A Book Meme

I found this meme at In Spring it is the Dawn and have been wanting to answer the questions.  It is a bit of a variation on this meme found at Carl V.'s, which has a sci-fi slant to it.  As I am not a big sci-fi reader I thought I would stick with Tanabata's take on the questions.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?  I prefer buying trade size paperbacks as I already have run out of bookshelf room.  They take up less space (my hardcovers are in a stack on the floor--precariously leaning over).  If it is in hardcover and I really want to read it I usually try and get it from the library (though whether I will get it read or not by the due date is always the question).  And a very few authors I will buy in hardcover just becuase I like their work so much.

Amazon or brick and mortar?  Both.  I hate to say that Amazon tends to give better discounts, plus they offer free shipping and you don't have to worry about paying tax on your purchase.  I like being able to browse in a brick and mortar store, though (not so easily done online).  I tend to spread my book money around and order from a variety of places.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?  I usually shop at B&N.  I have one of their discount cards.  I do like going to Borders occasionally, however, as they get in different books.  My big complaint with B&N is that they seem to always have the same books on the tables in the aisles, and they are often of one kind--lots of checklit or popular fiction.  Of course there is nothing wrong with these types of books, but I wish they would display more of a variety and not just what might be on the bestseller lists.

Bookmark or dogear?  Always a bookmark!  I have never been one to dogear (well, maybe a library book...).

Alphabetize by author or alphebetize by title or random?  I wish I had my fiction alphebetized by author, but it is all a mishmash (I guess that would mean random!).  I have at least tried to group the books by one author together.  My book room is too small and it is now impossible to navigate and alphebetize everything!

Keep, throw away, or sell?  I usually keep my books unless it is something I really didn't like or would be very unlikely to read a second time.  I know I need to weed more, but I have a hard time with that sometimes.  I did go through my books last year and gave away to the Salvation Army several boxes of books.  If I can sell books to a used bookstore I like to do that, but my favorite used bookstore is pretty particular about what they will buy.  I don't think I would ever throw away a book.  Now, of course, I put them up on Bookmooch!

Keep dustjacket or toss it?  Why would anyone throw it away?  The library where I work does not leave the dustjacket on books, which can be annoying when you don't have that blurb to read (in the case of fiction particularly).

Read with dustjacket or remove it?  I leave it on.  I should take it off so it doesn't end up all creased and nicked, but I never do.

Short story or novel?  I went through this discussion not too long ago.  I admit I prefer novels to short stories, but I want to try and read more short stories this year!

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? When I do read them, I like short stories by one author and I don't mind if they are all related so that it very nearly reads like a novel (bit of a chear there...).  I'm not even sure I own any anthologies.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?  I have to say Harry Potter.  I have never read Lemony Snicket.  Should I?

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? I like to finish reading at chapter breaks as it seems easier to pick up the story, but that doesn't always happen.  If it is late, I stop when I am tired--and usually that's after about one page!

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?  I just started reading A Wrinkle in Time, which begins..."It was a dark and stormy night".  I think I like that better than the usual fairy tale beginning.

Buy or Borrow?  I need to add 'or mooch'.  And then my answer will have to be all of the above!  I mostly buy, but also often borrow from the library.  Lately I have been mooching a lot, too.

New or used?  There used to be a time when I would never buy used books.  Now I am quite happy to buy used books, though I probably prefer new ones just a tad bit more if they can be had easily and cheaply.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?  In the past I would buy books just from browsing.  If something looked good or sounded interesting I would just buy it.  Now I tend to buy lots of books on the recommendation of other book bloggers.  I wonder sometimes if I actually buy more books this way than before?

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?  I don't mind if the book is a cliffhanger if I know a sequel is to follow.  Otherwise I like a fairly tidy ending.  I can leave some things up to the imagination, but I hate too many loose ends.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?  Morning and afternoon are my best reading times.  If I try and read before bedtime I am not usually too successful.  I used to be able to stay up late and read, but those days are over it seems.

Standalone or series? Either.  I read mostly standalone books, but I also likes series books now and again.

Favorite series?  I like mysteries by Elizabeth George with Inspector Lynley and Barbara Havers and have followed the series from the start (am eagerly awaiting the next installment).  Last year I started reading C.S. Forster's Horatio Hornblower books (I have only read two of the eleven books).  I also like Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' The Morland Dynasty (there are about 25 books now published and I have read only five). There are probably other mystery series that I have followed, but I haven't been reading as many mysteries lately as I used to.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?  I think some people might be familiar with Clare Chambers--my favorite is Learning to Swim.  It is one of my very favorite comfort reads and I just recently pulled it off my shelf for a reread sometime soon!

