Bookish meme
This came from Bookish NYC by way of Life Must be Filled up
Do you snack while you read?
Not really, but I always read while having lunch, or any other time I’m eating alone.
What is your favorite drink while reading?
Tea – generally Whittards Spice Imperial, to which I am addicted.
Do you tend to mark your books while you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
Never – I keep Post-Its (horrid orange ones) to hand to mark quotes, or places I want to refer to.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book open flat?
I use cards as bookmarks and have a basket full of them beside the bed. When I’m away, though, I regularly find myself without one and have to use bus/train tickets or my hotel breakfast card – good thing I take my book to breakfast! I will put a book face down for a few minutes – while I get another cup of tea, for instance, but because I won’t force the spine, I usually get back to find that it’s sprung shut and lost my place.
Fiction, nonfiction, or both?
Mostly fiction, though I always have at least two (mood-dependent) non-fiction on the go. I don’t feel the same drive to finish non-fiction as a rule.
Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I like to stop at a natural place, so it’s usually the end of a chapter.
Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?Absolutely not!
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
Only if I can’t make any sort of guess from the context – in which case, it was probably unnecessary to use it.
What are you currently reading?
Fiction: China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun. Non-fiction: Ursula Le Guin, The Language of the Night.
What is the last book you bought?
Fielding Day by Simon Raven – it’s the first part in a long series. Never read anything by this author, and thought it was time I gave him a try. When it arrived it turned out to be a Panther edition, which brought back memories. I lived on Panther paperbacks in my teens.
Do you have a favorite time/place to read?
Anytime. All day every day. In or on my bed with a dog (good change of position after sitting at a computer all day).
Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?
I really don’t mind – except that I have a thing about not reading the last book in a series because I can’t bear it to be over. There is one book on my TBR pile which has been there for 2 years, I think, while I wait for the right, auspicious moment to finish the series.
Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
Probably not, when I think about it. I'm conscious that other people don't share my obsessions. I'm more likely to recommend a new discovery.
How do you organize your books (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)?
Oh, how I wish I had space to organise my books – by genre for preference, but now they are shelved on the anywhere-there-is-space principle. However, there are plans to build shelves in our big sitting room. So I’d better get on with earning the money to pay for them.
Do you snack while you read?
Not really, but I always read while having lunch, or any other time I’m eating alone.
What is your favorite drink while reading?
Tea – generally Whittards Spice Imperial, to which I am addicted.
Do you tend to mark your books while you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
Never – I keep Post-Its (horrid orange ones) to hand to mark quotes, or places I want to refer to.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book open flat?
I use cards as bookmarks and have a basket full of them beside the bed. When I’m away, though, I regularly find myself without one and have to use bus/train tickets or my hotel breakfast card – good thing I take my book to breakfast! I will put a book face down for a few minutes – while I get another cup of tea, for instance, but because I won’t force the spine, I usually get back to find that it’s sprung shut and lost my place.
Fiction, nonfiction, or both?
Mostly fiction, though I always have at least two (mood-dependent) non-fiction on the go. I don’t feel the same drive to finish non-fiction as a rule.
Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I like to stop at a natural place, so it’s usually the end of a chapter.
Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?Absolutely not!
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
Only if I can’t make any sort of guess from the context – in which case, it was probably unnecessary to use it.
What are you currently reading?
Fiction: China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun. Non-fiction: Ursula Le Guin, The Language of the Night.
What is the last book you bought?
Fielding Day by Simon Raven – it’s the first part in a long series. Never read anything by this author, and thought it was time I gave him a try. When it arrived it turned out to be a Panther edition, which brought back memories. I lived on Panther paperbacks in my teens.
Do you have a favorite time/place to read?
Anytime. All day every day. In or on my bed with a dog (good change of position after sitting at a computer all day).
Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?
I really don’t mind – except that I have a thing about not reading the last book in a series because I can’t bear it to be over. There is one book on my TBR pile which has been there for 2 years, I think, while I wait for the right, auspicious moment to finish the series.
Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
Probably not, when I think about it. I'm conscious that other people don't share my obsessions. I'm more likely to recommend a new discovery.
How do you organize your books (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)?
Oh, how I wish I had space to organise my books – by genre for preference, but now they are shelved on the anywhere-there-is-space principle. However, there are plans to build shelves in our big sitting room. So I’d better get on with earning the money to pay for them.
Thank you for posting about your reading habits! I found this meme already on Nan's blog and am determined to use it like a kind of questionnaire for the small online forum for booklovers where I moderate.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea, Librarian! I haven't seen Nan's answers yet - must go and look.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this! I must look up Fielding Day - never heard of author or books. My gosh there are a lot of books in the world!! Very interesting about not finishing a series. If I knew the author killed off the main character or had something awful happen (like in the last Rex Stout book which I will never read) then I wouldn't read the last book either. But for example, the Mrs. Pollifax books - the final book just ends like her other adventures, and that is fine with me. I can just imagine her off in the world doing what she's always done. :<)
ReplyDeleteI loved 'I'm conscious that other people don't share my obsessions.'