Finding the right author for the job

I checked out Author Yellowpages (AY) this week and had a bit of a browse around its directory. Ordinarily I'd do a google search for something like an author's website, but this page is quite handy for two reasons. Firstly it groups relevant links together under the author's name, including things like publisher links and media coverage. Can't always trust google, now, can we (they've come for your data!). Secondly, sometimes I don't even know I'm looking for Meg Cabot's website and then, BAM! Seventh most popular search on AY is good enough for me.

Are you thinking of a book?

Think of a book that would be a good one to discuss in a book club.

Thinking on demand is really hard. I tried to pass this task off to someone else on the course, cause we're supposed to be sharing and all, but this didn't go too well: there was no one around! So much for team players. Am I the only one who's always hanging round the workroom waiting for Web 2.0 tasks? I know that can't be true.

So I decided to just dig in and think of a book. I furrowed my brow and squinted and tried to remember if I'd ever read anything that I'd call a book. Success! I jumped straight into Lit Lovers' books by title and found nothing. The book wasn't there. Frustrated, I figured I'd try the other two books I'd read. It felt like one of them just had to be on there, but neither of them were.

The good news: there's a bunch of books on there that I can choose from. I haven't read any of them, sure, but that wasn't even in the instructions. It just said think of a book. This totally counts.

I chose The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Lit Lovers' page on the book has a little bit of author info, a synopsis, some critical quotes and eight discussion questions to take to a group. Or you could do them on your own if you're afraid of getting caught (don't get caught). If I had any idea how book clubs functioned I'd let you know how useful these questions are, but my book club never functioned. Such a shame.

You don't choose your family

But you can totes make one up on genealogy sites My Heritage and Geni. I got so into making up a family that I took myself right out of it, rebuilt the whole thing from the ground up. It's off to the right on my sidebar, the family of Hallelujah Cerovac (her friends call her Holly. Don't call her).

Both sites use a similar visual layout to set up the family tree - parents up, kids down, siblings and partners to the left and the right. There's scope for vast amounts of detail, but you can just enter the bare minimum if that's all you know. What's most useful about these sites is the way they're set up wiki-styles, so any member of the family can edit entries. Pretty sure Russian Exchange Uncle Boris was born in Vladivostok in 1902 but not quite sure? Send an email to Aunt Awful, bring here online, and she can fill in the details of that side of the family. What's it been, six Xmases since they showed up anyway? That's a dead branch.

In my role these sites are most useful as a distraction while avoiding work, but of course all of those distractions get tagged and go on file as potential answers to customer questions. While I've never been asked about genealogy tools, I may one day be. I'm ready (if distracted).

I will look at what I have done

The absolute hardest thing about setting up this blog was coming up with a name. And then when I did come up with a name I had to decide whether the name and the URL would be the same. Then I decided they wouldn't be, so I had to come up with a URL.

These questions are hard!

So after I get over these monumental hurdles I have to solve a captcha. Seriously? Man... Three attempts later and I'm in. I'm in, and the captchas are one step closer to knowing everything about us. They're coming for our eyes!

Ladies and gentlemen, pandog: