Bookin' on . . .

Southern Girl has posted another meme that I absolutely couldn't pass up -- books.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Any and all, but for feel, I prefer trade paperbacks or hardcovers. Trade paperbacks are my favorite because they're the easiest to hold one-handed.

Amazon or brick and mortar? Brick and mortar, but I buy online often. I just find so much great stuff while browsing at the store.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Barnes & Noble. I've never been impressed with our Borders store (the only one I've ever visited).

Bookmark or dogear? Neither. I just remember the page number.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? I used to have the organized by genre, then alphabetically by author within each genre. Children have cured me of that, although our DVDs are still arranged alphabetically.

Keep, throw away, or sell? Entirely depends on the book. Some I keep, some I sell, and some I donate to the library. I'd rather cut out my tongue than throw one away.

Keep dustjacket or toss it? Keep, definitely.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? I read hardcovers with the dustjacket on. It bothers me when it's not on.

Short story or novel? Novel, hands down.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Generally, I prefer a collection to an anthology. Anthologies seem disjointed to me.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter. I've never really cared for the Lemony Snicket series.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? I seldom stop at chapter breaks. I generally read until I get to a point that seems to be a natural break, and that almost never happens at the end of the chapter.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Either one, really, but it all depends on my mood.

Buy or Borrow? Depends on what kind of book it is. Some I want to keep, but if it's one that I'm probably never going to read again, I'd rather borrow it.

New or used? I usually buy new, but used is fine as long as it doesn't smell.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? Browsing or recommendations.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Neat and tidy ending, thank you. A cliffhanger within a series is fine, but I am not okay with a series that has no definite ending.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? Nighttime, simply because that's when I have the most "me" time.

Standalone or series? My favorite books are standalone, but I read series books as well.

Favorite series? Harry Potter comes to mind first. It's been the one long series that I haven't gotten tired of reading. I did have a bit of a hiccup with the fifth book, but all was redeemed with the sixth. I'm both anticipating and dreading the seventh.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith. It's my favorite book in the whole wide world.

Favorite books read last year? A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel; Montmorency by Eleanor Updale; Queen of the Oddballs by Hilary Carlip; Bloody Jack by LA Meyer

Favorite books of all time? Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith; A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman