99page > Facebook

So as many of you know I am a huge fan of stalking everyone I know catching up with friends via Facebook when I am bored. But sometimes Facebook just isn't interesting. Sometimes nothing changes between 11:20 and noon on a Tuesday. People usually don't upload pictures or change their statuses.... So what am I supposed to do when I am bored of being on facebook? I head to Page99test.com, of course!

"Open the book to page ninety-nine, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you"

--Ford Maddox Ford

For decades, readers have used the Page 99 Test to judge the writing of a book before buying it. That's the idea here... but with a twist. At this site, published and unpublished writers share their page 99s with readers like me. And I get to rate their writing (without knowing if it's published or who the author is). Which is pretty freaking cool!

You just have to create an account (it's free and I haven't received an email yet) and you are set. Then you can choose the genre of book if you want or you can jump right in. You read page 99 of the book and then you can give feedback on whether you would turn the page or not. Then you "turn the page" to find out what book it is, who the author is, whether it is published or not, and how to purchase it.

It has to be the most addictive website ever! And the business side of me thinks it is beyond cool. Say a bunch of people review and love one of the pages of an unpublished book. The readers could actually use their buyer power to publish the book! So instead of the publishers bringing the book to the readers, the readers are dictating what books get published! It's like living in reverse! First it happened in music (think Bieber, Antoine Dodson, and other youtube sensations) and now literature. This is assuming, readers have taste unlike the people who made those complete hacks popstars famous.

I absolutely love going to Barnes and Noble to read, but sometimes it's really hard to find an interesting book when all you really have to go off is covers. I am really excited to look up some of the books I have discovered.

So if you are ever bored in class, the library, work, or even at home, skip facebook and catch up on some reading!

Page 99 Test