Oh, I Love Books!

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
Usually hardback (they seem to last longer), although for train rides to and from Chicago, nothing beats a little trade paperback that I can stow in my book-sized purse. The flexibility of a paperback is also a mark in its favor.

Amazon or brick and mortar?
Both, with Half.com leading the pack. You can find such wonderful deals there, though it is very sparse on info. I usually find the book on Amazon, and then buy it on Half.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Borders seems to have a bit more character to it (more titles and editions) but Barnes and Noble wins the day because I have one not five minutes from my apartment and everyone keeps giving me B&N gift certificates.

Bookmark or dogear?
I use bookmarks until my supply runs out. Then I turn to more unconventional tools to keep my place: grocery lists, coasters, twigs, barrettes, or anything that will fit.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
Since I have so much British stuff, I organize most of my books by era. Everything else is lumped by country of origin and genre.

Keep, throw away or sell?
Most definitely sell. When I sell unwanted or disappointing books, it gives me such a satisfied feeling, like I’m taking revenge on them for making me waste my time and money on them. Speaking of which, if any of the people who read this blog are in need of 1980s feminist criticism, I’ve got a whole stack that has been up for sale since August and that I’m desperate to be rid of. At this point, I’d be willing to pay someone (in cookies or tea or something) to take them off my hands.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?
Keep it, but take it off when I’m actually reading the book.

Novel or short story?
Usually novels. They have more meat on them.

Short story collection (short stories by the same author) or anthology (short stories by a different author)?
Difficult to say. When I find an interesting author, I kind of go nuts and read everything by them (I’m in a J.S. LeFanu and Arthur Conan Doyle rut right now). But I also crave variety. I guess it would depend on the author(s) involved.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Since I’ve only read a few pages of Lemony Snicket, I’ll have to go with Harry, though I have to say that my enthusiasm for the series has faded quite a bit over the past couple years. Don’t hate me, Dev!

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Chapter breaks. That way, should the teaspoon marking my place get knocked out of the book, I know right where to turn to.

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
Dark and stormy. No question about it! Nothing cranks up my Victorian gothic thing like a line that immediately makes one think of thunder, lightning, and a sublime scene with at least one dilapidated castle on the horizon.

Buy or Borrow?
Buy. If I read a book, I want to keep it. I have conquered it. I’m a bit like the hunter that must stuff every animal that he kills. I don’t have a library – I have a trophy room.

New or used?
New, for the most part. I get the willies if my book has food or liquid stains on it. The last thing I want on my book is an orange fingerprint created with Cheeto residue and saliva.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
All three equally (with a sprinkle of impulse buying added to the mix).

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Tidy endings. Obvious cliffhangers have always struck me as cravenly mercantile. But let’s not confuse cliffhangers with surprise endings: the end of Henry James’ Turn of the Screw is one of the best endings I have yet encountered.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
I love ‘em all, but I do more nighttime reading, if only because that’s the only time I’m free to read uninterrupted.

Standalone or series?
80% standalone. 20% series.

Favorite series?
The Sherlock Holmes cannon or Raymond Chandler’s collection of Philip Marlowe mysteries.

Favorite books read last year?
Carmilla and Uncle Silas, by J.S. LeFanu.
Book, by Robert Grudin.
The Life of Elizabeth I, The Wars of the Roses, and The Princes in the Tower, all by Alison Weir.

Favorite books of all time?
For a complete list of my favorite books, you’ll need to provide several things:
- You, my friend, here in Bourbonnais
- A big pot of tea and something to snack on
- Internet access
- Six hours worth of lazy summer afternoon
- And two comfortable chairs.