Top Ten Tuesday [11]

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is:

Top Ten Things That Makes Life as Bloggers Easier/Better

1. Goodreads

Goodreads is what started my book blogging adventure. A friend of mine on a site called Vampirefreaks introduced me to GR, and honestly I don't remember how I functioned without it. In addition to the features, like shelves and book groups, their First Reads program definitely helps fill my shelves.

2. Netgalley

I've only recently discovered this little gem. Though I got a bit overwhelmed when I first got it (come on, didn't we all?), now I know how to request only what I really want to read. I love this site, and I'm happy to be involved with it. It's introduced me to some great books.

3. The Book Depository

Free shipping. Enough said.

4. Google Calender

I love this feature of Gmail. It helps keep me organized when it comes to posts and archive dates. It emails you the day before an event as a gentle prod to get stuff done.

5. Other book bloggers.

So many blogs helped to inspire my choice of starting up my own. To name a few: Jean BookNerd, Ensconced in YA, Aestas Book Blog, Winter Haven Books, and Books a la Mode.

6. Rafflecopter

To be honest, I rarely even bother with giveaways if they don't use Rafflecopter. For me it's the easiest, fastest raffle site. When I host my own first giveaway (soon), I know that's what I'll be using.

7. My Kindle

I got my Kindle as a Christmas gift from my girlfriend, Emily, this past year. It is no doubt the best gift that I have ever received. Don't get me wrong- I adore my physical books, and I prefer them. But I frequently travel from my home of Chicago to get to school six hours away, and to Emily's house, which is three hours from Chicago and 9 hours from my school. It's so much easier to have a collection of books in one little gadget than to try to pack books for a train ride that long.

8. Amazon

In addition to helping me get the Netgalley titles I receive, Amazon has great prices for both physical and Kindle books. Though lately, I haven't really wanted any of their deals of the day. But, sometimes there's some great freebies.

9. Twitter

Twitter makes communication SO much easier. Whether it's with a blogger, a reader, or an author, I've found that I get way more interaction on Twitter than any other social networking site. I was hesitant to get it at first, but now I even have two accounts: one for blogging and one for personal use.

10. Bigelow's Cinnamon Stick Tea

I drink it when I read because it relaxes me and helps me focus. Which helps me stick to my deadlines. Which helps make me a happy blogger, and I'm sure makes the publishers who send my titles happy too.

What about you?