Category: Weblogs

100 Books in 2009

Some days I can start reading blogs and following links forever. It is enormously engrossing. I move from one interesting post to another. It is like wandering through a giant department store of interesting people. Today is one of those days. I started with the list of elderbloggers that Ronni added to her elderblogger list at Time Goes By and went from there. When I find a blog that I feel a connection to I add it to my Google Reader list. Today I've added about 10 blogs to my list.

During my browsing I decided to sign up for the 100 BOOKS IN 2009 challenge as presented on J. Kaye's Book Blog.

Here is what I've read so far in 2009 with links to my reviews.

  1. A Perfect Union, Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation
  2. Soul Made Flesh – The Discovery of the Brain — and How it Changed the World
  3. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
  4. One True Theory of Love by Laura Fitzgerald   2/5/2009
  5. John Quincy Adams – A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel  2/18/2009
  6. Founding Mothers – The Women who Raised our Nation by Cokie Roberts 2/25/2009
  7. The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean 3/5/09
  8. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin 3/8/09
  9. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster 3/11/2009
  10. Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher 3/18/2009
  11. Angels Fall by Nora Roberts 3/27/2009
  12. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 3/29/2009
  13. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 4/1/2009
  14. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows 4/30/2009
  15. Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett 5/5/2009
  16. Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts 5/7/2009
  17. American Lion by Jon Meacham 5/26/2009
  18. Returning to Earth by Jim Harrison 5/29/2009
  19. The Increment by David Ignatius 6/2/2009
  20. Introducing C. B. Greenfield by Lucille Kallen 6/12/2009
  21. A book of bees by Sue Hubbell 7/5/2009
  22. Different Seasons by Stephen King 7/16/2009
  23. The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick 7/17/2009
  24. Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer 7/23/2009
  25. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff 8/1/2009
  26. Street Fighters by Kate Kelly 8/3/2009
  27. Coraline by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell 8/6/2009
  28. Coming Home by Posamunde Pilcher 8/19/2009
  29. Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin 8/20/2009
  30. Catherine de Medici – Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda 8/28/09
  31. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell 9/3/2009
  32. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell 9/5/2009
  33. Sense and Sensability by Jane Austin 9/14/09
  34. Dancing to the Precipice by Caroline Moorehead 10/9/09
  35. Old Tippecanoe – William Henry Harrison and His Time 11/18/2009

The deal with the challenge is that I will add books to this list as I finish them.

I don't think I'll make it to 100 but it is fun to keep a list of what I am reading this year.

I’m passionate about using social networking to build your brand.

I follow Robert Scoble (scobelizer) on Twitter. I often learn new stuff or find new interesting people. At the Consumer Electronics Show Scoble was on a panel about blogging with Gary Vaynerchuk who does a really cool video blog called Wine Library TV and also has his own personal video blog. I love finding new people like this. If you want some great entertainment that will make you laugh watch the segment when Vaynerchuk was on Late Night with Conan O'Brien or if you want to branding and social media watch Gary's  latest segment on his personal website. The guy is just plain entertaining.

What Vaynerchuk does with WineLibraryTV is a great example of how to use social networking to help build your business. My friend Todd who just started The Tucson Tamale Company is in the early stages of doing the exact same thing. You can follow him on twitter (tucsontamales or cornartist) I haven't talked to him about this but I could see him doing tamaleTV.com 🙂 Todd is doing a great job of building the Tucson Tamale Company brand.

A side note: I haven't tried Tucson Tamale Company tamales yet but Todd says he is going to do mail order soon. I can't wait!

A Great New Blog – The Tucson Tamale Company

I've added a new blog to my blog roll – the list on the right titled Blogs I Always Read. The new blog is about the creation of a company called the Tucson Tamale Company. The blog is written by Todd Martin, the founder of the company who also happens to be the guy who hired me at Intuit. Todd left Intuit a few months ago. He used to manage restaurants and is one of the best leaders I have ever worked for. I have great expectations for the Tucson Tamale Company. Following his blog should be fun.

Road Trip and how I will use Twitter

Duke and I are leaving Sunday for a three week road trip through Idaho, Yellowstone, Bismarck, North Dakota, Manitoba, Ontario, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Manchester, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. I'll be blogging while I'm gone but I will also be using my phone to post regular updates to Twitter.

For those who have never heard of Twitter, Twitter.com is a service that lets you post 140 character updates about what you are doing. I haven't found it all that useful because none of my friends use it.

One thing I have found nice is that I can have my Twitter updates show up on the right side of my blog.  So even when I don't have time to write a blog post I can do a quick Twitter update and then people who read my blog will know what I am up to. Plus I can update Twitter via a text message from my phone.

Another nice thing is that I can follow the Reno Gazette Journal on Twitter and be aware of what is happening in Reno while I am gone.

Anyway the bottom line is that if you are interested in where we are on our trip just watch the top right hand corner of this blog.

Updating my Blog Roll with some Local Reno Blogs

I'm adding some Reno blogs to my list of blogs I always read in the side bar.

  • Local So-and-So – Be Interesting is the golden rule of blogging. Ron is a new blogger who is writing an interesting blog from the start. We both attended the Nevada Republican conventions and have enjoyed comparing notes on the circus that is Nevada Republican Politics. His post about the alternate convention gives a different perspective than mine.
  • Reno Realty Blog – We moved into our house in Reno exactly one year ago. It has been fun to explore Reno and learn about what is going on. This blog about Reno real Estate is always interesting and I've picked up lots of interesting tid bits about neighborhoods, prices, and Reno by reading it. The latest post about a Real estate auction in Somersett (our development) has interesting comments about real estate auctions and whether they are real.
  • Downtown Reno News – Downtown Reno is Great!  The guy who writes this blog lives downtown. He walks his dog through downtown every day and chronicles what is happening as Reno continues to improve the downtown area. In his side bar he comments how downtown Reno was a dump 7 years ago and now in his words Reno has:

"a thriving community downtown. New retail businesses are popping
up every month, there are actually neighborhoods and districts forming
in the downtown Reno area, and the river park draws a huge number of
people in the summer. This winter, the ice rink has been packed every
single night it is open."