2012 in Review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for “David’s Place.”
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 20,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 5 Film Festivals
Catalog Your Books in Your Personal Library?
To Catalog or Not to Catalog?
That is the question for us bibliophiles. Why is that a question for us? Because we are a diverse lot. We are a stewpot of male, female, everything in between, adventurers, eggheads, bookworms, Renaissance men and women, lovers, haters, spiritual, unspiritual, true believers, atheists, scientists, romantics. You get my point. We have a challenge agreeing on anything . . . except our love of books. But even here, we diverge–our tastes align infrequently. But when they do . . . it’s Nirvana, Happy Hunting Ground, Heaven, or Oblivion–whichever you embrace.
For some, cataloging opposes a dearly held value–freedom. The person who has a perfect memory, has his/her books already cataloged mentally. He knows where every book he ever bought is located. She is aware of the date of purchase, the cost, the conversation at the checkout, and the feel and weight of the volume (perhaps smell too). Others of us–I believe most of us–know we think that maybe we have that book. Sounds familiar. Oh right. I bought four copies because I forgot about the other three. I know they’re here . . . somewhere. And that’s the testimony of a young person. Add forty years to a twenty-year-old and 10,000 volumes over a lifetime, and you might be in the boat I’m in.
I NEED to catalog.
And if you use your books, as I often do, as research assistants, then you definitely need to catalog. Unless you IQ and retention are superhuman–which leaves the rest of us out.
In a modest attempt to unite us toward a consensus then, let’s consider some reasons for or against cataloging your personal library. See, I know you. Some of you are already querying, “Why do we need to ‘unite . . . toward a consensus”?
Because, we may grow. We may be able to move from our own opinion to include the opinion of someone who can simplify our lives and free us of our limitations. Someone who got desperate enough early on to know that libraries catalog for a reason. And I have benefited from that system across my years of education, research, and writing.
Don’t have a personal library? But you want one? Then take a moment to read “How to Build Your Personal Library.” You may want to then read, “How to Arrange Your Personal Library.” Then come back here.
Some Pro’s and Con’s – You Decide
CONS
- Takes too much time
- I could be reading instead
- I hate organizing
- I’d rather not know what I have. I like surprises
PROS
- I know what I have
- I can easily access the information I need
- I like order and harmony
- If I want to lay my hands on a book, I know exactly where it is
- I want to know where I bought it, when, how much I paid, etc.
- I can do book lists in an instant
3 Resources I’ve Found Helpful
- Librarything.com - a little technical for me. I prefer user-friendly. Also, I could not find a mobile app that worked properly.
- Collectorz.com – costs money, but a good system. I used it for years. Stopped using it because every upgrade cost money and I could only access my books if I had my computer wtih me.
- Goodreads.com - FREE and easy to use. Lacks some bells & whistles, but I’m sure they’ll show up soon enough. In addition, the mobile app is excellent, easy to use and access, and user-friendly.
QUESTION: Do you catalog your personal library? What software or site have you found helpful?
Top 5 Posts of the Past Year
According to my “site stats,” the following are the top 5 posts of the year as far as reads. The number to the right is the number of people who visited the post. No way of knowing how much they read.
QUESTION: How many have you read?
Our Children’s Musical, “Real Things” Selling Well at Amazon.com
Our childrens’ musical, “Real Things”, is still available and selling well at Amazon.com. You can still download “Real Things” MP3′s as individual song favorites (.89) or as an entire album ($7.99). To bless your children or grandchildren with quality Christian teaching and values . . . CLICK HERE TO HEAR SAMPLES at Amazon.OneNote for Your Journals
A reader wrote last week and asked me if I use OneNote 2010 for journaling or jotting down writing ideas. He is planning to leave a set of journals for his daughter and wondered how I did my journals.
Here’s my response …………………………..
Thanks for writing.
