Saw this over at Kat's blog and decided to play along.
Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
I prefer hardback or trade, unless cost or availability is an issue.
Amazon or brick and mortar? Either.
Barnes & Noble or Borders? Oh, is there a difference?
Bookmark or dogear? I’m a reformed dogearer. Now I use bookmarks (or the dust cover, in a pinch).
Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? I’ve grouped our books loosely by subject, and within those groupings I tend to place books of similar size together so they look nice on the shelf. We have a bookshelf covering an entire wall in the living room, so having the books grouped by subject makes it much easier to find the one you’re looking for.
Keep, throw away, or sell? Mostly keep. I would NEVER throw away a book, unless it was hopelessly damaged. If I no longer want a book, I will sell or give away.
Keep dustjacket or toss it? Keep it.
Read with dustjacket or remove it? Sometimes I remove the dust cover when reading, especially when I travel with a book. Usually I leave it on and try to be careful with it.
Short story or novel? I read both, but spend far more time reading novels than stories. Even though I’ve read novels in many genres, the only short stories I ever read are science fiction.
Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Either way can be enjoyable.
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? I’m almost embarrassed to admit this, but I have never read a single novel in either series. I have a copy of the first Harry Potter and am sure I will read it eventually, but I got turned off by all the hype and it made me not want to read it way back when (or now).
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? I quit reading at whatever page I happen to land on when I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.
“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? I can’t remember ever reading any book that opened with either of those clichés.
Buy or Borrow? Buy. I used to read a lot of library books, but that was back when I lived in a town with a pretty good local library. It was decently well stocked, and was in a old building that had been restored, so it was a nice place to hang out.
New or used? I usually buy new books, but still like rambling through used book stores or the book sections of thrift stores. There are lots of good reasons to buy used: less expensive, out of print, rare book, or you find something great just by chance.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? Recommendations (from friends or other sources) and browsing. I don’t put much stock in reviews.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger? I want a good ending that is satisfying. This could include either of these options, but must fit the rest of the book or series.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? I read before bed almost every night.
Stand-alone or series? Both.
Favorite series? Asimov’s Robot novels, CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series, White’s King Arthur books, Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Kage Baker’s Company novels, Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, Anthony’s Apprentice Adept series, Dan Simmons’ Hyperion and Endymion novels, Herbert’s Dune books, and Brin’s Uplift novels.
Favorite children's book? My Chronicles of Narnia boxed set. I read them so many times they are in tatters, but I still have them.
Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? Mama Makes Up Her Mind (and Other Dangers of Southern Living) is a book I found in a used bookstore on vacation and picked up on a whim. It is folksy, hilarious fun! Sort of like a Fannie Flagg novel, only with real characters and stories. And this proves I do read a few books that aren't science fiction...
Favorite books read last year? Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days; The Machine’s Child, Spin, Anansi Boys, Accelerando
Favorite books of all time? Watership Down, Gone With The Wind, The Chronicles of Narnia, Doomsday Book
Least favorite book you finished last year? I’m not sure I got all the way through it, but it was Moving Mars by Greg Bear.
What are you reading right now? Psychoshop by Alfred Bester and Roger Zelazny
What are you reading next? Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds
17 comments:
You are either very fast at inserting .jpegs into the post, or have a lot more patience than I do.
If you haven't, try Book Nook on N. Druid Hills at Clairmont. Tons of books to brouse.
Make that browse.
I drive down Clairmont every day on my commute, and have wondered about that shop but never stopped in. The logo on their sign made me think maybe they had a lot of kids books. I'll have to try it now. Thanks for the recommendation.
Those aren't just jpegs - they're clickable links! Once I get the first bit of html code typed in, I just do a lot of copying and pasting to get the rest.
How is Psycho Shop? I've read Bester's The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination and thought they were excellent.
The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination were great books. Psychoshop is different than those two, for a couple of reasons. It was left unfinished when Bester died, so Zelazny finished it. The combination of authors gives it a different feel. Also, it is a zany story so far. But good. I'm enjoying it. I wish Bester had written more. The collection of his short stories, Virtual Unrealities, is also well worth your time.
Impressive. I wish I had more time for book-reading. I probably do, except the internets are a big distraction. I could stand to spend less time reading junk on the nets and more time reading more substantial dead-tree stuff.
I'm going to jot down some of your favorites as I'm going to the library today. My library is just as you described your old library to be. Plus, with two kids, I don't buy a lot of books.
I own the Chronicles of Narnia set. I've loved it since I was a child and my children loved it as well. I've never read any Asimov. That's shameful. I saw "I, Robot" and enjoyed it, but maybe I should take the plunge and read it. Harry Potter was actually enjoyable in the beginning. I think the author now has ghost writers so they've changed quite a bit.
P.S. Love Zima's eyes and the pic below!
dr s - I'm not nearly as prolific a reader as some, but I always have a book on the nightstand. I average about one per month most of the time. Some nights I only make it a few pages before nodding off.
beth - I didn't read the Robot series until I was almost 40, so don't feel bad! They are worth reading - science fiction, yes, but at heart they are detective stories. Asimov is a great writer, both for fiction and non-fiction. A word of caution since you've seen the movie: the novels are not the same at all (they're better).
Wow... I'm impressed at your free time, and depressed that I haven't read a book for fun in ages...
I had insomnia last night and read from 11-2. Almost finished Psychoshop, but not quite.
Hi-
I just found your blog and am enjoying it. It's really nice to come across another book-reading, cat-loving physicist. Love the picture below!!
magnetbabe - welcome to the blog! I liked yours also, and just became your second subscriber in Bloglines.
I love Connie Willis' books.
Have you read Walter Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz"? It's my fave SF book.
I just finished A Canticle for Leibowitz about a week ago. Great book.
Fermi, you shoulda read my reviews back when I was writing them. Sigh. Those were the days. Free books, and opinions given freely. I didn't give many good reviews, though. There aren't that many actual good books out there.
ctheokas - I'm less critical in book reviews since I only read for enjoyment. I've seen what you read and discuss on your blog - you are high above my literary level!
dave - stopped by Book Nook yesterday on my way home and walked out with six sci-fi paperbacks that looks interesting. It's good to have a backlog of stuff ready to read. I was down to one unread book and getting antsy about it.
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