I’ve seen this meme on a few blogs, the latest being Geranium Cat’s Bookshelf. Do have a go at this if you haven’t already done so.
Do you snack while you read?
Not usually, although I many eat a biscuit, but I have to read if I’m eating a meal alone.
What is your favorite drink while reading?
I don’t have a favourite drink and will drink tea, coffee, water, wine, whatever when I’m reading.
Do you tend to mark your books while you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
It was instilled into me from being a small child never, ever to write in books, but when I was doing OU courses I wrote in pencil in the margins in my Shakespeare plays, underlined in biro and highlighted passages too in the course books.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book open flat?
I use bookmarks of varying kinds, proper bookmarks, or tickets, receipts, the latest ones I’ve used are vouchers for coffee from the local garden centre – very useful. Folding over the corner of a page is absolutely awful. I may sometimes lay the book down face open – never pressed flat – for a short time if I get interrupted and have no bookmark to hand.
Fiction, nonfiction, or both?
Both but I read more fiction than non fiction.
Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I like to read to the end of a chapter. If the chapters are long I like to stop at the end of a paragraph, but I can stop anywhere.
Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
No way! I’ve never thrown a book.
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
I rarely stop to look up a word. I might make a note as I read (in a notebook, not the actual book) and look it up later. I’ve been doing that more recently because of the Wondrous Words meme on Bemudaonion’s Weblog.
What are you currently reading?
The Holly-Tree Inn by Charles Dickens and Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science.
What is the last book you bought?
I bought three secondhand books yesterday – The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens, Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie and Elizabeth Gaskell by Jenny Uglow .
Do you have a favorite time/place to read?
I like to read any time, any place – but I can’t read travelling in a car or bus, it makes me feel sick. I like reading in bed or a comfy chair best.
Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?
Both.
Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
I can’t think of one specific one, there are so many I like. In any case I hesitate about recommending books because it all depends on what you like to read. I read a variety of genres, but I usually go on a bit about the latest one I’ve enjoyed – recently that was Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.
How do you organize your books (by genre, title, author’s last name, etc.)?
At the moment I have fiction shelved by author’s last name in two sections, those I’ve read and the to-be-reads, although as I read them they do tend to get mixed up. We moved house 6 months ago and the non fiction has got muddled up, but it’s roughly arranged in subjects, slotted in wherever the books will fit on the shelves.
