Basic_B

Those couple of you who actually read this blog from time to time will notice that I have switched tools for tracking my reading habits. I was using a plugin called “Now Reading” installed into my blogging software to update and share reading lists. But after doing a little research I have decided to switch over to another website instead. So, I’ve setup a profile at Goodreads.

Part of the reason for the switch is that the “Now Reading” plugin was really contained only within my blog. Which was nice, but I keep trying to find ways of linking information together and sharing it with my friends more easily. So, Goodreads has a social networking component, like facebook, in that friends can join and link accounts so that it becomes easy to see when a friend adds a new book to their list, or updates a review or rating of a book recently finished.

Another reason for the switch is that Goodreads also has a Facebook application. So, not only am I updating my reading bookshelves on the Goodreads site itself, but also on Facebook.

And finally, they’ve got application widgets that still allow me to show my bookshelves here on my own blog.

In short, it’s like killing three birds with one stone, and I guess I’m feeling decidedly anti-avian!

For a short time I will leave the “Library” tab operational at the top of the blog page, but it will likely disappear pretty soon as I completely disable the “Now Reading” plugin.

I invite my friends and family to join me over at Goodreads and share their current favorite books with me. I look forward to it. You can click either of the two instances of the link to my profile that I’ve put into this post, or if you look over in the right sidebar I’ve put a link there too under the “My Networks” heading.

Happy Reading!

I’ve caught the chess bug again. This is something that I go through roughly once a year. I get excited about playing chess. The problem is though that I always end up doing more reading and studying about chess than I do actual playing, and I think I cause myself to lose interest again.

I’m trying to be better this time. I’ve signed up at a website called Chess.com. There’s a link to my profile there in the sidebar to the right under My Networks. What is cool about this is that you can play online in real time if you want, but even better is you can play what is essentially a correspondence game. That is, if I make a move against my opponent he gets sent an email letting him know it is his turn. He then has a pre-determined amount of time that was agreed upon in the initial setting up of the game, to respond. The default is three days. When he makes his move, then I get an email.

The other neat thing about it is that it has a social networking component. You don’t just sign on and try to find a random opponent, although you can do that too, but instead you can invite friends to join and you can maintain a friend list just like other social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace. You can send messages and pictures to your friends, and of course, challenge them to games of chess.

It is really pretty cool, and it’s allowed me to renew an old chess rivalry I had with a good friend of mine – Scott. I’ve been reaching out to other new and old friends as well to join up and play a game with me.

My hope is that I will spend more time actually playing the game against people I know and less time with my nose in a book only pretending to play.

If you are interested in playing, or learning to play, sign up and challenge me to a game.