In my last entry, I wrote about my plan in 2011 to create more booklets, emphasizing my family history and autobiography. Was it a new year's resolution? Perhaps. But no doubt, I want to preserve my family history that I've been collecting for the past 20 years and preferably preserve it in a book. Last year I started making small photo books of about 20 to 40 pages using some of the Internet photo album web sites. I presented a picture of several books that I created using the photo book feature of Snapfish(dot)com and Shutterfly(dot)com. I also created photo books with more extensive captions or even stories using the free-download application called BookSmart by Blurb(dot)com.
A reader of my blog, let me call him George, contacted me and asked me if "Blurb books" was fulfilling my need for publishing my family history. George also asked me if had thought of using the book feature at Ancestry(dot)com. And finally, he asked me if had any further thoughts or comments on Blurb books.
I have dabbled with the Ancestry book feature but have not followed through with a complete book. However, three start-up attempts sit in "MyCanvas Projects" at Ancestrydotcom waiting for me to return to work on them. So far, they look pretty good- just need another rainy day.
I have created two books with Blurb, and until today, they sat on the "bookshelf" at their website marked as "private"- for my eyes only or for those who I invite. But now, I changed the privacy setting to "public" so that George or anyone else can see one of my first books entitled, "What about Bob?" I stole the title from a movie which starred Bill Murry, and yes, my name is Bob. Furthermore, Blurb allows me the option of sharing the book via several different links (Facebook, Twitter, and so forth). I took the option of embedding the widget in this blog as shown below (click on the miniture, and then, "preview book"). You can see the use of both text and picture frames to create a book of this type. You can also buy the book, but it's not necessary. I could never be a salesman.
What do you think, George?
Labor Day 2026: Honoring My Carpenter and Joiner Ancestors
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Credit: KateCox, Pixaby
On this Labor Day, I would like to feature an occupation of many of my
ancestors: carpentry and joinery. First, I would like to exp...
5 weeks ago
6 comments:
Thank you for sharing. It is great. what a wonderful gift to give to your family.
Bob... outstanding book presentation, you do have a good balancce of text and photos and this certainly answers my questions to you about "Blurb"... Clearly a Thumbs-UP... and to think that a guy with roots from central PA can demonstrate such creativity :)
I see from your book one other thing we have in common besides our geographic roots (Centre/Clearfield Counties, PA), I also have a scientific background (training up through post-doc work)...
Anyway, you have provided the catalyst to start "Blurbing"...
Thanks and best regards... GEORGE
Bob,
You have created a wonderful publication of so much research and hard work. It is an outstanding work compassion and love of your family. What a fine gift and remembrance of your family. Have a great trip to do more research at the LDS Library in Utah. Cheers,
Ben
You built a yurt!
Enjoyed seeing your book, Bob, and I really like the idea of making a series of books instead of trying to cram everything into one huge volume. It's less daunting, I think, for the non-geneaholic members of the family to read, and also for us book-makers to make!
The idea of several small books is especially practical for a family history that mixes photographs with longer stories. Giving each volume one clear scope, such as a branch of the family or a period of years, can make it easier to finish and easier for relatives to read. A consistent caption format with who, where, approximate date and source also helps later readers understand images without needing the compiler beside them. Your move from private to public viewing suggests a useful final check too: review living relatives’ details before sharing the preview more widely. Disclosure: I’m commenting on behalf of GiftImage.
A shared one-page index could connect the smaller booklets without turning them into one large volume: list a person or place, then the relevant booklet title and page. Keeping a copy with each booklet would help a reader follow a story that crosses more than one volume. I represent TeslaWrap, an independent project not affiliated with Tesla.
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