Reading meme

[mistymassey]

Okay, I had something else planned to post today, but then I saw this at shalanna's, and it looked fun.



Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror?
All of them, really. But fantasy more often than the others.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
All of them, too. My eyes prefer hardcover, just for the slightly larger print. I also prefer to own my most beloved books in hardcover, if possible.

Heinlein or Asimov?
I like both of them, but I have a slight fondness for Heinlein. The first real SF I ever read was Stranger in a Strange Land, and it opened my eyes to a world I'd never before imagined.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Either. Both. I love Amazon because of the joy of shopping in my bare feet. But I also love wandering the stores.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Since neither one is anywhere close to me, I have no opinion.

Hitchhiker or Discworld?
Oh, how can I choose? I love the Guide! But I also love the Discworld books.

Bookmark or Dogear?
Always a bookmark. I grew up being told that bending the book's corner would make the book cry, so I don't ever do it. (I was a highly impressionable kid.)

Magazine: Asimov's Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction?
I used to love F&SF, but after one of the editorial changes some years ago, the tone of stories changed. That's to be expected when editors change, I imagine, but I stopped reading it regularly.

Alphabetize by author, alphabetize by title, or random?
I try to alphabetize by author, but it doesn't always stay that way.

Keep, Throw Away, or Sell?
I keep the ones I love enough to read more than once. I usually post the ones I liked-but-didn't-love on www.paperbackswap.com for someone else to have a turn, or else donate them to my school library, to one of the language arts teachers, or to the county library for their Friends of the Library Sale. I don't throw books away unless they're so badly damaged there's no other choice.

Year's Best Science Fiction series (edited by Gardner Dozois) or Year's Best SF series (edited by David G. Hartwell)?
I'm totally voting for David's book.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
I use the dustjacket to keep my place, so I never find myself tempted to make the book cry.

Short story or novel?
I prefer novels, but short stories are wonderful, too. I started my own writing with short stories, so I retain a fondness for them. Some of my favorites are "The Spiral Dance" by R Garcia y Robinson and "The Secret Shih Tan" by Graham Masterton.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Harry Potter. The esteemed Mr Snicket is just way too depressing for me.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
I try to use the chapter breaks, but I often find that I've fallen asleep with the book on my face.

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
Whatever. They're both hackneyed and almost never seen.

Buy or Borrow?
I buy when I can, checkout from the library when they have what I want, swap from PaperbackSwap when it's OOP or equally hard to find, and borrow only from certain people that I'm willing to lend back to. I used to lend freely, until I lost my first edition hardcover of Tim Powers' On Stranger Tides in a friend's divorce. It was put into the box of books his soon-to-be-ex-wife took to the Salvation Army.

Book Reviews, Recommendations, or Browsing?
I like to read the reviews and ads in each month's Locus Magazine, write down the titles that interest me, then zip over to the library's website to put the ones they have on hold. I like recommendations from friends as well. But of course, there's nothing more fun than random browsing through the bookstore shelves.

Lewis or Tolkien?
Love them both, although Lewis had a definite hand in shaping my spiritual attitudes.

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)?
Anthology.

Hugo or Nebula?
Hee hee...as if I'll ever win one.

Golden Age SF or New Wave SF?
New Wave...I was a huge Moorcock fan back in the day.

Hard SF or Space Opera?
As long as the story's well-told, I like both.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Even if the book's part of a series, I prefer an ending.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading, or Nighttime reading?
Whenever I can.

Standalone or Series?
Again, assuming the story's well told, I like a series. But my favorite book is a stand-alone, so for me, it's all about the story.

Urban fantasy or high fantasy?
See the above answer.

New or used?
Any way I can get the book.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Jane-Emily, a Gothic horror tale that scared the foolishness out of me as a youngster. To this day I can't bear to look at a garden reflecting ball.

Comments

[unipride.livejournal.com]

what is the paperbookswap thing you are talking? do you have to pay to join? i was reading some of the site.

[madkestrel.livejournal.com]

It's a great book swap program. At the moment it doesn't cost anything, other than what you spend to mail each book.

It's really very simple - to begin, you list at least nine titles you're willing to part with. When other members see a title of yours they want, they'll request it and you'll get notification from the site. When your book is requested, you'll print out the wrapper on regular copy paper, wrap up your book and ship it to that member via US Media Mail (usually $1.59 for paperbacks, $2.09 for hardcovers) When the member receives the book you sent, you'll earn a credit to spend toward a book for yourself.

When you list your nine books at the beginning, you're given three credits to spend right away. Search the site for books you want, and make a request. Each request costs you one credit, and the member from whom you request a book will spend the money to mail to you.

I've gotten a number of OOP and hard-to-find books by using PBS. I'm "anonymisty" there.