And I did it all without crashing a single thing! UTTER VICTORY!
One of the benefits of switching to doing this all full-time is that I finally have free-time. I haven’t had a significant amount of free time IN SERIOUSLY LIKE A YEAR. So I have been putting off smaller cosmetic and organizational things this whole time, and they started to get REALLY BAD. Today was my first day without a single review to write (everything for next week is already done), so I wanted to devote time to fixing some things around here. Here’s what’s changed!
1) Smaller menu bar
It was starting to get crowded. Now, all my past books I’ve reviewed are under the “Past Books” tab. HUZZAH.
2) New Suggestions page
So, who wanted to swim through thirty-one pages of nearly 2,300 comments of suggestions to see if a book or series they liked was suggested? No one ever, that’s who! So I copied over the Confirmed/Rejected lists to a new page, deleted the old one, and now we have a spiffy new process for suggesting books to me.
From now on, I will go through the comments for suggestions, adding them to one of the two lists, and then I will delete the comments for suggestions. This way, y’all will never have to deal with that massive page weight that was the comments section. Make sure to bug me if the list is starting to get super long.
3) A Frequently Asked Questions page!
Ever wonder when I’m going to watch movie versions of books? Want to know how to contact me? Do you have other burning questions regarding Mark Reads? Read the FAQ first. You can also suggest I answer new questions pertaining to the site. Which brings me to the next part….
4) Forums!
So the old forums were on a different platform and it’s actually how Mark Watches got hacked last year. So, I went with the SimplePress forums. If you have a WordPress account, you can just log in and start posting in the new Mark Does Stuff forums! If you’re using anything other than WordPress, like Twitter or IntenseDebate, the cool thing is that if you sign up for an account on the forums, it will not ask you to log in twice. You can comment under your IntenseDebate profile in the comments, and then your forum name there. IT IS GORGEOUS. This is also where I will host the Ask Mark forum for all questions that don’t fit in the FAQ.
5) Schedule!
By request, I’ve created a Master Schedule for both my sites. Here, you will see what chapters I’ll be reviewing for Mark Reads, what episodes I am tackling for Mark Watches, when we will have liveblogs, and all of my tour dates. I will also announce and schedule new series on the calendar as well so y’all can take appropriate measures to purchase or acquire any books or shows in advance. (I’ll be filling in the calendar today, so I know it’s empty.)
Okay, I’m pretty stoked to get this done. Are there any other requests for things you’d like to see or features you would like to have? Please let me know!
I would like to have a Mark.gif of eternal unprepardeness.
Just sayin'
Oooh, the header is all spiffy & clean now. Great job, Mark 😀
OMG you're reading the Shoebox Project and Jonathan Strange & Mister Norrell and Death Note THIS IS THE BEST THING TO HAVE FOUND OUT EVERRRR. And whoa that list is long! I'm looking forward to everything – a lot of what you have on your to-read list are books which I've been interested in for so long but never got around to reading because of work 🙁 So yay, I'll get to read AND follow your reviews. All is well.
Ah, the Shoebox Project. FINALLY. It's time for me to re-read it for the 9847th time.
LOL I know right? I've just recently re-read it when I downloaded the newly edited epub file (the LJ community is so awesome!) and moved it onto my tablet. So in love, I wish it would kind of continue even though we basically know what happened afterwards :'(
there's a newly edited epub file? I had NO idea. I actually have it on paper. I'm such a geek. 😛
Yes, someone recently compiled everything from the pdf and combined it into one pretty epub. Portable Shoebox, what more could you ask for? 😀
(Although I have to admit having it on paper is still the best – all the pretty pictures!)
omg how can i get those files
I would like to do Shoebox in 2012 for sure.
The person who converted it hosted it over at this post at their LJ, which you would have to join. Here it is hosted on mediafire however 🙂
Oh gosh, I'm excited you'll be reading it this year! <span class="idc-smiley"><span style="background-position: -48px -12px;"><span><3</span></span></span> I'm so excited for all your projects, actually! You continue to light up my miserable workdays.
ALL THE UPVOTES TO YOU FOR THIS LINK
Happy to spread the Shoebox love, plus the epub is so pretty 😀
Thank you so much! I had no idea and was carrying it around on 100 pdf on my Kindle, for when I need rapid amusement on the subway, haha.
I can't carry the book. I made two and they're huge. But yes, the pictures are so pretty and I colored them because I'm 5, obviously. 😛
Thanks again.
I had the exact same "OMG Shoebox Project" moment.
I am SO excited for Mark Reads the SBP!
OMG, OMG, I suggested SBP and I can't wait, I give you guys all the lovehearts. Thank you! 😀 (So, yeah, I'm very calm about this, naturally).
