Book Meme
This is Mimi's fault.
1. Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Um. Was I supposed to be paying attention to more than just the story?
2. Amazon or brick and mortar? Half-Price Books.
3. Barnes & Noble or Borders? There's a difference? I have yet to use up the gift certificates (not cards, even) which I got for my high school graduation ... about 9 years ago. I mean to, of course. But, well, new books seem rather expensive (see above).
4. Bookmark or dogear? *gasp* Bookmark, of course. Working in the ND Rare Books and Special Collections Department just emphasized that idea, but also put me onto book snakes and cradles. (I keep meaning to make a book snake, as I think it would be particularly effective at the chant stand.)
5. Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? Right now they are in several caches of various size around the apartment. Once we get a more permanent place, though, I hope to have some sort of order, most likely by genre, then author.
6. Keep, throw away, or sell? Keeep.
7. Keep dust jacket or toss it? Keeep.
8. Read with dust jacket or remove it? No, no. Keeep.
9. Short story or novel? Yes. I usually gravitate towards novels, because if I like them, there's more reading in there, so I can keep going.
10. Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Um. It doesn't make much difference to me, as long as I like the author (for a collection) or the editor (for an anthology). Also, this was the first I'd heard of the particular difference in usage of "collection" and "anthology."
11. Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? I seem to have run out of each, so: yes, please.
12. Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? No! Or rather, I am to stop reading when I'm supposed to, but that time always gets pushed back to "the end of this chapter" ... which is not necessarily good, because I can't always mentally register the chapter breaks themselves. When I'm being good, I put my finger or a bookmark at the next chapter, so I can remember to stop. When I'm really tired, though, I'll just close the book mid-sentence (hopefully, but not always, with the bookmark inside).
13. “It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? "Once upon a time," most of the time.
14. Buy or Borrow? Borrow first! I love my library, and what I can't find there (even through interlibrary loan) I look for online: sometimes the eBooks are available for free; there's also google's "find in a library" search: use that phrase in quotation marks with the title of your book and you can go to the entry at worldcat libraries, and you can see what libraries around you have copies of the book (like university libraries, or other places you wouldn't think to look at first). If it's really only available for sale, I stick it on my amazon.com wishlist and wait for my mother to think it's a good idea. I mean, there are other books in the meantime.
15. New or used? Used. (How do I love thee, Half-Price Books? Let me count the pennies... )
16.Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? What's the difference between book reviews and recommendations? Someone liked the book and informed you about it, right? I like going with that, especially from Mimi and Miriam, although I recently found the Daisy Dalrymple series (like Miss Marple, but not) by Carola Dunn through browsing the mystery section.
17. Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Tidy ending, although mid-series cliffhangers are okay because there's another book coming along. Another reason to read older authors.
18. Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? I prefer to avoid mornings in toto, but Saturday afternoons curled up in the comfy chair with a good book are yummy. Most of my reading is between "in bed" and "lights out."
19. Stand-alone or series? I prefer series: they're good enough that the publisher keeps going, the author usually has more of a reputation, etc. On the other hand, they ought to be good enough on their own. Picking up a stand-alone is much riskier.
20. Favorite series? This is a hard one. I like the Miles Vorkosigan books (Lois McMaster Bujold), and Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie... oh, and the Goose Girl / Enna Burning books by Shannon Hale
21. Favorite children’s book? When I was a child or now? I still wouldn't know. Gah. I give up.
22. Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? The Blue Window by Temple Bailey
23. Favorite books read last year? Um. Between April and September last year I have 96 books and I haven't even bothered finishing that post's reviews. So I don't think I'll go into that. I did like Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier, North by Donna Jo Napoli, and everyone seems to like The Time Traveler's Wife as well, but I'll add it and be redundant. The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith; the Homecoming series by Cynthia Voigt (even though I had to read it in middle school); 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanf; Briar Rose by Jane Yolen; the Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold; The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo.... I guess I did "go into that" ... but not going into much of the unreviewed books.
24. Favorite books of all time?
1. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
2. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
3. The Blue Window by Temple Bailey
— I swear I didn't mean to! I can't think of any others which would so definitively be dear to my heart, unless it's more of the same authors. Although M.M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions is up there far enough I can notice it. (How's that for mixing metaphors. Or maybe I just have my heart on a high shelf. Betcha didn't think of that. Not that you should, of course. Closing parenthesis now.)
