Booking Through Thursday: Book Ownership

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?

I'm a bit all over the place. Nowadays new books coming into my house tend to come via bookcrossing - a good way to read books for the price of a few stamps, and also a good way to save trees.
I do use the library but tend to do so sporadically, and I find when I'm in there I grab stacks, which then sit around for months waiting to be read and are often returned unread. I think because I'm not paying for them I tend to take stuff I'm not sure of, or let it linger because I have book rings to fulfill first. I also find a lot of the books I want at the library I have to order in advance, it's when I go to pick these up I end up picking up a few that I notice on he shelves.

My book buying habit is improving all the time. I once only brought books and they had to be brand new, now I tend to buy in second-hand stores, library sales (10 paperbacks for £1), and in the privately owned section of Amazon. As these books are cheap I'm not discerning about what I buy and I know that when read they will get moved out of the house via bookcrossing.
I now try to only go into the bookshop when I have money to spend, or I am buying for a gift. I like buying books that are part of a series so I have the whole set, books from certain authors that I love or are classics I know I will reread. Having said that I sometimes get this terrible itch where I just have to spend some money - whether or books, clothes or shoes - then its the pretty covers and the 3 for 2 offers that kill me.

Ans just to say that I hate that supermarkets now sell books, they are usually half the normal price and you just end up chucking them in the trolley as you wander past, not really thinking about the 400 unread books you have at home already.

Booking Through Thursday: Book Conditions

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?

I used to bend the corners of pages to make my place, but I have gotten myself out of that habit, however I do leave them open face down. The spines do get broken, and occasionally pages have a gorgeous quote underlined or starred. I tend to only write notes around poetry.
I believe books are there to be enjoyed, they are not items in a museum. I used to know a guy who barely opened the book to read it as he wanted it to look pristine when he had finished with it, he always looked uncomfortable as he read.
As most of the books I read are second hand, or come from bookcrossing, they have already been read so its not a problem what condition they arrive in.
What makes me annoyed is when the kids at school bend the cover all the way around, its not their book and is just likely to make it break or pages fall out so other people can't enjoy it in the future. And when they write rude words or pictures in it - then they know they are in trouble!

P.S I have a challenge running till Dec 09 based on the BTT question from a couple of weeks ago, about books that have been sitting on your shelf for ages waiting to be read. Thr Rescue Challenge is to save those poor books from being ignored any longer, details can be found here

Booking Though Thursday: The Brunt of Mount TBR

So, the question is this: “What tomes are waiting patiently on your shelves?"

My shelf has many books that have been sitting waiting for me for years, many of these are classics that I brought during university with the aim of having good knowledge, and never got around to, like Moll Flanders, War and Peace, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskel and The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy.
I also have:
The Robber Bride and Alias Grace by Maragaret Atwood, both of which I brought 10 years ago during my A' Levels, when I was just 17! I have no idea why these two haven't been read as I have enjoyed all of her stuff.

A few others with have been hanging out on my shelves for several years: A Suitable Boy, Arthur and George and Yellow Dog.

Maybe there should be a rescue challenge for those books that never quite make it to the top of the pile.

Booking Through Thursday

What was the last book you bought?
I brought a few books in a charity shop, Unless by Carol Sheilds, The Dream Lover by William Boyd, All Quiet on the Wesren Front and the Count of Monte Cristo. I don't buy many books now because I get a lot through bookcrossing.

Name a book you have read MORE than once
The book I have read the most as an adult is The Time Traveller's Wife, as a kid I read all my books over and over again.
Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
Not that I can think of

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews
All of the above, in bookshops it is the cover that grabs me fist, the more boring looking books stay on my shelves for ages

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
I read nearly all fiction, I keep meaning to read more non-fiction but never quite make it.

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
I appreciate both, but probably plot.
Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
Herny and Clare - Time Traveller's Wife

Jane Eyre and Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas and Fragile Leaves by Neil Gaiman, and The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carrol which is my next read.
What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
I finished The Hours last night
Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
If I'm not enjoying it I'm unlikely to get to half way, with Cloud Atlas I struggled through the first half, loving some sections and hating others, I gave up at the half way point when I realised that the second half was the follow up stories to the first half.

Booking Through Thursday: Seasons

Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer? - BTT

As a teacher I had a gorgeous six weeks off of school, and as I have no kids, husband etc and most of my friends aren't teachers I have countless hours to myself to read, read, read. Now I'm back at school and have started a course at home my reading time is less. But they'll be a weeks holiday in 4 weeks or so, so I guess I can't whinge. Also they seem to put better shows on the telly in the winter, so that also inflicts on my time.
As to whether my reading choices change, I don't think it has a huge affect. I like to read something spooky near haloween, and some kids book over Christmas but thats it really. Either way I love reading in the winter in hot baths and under blankets, in the summer I always believe I can read outside (on those days the sun shines) but once out there I remember that the neighbour has an annoying screaming kid and the sun is glaring in my eyes.

Booking Through Thursday: Pressure

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.
Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.
Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

I get a lot of recommendations from blogs and forums, and often end up reading the books everyone is raving about, but just to see what the fuss is about, unless it looks like chick-lit.

I started my English degree feeling pressured to try and catch-up with everyone elses reading. I was never going to take an English degree, and had applied and was accepted to take Sociology and law. I changed my mind a week before uni started, and got on an English Lit degree at the same university. Everyone else on the course had been given a recommended reading list in their interview, a list of books we wouldn't study, but would help us to know and be able to refer to. There were 100 books on the list, I had read one. I was also disadvantaged as my school had taught a syllabus of fairly modern literarure, with just one Shakespeare play and 2 classic novels, this was a fairly new course and the majority of schools stuck to the more traditional syllabus which was crammed with classics. After the first day I went home struck with horror at how little I had read (this wasn't helped when a really posh lad stood up and quoted a Shakespearean sonnet!). My mum brought a stack of Penguin classics which I read through over the first year, and boy I felt pressured to do so.

Booking Through Thursday: Fantasy Worlds

Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?
I'm sure like other people I would like to disappear of into the fantasy worlds that authors create rather than the real thing. I think either the magical world of Harry Potter, I could be a teacher at Hogwarts, or much more fun a student. Unfortunately I'd probably the Hermione type as I always did my homework on time. Or, maybe off to Narnia, but when it was nice not when the witch was in control. I could have afternoon tea with Mr Tumnas and hot crumpets. Or the world of Faerie in Stardust. I could name loads, they all seem to include magical creatures and dragons.
Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?
Hmm, there are books about wars and the holocaust and things like that, I wouldn't want to live in that world at that time, though I'm sure that after the war it is a nice place to explore or live.
What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?
Not sure, someone with a vivid imagination who could make it really exciting!

Booking Through Thursday: Holiday Book Buying

Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday?
Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip?
What/Where are they?

I haven't been on holiday for ages, if I go away I always take plenty of reading material. I think I have only run out of books once, I went to Vietnam for 2 weeks, I took 9 books at least 4 of them were over 500 pages long, yet I still run out. I didn't realise that the majority of places in Vietnam shut at 9 at night, there were a few places that stayed open but as a female alone on holiday I didn't want to be halfway across Hanoi on my own when the majority of places were closed. I had one American channel which showed old American sitcoms and an Ipod which I couldn't charge properly, needless to say I got through a lot of books. I went and brought The Quiet American off a street stall and some holiday trash reading from a second hand stall to get me through.
When I go to my mums in Cambridge for a couple of days I always take 2 or 3 books, I never get through them because the house is rarely quiet and we're out a lot but I like to have them near. If we go into Cambridge on a Sunday there is a second hand book stall with good quality books and a shop called Galloway and Porter, they sell books which are supposedly slightly damaged. I used to go there to look for text books as they sell loads, most fiction in there is £1 but you do have to search. I also love Heffers in Cambrigde, there are several of them in the town but the one opposite Trinity college is fantastic, it has a huge selection but is very pricy.

Booking Through Thursday: Reading Groups

Have you ever been a member of a book club? How did your group choose (ot, if you haven’t been, what do you think is the best way to choose) the next book and who would lead discussion?
Do you feel more or less likely to appreciate books if you are obliged to read them for book groups rather than choosing them of your own free will? Does knowing they are going to be read as part of a group affect the reading experience?

I have only belonged to one face-to-face reading group in which books were read on a monthly basis. It was the only bookgroup avaliable which wasn't full up or run at a ridiculous time (like 3 in the afternoon!). Unfortunately it didn't have many members and I was the youngest by a good 30-35 years. The books were supposed to be picked each month from suggestions by everyone but the woman who started the group seemed to hold that power. She only picked books that were best sellers or Richard and Judy reads, and she picked the books in line with the ones she was reading with other reading groups.

I thought it was good discussing the books, if people had actually made the effort to read them, one lady just seemed to come for the company and never appeared to read a book and another one had never finish it so we wouldn't be allowed to talk about the end of the book. I did feel that I had to read the books regardless of whether I was enjoying it or not so I could contribute.

