Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
No, I generally consider eating and reading to be mutually exclusive activities. I like to fully enjoy both eating and reading and trying to do them simultaneously diminishes the enjoyment of both activities.... Unless of course I'm reading a cookbook.
Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
It depends on the book/author. Generally I keep a highlighter handy when reading books by Douglas Coupland and highlight my favorite passages. I do this with a few other authors as well but chances are this isn't a practice I'd do with books by John Grisham or Ken Follett.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
Usually an improvised bookmark-- sometimes a sheet of 2-ply, sometimes a receipt, and sometimes the library is nice enough to include them in books (or previous readers have left them behind.
Laying the book flat open?
No, usually held in my hands.
Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
both. Although with non-fiction I tend to stick with travel (Bill Bryson in particular), history and survival books (Into the Wild and books like that).
Hard copy or audiobooks?
Generally hard copy. Although there are a couple authors I wouldn't mind getting audiobooks of (Bill Bryson & David Sedaris) because they read their own books and the audiobooks come recommended even higher than the hard copies.
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?
It depends on the author. Some authors, if I want to stop reading I have to stop mid-chapter. The authors leave each chapter with a cliff-hanger that keeps me reading the next one (usually suspense novelists like John Grisham, Ken Follett, and Daniel Silva).
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
No I try to figure it out from the context in which it's used.
What are you currently reading?
Thirtynothing by Lisa Jewell
A Friend of the Family by Lisa Jewell
What is the last book you bought?
Flow My Tears the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick
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 can read more than one at a time although I prefer not to. I feel like I'm cheating on whichever book I started reading first.
Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
Right before bed. It clears my head of the day's stresses and relaxes me so I fall asleep considerably faster and easier when the lights do go out.
Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
With Sci-Fi books I prefer series. For any/every other genre I prefer stand alone books.
Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
Books -
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts; Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney; American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis; Life After God by Douglas Coupland; An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser; Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser; The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway; This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Authors -
Christopher Moore, Ken Follett, Douglas Coupland, Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov
How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
By author, although beyond that my wife shelves the books by size by how they look best on the shelf. She's got an eye for that. I only ever ask her to keep books by the same author together and just let her do her thing.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
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4 comments:
This is a great meme. I want to go read American Tragedy now.
Snooze: I'm biased on An American Tragedy it's loosely based on an actual murder that happened in the Adirondacks in the early 20th century. Having grown up in the Adirondacks the book had a bit of a "local flavor" for me. The Liz Taylor movie, A Place In the Sun was loosely based on the book. Even though the movie was set in the Adirondacks like the book, it was filmed largely in Lake Tahoe, NV. Incidentally, there's a scene from A Place in the Sun that Woody Allen copied almost verbatim for his movie Match Point (which, incidentally, follows a very similar plot to both Dreiser's novel and A Place In the Sun).
I like reading before bed as well, and I have so many bookmarks it's ridiculous. I don't usually eat while readinbg, but if I do, it's usually something to suck on---for example, during the holidays, I would never refuse a candy cane. Easy to lick while reading. Lastly, I would NEVER write in a book.
Susan: Why wouldn't you ever write a book? I actually enjoy writing almost as much as I enjoy reading. I even joined a writing group (Fox Valley Writer's Group) out here in the far west 'burbs. I go to my first meeting this Sunday moring.
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