WOAH! I didn't know what the blue bar meant AND NOW I DO. This is why FAQ pages are important. Thank you. I love everything. ALSO I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT LEGEND OF KORRA!!! EXCITE!
BLUE BARRED!
BLUE BAR HIGH5
This may be one of the most pathetic things I've ever done, but what can I say? I REGRET NOTHING!
<img src="http://i44.tinypic.com/1ou9uh.gif">
dude I love it
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
(I dont have anything to add sorry)
Oh my gosh! I've been silently reading/stalking the comments for MONTHS and am so glad you explained the rot13 (what it is and how to use it) in the FAQ!!! I feel so ridiculous for not knowing what was going on but now I am full of GLEE!
Hmm, I'm not sure about the deletion of suggestions People took some time to write them, and sometimes those were interesting to find new things to watch/read 🙁
Maybe an archive for the ones accepted/rejected? Or a way to make sure there's only one thread of suggestions for each show/book?
There generally WAS though; I was studious for a while about deleting repeats, and it still went pages and pages and pages and pages. It's not really a sustainable system, and the only way I can fully keep track of it is to remove them after I update the page.
Plus now there is the excellent forum where people can discuss and recommend all sorts of things to one another!
A forum and a FAQ, oh my.
I'm just going to tell you a completely irrelevant piece of information which is that you will probably* be receiving a hat knitted by yours truly at the Redwood City thing.
*I say probably because I'm worried that I'll forget to bring random things at the last minute. I've already convinced myself that it'd be a bad idea to take a nap that day because what if I don't wake up until much later and I'll miss the train and everything will be bad.
HAHAHAHA i am so terrified of missing things too! Once I fell asleep on BART last year and I woke up 5 minutes later and thought I was in Dublin, but it was just West Oakland. LOL.
omg brieana, we need to ~trade info~ so we can meet up!
Man, I am so excited for you to read Newsflesh. Especially because it will result in lOTS OF PEOPLE BEING INTRODUCED TO MY FAVOURITEIST AUTHOR, and then she is more likely to get more book contracts! YAY SEANAN MCGUIRE.
Also you are the least prepared, which will be fun.
(PS: Goddamn I need to fix my sleep schedule I WAS ASLEEP THE ENTIRE TIME YOU WERE ON ARGH)
WOO SEANAN (she's a friend of mine). And oh my God, so least prepared. So entirely least prepared.
P.S. Reading Discount Armageddon right now. It's cool!
NOBODY IS EVER PREPARED FOR THAT BOOK. Feed spoilers, sort of: V jnf ernqvat zl pbcl bs SRRQ ba n ivfvg gb frr zl svnapr va Ratynaq naq V svavfurq vg va n Fgneohpxf jnvgvat sbe n sevraq bs uvef naq V jnf ONJYVAT ZL RLRF BHG naq V fgvyy pel zl shpxvat rlrf bhg rirel gvzr V ernq gur raq. Fbzrgvzrf V whfg erernq gur ynffg oybt cbfg orpnhfr FB TBBQ naq gura V pel orpnhfr nfqyxnsqysuwtywxnfqtunwyxt TRBETVNNNNNNNNNN
DID YOU GET AN ARC BECAUSE YOU'RE HER FRIEND I AM JEALOUS (both of the ARC and the friendship)
I'm not entering the ARC contests because I know I'm going to buy it and I don't need two copies EVEN THOUGH IT MEANS I HAVE TO WAIT LONGER. I found the Martin's Passage archive on LJ and read it a while ago so I am ALL KINDS OF EXCITED FOR THE AESLIN MICE. CHEESE! AND! CAKE!
(I have bought all of her books and I have all four CDs and ENORMOUS FAN AUGH.) (HOW DOES SHE DO IT.)
*flails*
I actually borrowed the ARC from a friend of mine who's a book blogger. I will buy the book when it comes out, obvs. But you can be jealous of me because I've read Blackout. Perks of being on the Machete Squad! (I'm actually in the Acknowledgments for Feed even though I didn't do shit on that book, so I tried to retroactively earn the mention.)
Gung ynfg oybt cbfg fgvyy oebhtug zr arne grnef jura V ernq gur obbx n frpbaq gvzr, rira xabjvat vg jnf pbzvat gur jubyr gvzr. Tbqqnza.
THE AESLIN MICE ARE PRETTY GREAT.
I have no idea how she does it either! Hee, fun to meet a Seanan fan here.
