Sweet Soliloquies

I found this meme over at Melissa’s Bibliotica blog and thought I’d give it a whirl. Apparently, it made the rounds during Book Blogger Appreciation Week which was a week or so ago. Here we go…

Do you snack while you read? If so, what is your favorite reading snack?

I don’t usually snack while reading a book, however I do when I’m using the laptop. There’s something about holding a book that makes me want to hunker down and be absorbed into it, not to be bothered by outside influences. At the laptop, however, I can munch away an entire box of Whoppers in no time without realizing I’ve done it.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I only write in workbooks. Writing in a regular book seems sacrilegious unless the author has specifically asked you to do so, as Patti Digh has in her book Life is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

I’ll use a bookmark, receipt or chinese fortune until I lose or misplace it. The only book I’ll dog-ear is a cookbook. As for laying a book flat open, I’ll only do that if I’m only going to be away from it for a moment. More often than not, I just try to remember the page I was at when I left it last.

Fiction, nonfiction or both?

Both, however, I tend to read more fiction.

Hard copy or audio books?

I prefer hard copy. It’s not that I don’t like audio books, I just rarely think to purchase books in that form. I’d rather listen to a story when I have nothing else going on to distract me which sort of defeats one of the purposes of audio books: being able to listen while driving, mowing the lawn, what-have-you.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

I prefer to read to the end of the chapter if there is time, otherwise, I have no problem putting down a book at any point. Since one of my only times available for reading is while I ride the bus to and from work, I’ve become used to having to stop where I’m at in the story.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

I can usually figure out what the word means by looking at the context. If not, I’ll look it up some time later.

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn, and Life is a Verb… by Patti Digh.

What is the last book you bought?

Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

I use to be strictly a one book at a time kinda girl but now, I’ll have one main book and then maybe one or two others I’ll pick up and read throughout the week. The one or two side selections are usually nonfiction while the main book is usually fiction. I’m not sure why but that seems to be the status quo.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

I prefer to read early in the morning and/or in the afternoon, when I’m more likely to be alone or have access to a quiet space. If I read at night, I’ll likely fall asleep.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

I enjoy both series books and stand alone books but find it especially scrumptious when I discover an excellent series with characters I care about.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

I always recommend Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Terry Moore and Anne Frasier. Neil Gaiman is a wizard, Warren Ellis is an Internet god, Terry Moore writes women better than women, and Anne Frasier is wickedly talented and will shock the socks off you. Her novels are being passed around at work right now.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.)

Some might not be surprised to hear that I change things up a bit and will sometimes organize by genre then author, other times by size of the book, another time by what book challenge I’m including it in. I do keep my TBR books together on the two or three top shelves of one of my bookcases.

So, there you have it; all the things you didn’t know you needed to know about my book reading habits. Please leave me a comment if you decide to answer this questionnaire yourself so I can stop over and read it. Thanks and Ciao!