Book Survey
1. Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?
I have all three, but I have to want a book really badly before I’ll pay for it in paperback.
2. Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Barnes & Noble, because there is no Borders where I live.
3. Bookmark or dog-ear?
Either. I dog-ear my own books sometimes, but with library books I use scraps of paper or (clean) tissues. I don’t think I have any actual bookmarks.
4. Amazon or brick and mortar?
Brick and mortar. I’m all about the bookstore experience.
5. Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
I stuff books wherever I can find space. I told a friend of mine that I don’t have space for all of my books and he said, “Why don’t you get some shelves?” I told him that I have a book shelf and four more shelves on the wall above it, and I think he was amazed at the idea of having more books than can fit in a bookshelf. My only nod towards organization is that I keep my favorite books in my room and relegate some of ones I like less to the basement.
6. Keep, throw away, or sell?
I wouldn’t throw a book in the trash, unless I dropped it in the toilet or something. I used to take books to the Paperback Exchange but it closed down. Currently, I either keep or give away to the Goodwill.
7. Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Keep.
8. Read with dust jacket or remove it?
Read with dust jacket.
9. Short story or novel?
Novels, though there are some short story collections that I like.
10. Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
I haven’t read either one. My opinion is that the Harry Potter books are for people who don’t really like to read and that for the most part, adults shouldn’t read children’s books unless they are reading out loud to a child. I have taken an irrational stand, and I’m sticking to it.
11. Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Stop reading when tired. I read on the exercise bike, so sometimes I stop reading because my 30 to 35 minutes are up.
12. "It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
“It was a dark and stormy night,” because Snoopy liked it.
13. Buy or borrow?
I enjoy buying, but I have been doing a lot of borrowing lately because I believe in supporting libraries and unfortunately, I don’t have unlimited funds for books. I did recently discover that Barnes & Noble offers a $1,000 gift card, which I would totally accept in lieu of an engagement ring.
14. New or used?
Mostly new, since Paperback Exchange tragically shut down.
15. Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?
I utilize all of them and I’m always happy to get recommendations.
16. Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Tidy ending.
17. Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
All of the above. I mostly read at work (I’m allowed) when things are slow and while I ride the exercise bike.
18. Stand-alone or series?
Either, though I mostly read stand-alone.
19. Favorite series?
I loved Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series, which I believe is also called the Southern vampire series. The HBO television series True Blood is based on these books. I was surprised by how much I liked it, because urban fantasy is not usually my bag, but they are charming and completely fun.
20. Favorite children's book?
When I was little, I loved everything Marguerite Henry wrote, particularly Misty of Chincoteague and Stormy, Misty’s Foal. I still have toy plastic horses of Misty and Stormy.
21. Favorite YA book?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Girl Goddess #9: Nine Stories by Francesca Lia Block
I loved the Lurlene McDaniel books about dying teenagers, which in retrospect, seems ghoulish and weird, but I also liked true crime books when I was 12 to 13. I guess I was just a creepy kid.
22. Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Please don't come back from the moon by Dean Bakopolous. The author myspace friended me after I named this my favorite book of 2006, though he didn’t do much with his myspace.
23. Favorite books read last year?
The Flamingo Rising by Larry Baker
A Fine and Private Place by Peter Beagle
Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant
Home by Marilynne Robinson
24. Favorite books of all time?
The list is ever evolving, but…
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
The Lover by Marguerite Duras
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
25. What are you reading right now?
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
The Customer is Always Wrong edited by Jeff Martin
The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn
Bluegrass: A True Story of Murder in Kentucky by William Van Meter
Plus some cookbooks.
26. What are you reading next?
The Man of my Dreams by Curtis Sittenfield
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
27. Favorite book to recommend to an eleven-year-old?
Summer of my German Solider by Bette Greene
28. Favorite book to reread?
Some Can Whistle by Larry McMurtry. The ending of this book always makes me cry, and I don’t typically cry while reading.
29. Do you ever smell books?
Not usually, but I despise it when library books smell like cigarettes.
30. Do you ever read Primary source documents?
Not lately, but I suppose I did in school.
