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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

BBAW: How I Read (meme)

BBAW is a week-long celebration of book bloggers. Today's assignment was to complete a meme describing our reading habits. Here are my responses:

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
No

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
Sometimes I mark using a pencil and it no longer bothers me to mark a book. Makes it more personal. I feel more connected to the work. Weird, I know.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?Laying the book flat open?
Bookmarks. My one craft hobby is bookmark making.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Love both. Sorely neglect non-fiction.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Prefer hard copy. Growing fondness for audio.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are youable to put a book down at any point?
I stop whenever I feel like breaking. Doesn't matter where.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
I normally don't stop unless I think the reference is critical or not knowing nags me to the point I have to know.

What are you currently reading?
I am pathetically behind reading Ash by Malinda Lo. I'm not big on fantasy but I love Malinda's writing and approach to this familiar tale. She's really used a classic as a jumping point and moved it forward in a fresh engaging way.

Also reading Teenage Underground. Brought home from our library. My daughter read it and asked me to so I am. She wants to discuss it. Well, that's all the reason I need to read it.

What is the last book you bought?
Can't remember. I get a lot on trade and I love using the library. I usually reserve my book buying for poetry or gifts.

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 enjoy reading more than one at a time and at other times a book demands my full attention.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
Nope. Anytime, anywhere.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
I prefer stand alone but I have enjoyed a few series notably, Octavia E. Butler's Parable books and looking forward to completing Justine Larbalestier's Magic series.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
Yes: Jacqueline Woodson, Zetta Elliott, Octavia E. Butler, Neesha Meminger and Kekla Magoon.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
Organization is not one of my strengths. I use a method that makes sense only to me (My guy scratches his head which suggests my logic is suspect). I group all poetry together (takes a bookcase of its own), then reference books (I have a nice collection of literary reference books, many of these are volumes from huge series. Working in reference publishing has its perks), and last everything else.

If you're unfamiliar with BBAW go here.

13 comments:

Lorin said...

Sounds pretty organized to me!

Brooke from The Bluestocking Guide said...

My organization is a little haphazard. My Reading Meme

Anonymous said...

Never thought I'd enjoy or even read spec. fic. but I loved Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. And I've started gathering materials to make my own bookmarks. I'm looking forward to it. Nice meme Susan!

January said...

Thanks for the link, and your thoughtful answers. I'll check out BBAW--who knew?

Ana S. said...

I didn't know you also made bookmarks! I love looking at homemade bookmarks - you should post a picture sometime!

I have a copy of Ash on its way to me...can't wait :)

Zetta said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who writes in books! And thanks for *always* telling folks about my book. You're a gem, Susan...

Thinking Aloud said...

I love looking back at what I wrote in books, especially the comments done in my years of angst. I just took out my copy of Catcher in the Rye and was both amazed and horrified at some of my thoughts in the margin. (But it explains a lot!)

Serena said...

I wish I was organized, but I'm not...at all. The books are all over the place...though partially due to the absence of another bookshelf.

mayra lazara dole said...

enjoyed reading this post Susan. made me feel like answering those questions, too. i've heard of Notes from Teenage Underground (or something like that) but not Teenage Underground--i bet it's the same book. let us know what you think of it.

susan said...

Hi Mayra,

You're right about the total.

Jessie Carty said...

this is the kind of meme i get behind :)

i used to just sit down and read but now i find i have so much i want to read that i read about 10 pages at a time and then do something else before i can come back to a book. will i ever be caught up enough to devour a book again in one sitting? maybe.

and i love that your daughter wanted to discuss the book with you, that was something i had a chance to do with my mother a few times and i still remember our conversations :)

Color Online said...

Hi Jessie,

I feel the same way, sometimes I can't stay focused on a read.

Color Online said...

Hi Bluestocking, you have a lovely site, but the script drives my firewalls and virsus scans nuts, that or something else about your platform. Most times I only get your background page. ((sigh))

Thanks for commenting.