TGIF: Friday Catch Up

This week's Musings Monday question:

What do you use to mark your place while reading? Do you have a definite preference? Do you use bookmarks, paper, or (gasp) turn down the pages? If you use bookmarks, do you have a favorite one?

There are some who might think that I have a bookmark for each book, but that would not be true. Not even close. I imagine it might look that way though when you do see how many bookmarks I have. I have all kinds. Metal bookmarks, paperclip like ones, paper bookmarks with tassels, homemade book marks, cloth ones, plastic bookmarks, ribbon bookmarks, book jewelry, and a bookworm. My favorite is one a friend of mine cross stitched for me--it is personalized to match my personality and interests. I don't actually that use one though; I keep it on my desk on display. Even with all those bookmarks you will still find me using a scrap of paper, a corner of a tissue, an envelope, a postcard, or a receipt to hold my place now and then. If I am desperate and the book is my own, I may resort to dog-earring, but that is very rare. Usually I am able to scrounge something up to put in my book.

Are you a bookmark user or do you prefer to mark your book some other way?

---

For this week's Mailbox Monday on Friday, I have two books to report:


Bedlam South by Mark Grisham & David Donaldson ~ This is a book I first heard about from Nancy of Bookfoolery and Babble, and I had made a note of the title for future consideration. I was quite thrilled then when a publicist contacted me for possible review of the novel.

The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life by Ben Herwood ~ Many thanks to Lisa from Books Ahoy! for a copy of this one.

What did you find in your mailbox this week?

---

For this week's Tuesday Thingers, Wendi asks

Do you use a rating system on your blog? How do you feel about using the rating system provided on sites like Library Thing and Amazon? When looking up information on a book you are interested in, do you use the ratings provided by these sites (or similar sites) to help you make the decision on purchasing the book?

I have gone back and forth about whether or not to use a rating system when reviewing the books I read. It is a very subjective process based solely on my impressions of the book I read. There are technical aspects I look for in any book, but my overall thoughts and feelings about a book do play a large part in how I end up rating the book. I do not know if anyone else finds my ratings useful, but they do help me in capturing my general opinion of a book. The rating can say so much, and yet, at the same time, it says so little. Because I tend to like most of what I read, my rating scale is top heavy. My rating scale looks something like this:

• 1 (Poor) - Occasionally my cat climbs on my chest and makes me pet him instead of reading. This time, I should have listened to the cat more carefully.
• 2 (Fair) - This book kept me guessing until the very end. The problem was I was guessing whether I really liked it or not.
• 3 (Good) - By the end of this book, I was happy to have read it. Not so much that I don't have some very pointed comments to make, Mr. or Mrs. Author, but I liked it.
• 4 (Very Good) - Now that was a book. It really is too bad more books aren't as good as that. Really, what's wrong with you authors? I want to like your books. Here's an example of what I'm looking for. Hop to it!
• 5 (Outstanding) - This book is the reason I read. The book made me say "WOW!" when it was all over. Six months to a year later I'm still talking about it almost nonstop and wondering why everyone hasn't read it. It might annoy my husband but I don't care. The book is that good.

I do pay attention to book ratings made by other bloggers and on sites like Amazon and LibraryThing to a certain degree. I always keep in mind that ratings are subjective and not everyone interprets each level of a rating like I might. A low rating will not necessarily stop me from reading a book I really want to read, nor will a negative review. If I am on the fence about a book, I may look at the overall ratings, but it rarely is the deciding factor. I prefer to read a review to go along with the rating. I have found that I get a better sense of the reviewer's opinion of a book this way, rather than just going by the rating.

What about you? Do you rate the books you read? Do you find ratings useful?

---

Suggested by Barbara H.: Do you read any author’s blogs? If so, are you looking for information on their next project? On the author personally? Something else?

I follow a number of authors' blogs. Many are joint efforts, where a group of authors have come together and take turns blogging. The subjects the authors address vary from their current projects or writing process to current events and more personal matters. I enjoy getting a peek into the authors' lives. It also is another way for readers and authors to stay connected and for writers to support one another. My favorite author posts tend to be the ones that make me laugh out loud.

Author blogs I follow regularly:

• The Bastion (Author:John Marco)
  
• Buzz, Balls & Hype (Author: MJ Rose)
• Cats & Crime & Rock & Roll (Author: Clea Simon)
• First Offenders (Authors: Jeff Shelby, Alison Gaylin, Anthony Neil Smith, Karen E. Olson, & Lori G. Armstrong)
• For All the World to See (Author: Colleen Gleason)
• Jungle Red (Authors: Rosemary Harris, Hallie Ephron, Hank Phillipp Ryan, Rhys Bowen, Jan Brogan, & Roberta Isleib)
• The Lipstick Chronicles (Authors: Harley Jane Kozak, Nancy Martin, Sarah Strohmeyer, Elaine Viets, & Michele Martinez)
• Murderati (Authors: Pari Noskin Taichert, Louise Ure, Tess Gerritsen, Robert Gregory Browne, J.D. Rhoades, Brett Battles, Zoe Sharp, JT Ellison, Alexandra Sokoloff, Cornelia Read, Toni McGee Causey, & Allison Brennan)
• Naked Authors (Authors: Ridley Pearson, Jacqueline Winspear, Paul Levine, Paticia Smiley, James O. Born, & Cornelia Read)
• Scobberlotch (Author: Karen Harrington)

Do you visit authors' blogs? Do you have a favorite? If you are an author and have a blog, I'd love to know about it!

---

1. It seems like just yesterday I was last straightening out my TBR room, and yet it's been at least a couple of months now.

2. Return the book when you're done, please?

3. If I knew she was going to give my book away, I'd never have loaned it to her in the first place!

4. What a great person you are to turn to for book recommendations is what I think of most when I think of you.

5. To me, Valentine's Day means long lines at the candy and stationary stores and crowded restaurants.

6. Exercising everyday gives me strength.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my husband getting home from work; tomorrow my plans include catching up on my blog hopping; and Sunday, I want to lose myself in a book or two!

---

Be sure and stop by my husband's blog to check out his thoughts on his latest books read!

Review of Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds (Graphic Novel)
Review of Fifty-to-One by Charles Ardai (Crime Fiction)