Literanista
October 15, 2009
Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?
Before I worked in publishing I loved to buy book in hardcover (you know for my collection) nowaways, I carry around whatever I can get my hands on…ARCs,etc., and the more expensive and smaller my handbags have gotten, the more I’ve come to appreciate smaller books.
Waterstones, Borders or Amazon?
Well, Waterstones is sort of far for me but perhaps one day. When I worked at my previous job in Midtown West, there was a Borders right below and that was my refuge – bad day at work? I would go down there and load up on books but not without printing out a coupon online first. Interestingly enough, I ran into many people right outside that Borders – an Israeli blogger I had met in San Francisco, someone from HS -it was like a corner of the world.
Bookmark or dog-ear?
I use to adore bookmarks and collect them but nowadays I use what I can find in my purse, business cards, receipts -yes, I’ve gotten sloppy but I will be dead before I start folding the corners of my books.
Amazon or brick-and-mortar?
I hate to admit it but I buy a lot of stuff online – perhaps too much stuff.
Alphabetize by author, or alphabetize by title, or random?
By size and color, and then special shelfs for to-read, already-read, and signed.
Keep, throw away, or sell?
Always keep! Except the Cliff Notes – those were donated.
Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Why on Earth would anyone toss those?
Read with dust jacket or remove it?
I usually keep it on but have been known to remove if white and I’m taking forever to read, especially while on vacay.
Short story or novel?
Novels…I rarely read short stories.
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Lemony Snicket? I did have a copy somewhere but didn’t read it. I saw the movie though it was cute. I own all the Harry Potter books but I’ve only read the first two, I believe. I read them so long it’s hard to remember.
Buy or borrow?
I used to splurge on books, I rarely borrowed books and always hated lending. LOL!
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?
All of the above!
Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Don’t like cliffhangers, not even in series. I need closure otherwise I feel like I’m left waiting to exhale.
Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
I used to read every single night before bed, now most of my reading is done on my commute.
Stand-alone or series?
I read tons of series but after while the events, chronology, names and story lines become a mess in head.
Favorite series?
I have read so many yet I don’t think I have a favorite series. When I was in college I read all the Scapertta books by Patricia Cornwell, in high school Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches series.
Favorite children’s book?
Patricia Coombs’ The Lost Playground & On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier
Favorite YA book?
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle.
Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979) There are those who love Butler and then there are those who’ve never heard of her – shame for the latter.
Favorite books read last year?
Blindness by José Saramago
Favorite books of all time?
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Alice Walker’s The Color Purple
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas
Favorite book to recommend to an 11-year-old?
The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe By C.S. Lewis
Favorite book to re-read?
Hmm, I really avoid rereading books.
Do you ever smell books?
I have but not on intentionally.
Do you ever read primary source documents like letters or diaries?
I have, especially for research projects.
What are you reading right now?
I usually have about three books going at once: I just finished all of the LJ Smith’s Vampire Diaries, still going on A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore…
What are you reading next?
I want to read Dan Chaon’s Await Your Reply and Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell
This was fun to read! I would never dog ear a book, and I like tidy endings too. I really want to read Cleaving as well.
How fun, I enjoyed reading your answers. Found myself nodding a lot. I have to say, I hate hardbacks – they're heavy, expensive and hurt when they hit your face in bed.
I love that you met people you knew at Borders : )
I collect bookmarks too and keep them in m drawer, not in my books.
You learn a lot about people by what they do with books. Thanks for sharing!