Category Archives: On the Web

Google Explore For Book Lovers

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:

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

  • #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 Trivia Quizzes

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.

Podcasts for Bibliophiles

There is a great thread, in the Books on the Nightstand group, over on Goodreads, where members are listing their favorite podcasts for bibliophiles and book lovers. Even if you’re not a member of GoodReads or prefer other sites (like LibraryThing!) this thread is worth checking out. There are quite a few podcasts mentioned that I’m going to have to check out at least once. Here is a list of the first five that I’m downloading now to see what they have to say:

Greater Boston Book Loft – sounds like this will be a nice shorter 10-15 minute podcast and includes author interviews.

Literary Disco – three friends who are self-professed booknerds

Authors on Tour – this podcast is produced by the good folks at Denver’s indie rockstar bookstore The Tattered Cover

KCRW’s Bookworm – a podcast about books and authors, based in L.A.

The Afterword – produced by Slate

Other than Books on the Nightstand and NPR’s offerings, what podcasts do you listen to? Let me know if I’m missing out.

Alabama Booksmith Blogs

I just ran across the Alabama Booksmith’s blog  and wanted to share with all the other bookish folks in Birmingham. Here the link to their blog. Looks like it’s been weekly since April 2013 and is being staffed by someone calling themselves Paige Turner. So far it’s been an even mix of honest book reviews, recommendations and pitches for Alabama Booksmith events/programs.

I can’t seem to find an RSS feed though. Would you share if you happen to figure out if there is a way to subscribe? Thanks!

Alabama Booksmith blog