Everyone has his or her own way of doing things like this. I think as long as you’re asking, it means you’re open. And as long as you’re open, you’ll learn and you’ll be able to find a way that best suits you.
I like to record and date my journals. I keep several: A Reading Journal; A Travel Journal; A Spiritual Journal; and a Writing Notebook. Any one of these can be password protected if you need that kind of security. I mainly use PW protection only on my list of passwords. That way only my wife and I can access our passwords.
As far as your question about printing the journals, every once in awhile, I print a journal and make punch holes in the pages. Then I mount them in a 1.5 inch white 3-ring binder. A different binder for every 5 years. My spiritual journals are the largest, so I put them in a 2″ binder. Then I place them in my bookshelves.
But primarily I use and access them in OneNote itself. Use OneNote as your electronic index to the printed notebooks. That way if you need to see the larger context, you can simply find a topic or keyword in OneNote, then go to your printed edition and open to it. The less paper I use though, the better I like it. I enjoy the speed with which I can retrieve an idea that would otherwise be lost in the pages of my ink journals.
I still enjoy taking a book journal and pen with me when I’m in a park or on the beach, but I’m always thinking about how this will be accessed once I get back home and enter it into OneNote. I also like to scan things into one note or send photos to myself that I can print to OneNote.
EVERYTHING I need to retrieve or search is in OneNote. I never have to wonder where to find a special quote, because all of my Kindle highlights and notes have been saved to OneNote. I’m retaining a lot more of my reading that way. I can enter any keyword that I can remember from the quote or from my editing keywording of that quote when I chopped out some of the junk. I can recall that so-and-so said something about Joy. Control +E . . . BANG! I’m on it. Copy. Paste into Word. Move on.
Hope this is helpful. Hey, maybe I should post this answer to your question for others who have journals and are thinking about moving them to OneNote. Or beginning a journal on OneNote. What do you think?
He wrote back: “You should. Great answer and great process.”
Related articles
- First look: OneNote 2013 (arstechnica.com)
- The Office 365 secret organiser – OneNote 2010 Part 1 (itproportal.com)
- How To Plan More Fun Into Your Summer With OneNote (5minutesformom.com)
We’re the ‘sons of God’ So What? Kindle Version Now $4.99
The Kindle version of We’re the “sons of God” . . . So What? Is FREE for “Amazon Prime members” to borrow for 80-days.
Now also discounted for purchase. You can purchase this life changing book for your Kindle for $4.99. Snap it up!
What’s the book about?
This is a word to the body of Christ primarily, but others can also benefit. God longs for us to get our understanding of who we are from him, not from the surrounding culture or from those who have believed man’s view of who we are. The book leans heavily on Scripture because the views I’m sharing are biblical but not popular. This is meat, not milk.
We’re told to believe that we’re “sinners saved by grace” and we WERE. We’re told that we’re beggars who have found bread, now leading others to that bread, but neither of those are biblical images for our identity. We’re the ‘sons of God’ . . . So What? presents the neglected view of God’s perspective on who we truly are–the “sons of God.” Women, too, find out how sonship applies to you. How it elevates you. Men discover a sense of your role as a man in this world and the next.
To really get hold of this truth and apply the practical suggestions for your spiritual formation, can break you free of strongholds and generational sin, including alcoholism, drug addictions, sexual addictions, and other bondages that keep us earth-bound. You will be filled with Christ’s humility as you consider the scope of the Good News of the Royal Reign of God the Father and your role in his Kingdom.
Want to know God’s will for your life? Want to know your inheritance and begin living in it? See what follows our light and momentary season of suffering.
Unconvinced? See what others have to say about We’re the ‘sons of God’ . . . So What?
Contents Includes
Know God
- In My Father’s House
- What kind of Father?
- A Heart at the Head of the Family
- God’s Authority and Order
- Behind the Veil: God’s Council and the ha Bene Elohim
Know the Problem
- The Great Rebellion
- On Earth As It Is In Heaven
- Wounded Earth
- Kingdoms at War
- Cultures at War
- The “god” of This World
Know the Solution—the Beautiful News!
