What about the Amazon books. Does AdBlock nuke them too?
I dunno, but I don't see them.
So the only thing you see down the left had side is the "BlogRoll"?

Sounds great!  Where do I get it?

AdBlock is a free extension for the free Firefox browser, available at their web site.  It should be on the "most popular" list.  I also use AdBlock Filterset, which automatically blocks the most common ad sources. You can also block ads individually, by right-clicking on them.  

AdBlock is useful for things other than ads.  For example, I find animated images distracting, so I usually block animated avatars at sites like PeakOil.com.  I also block images that are so large they stretch the screen and force me to scroll.