Favorite books read last year? I posted on that very topic here (where you can see the whole list)not too long ago.  A few favorites were; Sophie's Choice by William Styron, Persuasion by Jane Austen, and Precious Bane by Mary Webb.

Favorite books of all time? This is not an easy question as my list changes from time to time.  Some of my standard answers (in no particular order): The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Chocolat by Joanne Harris, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion by Jane Austen, Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres and Learning to Swim and In a Good Light by Clare Chambers.  I know I should have more classics listed (am working on catching up with those books I "should have already read", but I am thinking of those books I have definitely read more than one or plan on reading again soon.  And my list could be longer....

Does anyone else want to play?

Comments

[sassymonkey]

Oh I'll have to play in a couple of days. :) Maybe on the weekend...

[Sylvia]

I'll play!

[P]

I enlarged the photo of your leaning tower of books - How frightening if they tumbled! I noticed 2 Penny Vincenzi books in your stacks. Do you recommend them?
Thanks

[Danielle]

Sassy and Sylvia--I'll be watching for your answers! I should have tidied the stack--it does look ready to topple over. My book room has gotten to be a mess once again with messy piles all over the place.

[Danielle]

P--Yes, I loved those books personally. I have not read many of her books, but I did read the Lytton Family Trilogy. They are about a publishing family before, during and after WWI. A great family saga--I think I read the first two back to back and then rushed to buy the third. At the time they were only available in the UK, but now I believe all three have been published over here in the US. I wouldn't mind reading them again--they are what I would consider good comfort reads!

[adrienne]

OK. Ok. I've been putting this off, but I guess I can play along.

[Litlove]

That is just the best Tower of Piza book stack I think I've ever seen! Fantastic! I really like Clare Chamgers too. Do you ever read Barbara Trapido, Danielle? Only I've always thought them alike, only some of Trapido's early novels - Brother of the More Famous Jack, and Noah's Ark are, dare I say it, even a little better than the Chambers!

[tanabata]

I enjoyed reading your answers - thanks for playing. I love your leaning stack of books!! :)

[Dorothy W.]

Fun! It's always interesting to hear about people's reading tastes and habits!

[Les in NE]

I love your stack of books!! I'll play (I copied the meme off Nat's blog, too), but probably not until later in the week.

[Isabella]

It never occurred to me to remove a dust jacket — I thought the point of it was to protect what's underneath.

Yes, you should read Lemony Snicket.

[Debi]

I'll play along. I like these kind of memes. I'll try to post this in the next few days.

[Susan]

That was fun! I'll play this weekend.

[iliana]

I loved reading this and am so glad you and Tanabata changed the meme a bit so us non sci/fi readers can play too :) I'll try to post mine later this week.

Some of your all time favorites are mine as well so I'm going to look for Clare Chambers ASAP. I've never heard of her before.

[Max]

I don't think I've ever seen a list of your all time favourite books before - you've listed a few books I've been meaning to read for ages and never got around to. I was going to put my Wilkie Collins up on Bookmooch, but I think I'll have to leave it on my shelf now!

[Stefanie]

I'll play tonight! I've read the first Lemony Snicket and thought it good, but I'm sure it would have been better if I were ten instead of older than ten :)

[Matt]

I'll chime in later on the day after I've got done with reading the students' homework. I printed out your answers too. :)

[Danielle]

I'll be watching for everyone else's meme answers! Thanks for playing along!
Litlove--If Barbara Trapido is better than Clare Chambers I am sold. Acutally I ordered the two you recommended and one other title by her that escapes me at the moment (too tired to go look). Thanks for letting me know--I am excited!
Isabella--I will give Lemony Snicket a try. I have a sneaking suspicion I might have the first one somewhere in my book room!
Iliana--I really enjoyed both of the novels I listed by Clare Chambers!
Max--Please give Wilkie Collins a try! DOn't booknmooch him just yet! He's really good!!! Woman in White is Wonderful and so is The Moonstone. I am hoping to read Armadale this year, too!!!

[Hootin' Anni]

Hi....I was so interested in your answers to the meme, I did one myself.