Book meme

[sally_maria]

Stolen from nakeisha


Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?
All of the above, though mass market gives me the most story for the least storage space.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
I've never seen Barnes & Noble in the UK, but Borders is a wonderful shop.

Bookmark or dog-ear?
Bookmark, I wouldn't dream of deliberately bending pages. Though I do put paperbacks face down to keep my place.
 
Amazon or brick and mortar?
Brick and mortar. I want my books now. :-)

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
By author, with hardbacks and paperbacks separate. TV tie-ins get filed in number order, though.

Keep, throw away or sell?
Keep, most of the time, though sometimes I'll give them away. I'd only throw a book away if it was irredeemable damaged.

Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Keep, of course.

Read with dust jacket or remove it?
Keep in on - otherwise I might lose it.

Short story or novel?
Novels mostly, though I have nothing against short stories.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Harry Potter. 

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
When tired. I really struggle to stop at chapter breaks, it's always "just a few more pages".

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
Er....um. What? 

Buy or borrow?
Buy. Nothing against borrowing except the "want books now" thing.

New or used?
Mostly new, because "want books now". If it's not newly published, though, I'm very happy to pay less.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations or browse?
Browse mostly, though I do listen to recommendations from people who like the same kind of things I do.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Tidy endings. Cliffhangers are fine in a book, but not at the end

Morning reading, afternoon reading, night-time reading?
Mostly in my lunch hour, and in bed. In between I read on the Internet. :-) 

Stand-alone or series?
Both.

Favourite series?
Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody,  Brother Cadfael, Garth Nix's Old Kingdom

Favourite children's book?
Diana Wynne Jones - any really, though I love The Lives of Christopher Chant

Favourite YA book?
Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.

Favourite book of which nobody else has heard?
Looking at my shelves, I realised how mainstream my tastes were, at least for a value of mainstream that includes people who like sci-fi/fantasy, mysteries and historical novels. Maybe Barbara Michaels - Ammie, Come Home - my favourite of her spooky romances.

Favourite books read last year?
So many to choose from, but maybe Cordelia's Honor, as the first two Lois McMaster Bujold novels I read.

Favourite books of all time?
Well, I have to say Lord of the Rings, don't I. ;-)

Least favourite book finished last year?
No idea. It was obviously Not Memorable.

What are you reading right now?
Mistress of the House by Rosemary Baird. It's non-fiction, about the women who designed and decorated Britain's great houses. 

What are you reading next?
Not sure. Maybe 'Throne of Jade' the next Naomi Novik novel.

Favourite book to recommend to an eleven-year old?
Depends so much on the child.

Favourite book to reread?
Probably Lord of the Rings, but I don't usually keep books I'm not interested in re-reading.

Do you ever smell books?
Yes - doesn't everybody? :-)

Do you ever read Primary source documents?
18th Century enclosure acts, for my degree dissertation.