All posts by trav

At the heart of it all, I’m a fan. A fan of books and bookstores. A fan of fiction and non-fiction. A fan of authors and publishers. And most of all I’m a fan of great conversations sparked by books. All that to say - I really need more bookshelves.
Book Column, Book Talk, On the Web

Google Explore For Book Lovers

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Last week Google launched a new search feature for their Google+ social network. Basically, it adds groupings, tags, etc. and makes the network all searchable so that you can skim through all of the content generated on Google+.

So what’s the first thing I did? I did a few simple searches through Google Explore to see if I could find any books and book-related content that was of interest. I really wasn’t looking for people “curating” (like pinterest or tumblr), but for real content that harkened back to the days of book blog rings and such.

So I clicked on the “Explore” button up top…

google explore book search

and searched for “Books”. I was thankful for the Google Explore displayed all of the books-related tags that I could follow and check out.

google explore books

Early on I found these not worth following because of all the ads, spam and sales pitches:

  • #free
  • #eBooks
  • #kindle
  • #kindlebooks
  • #author

The rabbit holes I really enjoyed falling down through Google Explore were:

  • #Reading
  • #BookReview
  • #AuthorInterview
  • #BookLovers (the best of the bunch)

google explore book lovers

As you can see, once you click on #BookLovers you’re presented with a whole new slate of sub-categories and tags to click through. As new as the feature is (and as under-used as Google+ is) it’s not hard to quickly separate the signal from the noise and find folks worth following. From there it’s a single-click to add them to a new (or old) circle to keep up with them.

When I next have a few free moments I’m going to click around with category, subject and book genre searches. Hopefully those will yield more leads to books worth reading. So check it out and let me know if you find any bookish folks worth following.

Book Talk, Upcoming Titles

Fight Club Sequel Finished

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Chuck Palahniuk said yesterday that he has finished his Fight Club sequel and sent it to a publisher for review. I’m glad to hear that Tyler Durden is still clicking along with his reboot society sentiment.

All we know at this point is that Palahniuk’s Fight Club sequel takes place 10 years after the big implosion at the end of the first book and that Tyler is stuck in Jack and bored in the suburbs, ready to make a comeback!

Fight Club cover

Though I have to admit that I’m a little bummed that the story is planned as a seven issue graphic novel release and not as a comprehensive novel/novella. Maybe that will change if things take off for Tyler and crew again? Of course, according to a quote in that Guradian article, Palahniuk is stressed about the graphic novel format and the implications it has on story telling. I’m just curious: I wonder how long of a straight-text book a 210 graphic novel converts into? I’ll have to look up some math on that.

I’m anxious to see what impact Durden (and the books) have, on the world.

Apps, On the Web

Book Trivia Quizzes

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If you like book trivia, here is a quick classic novel quiz with just 17 questions (and it’s multiple choice!). All you have to do is read the opening line from a classic novel and then check the box of the book you think it came from.

book trivia

Your score is tallied at the end with all of the wrong answers in red and the correct answers showing up with green boxes.

I missed 7 of them. I’ve never been very good at “opening lines” quizzes, but I do enjoy taking them. I just never really pay attention to opening lines, though I know there are some great ones. It’s definitely something I want to pay closer attention to. Trivia is always fun, but it’s even better when all the questions are book-related.

book trivia quizup appAlso, if you haven’t played it yet, there is a new app out called QuizUp (it’s only on iOS right now, but an Android app is coming). It has a Literature category with 27 sub-categories and more being added weekly. This is waaaaay too much fun and I’ve lost waaaaaay too much of my life to this game. Some of the book trivia subcategories are General Lit, Classical Lit, Batman comics, Twilight, Science Fiction, Harry Potter, and the Hunger Games.

Anyway, chime in with how you did on the 17 question book trivia Classic Novel Quiz game.

Birmingham, Events

Book Events: Jan. 26th – Feb 2nd

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Lots of things going on these days in and around the bookstores and Birmingham libraries. It’s going to get tougher to choose which three book events to highlight each week, but that’s part of the fun I suppose.

There are some big annual library book sales coming up soon too. So stay tuned. Here are three author signings and/or book events you may be interested if you live in the Birmingham, AL area:

January 28th at 6:30 p.m. – the Avondale library is hosting their free January Adaptations After Party where they will be discussing and comparing both the book and movie versions of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

January 30th at 5 p.m. – James Scott author of The Kept, a novel of revenge set in 1897 rural New York,  will be signing at Alabama Booksmith.

February 1st from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. – the downtown Birmingham Library is hosting their annual Local Author Expo. This event is one of the more eclectic and colorful author signings in town. It’s always good fun to chat with these hometown authors.