Why to search with Swagbucks instead of Google!

Like many people, I am concerned about the recent Google privacy changes (Washington Post - Google faces backlash over privacy changes).  The nature of being online is that most of our activities are being tracked whether we like it or not, but I use gmail for work and stay logged on pretty much all the time, and I don't really want every single internet search being connected to that work email address and stored in a database somewhere!

If you feel the same way, I wanted to let you know about Swagbucks

A site where you earn points through internet searches, games, polls etc. and redeem them for lots of prizes (my favorite are amazon gift cards). Without any effort I can make about $25 a month, but I've made up to $75 in a month!  That buys a lot of goodies for something that you are doing anyway.  If you sign up, leave a comment or send me an email and I can provide you even more tips and tricks. 

Books I Read in 2011...

Based on my Kindle, here are the books I read in 2011.  I know that I read some actual books, such as the Help, so I hope to do a better job in 2012 of keeping track of all the books I read. Most of the books were really good but I put a star next to the few "must-reads".

Do you have any recommendations for me to read in 2012?


The Red-Suit Diaries: A Real-Life Santa on Hopes, Dreams, and Childlike Faith
 
Facebook Fairytales: Modern Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit

The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared

* Kisses from Katie

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Innocent Spouse: A Memoir by Carol Ross Joynt

Stingray Bit My Nipple! True Stories from Real Traveler 

Growing Up in the Care of Strangers: The Experiences, Insights, and Recommendations of Eleven Former Foster Kids

* Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea 

Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Little Known

* 33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners 
(Click here for my review)

Unbillable Hours: A True Story

Listen by Rene Gutteridge

The Potluck Club

The Naperville White House: How One Man's Fantasy Changed Government's Reality

New Lives by Kathleen Huggins

Mossy Creek by Deborah Smith

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator

* Room: A Novel

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates

The Confession: A Novel - John Grisham

The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World

Committed: A Love Story - Elizabeth Gilbert

* The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: One Woman's Fight to Save Two Orphans of War

* I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

* Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit

The Phantom Tollbooth

Secret Daughter: A Novel

Wench: A Novel