Reading Habits

Hardback or paperback? I have to go with paperback as my preference - unless I just can't wait for the paperback to be released. But I absolutely have to break in the spine using the proper method so that it doesn't get broken in half while reading. Oh, how I hate broken spines!

Buy online or not? Although I will always love perusing a book store (and finding much more than I came for), I just don't take the time to do it. I like to buy online for the most part. I find that I can usually get a better price but it's really the convenience of it all that sells me.

Bookmark or dogear? Definitely bookmark. I wouldn't dream of folding a page down - I'm too particular about the condition of my books to do that!

Keep, throw away or sell? I keep the ones I become attached to (which amounts to most of the books I read); I don't think I've ever thrown a book away; I sell (or give away) the ones that I can live without or duplicates.

Keep dustjacket or toss it? I always keep the dustjacket.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? Notwithstanding the above, I always remove the dustjacket when reading a hard cover book. I just can't stand the sliding of it up and down while I'm reading - it's so distracting.

Short story or novel? I'm a fan of short stories every once in a while (they can pack a punch) but I like to become immersed in a story so much that short stories don't satisfy like novels do.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? No contest - Harry Potter. I really wish that these books had been written when I was a child. I would have loved them - but I love them now and am able to enjoy every bit of their fantasy. (I like Lemony Snicket too - just not even in the same realm as HP for me.)

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? I always try to stop reading at chapter breaks - I need some type of closure to be able to put the book down if possible. But there are times I have no choice like when a well-meaning security guard tells me to leave the premesis or the timer on the oven tells me that we have to eat dinner.

Buy or Borrow? It depends. If it's a book in a series that I already own, I'll buy it. Or if it's a book that I know I'll want to keep, I buy it. Or if I have a gift card or something - I'll buy it. But the cheap part of me likes to borrow books also.

New or Used? Because I am so particular about the condition of my books, I will always prefer a new book to a used book. I love the smell of a new book and the fact that I get to break it in. But - as I said above, the cheap part of me likes used books also - and really, they've got the same content.

How do you select your books to read? I usually either hear about a book from friends, family or a good review. Sometimes I'll pick a book because of the author and the fact that I've liked their other books.

Tidy ending or not? Of course I like books to end the way everyone wants them to end, but I do like the occasional book that doesn't have the tidy ending that you could predict from page 1. There's something about a "messy" ending that makes me connect with a book so much more.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? I never-ever read in the morning unless I am on vacation, in which case I love it. I only read in the afternoon sometimes on my lunch breaks. I usually read at night although I hardly ever read in bed because it makes me too tired.

Stand-alone book or a series? I enjoy both. There is something nice about a series that allows you to stay connected to a story and its characters for an extended period of time. I do like that.

Favorite Series? So hard to choose. Obviously I love Harry Potter, but I also love Anne of Green Gables, The Chronicles of Narnia and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency among others.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? Ok, this is a tough one. Maybe Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino or Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich.

Favorite book(s) read last year? We Were the Mulvaneys, The Time Traveler's Wife

Favorite books of all time? Well, you can see my profile for the answer to this one but I'll list a few additonal ones: Wuthering Heights, The Lord of the Rings, Sense and Sensibility, Love in the Time of Cholera, Jane Eyre, Things Fall Apart, Little Women...and there's more.

Least favorite book you finished last year? I can't remember. I usually remember the good ones and I guess none of them were bad enough to remember. I don't have a list of all the books I read last year to pick one. Maybe I should start keeping a list.

What are you reading right now? Jan Karon's Mitford Series. I'm on the second book right now, A Light in the Window. A friend loaned the series to me (thanks Lindsay) and although the first one took me until about half-way through to get into it, I am now thoroughly hooked!

What are you reading next? I've got a long list of what to read next beginning with The Thirteenth Tale, possibly followed by The Historian (finally - I've had this one for maybe a year now) and then Bel Canto.

I'm not going to specifically "tag" anyone on this but I'd love to see what anyone else has to say about these preferences on their blog if you feel so inclined!