I have all three, but I have to want a book really badly before I’ll pay for it in paperback.
2. Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Barnes & Noble, because there is no Borders where I live.
3. Bookmark or dog-ear?
Either. I dog-ear my own books sometimes, but with library books I use scraps of paper or (clean) tissues. I don’t think I have any actual bookmarks.
4. Amazon or brick and mortar?
Brick and mortar. I’m all about the bookstore experience.
5. Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
I stuff books wherever I can find space. I told a friend of mine that I don’t have space for all of my books and he said, “Why don’t you get some shelves?” I told him that I have a book shelf and four more shelves on the wall above it, and I think he was amazed at the idea of having more books than can fit in a bookshelf. My only nod towards organization is that I keep my favorite books in my room and relegate some of ones I like less to the basement.
6. Keep, throw away, or sell?
I wouldn’t throw a book in the trash, unless I dropped it in the toilet or something. I used to take books to the Paperback Exchange but it closed down. Currently, I either keep or give away to the Goodwill.
7. Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Keep.
8. Read with dust jacket or remove it?
Read with dust jacket.
9. Short story or novel?
Novels, though there are some short story collections that I like.
10. Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
I haven’t read either one. My opinion is that the Harry Potter books are for people who don’t really like to read and that for the most part, adults shouldn’t read children’s books unless they are reading out loud to a child. I have taken an irrational stand, and I’m sticking to it.
11. Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Stop reading when tired. I read on the exercise bike, so sometimes I stop reading because my 30 to 35 minutes are up.
12. "It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
“It was a dark and stormy night,” because Snoopy liked it.
13. Buy or borrow?
I enjoy buying, but I have been doing a lot of borrowing lately because I believe in supporting libraries and unfortunately, I don’t have unlimited funds for books. I did recently discover that Barnes & Noble offers a $1,000 gift card, which I would totally accept in lieu of an engagement ring.
14. New or used?
Mostly new, since Paperback Exchange tragically shut down.
15. Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?
I utilize all of them and I’m always happy to get recommendations.
16. Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Tidy ending.
17. Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
All of the above. I mostly read at work (I’m allowed) when things are slow and while I ride the exercise bike.
18. Stand-alone or series?
Either, though I mostly read stand-alone.
19. Favorite series?
I loved Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series, which I believe is also called the Southern vampire series. The HBO television series True Blood is based on these books. I was surprised by how much I liked it, because urban fantasy is not usually my bag, but they are charming and completely fun.
20. Favorite children's book?
When I was little, I loved everything Marguerite Henry wrote, particularly Misty of Chincoteague and Stormy, Misty’s Foal. I still have toy plastic horses of Misty and Stormy.
21. Favorite YA book?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Girl Goddess #9: Nine Stories by Francesca Lia Block
I loved the Lurlene McDaniel books about dying teenagers, which in retrospect, seems ghoulish and weird, but I also liked true crime books when I was 12 to 13. I guess I was just a creepy kid.
22. Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Please don't come back from the moon by Dean Bakopolous. The author myspace friended me after I named this my favorite book of 2006, though he didn’t do much with his myspace.
23. Favorite books read last year?
The Flamingo Rising by Larry Baker
A Fine and Private Place by Peter Beagle
Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant
Home by Marilynne Robinson
24. Favorite books of all time?
The list is ever evolving, but…
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
The Lover by Marguerite Duras
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
25. What are you reading right now?
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
The Customer is Always Wrong edited by Jeff Martin
The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn
Bluegrass: A True Story of Murder in Kentucky by William Van Meter
Plus some cookbooks.
26. What are you reading next?
The Man of my Dreams by Curtis Sittenfield
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
27. Favorite book to recommend to an eleven-year-old?
Summer of my German Solider by Bette Greene
28. Favorite book to reread?
Some Can Whistle by Larry McMurtry. The ending of this book always makes me cry, and I don’t typically cry while reading.
29. Do you ever smell books?
Not usually, but I despise it when library books smell like cigarettes.
30. Do you ever read Primary source documents?
Not lately, but I suppose I did in school.