me and books

I LOVE books. 

Last week one of my students came in carrying a box of textbooks her class had ordered for another course.  The simple fact that there were books inside the box that I had not seen or touched made my heart go pitter patter. :) 

Seriously.  I kid you not.  I am like a kid in a candystore when I enter a bookstore or library.

Anywho, without further adieu, here are my answers to the book meme I first saw on Hiraeth and Lux Venit that has been going around recently.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? 
Doesn't matter as long as it is a book.  Actually, the only thing that matters is the cost--cheaper is better.  But, I have to admit, I prefer looking at hardback books on my shelves--they are just prettier.

Online purchase or brick and mortar? 
Online.  I love bookstores, but will end up purchasing online. 

Barnes & Noble or Borders? 
Neither.  We don't have them here.

Bookmark or dog-ear? 
I have this great little magnectic bookmark that clings to my pages and never falls out.  I would never, no never, dog-ear a book!!

Mark or not mark?
I do highlight and underline in books.  But I am careful with the ink quality of the pens used to do so because I don't want bleeding, smearing, or fading to occur as the book ages.  And, I would NEVER buy a book marked up by someone else.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
None of the above.  Like the First Lady, I use Library of Congress numbers to order my books.  At one time, I even made little tags for the spines.  And would love to do so again for all the newer purchases I kept.

Keep, throw away, or sell? 
I either keep a book or give it away.  I don't particuarly enjoy reading novels or biographies again, so after reading them once, I pass them on for others to enjoy.  Most nonfiction I keep so I can reference it or read it again.

Keep dustjacket or toss it? 
Toss.  I love the pretty spines of hard back books.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
With.  Gotta keep that spine clean.  And, the inside flaps can be used as bookmarks.

Short story or novel?
Novel.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? 
Either.

Lord of the Rings or Narnia?
Hmm . . . I've only read The Hobbit.  But, I do own The Lord of the Rings series, just couldn't get past the first few chapters of the first book.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? 
Chapter breaks  . . . unless I fall asleep reading.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? 
Either. :D

Buy or Borrow? 
Fiction and biographies--borrow.  NonFiction--Buy.

New or used? 
Does not matter as long as the book is not marked up or dog-eared.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? 
BROWSE!!!!!!!  And, sometimes by recommendation.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Cliffhanger is ok if part of a series, but not as the "final" ending.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or night time reading? 
YES!

Standalone or series?
Either ok.  Series reading is fun.  But, standalone is ok too. 

Favorite series? 
I can no more pick a favorite series than I can pick a favorite song.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? 
I would like to say Stepping Heavenward, but it seems like it is a popular book with the blogging community I hang out with.  I read it in 1999 and LOVED it.  It was the only English language novel in the Taiwanese Christan bookstore that I shopped at when I was an exchange student.

I also read an excellent, excellent biography on Abigial Adams my freshmen year of college.  It was one of the best books I've ever read.  But, I couldn't tell you the author unless I found the paper I wrote for class reviewing it.

Favorite books read last year? 
Again, I can no more pick a favorite book than I can pick a favorite song.  But, I did enjoy Jerry Bridges' The Discipline of Grace.

Favorite book of all time? 
Ditto on the there is no way I can pick a fave--NO WAY.  (I know many others have answered this "the Bible."  But, for me, I've never really thought of the Bible as "a book."  It is in a different class.  It is the word of God living and active--no book is like that.)

Three questions I am surprised not to see . . .

Fiction or NonFiction?
I enjoy nonfiction much more than fiction.  Historical fiction is ok, and occasionally I love me some creative take-me-away chick lit, but overall I prefer reading nonfiction.  I love biographies.

One book at a time or have several in process at the same time?
Several.  A few to choose from at bedtime, a few in a drawer behind the dinner table (I live alone you know), a few in the living room, and at least one in the purse.

Crack the spine or leave it unbroken?
When I was young (around 8-9), my dad taught me how to "break in" a book.  How to work your way from the outsides to the center creasing the spine ever-so-slightly so that the book could be opened and read without leaving it traumatized.

It's funny because I remember how serious he was in teaching me this very important step in owning a new book, and I remember just how proud I was that he was entrusting this bit of wisdom with me.  I still do it to this day with every new book I get.  It is the second thing I do.  The first?  Flip through the pages and inhale--the smell of a book is, oh, so important.

Yeah, that's right, we are bibliophiles--not just readers, book-lovers.

And since Kim claimed to be feeling a little like Kermit . . . this meme was brought to by the letter B for Bookworm Bookmarks.