I want to buy a paper doll (part 1)

Librarians are collectors by nature. Its not "do you collect" but "what do you collect." Frequently it is books, but some of us branch out to other treasures. The Extraordinaire has many obsessions, high among them: paper dolls.

Lately she's been admiring the growing number of websites devoted to creating, collecting, and trading these little gems. eBay is a fantastic source too, but the Extraordinaire is always tempted to add to her collection. Look but don't touch (thy credit card) is the mantra she should be following. It's amazing the prices commanded by these little pieces of paper! Fortunately, many are "reasonable," though the Extraordinaire suggests that readers get familiar with the market before jumping in.

A few sites of interest:

Original Paper Doll Artists Guild
http://www.opdag.com/

Paper Doll Review
http://www.paperdollreview.com/catalog/index.php

Paper Dolls.com
http://www.paperdolls.com/

Paper Doll Game for the Fashionista
http://www.paperdollheaven.com/en/

Next: The Extraordinaire's Paper Dolls

Another Book-thingy for Organizing Your Reads

As yet another example of how the Extraordinaire is behind the times, yet quickly catching up: yesterday, finally, the facebook application VisualBookshelf appeared onto the radar. A recent joiner of online social networks, Yours Truly has become quite the adapter, albeit a late one, of various add-ons and other nifty services. VisualBookshelf is the latest.

Disappointed that LibraryThing was not so easily integrated into her service of choice, The Extraordinaire discovered that several friends were using something else as part of their Facebook accounts. Fortunately, because the she is, indeed, an Infomatician, ISBNs to thousands of her collection were easily acquired. Though still in the process of updating, the collection has grown and now even includes some of her reviews. Now her friends on Facebook can marvel at the breadth and absurdity of her bookshelves. Hopefully she'll have an opportunity to learn what other people think of the books they've read. Check out her library shelves and she'll happily take a look at yours...