Can't believe I've never done one of these before, but here it is. Thanks to Danielle for getting this one going (a variation of Carl V's from last week).
Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Since I mostly buy, I try to wait for paperbacks. I actually really like trade paperbacks. They always seem to be of a higher quality to me (better paper, better binding, better cover art) than regular paperbacks.
Amazon or brick and mortar? Mostly Amazon. With their discounts and free shipping deals, it's hard to resist. But if I need a book in a hurry, say for a gift, I'll do brick and mortar.
Barnes & Noble or Borders? Sorry, but the branding effort has almost totally failed with me. I'd be hard-pressed to distinguish one from the other without really paying attention to the signage. I'll go into pretty much any bookstore.
Bookmark or dogear? NEVER a dogear!
Alphabetize by author or alphebetize by title or random? My fiction is alphabetized by author. My nonfiction is organized by subject (and not even alphabetical by author within a subject -- it's all just thrown together).
Keep, throw away, or sell? I keep pretty much everything. I still have some textbooks from when I was in college.
Keep dustjacket or toss it? Keep it.
Read with dustjacket or remove it? Usually I remove it because I'm afraid of it getting ripped or creased.
Short story or novel? Definitely the novel. I had to read a lot of short stories in college; I rarely read them now.
Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? I don't have much preference for either.
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? I'll be starting the Harry Potter books soon. My sister has told me the Lemony Snicket ones are much darker.
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? I usually try to stop at some break (even if it's just a break within a chapter). If there's too many pages until a break ("too many" being determined by how tired I am), I'll stop.
"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"? If you're starting out with "It was a dark and stormy night," you'd better be using it ironically and, I hope, very creatively.
Buy or Borrow? Mostly buy.
New or used? If used, I generally prefer very gently used. I was the kid in college who would pick through all the used textbooks trying to find the one with the least highlighting or notes in the margin.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? Occasionally a book review. Mostly it's by browsing. I am starting to pay a lot more attention to what other book bloggers are reading, looking for new ideas.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger? I'd probably have to go with tidy ending. I have to say I generally like a "happily ever after."
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? Any time I can find.
Standalone or series? I like series because they extend the reading experience. Some books are so good you just don't want to stop reading them. With a series, it's like a really, really long book.
Favorite series? Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series. They always make me laugh out loud. I've also read Frank Herbert's Dune series a few times (though I don't know that I understood all of it). There are also a couple of childhood favorites: the Little House books and Cherry Ames.
Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? Race and Reunion. (Although I've blogged about it, so if you're reading this, you've probably heard of it. Sorry!) LibraryThing only lists 41 copies of it among their members. It's the 30,057th most popular book that they have (although they have over 1.5 million unique works, so maybe it's not as obsure as I think). But it's a very thought-provoking book.
Favorite books read last year? Race and Reunion is the only one that immediately comes to mind. The World is Flat was very memorable; and I'm pretty sure I read both of Malcolm Gladwell's books last year (Blink and The Tipping Point). How sad is it that I don't remember any fiction from last year? Unlike many (most?) other book bloggers, I never kept track of what I read. But I am now.
Favorite books of all time? Jane Eyre and Persuasion are definitely at the top of the list.
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3 comments:
Really interesting answers. I am always fascinated by how people organize, or don't, their books.
I'm usually so anal about most things, there is a lot of freedom in having less control with the non-fiction!
My nonfiction is sort of just grouped tother by subject too. Considering how anal I am about so many things you would think my books would be very organized, but they are sort of all over the place. Surprisingly I usually know just which pile, closet or bookshelf to find something. Thanks for playing along!
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