Books a MEME

So, My buddy Mike tagged me. He let me know he tagged me and when I finally got a chance to catch up on my blog reading all his posts – or I should say, a chunk of his posts went bye-bye. Server issues. But now they are back and so is this MEME so here goes:

Hardback, trade paperback, or mass-market paperback?
I love the trade paperback. It’s the perfect size.

Amazon or brick-and-mortar?
I could get lost forever in a book store. I love them. And I stop into them every chance I get. It’s the one place in the world that I can absolutely and completely relax. Well, that and a shoe store. But I will use the internet to shop for books, read reviews, and find out other books by the author.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
For me, it doesn’t matter. Whichever is closest. But Barnes and Noble is bigger and one of ours even has a huge used book section. It’s awesome. Ultimately I like the little mom and pop bookstores. Used and new. But for getting lost and just having a moment to myself – I head for B&N.

Bookmark or dogear?
I found this very cool bookmark at B&N that has little post it’s on it. I tend to want to look stuff up or write down great lines from a book so this thing is perfect. And it is in a little slip cover which also happens to be the perfect size in which to store my Starbucks coffee card. So, when I go across the street for my ½ hour of sanity everything I need is right inside my book.

Alphabetize by author, by title, or random?
Right now, I have three shelves of books I need to read in no particular order. If I have read them and want to keep them they are by author or series. Or in some cases, size.

Keep, throw away or sell?
I keep them all. But when I get my own little store, the ones I don’t feel the need to keep will go there. I’ll try to get a book swap thing going. Or sell them for a few bucks. Not sure yet.

Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Most of my books have their dust jackets. And the only one that doesn’t was because water somehow leaked on it. Which ruined the dust jacket but not the book itself so that in itself is a good reason to keep them. I do however remove them when I am reading a book. I don’t want to tear or destroy the dust jacket. So that almost negates the protection part. Hmmmmmm

Read with the dust jacket or remove it?
Wow, answered that one before I needed to. I read the books naked, then redress them when I am done.

Short story or novel?
Typically novels. I have read a few short story collections though. Most of them in the past year or so and that was due to either it being an author I loved or it got great reviews.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?
Collection. I haven’t read an anthology yet that I enjoyed. But that is just me.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
I worshipknow what a Harry Potter is. What’s a Lemony Snicket?

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
I have to stop when tired or the book tends to hit me in the nose.

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
Depends on the mood I’m in but typically “Dark and Stormy”

Buy or borrow?
Unfortunately for my budget but probably good for B&N stock – buy.

New or used?
Either one is fine with me. But used has to be in descent condition, no notes or anything, no underlining, etc. And it can’t smell.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations or browse?
I go by all three. And buy equally from all three.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Don’t really care. But if it’s a cliffhanger there better be another book coming. Ahem, Koontz – and your Frankenstein series that was supposed to be out in November. Ahem………………

When do you read: morning, afternoon or night?
If I could it would be 24/7. But I pretty much find a moment during all three to read. It’s what keeps me sane.

Standalone or series?
I do both about equally.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Our Lady of the Lost and Found by Diane Schoemperlen. I ordered this on a whim at B&N. They were practically giving it away. But it sounded so intriguing I had to get it. And I absolutely loved it.

Favorite books read last year?
Monkeewrench series by PJ Tracy
You are not a stranger here by Adam Haslett
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
ShadowsFall by Simon R. Green
The Nightside Series by Simon R. Green
I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Booked to Die (as well as the rest of the series) by John Dunning
The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde
Crusader’s Cross by James Lee Burke
The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue
Of Saints and Shadows by Christopher Golden
Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger

Favorite books of all time?
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts,
Everything ever written by James Lee Burke,
Cuckoos Egg by Cliff Stole
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Several of the favorites from last year are now on my all time list including:
Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger
Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
And so far anything and everything by Simon R. Green.
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Harry Potter 1-6
George RR Matins Song of Ice and Fire Series.

And I will tag: Kell, Betty, Tink, and Greymama cause I know they are book worms.