Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror? Fantasy, though I'm not a heavy or wide reader of even that genre.
Hardback or Trade paperback or Mass market paperback? Trade, though the vast majority of the books that I own are hardcover.
Amazon or Brick and Mortar? Amazon. There's not a good bookstore within an hour's drive of here.
Barnes & Noble or Borders? I fell in love with the original, flagship Borders, so it's been difficult to look at B&N as anything but a sad also-ran...until Borders bit the dust.
Bookmark or Dog-ear? Oh God - Bookmark!
Asimov’s Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction? I'm not exactly certain of the question here. I've read no Asimov (always have been intimidated by his oeuvre) and, overall, have read very little speculative fiction. Can I go with Epic Speculative?
Alphabetize by author, Alphabetize by title, or Random? Coming as a surprise to exactly no one who knows me for real: my library is grouped by subject, within subject, and then alphabetically by author's last name (and title within author).
Keep, Throw away or Sell? If I buy, I generally keep (because otherwise I'd just borrow, in the usual way, rather than buying to begin with). If I'm gifted, it's 50/50. If I'm not keeping, I'm happy to give to whomever wants - though the garage sale successes of last weekend have me reconsidering.
Keep dust-jacket or Toss it? Oh God KEEP
Read with dust jacket or Remove it? Depends. If it's not in the way, it's fine where it is. If it's distracting from the reading, remove (temporarily!)
Short story or Novel? Novel. I do like short stories - some of my favorite stories are short - but my preferred vehicle is the novel.
Stop reading when tired or at Chapter breaks? Hahahajaha, right. I have to stop at chapter (or section, at least) breaks. It maintains the flow of the book, and anyway my self-control is terrible and I'm always wanting to read one more paragraph, or page....
“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time?” Why can't it be both? A little suspense with your romance keeps things tighter.
Buy or Borrow? More borrowing than buying, lately. I do buy my favorite authors (James W. Ziskin's Ellie Stone series, Christopher Finch's Alex Novalis series, and Paul Doiron's Mike Bowditch series all come to mind) and if a book really blows me away, I'll add it to the collection. I like buying books for other people, too, but more often now it's from a list or a specific request. My taste is rather particular and not for every reader.
Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse? Browse. I judged my favorite book ever by its cover. Another big hit was chosen just from the title. I don't seek out reviews and since it's not a part of my daily life, they don't influence me at all anymore. I do take recommendations, though the specificity of my preferences makes it difficult.
Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)? Each has its place. I probably read more anthologies, but some great collections stand out in my mind--Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, for instance. And pretty much every poetry collection in existence has something I'll love.
Tidy ending or Cliffhanger? Something in between, where it's not perfectly tidy and neat, but also not blown all to Hell and without resolution at all.
Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading? Yes, please! (I currently read mostly in the evening, but under perfect circumstances it would spread throughout the day.)
Standalone or Series? Series. I get attached.
Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? The Gravedigger, by Rob Magnuson Smith
Favorite genre series? Besides the above-named, it's a rough tie between Patrick Rothfuss' The Kingkiller Chronicle and George R.R. Martin's The Song of Ice and Fire.
Currently Reading? Ziskin's Stone Cold Dead, Doiron's Bad Little Falls, and still slogging through China Miéville's Perdido Street Station.
[swiped from here; the title quotation is by William Shakespeare, from The Tempest {Act I, scene ii }]
Swiped.
ReplyDelete