I would have stayed in the group if the chosen books were more to my taste.

I also used to complete the monthly read on BookGroupOnline but recently people seem to be voting for the book with only a few people who had voted making the effort to read it. For instance I have this months rread, The Squire by William Golding, it wouldn't be my choice but I'm willing to read it, I posted to ask if anyone else was reading it and noone responded, so now I'm reluctant to start.

I do also belong to a BookCrossing group, we do not have a monthly read but we meet each month to swap books, have a chat and discuss the books we are swapping and books that we are currently reading. I find that this group works really well and I have read some books that I would never hae thought to pick up.

Booking Through Thursday: Trends

Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?

My taste has changed over the years as a teenager I read loads of horror and mysterys, then somehow worked my way into a bit of chicklit (the type my Mum reads). When I started my A Level English Lit course things started to change as I got introduced to more authors and genres, although the majority of my reading was still very light and modern.

My A Level course featured a lot of 20th century fiction so you can imagine my horror the first day of my English degree when one bloke stood up and quoted a Shakespeare sonnet and everyone was talking about having read Mill of the Floss etc. I had never planned to take an English degree and had got into the university by applying to study Sociology and Law, I changed my mind at the last minute. All the other people on my course had had an interview to study English and been sent home with a list of 100 books that it would be useful for them to have read - most people had read a good 30 books on this list, I had read one! So the first year at university I only read books from the list. It was a good experience in that it broarderned my reading habits but some of the books I read because I felt I had to rather than because I enjoyed them.

Since finishing my degree and MA I have been able to read books that I have choosen, I still stick predominatly to literature but it is generally contemporary, and I will go off and explore other genres and authors. Bookbrossing and blogspot have also helped me discover new favorites. And teaching has re-introduced me to Childrens and YA books

Booking Through Thursday: What is reading, fundamentally?

What is reading, anyway? Novels, comics, graphic novels, manga, e-books,
audiobooks — which of these is reading these days? Are they all reading? Only
some of them? What are your personal qualifications for something to be
“reading” — why? If something isn’t reading, why not? Does it matter? Does it
impact your desire to sample a source if you find out a premise you liked the
sound of is in a format you don’t consider to be reading? Share your personal
definition of reading, and how you came to have that stance.

I used to be a real reading snob, reading had to be proper books (non of the chick lit stuff) or broadsheet newspapers. Then I started teaching which got me into kids books and also made me think about what reading really is. Personally I now say to parents who are struggling to get their kids to read that it doesn't matter what it is so long as they are reading: it could be comics, non-fiction, celebrity biography's, magazines or web-pages. Not everyone enjoys novels and the world can't all be the same. I think that it is the pressure and force to read books that actually puts a lot of people off as kids, for some people reading a huge passage is torture but a graphic novel could be entertaining.

Booking Through Thursday: Books vs Movies

Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?

For me what I want from both books and films relies completely on my mood at that time. Sometimes I'm looking for something quick, easy and grabbing - A Jodie Picoult novel or a cheesy or comedy film. Other times I want things which will make me think - like a book about another country or religion, or a film depicting a life very different from the one I lead. With books I'm often looking for stunning language and depictions of scenes and characters, I also enjoy this in film it isn't what draws me to a film.

I would say that with films I'm more likely to accept cheese, romance and comedy because films are quick and instantaneous, I don't mind spending a few hours on something like this. As reading takes longer I tend tend to see these lighter things as something that I use to read alongside some big and/or serious book, or as a break between serious books.

Booking Through Thursday: Redux

Following up last week’s question about reading writing/grammar guides, this week, we’re expanding the question….
Scenario: You’ve just bought some complicated gadget home . . . do you read the accompanying documentation? Or not?
Do you ever read manuals?
Only if something has gone wrong when I look for the tips on how to sort the problem out before I phone the help line.
How-to books?
Never, I don't think I've ever even owned one
Self-help guides?
Again no, never owned one.
Anything at all?
I'm terrible a reading the backs of cereal packet, adverts on trains, other peoples newspapers from across the seat on the tube ect

Booking Through Thursday: Manual Labour

Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . .
.
do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books,
dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?

I have a few different grammar and punctuation books as I'm an English teacher and I use them to check things I'm uncertain of, or when I need activities or examples. The only one I have read is 'Eat Shoots and Leaves'.

One massive dictionary and a huge thesaraus again used for school and when I was at uni. I'm always completely shocked at the amount of kids I teach that can't use a dictionary - they know how it works but takes forever, far too used to spell check!