A Belated Post for BTT (a twofer, actually)

Which do you prefer? (Quick answers–we’ll do more detail at some later date)

* Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? Serious
* Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? Paperbacks
* Fiction? Or Nonfiction? Nonfiction
* Poetry? Or Prose? Prose
* Biographies? Or Autobiographies? Autobiographies
* History? Or Historical Fiction? History
* Series? Or Stand-alones? Series
* Classics? Or best-sellers? Classics
* Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? Basic
* Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? Plots
* Long books? Or Short? Short
* Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? Illustrated
* Borrowed? Or Owned? Owned
* New? Or Used? Used

and: What’s the funniest book you’ve read recently?

Battle for the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), by Rick Riordan
The author does a decent interpretation of the old myths, and modernizes them pretty well. They're written for the middle-school crowd, but they aren't dumbed-down. Great adventures, good characters, and pretty much guaranteed to make you laugh out loud, even if your setting isn't conducive to it.

I can't believe I've been AWOL since January. Really will try to remedy that.

BTT: Five for Favorites

1. Do you have a favorite author?
Of all the authors I revisit, I can narrow this down to two: Neil Gaiman and Mercedes Lackey, with Anne McCaffrey running a strong third.

2. Have you read everything he or she has written?
Unfortunately, not yet; both are almost obscenely prolific, and Gaiman has a blog (if that counts, Ill probably never catch up!)
A few of Lackey's series don't interest me right now, but I may start them after I've exhausted all other possibilities.

3. Did you LIKE everything?
I've yet to find anything unlikeable by Gaiman, and I'm also satisfied with the works of Lackey's that I've read.

4. How about a least favorite author?
A much harder question, since I don't tend to hold in mind authors I won't return to if I've hated their work that much. I won't read Andrew Greeley anymore, as his female protagonists tend to get raped, almost as a rite of passage (and I used to really like his Father Blackie mysteries, too).

5. An author you wanted to like, but didn’t?
Coming up with a big huge blank on this; I tend to not follow fads, and if a highly recommended book doesn't feel right for me, I don't read it. So, I don't find myself in many situations where I have big expectations about untried authors.

Booking Through Thursday: Why Buy?

I’ve asked, in the past, about whether you more often buy your books, or get them from libraries. What I want to know today, is, WHY BUY?

Even if you are a die-hard fan of the public library system, I’m betting you have at least ONE permanent resident of your bookshelves in your house. I’m betting that no real book-lover can go through life without owning at least one book. So … why that one? What made you buy the books that you actually own, even though your usual preference is to borrow and return them?

If you usually buy your books, tell me why. Why buy instead of borrow? Why shell out your hard-earned dollars for something you could get for free?

My book-buying and -borrowing goes in phases, and they also depend on what sort of book I want to read. Books that fall into the reference category are most likely to be keepers. I also tend to keep classics (yes, even the ones I can read for free online) and books that I want my kids to read (like the harry Potter series). I'll pick up titles in a series, assuming they're cheap (a buck or less); these are the most likely to be wild-released with a BookCrossing ID.

When I was much more active in book-trading and -releasing, I'd buy duplicates of books I'd already read so that I could spread the love of a good story... I don't do this anymore; money's tight and I have to get rid of many before I can invest in more.

The rest of my purchases are usually books that I've tasted, but can't find readily at my library; it's in a pretty small town, and it's improving in some ways, but not so much in acquiring books in certain of my favorite genres (like fantasy--their collection has Paolini and Rowling, but that's about it). The larger system serving the metro area has a much more extensive collection overall, but has had cutbacks in recent years (surprise! not!), and added a minimal amount of titles during that time.

I think the most basic reason I buy books comes down to two oddities I have in my head: poor impulse control (I don't want to wait for the book I want to read right nownownow, nor do I want an other-imposed deadline), and a deep-seated sense of lack, sort of a neurotic need to have things to make up for how I felt when I didn't have the books I wanted.

*cue music* "...living in a material world..." *fade*

So, yeah, I guess it boils down to mental illness. Unfortunately, this really cheeses DH off. But, I consider myself in good company.

I've also posted my Thursday 13 over on my other blog.

Booking Through Thursday: Conditioning

Are you a spine breaker? Or a dog-earer? Do you expect to keep your books in pristine condition even after you have read them? Does watching other readers bend the cover all the way round make you flinch or squeal in pain?

Goodness no: at least, not on purpose. I don't get obsessive about keeping my books pristine (this term makes me think "shrink-wrapping"), but I won't subject them to purposeful abuse, either. My husband tends to leave books face down and open, and it makes me nuts, even though they're his books to do with as he pleases (well, the fact that he's doing this to expensive technical books is part of my problem). So, yeah, my response is more like a gut-clenching, wimpering, I-can't-watch-this anxiety attack.

On the other hand, I've (had to) become at least slightly less manic when it comes to my son's books. I have a big stack that ought to be fixed before they circulate again(a few may be beyond worth repairing). Who knows when that will actually happen? Maybe when my daughter is old enough for them?

Booking Through Thursday: Coupling

[note: when I first saw the theme on Wednesday night, I sketched out my response, and it would appear that I completely misunderstood the intent, and I didn't look at the source link to see what sort of answers were generated. I've provided authors and not characters. If I have time this weekend, I may amend this to reflect a more accurate answer.]

"Monica suggested this one:
Got this idea from Literary Feline during her recent contest:
“Name a favorite literary couple and tell me why they are a favorite. If you cannot choose just one, that is okay too. Name as many as you like–sometimes narrowing down a list can be extremely difficult and painful. Or maybe that’s just me.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning.
Why? Their romance (secret relationship, her health issues, the age difference) appealed to my young teen self many years ago, and I suppose they just hold a special place in my heart. IMHO, I think their story could go big-screen (it's one of my weirder lottery fantasies, not so much about writing the screenplay, but producing it), but I'd hope for a British production, as I think they'd be less likely to mangle one of their own.

Booking Through Thursday #1

Would you say that you read about the same amount now as when you were younger?

Well, given 37 years of reading experience...and very little consistency across said years...
Compared to one book every night at bedtime when I was 4, I'm reading less books, but definitely more in page count. Another big-volume era was probably from 6th-10th grades during the summertime; I'd bring home whatever I could carry (this was before backpacks were standard issue to children--my son has 2 already!), usually about 20 books, and I'd have those read within a week or two. Another time in my life when I had the time to read a lot was post-divorce, when I was working part-time in schools. I'd say I could finish at least 12-15 in a month's time. In contrast, during college, I would read maybe only 20 books per year, most of those being textbooks.

Nowdays, I am doing good to finish one per week, even though I'd set a goal to read 100 books in 2007. It's November already, and I think I've barely cracked that halfway mark. Definitely not a good rate if I want to keep readers coming back. I think that's why I've been seeking out reading challenges--they're helping me to focus on very specific steps toward meeting bigger-numbered goals. A secondary benefit to these challenges: they're forcing me to keep my reading diverse, and I'm both staying out of ruts and getting obsessions out of my system.

Why?

Ah, the reasons are many: I am married, and my time is not all my own. I have a two-year-old and my time is not my own. I have a much larger house (compared to past big-reading eras) that I'm supposed to maintain. I do dishes and laundry for three. I have farm animals that need attention. I live in the country, far away from all of my friends, and the time involved not only to stay in touch but to actually nurture the relationships (seems to be) pretty high. Oh, and I spend time on the internet (which I didn't have before 1997--after all my high-volume eras).