More book surveys

[glacier_kitty]

1. Do you have any old school books? Did you keep yours from college? Old textbooks from garage sales? Old workbooks from classes gone by? Magister let me keep one of my Latin books haha. I have a textbook on glaciers I bought on amazon.com..and I think there are more in Texas
2. How about your old notes, exams, papers? Do you save them? Or have they long since gone to the great locker-in-the-sky? Ohhh yeah I have a lot of those
1. Do you cheat and peek ahead at the end of your books? Or do you resolutely read in sequence, as the author intended? Haha I could see something if I see how many pages there are..but I read in sequence
2. And, if you don’t peek, do you ever feel tempted? I haaate being spoiled..

Almost everyone can name at least one author that you would love just ONE more book from. Either because they’re dead, not being published any more, not writing more, not producing new work or for whatever reason, there just hasn’t been anything new (or worth reading) of theirs and isn’t likely to be. If you could have just ONE more book from an author you love, a book that would be as good any of their best (while we’re dreaming), something that would round out a series, or finish their last work, or just be something NEW, who would the author be, and why? *shrugs*
Do you read e-Books? If so, how? On your computer, or a PDA? Or are you a paper purist? Why? Nooo I'm a paper purist
I had an idea for a BTT question when I was taking a peek at one of my bookcases yesterday and spotted my old copy of the Aeneid in Latin sitting there. Maybe this question has already been done—but if not…do you have any foreign language books and if so can you (still) read them? Duuude you win 78656 points. :D I think I have a book from Paris in French
It happens even to the best readers from time to time…you close the cover on the book you’re reading and discover, to your horror, that there’s nothing else to read. Either there’s nothing in the house, or nothing you’re in the mood for. Just, nothing that “clicks.” What do you do?? How do you get the reading wheels turning again? I can usually find books to read..I DO work in a bookstore haha
No, not THAT kind of R.I.P. Reading. In. Public. Do you do it? Why or why not? Oh yeah
Okay, there must be something you read that’s a guilty pleasure...a Harlequin romance stashed under the mattress. A cheesy sci-fi book tucked in the back of the freezer. A celebrity biography, a phoned-in Western...something that you’d really rather not be spotted reading. Even just a novel if you’re a die-hard non-fiction fan. Come on, confess. We won’t hold it against you! Uhhh..
Have you ever missed an important appointment because you have become so engrossed in a book you forgot the time or were up so late reading that you didn’t wake up in time? Been late to work because you couldn’t resist the temptation and left the house too late? Eh

1. Just out of curiosity, as we enter into Passover and Easter season, have you ever read the Bible? Just the odd chapter or Psalm? The whole thing? (Or, almost the whole thing? It’s some heavy reading, of course, and those “begats” get kind of tedious.) I've read most of it
2. If so, was it from religious motivation or from a literary perspective? Stuck with nothing else to read in a hotel room the Gideon’s have visited? Any combination? Religious motivation
3. If not, why not? Against your religious principles? Too boring? Just not interested? Something you’re planning on taking care of when you get marooned on a desert island?
4. And while we’re on the subject, what about the other great religious works out there? Are they more to your liking? Uhh..


All other things (like price and storage space) being equal, given a choice in a perfect world, would you rather have paperbacks in your library? Or hardcovers? And why? Paperbacks? Unless it's like really special
Have you ever fallen out of love with a favorite author? Was the last book you read by the author so bad, you broke up with them and haven’t read their work since? Could they ever lure you back? Happened with Terry Brooks and Robert Jordan. I was just rereading books and I was like..meh. Robert Jordan is dead and Terry Brooks..eh
Sometimes I find eccentric characters quirky and fun, other times I find them too unbelievable and annoying. What are some of the more outrageous characters you’ve read, and how do you feel about them? Haha that one guy from The Belgariad..the hunchback dude..Beldin? I was sort of amused? lol
What’s your favorite book that nobody else has heard of? The Pagan Chronicles (Pagan is one of the characters) by Catherine Jinks. OMGGG I LOVED the way they were written!

1. How did you come across your favorite author(s)? Recommended by a friend? Stumbled across at a bookstore? A book given to you as a gift? Recommendations, etc
2. Was it love at first sight? Or did the love affair evolve over a long acquaintance? Love at sort of first sight? Haha