Machete squad! Awesome!Tbq, gur ynfg yvar QRFGEBLF zr. Zl anzr vf Funha V ybir lbh Funha….I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO READING ABOUT NEW RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS. THE BITS SHE POSTS ON TWITTER ARE SO TANTALIZING.
wait what is newsflesh
did i confirm that somewhere and just not write it down
i'll confirm it now but my brain is confused
Sorry Mark I was confusing! Newsflesh is the name of the trilogy FEED is in. Mira Grant is Seanan McGuire's pseudonym.
OH OKAY! omg. Is that trilogy completed yet?
The last book comes out in May.
By the way, the first book was nominated for a Hugo (and lost by, like, 26 votes…seriously), and the second was just nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award.
At the World Science Fiction Convention, Seanan's autograph line was as long as George R. R. Martin's. Maybe longer.
FUCK. Okay, I'll do that trilogy in 2012 then. PERFECT TIMING.
The third book comes out in may, I believe. I AM EXCITE.
I like the new structure of the site, and kudo's for not crashing it 😀
Maybe mention, uh… somewhere here on MR that the forum lives at the markwatches domain; I'd hate to be the one caught off guard by a change of header graphic and think I've clicked the wrong thing and end up in a frustrating circle of "But where's the forum for the site I was on?" or something. 🙂
Can I request an additional link for the header? One to the place where your selling all of your non-book merchandise? I misplaced the link and now I'd like to buy a coffee mug/some stickers, but I'm not sure where to go. And maybe there could be a bit about this in the FAQ? Thanks!
I'm so happy that you've agreed to read the Chrestomanci series! There is so little discussion of these books on the internet, which is a shame because they're so fantastic! Diana Wynne Jones actually died quite recently as well, so I think it's good that her works getting some attention here.
WAIT Diana Wynne Jones died recently? I had no idea! That's terrible!
(I read the Chrestomanci series a looong time ago and can't really remember it at all, so this is awesome. Not the death, the Mark reading it, I mean)
She died from cancer last March, unfortunately. I was absolutely devastated but nobody else I know knew who she was : (
I actually just re-read the Chrestomanci series, and I have so much love for it. I know the confirmed list is like 50 items long so it could realistically take Mark years to get down it, but I hope he does this series soon!
Well, there is at least one mod (me!) who will be pushing for it, so take heart! 😀 I am one of the biggest DWJ fans on these sites, and I share your devastation. I remember bursting into tears when I read the news about her death. :'( It still hurts. I love her books SO MUCH. <3
Mark, you could put some "embeded button" or something for rot13 coments..like a "cypher" button!!!! Just to make our life easyer!!!!
The "Embed video" button is courtesy of IntenseDebate, and Mark has no control over what is available there. If you have Firefox, I recommend Leet Key, which allows you to cypher and decipher with a hotkey.
Tks!!! I'll try this!
Mark, Mark! *flails about* Can we still suggest stuff? Your post didn't make it clear and there's this one show that I want you to watch so bad, well two actually but I know you won't do the second 'cause you said back in Firefly that you're prejudiced against it because of the way one character is portrayed, but actually that's not entirely accurate. Oh, also, thank you for watching Firefly, because that introduced me to the show and now I love it so much! *still flailing uncontrollably*
Anyway, I want to suggest the other show for you but I can't figure out if I can. If I can, will you tell me how to do so?
Also, I would like to ask you to please consider reading soon the Percy Jackson series. You said you would, and I would just like you to read it soon, because I really like it. Also, are you going to read the Heroes of Olympus series? It's kind of a continuation of Percy Jackson and it is really wonderful. It's got the same basic plot and the same characters, but there are new characters and a new villain. Also, villain is hard to spell. I believe it's either going to be three or five books long, not sure which. I want to spam you with comments about this, but that would be rude.
OH, and I was really excited to see Star Trek on your List of Watching. I love Star Trek. My favorite is Voyager. I watched it in my childhood, and it was very wonderful. I'm watching it again now and it's still really awesome, and I'm just now understanding all the jokes that I didn't understand as a ten-year-old. I'm also starting to watch the other series's as well, and also, i can't believe the spellchecker didn't flag series's. It's not proper grammar either. And I was raised to love Star Trek, so I'm pretty excited about this. I mean seriously, when I was four I was watching an episode with my parents, and one character said something like, "Such-and-such off the port bow!" and I immediately screamed, "SHIELDS!"
I'm sorry for rambling and I'm sorry if this isn't very lucid. I'm both tired and sick. That is not a fun combination. Actually, it kind of is, 'cause I'm stumbling around in a giggly haze.
I'm sorry for this post. I enjoyed writing it, and I do not regret posting it, but just in case anyone reads this, I'm sorry for rambling.