- Turning Hearts: A Restoration of Legitimate Authority
- The Son of God: All Authority
- Godly Leaders
- Authority of Love
- Promoted Down
Know Who YOU Really Are
- Jesus’ and Paul’s Vision
- What did Paul see? Why could it have caused him to be so “lifted up” that he needed a thorn in the flesh to keep him from harm? Who are we? What was “the joy” set before Jesus? What did he understand that gave him a sense of what lay ahead? What did Paul see in the “third heaven?”
- A New Age—The Royal Reign of God
- sons of God
- A New Family—joined in heaven and earth
- Firstfruits of the Kingdom
Bear the Likeness
- We Shall Be Like Him
- Glory
- The promises of “glory” are promises to bear the likeness of Christ or of God, depending upon the context in which it’s used.
- Walk As Jesus Walked
Stay Focused
- Fixed On Jesus – author & perfector
- Ministry in the 21st Century
- Useful to the King—Rev. 3:14ff
- Our Choices
Prepare to Rule
- The real Return of the King
- The Revealing of the “sons of God”
- Raised and Reunited
- Our Fatherland
- The New Heavens and the New Earth
- Our Father’s City
- “The New Jerusalem”
- The End of Evil
- The End is the Beginning – Back Where We Belong
So What?
- Believe INTO Who God Says You Really Are?
Check it out. You’ll be encouraged. Then spend 4.99 to change your life.
Or join Amazon Prime and borrow it for free. But after you read it you’ll not only want your own Kindle version, you’ll want either a softcover or hardcover version. (which I prefer, because I use it so much and it holds up under continued study). Let me know what you think.
QUESTION: Are you living the abundant life Jesus won for you? Are you riding the heights of the earth yet?
©2012, David C Alves
Dear Readers & New Look for “David’s Place”
Wanted to give all my friends and readers a heads-up.
THEME CHANGE
I want to give you the best and easiest reading experience possible. I’ll be changing the look of my blog-site within the next couple of weeks (perhaps sooner). Don’t want you to be surprised when I do.
I hope you’ll like the new look and feel. Please take the time to comment once the change is made. Love to know what you think.
FOCUS
In addition, I thought it might be good to tell you about my focus here. I know that I’ve somewhat covered it in my ABOUT page, but not many people go to a blogger’s about page.
As someone on a spiritual journey to know God better, I write posts that I would like to read. Sometimes they’re on writing, or perhaps a review of a good book. Sometimes I simply need a laugh and post something humorous. I also post cultural warning signs so that fellow travelers will not be hurt along the path. Because foster care and adoption played a part in my childhood, I also write about that. And occasionally I post a devotional thought or journal entry from my various journals. My “How-to’s” seem to draw the most readers. Well . . . you get it. I intentionally mix it up–writing what I like reading.
CONTENT
Posting on a multiplicity of topics can prove frustrating for someone who’s looking for “a brand.” If you need a brand to subscribe to and follow my blog, check “categories” to filter my posts OR let it be this:
LOVE, LIFE, & ENCOURAGEMENT ALONG THE JOURNEY
I suppose that would be the sum of the parts.
FOLLOW
If anything in that brand appeals to you, then please follow my blog by either the follow button (if you’re on WordPress, signing up for email notifications, or subscribing to my post on Kindle.
COMMENTS
Though it’s not a requirement to read here. I would really appreciate it too if you would take the time to comment too so that we can develop a community. I know you’re busy, but it’s really great when I go to a site and follow discussions. They sometimes enlarge or enhance the author’s post. I’ve been helped by them as well.
THANKS
Well that’s about it. Thanks SO MUCH that you’ve read this far. And thanks for being a valued reader here at “David’s Place.” I appreciate your time and consider it a treasure.
BLESSINGS,
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