Do you use any of the online book-cataloging sites, like Library Thing or Shelfari? Why or why not? No
If not an online catalog, do you use any other method to catalog your book collection? Excel spreadsheets, index cards, a notebook, anything? No
Do you have a favourite book, now out of print, that you would like to see become available again? *shrugs*
Do you get on a roll when you read, so that one book leads to the next, which leads to the next, and so on and so on? Haha omg yes
I don’t so much mean something like reading a series from beginning to end, but, say, a string of books that all take place in Paris. Or that have anthropologists as the main character. Or were written in the same year. Something like that…something that strings them together in your head, and yet, otherwise could be different genres, different authors. Sure?
I’m curious how many of us write notes in our books. Are you a Footprint Leaver or a Preservationist? Preservationist
Would you say that you read about the same amount now as when you were younger? More? Less? Why? Hm..possibly less
***
Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends? I was curious about Twilight haha
Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live? *shrugs*
Or where you certainly would NOT want to live? Possibly
What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life? Uh
Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday? Yeah
Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip? Sure
What/Where are they? Books-A Million in Grapevine Mills
Have you ever been a member of a book club? How did your group choose (or, if you haven’t been, what do you think is the best way to choose) the next book and who would lead discussion? No..that reminds me of Lost :P
Do you feel more or less likely to appreciate books if you are obliged to read them for book groups rather than choosing them of your own free will? Does knowing they are going to be read as part of a group affect the reading experience? Not necessarily?
Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance? More non-fiction?
Scenario: You’ve just bought some complicated gadget home...do you read the accompanying documentation? Or not? Do you ever read manuals? How-to books? Self-help guides? Anything at all? Possibly
Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos...do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library? No
I’ve always wondered what other people do when they come across a word/phrase that they’ve never heard before. I mean, do they jot it down on paper so they can look it up later, or do they stop reading to look it up on the dictionary/google it or do they just continue reading and forget about the word? I think about it and just read on
When somebody mentions “literature,” what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?) *shrugs*
Do you read “literature” (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must? Not really
While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.? Hardcovers with jackets can be annoying haha. The cover can turn me off :P
***
1. Do you own any bookends? If so, how many sets? If not, do you need or want any? Not personally. Nah
2. Which are your favorites? How long have you had them?
1. Have you ever wanted to travel to a place described in a book? Yeah
2. Have you ever ACTUALLY travelled to a place because of the way it was described in a book? By accident haha
3. And if so, did it live up to the expectations, feelings, emotions you expected from the book? Did you feel like Anne was going to come romping around the corner of Green Gables? Was it as if Jo was upstairs at Orchard House, scribbling on a story? Or was it just a museum, or just a city street? I was like whoaaaa it's the building! I couldn't exactly pay much attention though cause Caitlin was freaking out and I was trying to find something on her GPS

1. Do you enjoy books that have cooking or eating scenes in them? Sure? Haha
2. Have you made or eaten anything that was inspired by a recipe or scene in a book? No

1. Do you plan ahead for your reading? Work off of a to-be-read pile? A reading list? Or do you wing it, choose whatever you’re in the mood for? Pile, choose what I wanna read
2. If you do plan ahead, how far ahead? Do you have two or three books waiting in queue? Or are you backed up by dozens of volumes waiting their turn? I can have a bunch waiting
3. If you do not plan ahead...well, never? What about if you’re reading a series? Or someone gives you a book for a present?

1. Have you read Lord of the Rings? Yeah
2. If so, how many times have you read it? Just once? Or so many you can’t count? Twice?
3. If not, why not? Not your cup of tea?
4. And, while we’re on the subject, did you see the Oscar-winning movie(s)? What did you think? Yess. I bid you, stand, Men of the West!!

1. What is most battered book in your collection? The one with loose pages, tattered corners, and page edges so soft that there’s not even a risk of paper cuts anymore? The Hobbit, etc
2. Why is this book so tattered? Is it that you love it so much that you’ve read it a zillion times? Is it a reference book you’ve used every day for the last seven years? Something your new puppy teethed on when you weren’t looking? Haha it just happens when I read books :P

1. What is the most pristine, perfect book in your collection? The one that looks like it’s never been opened (and in fact may never have been)? Whose binding is uncracked, the corners still perfect? The ones in the Terry Goodkind series, etc
2. Why is that book so perfect? Was it a gift? Is it a coffee table book too beautiful to use? Something you simply have no interest in and haven’t bothered to open? I haven't got all in the series yet..haven't read it yet..

1. Do you read non-fiction books for pleasure, not counting books required for courses or for work? Sure
2. If so, what areas of non-fiction interest you the most? If not, why not? Umm
3. What are some of your favorite books from those areas? A Child Called It? Etc

1. Are abridgments a good introduction to long, boring classics, or a blight on literature? At least I can understand them haha
2. If abridgments have their place, what is it? More understandable, etc
3. Have you read any abridgments, or will you read any? Why or why not? I read the abridged version of The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1. Are abridged books a good thing or just plain awful? They can be ok?
2. How about books that are edited to modernize them? Like more understandable? Yay :P
3. Is dated language part of the charm of a book or an irritation? ANNOYING
4. Have you ever read an abridged or edited version of a book? Yeah

Pic of the day:



Wanigan: A word with several meanings in Alaska. A small house or bunkhouse built on floats. A small cabin built on skids. Or a lean-to built onto a trailer. The origin of this useful, if sometimes confusing, word is Algonquin

Comments

[foxydanish.livejournal.com]

Yaay more book surveys! Haha I love that part in Lost with the book club. :P It's so surreal haha.