Bibliotica

I’ve been singing and acting in some fashion ever since I learned to talk, and I grew up watching the FAME tv show, even before I ever attended a performing arts school, so when I heard about Gonnabe, I was actually a little jealous - WHY couldn’t this have been around when I was a kid?

But I grew up in the pre-internet days, when we learned to type on actual typewriters, and the computer class we did have was stocked with TRS-80s, and PONG was a cool game. Yes, I’m THAT old. Of course, I also no longer live in California, and I don’t have kids, but if I did, I’d want them to know about Gonnabe.

Of course, you’re probably wondering - what is it? Well, it’s a production company and networking opportunity headquartered in Emeryville, CA, and it specializes in entertainment for and by kids. By joining, bright talented youngsters and their families will be provided with information about auditions, classes, and local shoots, as well as be able to network with professional casting directors, singers, dancers, actors, and models already in the business.

There’s a common adage that it’s not what you know, but who. GonnaBe helps kids who don’t already have those connections, but do have drive and talent, get the WHO.

If I were a kid in this decade, and I knew about GonnaBe, I’d be pestering my parents. If I had kids who were interested in the arts - I mean REALLY interested - passionate, even - I’d be signing them up.

As a production company, GonnaBe is already responsible for Kids Unlimited and Say What. As a networking community, I suspect it’s gonna be even bigger.

Okay, so I just got a stylish new RED iPod NaNo, my first real foray into true iPoddy goodness, and now I have to fill it.

My 30 GB Zen is mainly full of free podcasts and Napster tunes, but Napster to Go, their subscription service, doesn’t work with Apple products (why can’t we have ONE standard for this stuff?), and iTunes has never been my favorite service.

This is why I tried out MP3Rocket.com for free music downloads. Similar to Limewire, it’s a subscription service interface for Gnutella, but it’s a lot more robust, and user friendly - I didn’t even have an issue running it in Vista, which is notoriously twitchy.

Downloading the software is a piece of cake, and searching for songs is simple - type in the track name or the artist, and, if you really want to limit your finds to mp3s, and not videos or other media, specify “audio” before you start the search function.

The basic version of the software gets you instant access to music but for a more robust connection, quicker searches, and different file types, it’s better to join the service. Membership ranges from 1.64 / month for a year to $34.44 for a lifetime subscription, and an additional $14.95 gets you access to downloadable DVD movies as well.

It’s a pretty sweet site, offering services like the top five downloads, as well as a user forum, and a way to meet other music fans.

Goes well with an mp3 player and dancing shoes.

One of the things I picked up at Barnes and Nobel the other day was The Writer’s Toolbox, which was 40% off it’s discounted site. I haven’t used it yet, but I took it apart last night to see what was inside, and it looks like fun.It comes with a book full of examples, explanations of the games, and helpful hints, some of which are oft-repeated wisdom. “Be specific,” it reminds, as Natalie Goldberg also often does. It reminds you to name people and things. Not ‘a sedan’ but a Honda Accord. Not a funky doorknob but one designed by Baldwin.The games are what appeal to me most, as they’re meant to help unstick you when you feel blocked. One involves popsicle sticks with first sentences, non sequiturs and such, that you have to blend, another involves spinning wheels to find your protagonist’s character, goal, obstacle and action required to move forward.

It all seems like a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to have time to use it.

If you’re like me, when you finish a book you absolutely loved, you really want to find something similar to it, whether it’s more work by the same author, more books in the same genre, or titles that people who read the same book also recommend. You could go to one of the various variations of Amazon, but while they offer a lot, the reality is that their search interface needs some help.

A better solution is to visit http://www.lovereading.co.uk, a cheery red-trimmed site that offers deep discounts, searching by author title or ISBN, and, even better, a “like for like” search function (available to members only) that allows you to plug in the last name of the author whose work you just finished, and get back a list of authors who write similar stories.

I tested this search function with the name of an American author, but there were no responses. Testing it with British authors (specifically Dick Francis and Marian Keyes, whose work is vastly different, though still fiction) netted better results, and I’m excited because now I have some new authors to explore.

The registration process is simple - name, email, and password, then tell them your favorite genres - and you can specify how often (monthly, semi-monthly, or weekly) that you want to receive email. You get to start browsing right away, and even cooler, there are downloadable excerpts of almost all the books on the site. (Format is pdf.)

While purchasing books through LoveReading is not cost effective for me, I’d recommend that UK residents do compare prices, as they offer a 25% discount off cover prices. I definitely recommend the site for all users, however, if only because of the Like for Like search.

I am a book addict. Never content to just look at books, I have to have them, touch them, hold them, smell the paper, stare at the cover, and read them, of course. I regularly spend small fortunes at bookstores. Libraries hold a special danger for me, because the books SEEM free, but then there are late fees. (Although, I never think of them as late fees so much as “donations to the library.”)

It is for this reason that when I heard about BooksFree I was intrigued. Then I checked out the site, and I was psyched. This is a way to read all the paperbacks I want to buy, but force myself not to because I simply don’t have the space. A way to engage in my secret obsession for Nora Roberts without having to mask said obsession by buying a couple classics as well, in case the cashier makes a comment. A way to READ MORE BOOKS.

So, what’s BooksFree? Well, it’s sort of like NetFlix or Blockbuster Online, except that instead of DVD’s you get books, or audio books, for a monthly fee. Like the movie rental companies that pioneered this concept of rent-by-mail, there are no late fees, there is a way to buy and keep items that you really love, and you keep a queue of desired titles going all the time.

Prices range from $9.99/month to about $40, with all but the lowest tier allowing circulating rentals (meaning you have books coming and going all the time instead of having to return an entire order to receive the next. I’ve just signed up for it, so in about ten days, I’ll let you know what I’m reading.

Unless, of course, it’s by Nora Roberts.

I don’t often take breaks from book reviews in this blog, but for SwitchPlanet.com I have to make an exception. I was recently introduced to the site, and even though I have yet to make my first switch, I’m really excited about it.

SwitchPlanet.com is a media swapping and social networking site that tries to do good works as well. So all those extra books you keep meaning to put in a garage sale or take to used book store? Instead, you can put them up on this website, and people who want them give you switchbucs - virtual money that allows you to acquire things YOU want from other switchers. It’s not just for books, either. You can switch cd’s, dvd’s, and games as well. The only cost incurred is when you send something to someone - you have to pay for postage - but since someone else pays for postage when you receive something, it all works out fairly evenly.

Since the site is completely free to use, but also pushes support for charity, every time you receive a switch, you’re encouraged to donate as much or as little as you want (even a dollar) to one of the organizations endorsed by SwitchPlanet.com. (Their list includes the Red Cross and the Nature Conservancy.)

Aside from giving all of us a great interface for exchanging books and movies, SwitchPlanet.com also provides social networking. When I created my account, I was immediately greeted by three friendly switchers, wondering if I needed help posting anything I might have to share, and welcoming me to the site. Part of the interface is set up to encourage messaging between switchers, but it’s done in a way that isn’t pushy or uncomfortable. You can browse through individual profiles, or if you want to branch out a little more, there are options to set up and join different groups based on interests (everything from coffee to paintball),

SwitchPlanet.com’s tag line is “use more…waste less,” which is an apt message for the green-thinking internet community, but they also embody the spirit of “reduce, re-use, recycle.”

I’ve joined SwitchPlanet.com. Won’t you?