26 Things This Week

Here’s a look at some interesting things we found / saw / thought / did this week.

BOOKISH

1. Last week the nominees for the 2015 Nebula Awards were announced. This year’s list is supposed to be one of the strongest and I can see why. I’m adding several of these to my list of books to read this spring.
2. Diagram Prize Shortlist for Oddest Book Title Announced. My money is on Reading from Behind: A Cultural History of the Anus, by Jonathan Allan. Which title do you think is the oddest? Winners are chosen by public vote, so take a look at the nominees and pick your favorite today!
3. The 2015 Kitschies Award Shortlists have been announced. This is for the most “progressive, intelligent and entertaining” novels containing “elements of the speculative and fantastic”.
4. Voting is open for The Bookish Oscars: Vote for the Best Reads of 2015. You have until March 1, 2016.
5. It seems everyone is starting to put together their must read lists for Spring. There are a couple on this one  and this one that I’ve added to mine. At the top of the list is A Gathering of Shadows.
6. A strategy for reading more in less time. Do you think this would work for you? I’ll admit that I have trouble with my mind wandering, even during books I’m really enjoying. It means I read pretty slowly.
7. We love that there are so many Books coming to the big screen in 2016 (and 10 Books Coming to a Movie Theater Near You). Although these days I usually wait until something hits the Redbox before I see it. But I sure would like to see The Fifth Wave in the theater.
8. How Two “Slavery With a Smile” Controversies Are Changing the Conversation About Diverse Children’s Books is a very interesting discussion. That there were / are no “happy slaves” is an indisputable fact and depicting such to any age-group is just lies and re-writing history.
9. Amazon Yanks Serial Killer’s Book After Outrage. There is a tape of him admitting to killing 49 women?!
10. Why won’t y’all stop with the awesome book recommendations that keep feeding my reading list?! The latest one I’m obsessed with is Murder Outside the Box: Inclusive, Far-Ranging Mysteries – so many good looking selections! And 7 New Books to Read If You Love ‘Gone Girl’ – which I loved. Plus there’s 100 Leadership & Success Books to Read in a Lifetime.
11. Listen, if you don’t know about Library Ebook Lending Apps, you’re about to get schooled! They are the.best.thing.ever. BLOGGING
12. Here are some of the March #BookBlogger Events as well as bookish awards coming up.
13. Have you created a budget for your blog? Do you think the cost in the article is too high or too low? Of course – most hobbies require us to shell out some $ as we progress into learning more and getting better at it.
14. As if we needed more convincing – Why + How To Update Your Old Blog Posts (I got 490,000+ pageviews when I did!)
15. I’m stealing some of the ideas in 30 Prop Ideas For Blog Photos
16. Here are 10 books every aspiring blogger should read. I haven’t read any.
17. What do you look for in a blog? We all have our favorites – so what makes them special for you? I like interesting content and a sense of style (a combination of writing and aesthetics). LIFE
18. Debbie Allen is one of my all time favorite choreographers so it was pretty amazing to see this routine performed at the White House for Black History Month. The routine is phenomenal.
19. For me, creativity is something I practice and work at, so How I Renewed My Creativity After 5 Years really resonated with me.
20. I have to accept that I’ll never have the time to invest in doing Instagram challenges – but I loves them! I’m looking forward to Boost Your Productivity this March with My #CHARMEDGTD Instagram Photo Challenge and #PlanWithMeChallenge March.
21. I’m loving this Grapefruit Green Smoothie and Chocolate Chia Smoothie + 12 More Fast, Healthy Smoothies
22. This week, I did a modified version of this 30 Minute Treadmill Pyramid Workout and it helped make the time on the ‘mill fly by.
23. The Best Antivirus App for Windows via Lifehacker validated my decision to switch from Avast, which went to annoying and invasive status like Norton Antivirus and McAffee.
24. One of my favorite series on Lifehacker is their annual How We Work.
25. “Minimalism is the idea that you can live with LESS but get MORE out of life.” Find Your Flavor of Minimalism – I sure am trying!
26. These 5 Tips for an Organized Life are sharp! “Give everything a home, go digital …”

(Photo Credit: 1 | 2 | 3)