Book meme

Nicked from the Fabulous Miss P

Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?

Honestly, I don’t really mind. I love buying the hardbacks when I can, but if I buy paperback, I tend to be able to buy more books.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?

Neither. Exclusive Books is my poison.

Bookmark or dog-ear?

Bookmark. Always bookmark. Those who dog-ear should be placed in front of a firing squad.

Amazon or brick and mortar?

Brick and mortar. Although, it is rather nice to buy online every now and again, because the books arrive just when you need a little pick-me-up

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?

By genre, then by author, then in order of being published.

Keep, throw away, or sell?

Keep, keep keep. I am a little obsessive about books.

Keep dust jacket or toss it?

Keep!!!

Read with dust jacket or remove it?

Remove dust jacket while reading and carefully replace afterwards.

Short story or novel?

I am partial to novels, but quite like short story collections for in betweeners, and for while I wait in queues.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?

Unfortunately, I haven’t read Lemony Snicket, so the choice will be Harry.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

When tired.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?

It was a dark and stormy night…

Buy or borrow?

Buy. I struggle to return books I have borrowed.

New or used?

I prefer new. I want to be the first to read that book. And I like knowing that (some of) the money gets to the author.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?

A combo of it all. I will often use services like Goodreads to find new authors. And before Goodreads, I relied on the recommendations of friends and librarians and bookshop attendants.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?

A bit of both. I like using my imagination, but I also don’t want to feel like the story ended halfway through.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or night-time reading?

When ever I can.

Stand-alone or series?

It doesn’t really matter, as long as the story is good. I just don’t like getting into a series that ends up dragging on forever and ever. I think this is one of the reasons I love the Discworld novels so much – even though they are part of a series, they can also be read as stand-alone books.

Favourite series?

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

Favorite children’s book?

Anne of Green Gables, Charlotte’s Web, Heidi

Favourite YA book?

The Twilight series, The Outsiders

Favourite book of which nobody else has heard?

All the Haruki Murakamis.

Favourite books read last year?

Well, the Twilight books. And I rather enjoyed the Bridget Jones ones too.

Favourite books of all time?

The World According to Garp, Norwegian Wood, the Discworld novels, Wuthering Heights, Dracula… the list goes on and on

What are you reading right now?

Inkheart. It is beautifully written, I am just struggling to read (in general) right now.

What are you reading next?

I have Eat Pray Love, Kite Runner and Vampire Academy sitting on my bedside table waiting for me.

Favourite book to recommend to an eleven-year-old?

If a boy, then the Percy Jackson series. If a girl, either Anne of Green Gables or Heidi.

Favourite book to reread?

I reread Wuthering Heights and World According to Garp on an almost annual basis. I also often reread the Diskworld novels, in particular Last Continent and Pyramids.

Do you ever smell books?

Yes. I tend to listen to them rustle too.

Do you ever read Primary source documents?

Er. Ok. No. I do, on occassion, read technical documents, for work, you know. But nothing touching history.