Periodically my 75 in 2012 Challenge Group on LibraryThing.com starts circulating some fun surveys or memes. This one got started this week, and I found it a great way to sit back and reflect on where my reading life has taken me, and where I'm pointed for the future. I'd really love it if someone can let me know where it really started...I'm sure it's on the internet someplace, and would love to credit the originator.
- Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? I actually prefer audio or e-book. I don't like holding books in my hands for too long.
- Amazon or brick and mortar? Unfortunately, living in a small town, I don't have a lot of choice. There are two indies in town, but they don't have a huge selection, and they're mostly hardbacks. So I do a lot of library borrowing (I have cards from 4 local towns) and online ordering, but more from B&N than Amazon.
- Barnes & Noble or Borders? I own a NOOK, and Borders is no longer....so this is a no-brainer.
- Bookmark or dogear? Bookmarks - I collect them, and often have 5 or 6 in a book to mark pages I want to go back to. But I do love the ability to highlight and make notes in e-books.
- Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? Paperbacks separated into Mass Market and Trade, shelved alpha by author. Others by subject as much as possible, allowing for the exigencies of size. We have over 4500 books so it's mostly wherever we can shelve them.
- Keep, throw away, or sell? NEVER. EVER. Sell.....I do sometimes donate to library, loan to friends, but mostly just hug and hold onto.
- Keep dust jacket or toss it? Keep and cover with mylar.
- Read with dust jacket or remove it? If mylared...keep it on. If not, put aside and cover with stretch cloth cover until finished, then replace dust jacket.
- Short story or novel? Both! I read more novels, but love them both.
- Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Don't care for anthologies too much.
- Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry
- Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? Try to keep eyes open til the chapter ends.
- "It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"? Both turn me off.
- Buy or Borrow? Try to borrow until I decide it's one I really want to own and mark up.
- New or used? Whatever I can get my hands on....and depends on how long I'm willing to wait.
- Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? All
- Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Doesn't matter--each has it's place.
- Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? Anytime
- Stand-alone or series? Love them both.
- Favorite series? Don't make me pick! My FictFac account shows me following over 100.
- Favorite children's book? A marvelous out of print story "Do Not Open" by Brinton Turkle. It's now a very expensive collector's item, so if you see it and have a special child in your life, and can cash in some stock, grab it..
- Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? "Our Lady of the Lost and Found" by Diane Schoemperlen or "Our Lady of the Artichokes" by Katherine Vaz
- Favorite books read last year? Fiction: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, Cloud Atlas, Night Circus, One was A Soldier, and Trick of the Light. Non-fiction: The Social Animal (by David Brooks), American Nations: A History of Eleven Regional Rival Cultures, and Unbroken.
- Favorite books of all time? Confederacy of Dunces, God was an Englishman
- Least favorite book you finished last year?A tie between Great House and The Reading Promise
- What are you reading right now? Print: Cove by Ron Rash; e-book: an ARC of The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O'Melveny; audio: Nothing to Envy Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
- What are you reading next? Whatever jumps off the pile at the time I'm reading to start. I have about 15 audio books loaded, 30 or more on the Nook (several ARCs that need reviewing) and a 39" high pile of real books all screaming "Pick Me, Pick Me." It's so much fun.
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I did this over at my Library Thing thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/129469#3346285
ReplyDeleteLaura - I so agree with some of your answers, especially about book jackets - they are the most annoying things while reading, but would never never get rid of one. I just don't want to mess it up and it does tend to get ragged if I try to leave it on while reading. The mylar covering stuff is expensive, but so worth it for books you know you're going to keep and treasure.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I'm approaching the point where I'm beginning to wonder what my poor kids are going to do when faced with sorting through all these treasures.
mylar? really? what a librarian!
ReplyDeleteas to your fav book. I remember Linda Greenlaw writing once that it was her favorite book and bought a copy..but of course have not read it yet. it is here...somewhere...