoy blogging. And while I do have moments when I doubt myself and consider quitting, overall, I think it's really been a blessing in my life. I'm glad to hear someone else is getting something out of it too.

    Thank you so much for the birthday and anniversary wishes!

    Florinda - Why, thank you, Florinda! Riley had a wonderful birthday. Everyone got a little spoiled on Friday. They might get spoiled again tomorrow as well. :-)

    I don't take part in the the social aspects of LT as much as I used to, but I still occasionally drop by the groups and leave comments. I just haven't had the time lately.

    I am fairly new to Readers Anonymous, but there's a great group of people there. It's not as busy as Book Blogs by any stretch, which I think is an advantage. I don't feel left out of the loop or like I can't keep up.

    I hope you have a great week!

    Julia - Thanks, Julia! It's been a good weekend overall for all of us. :-)

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  21. Wisteria - LOL I just might like to be a bat in the library.

    Thank you for the anniversary and birthday wishes. Riley says thank you to your fur babies and you as well. :-)

    LibraryThing has been such a wonderful service. I find it so useful. I find I don't always have time for Book Blogs either. It's such a busy site.

    Like you, I wish I had more time to visit everyone every day. I fall behind so quickly and sometimes it's a struggle to keep up.

    I haven't been to the public library in years. My personal library serves as my library very well.

    Carrie K - Thank you! I haven't really explored Good Reads social aspects. I admit that it's a bit confusing to me. Maybe if I spent more time on the site, I could figure it out. I just haven't had the time.

    I know what you mean about some of the social networking sites swallowing you whole. I really think they could if you let them! LOL

    Teddy - Thank you so much, Teddy!

    Nymeth - That's pretty much how I treat Twitter too. I don't try and keep up. I read the current tweets when I am able to get on and ignore the ones that came before. I do try and tweet back with the replies I get.

    Thank you for the birthday and anniversary wishes!

    Jenclair - Thank you! I really like that photo of Riley. :-) It was taken only last month.

    Terri - Thanks!

    Both of my cats love to rub their cheeks on the corners of the books too. And sometimes nibble on them. LOL The cats definitely appreciate the books more than my dog does. I don't think he notices them all too much. He's more interested in getting my attention and wanting to play.

    Iliana - Exactly! It would be easy to be consumed by the online world. We have lives outside of that and it's important to maintain a balance. It does seem harder at times than others.

    Thank you for the anniversary wishes. It's hard to believe it's been 11 years already.

    Alice - Thank you so much!

    My home library may not look like a "real" library but it serves its purpose well. :-)

    You are such an organized person, Alice. I am not surprised you manage the social networking sites so well. :-) I imagine it helps that you also use them for professional networking, which is something that I don't have a use for. My time online is strictly for personal reasons.

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  22. I'd love to live anywhere surrounded by books. I like my library although I wish it were bigger.

    Happy Birthday to Riley! And I sure hope you're having a wonderful anniversary today!

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  23. Dar - Thank you for the birthday and anniversary wishes. :-)

    I am not sure I could feel completely at home without a lot of books around me.

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  24. Happy belated anniversary! I hope you had a lovely day. And that Riley had a nice birthday too. He's such a handsome boy! :)

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  25. Nat - Thank you! We had a very nice anniversary and Riley a good birthday. :-) Riley just got a good brushing and now he's running around the house all excited. LOL

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