BookAddiction.org Blog

[jessicaorr]

I would love reviews of my blog: www.bookaddiction.org (http://www.bookaddiction.org).

I'm interested in anything advice you have regarding my blog. Does it seem to busy? To much text? Is the design good? Are there to many tags (that is one massive tag cloud!)

I think it needs more pictures, so I'm in the process of adding images of the books I've reviewed.

Thank you so much for taking the time to examine my blog!
Jessica

[Ava Jarvis]

Hello!

People like pictures in their article posts. I like your Library Thing! I think that should be more towards the top of its column.

I don't think you need all the statistics boxes. I would remove Last Referers, top browsers, and Top OS, but that's just me. It's just that they add information that is not about the aim of your site, and most of your audience won't care so much.

(We all are too busy obsessing over our own stats. ;))

With the bookmarking widget on the right, I don't know if you need the tiny StumbleUpon link in the upper left; it is technically redundant.

If you choose to remove some of the stat boxes from the right, you can rebalance the columns by shifting some of your link lists to the right.

I think it would be cool to have a profile picture (even if it's a LOLCat or something) in your About Me. Or a picture of your favorite book. Something like that.

Some of your less-often updated links in the link list boxes on the front page can probably be moved to the Links page.

Can the book images in your New Year's post be next to each other, kind of grid like? It will cut down on the spacing between your images and your next bit of text (right now it looks like it's all whitespace down one side, at least to me).

Tag clouds are fun, and that's not a bad tag cloud. But tag clouds are not the best navigation technique. My own blog can withstand a good tag cloud (its two columns are next to each other, and I add boxes that can spread across the width of both columns; tag clouds go nicely in those, less nicely in thin places) but I still discarded mine.

If I could, I would put the tag cloud on a separate page. Again, just me and my preferences.

(I am sort of an extremist. I don't like calendars, for instance, however many people do and find them useful. That said, I don't mind calendars or tag clouds; they ARE pretty after all.)

Nice quotes at the bottom. Maybe have a short, good one near the top of the page?

Hope that this helps. I like your content.

[Susan Breen]

I love the title of your blog and the content was great. I don't think you need more pictures and some of the stuff on the side was a little distracting. Hope that helps.

[benbradley]

Looks like a nice site. I read your blog, specifically the Library Remodel entry, and your statement that "there’s a library book sale in February." Well, there's always a library sale somewhere (http://www.booksalefinder.com/) (http://www.booksalefinder.com/). I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of some of my books. I'm on paperbackswap but for every book you send off they give you a credit to get ANOTHER BOOK...they should give me credit for coffee or something else that I'm always in need of. I can get books in a million places, as my most recent blog entry shows.

[jessicaorr]

Thanks! I thought I had set the stats widget to be viewable only by the admin, but I see I didn't -oops! I'll go and fix that. I like the idea of putting the tags on a separate page too. And I think I'll get rid of the stumble tag on the left column. I didn't even notice the bookmark widget had a stumble link too.

I'll have to work on getting a nice photo for the about me section as well.

Thank you so much. This is so helpful!

[jessicaorr]

Looks like a nice site. I read your blog, specifically the Library Remodel entry, and your statement that "there’s a library book sale in February." Well, there's always a library sale somewhere (http://www.booksalefinder.com/) (http://www.booksalefinder.com/). I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of some of my books. I'm on paperbackswap but for every book you send off they give you a credit to get ANOTHER BOOK...they should give me credit for coffee or something else that I'm always in need of. I can get books in a million places, as my most recent blog entry shows.

I think library sales accept book donations, though I doubt they give you anything for them. I'm on PBS too and I've noticed that you can make special arrangements with other members to send two books for one or exchange etc... Still, it doesn't really solve your problem. Maybe you could sell them as lot on eBay?

I have the sale days for the libraries in a 50 mile radius marked on my calender, but I didn't know there was one website that listed all the sales. I've been checking the individual library websites for dates and times. Going to one website will be much more convenient. I did see quite a few libraries I haven't checked before. I'll have to update my calender!

Thanks!

ETA: Ben, I really like your post on finding books and your blog in general.

[Hopcus]

The site looks fabulous and I love the content, my only complaint is that it loads a little slowly (but that may just be a server glitch).

[benbradley]

I think library sales accept book donations, though I doubt they give you anything for them. I'm on PBS too and I've noticed that you can make special arrangements with other members to send two books for one or exchange etc... Still, it doesn't really solve your problem. Maybe you could sell them as lot on eBay?
Yeah, I've thought of that. I've sold a few collectible books on eBay, such as an autographed Hank Aaron "I Had A Hammer."

I've seen lots on eBay and I could probably sell a few as, for example, "Lot of 14 Isaac Asimov Science MMPB Books" and maybe get $5 or $10 plus shipping. That would at least make it almost worth my time and I'd feel a little more "productive" than just letting them sit around. I may well have to donate substantial numbers of books just to get rid of them.
I have the sale days for the libraries in a 50 mile radius marked on my calender, but I didn't know there was one website that listed all the sales. I've been checking the individual library websites for dates and times. Going to one website will be much more convenient. I did see quite a few libraries I haven't checked before. I'll have to update my calender!

Thanks!

ETA: Ben, I really like your post on finding books and your blog in general.
Aww...<blushes>. Thank you. I suppose I'll have to write more entries. This year, even.