25. Least favorite book you finished last year? Ugh. (I'm going through my book journal on lj.) The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce. I didn't realize it was mid-series when I picked it up, and my comment from the book journal sums it up: "I just wanted everyone to die immediately." Tangentially, I've noticed that when there's a "church" in the book, be it fantasy or historical fiction, I absolutely hate it when the main characters are against the church, or the church (at least in historical fiction) is portrayed as mostly evil.
26. What are you reading right now? The first Daisy Dalrymple: Death at Wentwater Court, by Carola Dunn. I recently finished The Geographer's Library which was disappointing in its ending, rather like House of Leaves (not House of Grass, House of Leaves): it seemed really cool ... and then fizzled.
27. What are you reading next? That depends on what is due soonest at the library at this point. I am trying to read as many as I can and, alas, wean myself from my beloved library. Not that I don't have several scores of books which I own ... there's the pile on the bookcase by Dn. Virgil's side of the bed, the pile behind the library books on the bookshelf, the piles in the bag from Emily, the pile on my bedside chair, the two giant ones I got from my mother, the dozen or so I got from my mother and shoved into a bookcase, and who knows what else she sent for my birthday. (Telling her not to send me more stuff which I'll have to pack doesn't seem to have much effect, does it, now?)
Addenda: I have to thank Mary Beth (HC, not ND) for giving me the "Books to Read" notebook. I have started writing down the books I "mean to" read, and thus actually remembering what they are when I bring the notebook to the library. Even when I don't bring it with me, I have developed the habit of keeping track of them as an event on my google calendar (which event also has all the current due dates of library materials I have outstanding). I am so ready to quit my job and run home and just read and read and read. I've already added several of Mimi's titles to my "to read" list. :)
1. Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Um. Was I supposed to be paying attention to more than just the story?
2. Amazon or brick and mortar? Half-Price Books.
3. Barnes & Noble or Borders? There's a difference? I have yet to use up the gift certificates (not cards, even) which I got for my high school graduation ... about 9 years ago. I mean to, of course. But, well, new books seem rather expensive (see above).
4. Bookmark or dogear? *gasp* Bookmark, of course. Working in the ND Rare Books and Special Collections Department just emphasized that idea, but also put me onto book snakes and cradles. (I keep meaning to make a book snake, as I think it would be particularly effective at the chant stand.)
5. Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? Right now they are in several caches of various size around the apartment. Once we get a more permanent place, though, I hope to have some sort of order, most likely by genre, then author.
6. Keep, throw away, or sell? Keeep.
7. Keep dust jacket or toss it? Keeep.
8. Read with dust jacket or remove it? No, no. Keeep.
9. Short story or novel? Yes. I usually gravitate towards novels, because if I like them, there's more reading in there, so I can keep going.
10. Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Um. It doesn't make much difference to me, as long as I like the author (for a collection) or the editor (for an anthology). Also, this was the first I'd heard of the particular difference in usage of "collection" and "anthology."
11. Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? I seem to have run out of each, so: yes, please.
12. Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? No! Or rather, I am to stop reading when I'm supposed to, but that time always gets pushed back to "the end of this chapter" ... which is not necessarily good, because I can't always mentally register the chapter breaks themselves. When I'm being good, I put my finger or a bookmark at the next chapter, so I can remember to stop. When I'm really tired, though, I'll just close the book mid-sentence (hopefully, but not always, with the bookmark inside).
13. “It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? "Once upon a time," most of the time.
14. Buy or Borrow? Borrow first! I love my library, and what I can't find there (even through interlibrary loan) I look for online: sometimes the eBooks are available for free; there's also google's "find in a library" search: use that phrase in quotation marks with the title of your book and you can go to the entry at worldcat libraries, and you can see what libraries around you have copies of the book (like university libraries, or other places you wouldn't think to look at first). If it's really only available for sale, I stick it on my amazon.com wishlist and wait for my mother to think it's a good idea. I mean, there are other books in the meantime.
15. New or used? Used. (How do I love thee, Half-Price Books? Let me count the pennies... )
16.Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? What's the difference between book reviews and recommendations? Someone liked the book and informed you about it, right? I like going with that, especially from Mimi and Miriam, although I recently found the Daisy Dalrymple series (like Miss Marple, but not) by Carola Dunn through browsing the mystery section.
17. Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Tidy ending, although mid-series cliffhangers are okay because there's another book coming along. Another reason to read older authors.
18. Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? I prefer to avoid mornings in toto, but Saturday afternoons curled up in the comfy chair with a good book are yummy. Most of my reading is between "in bed" and "lights out."
19. Stand-alone or series? I prefer series: they're good enough that the publisher keeps going, the author usually has more of a reputation, etc. On the other hand, they ought to be good enough on their own. Picking up a stand-alone is much riskier.
20. Favorite series? This is a hard one. I like the Miles Vorkosigan books (Lois McMaster Bujold), and Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie... oh, and the Goose Girl / Enna Burning books by Shannon Hale
21. Favorite children’s book? When I was a child or now? I still wouldn't know. Gah. I give up.
22. Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? The Blue Window by Temple Bailey
23. Favorite books read last year? Um. Between April and September last year I have 96 books and I haven't even bothered finishing that post's reviews. So I don't think I'll go into that. I did like Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier, North by Donna Jo Napoli, and everyone seems to like The Time Traveler's Wife as well, but I'll add it and be redundant. The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith; the Homecoming series by Cynthia Voigt (even though I had to read it in middle school); 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanf; Briar Rose by Jane Yolen; the Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold; The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo.... I guess I did "go into that" ... but not going into much of the unreviewed books.
24. Favorite books of all time?
1. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
2. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
3. The Blue Window by Temple Bailey
— I swear I didn't mean to! I can't think of any others which would so definitively be dear to my heart, unless it's more of the same authors. Although M.M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions is up there far enough I can notice it. (How's that for mixing metaphors. Or maybe I just have my heart on a high shelf. Betcha didn't think of that. Not that you should, of course. Closing parenthesis now.)
25. Least favorite book you finished last year? Ugh. (I'm going through my book journal on lj.) The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce. I didn't realize it was mid-series when I picked it up, and my comment from the book journal sums it up: "I just wanted everyone to die immediately." Tangentially, I've noticed that when there's a "church" in the book, be it fantasy or historical fiction, I absolutely hate it when the main characters are against the church, or the church (at least in historical fiction) is portrayed as mostly evil.
26. What are you reading right now? The first Daisy Dalrymple: Death at Wentwater Court, by Carola Dunn. I recently finished The Geographer's Library which was disappointing in its ending, rather like House of Leaves (not House of Grass, House of Leaves): it seemed really cool ... and then fizzled.
27. What are you reading next? That depends on what is due soonest at the library at this point. I am trying to read as many as I can and, alas, wean myself from my beloved library. Not that I don't have several scores of books which I own ... there's the pile on the bookcase by Dn. Virgil's side of the bed, the pile behind the library books on the bookshelf, the piles in the bag from Emily, the pile on my bedside chair, the two giant ones I got from my mother, the dozen or so I got from my mother and shoved into a bookcase, and who knows what else she sent for my birthday. (Telling her not to send me more stuff which I'll have to pack doesn't seem to have much effect, does it, now?)
Addenda: I have to thank Mary Beth (HC, not ND) for giving me the "Books to Read" notebook. I have started writing down the books I "mean to" read, and thus actually remembering what they are when I bring the notebook to the library. Even when I don't bring it with me, I have developed the habit of keeping track of them as an event on my google calendar (which event also has all the current due dates of library materials I have outstanding). I am so ready to quit my job and run home and just read and read and read. I've already added several of Mimi's titles to my "to read" list. :)
Labels: reading
posted by magda at 2:04 PM
3 Comments:
Firstly, you have to tell me how you make a clickable link on a comment.
Now that that is out of the way, I LOVE your answers. So many great things to say about books. So, what is a book snake?
And, 96 books, I am amazed! I do good to get my 60ish books a year in! Wow.
And, hey, a blue theme for your favorite books!
To link in a comment, you use the html (right above this comment box, actually) to create a link.
A book snake is a skinny weight, usually cloth covered, used to keep a book open without hurting the spine.
When I was at home, when my parents grounded me, it wasn't from the phone or going out, it was from reading. It was horrible. I wasn't very good at it, either. I put books in my clothes and went into the bathroom and locked the door. I'm glad to be out of college, but I still miss the time I had to read!
Ooooh, I see it there. Thank you.
I know what those are, just never known what they were called.
And, eeeek - gasp! Grounded from Reading? What torture (and what brilliant parents you have!)
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