(no subject)
Wow. I'm definitely on a posting roll this week. Interesting book meme though that I've snagged from dissonant_dream .
What's your bookstore?
Local book chains. Living in a big city (Cologne) has its advantages. Mainly big book stores that carry a decent choice of foreign (i.e. English!) literature. If the book stores don't have what I want it's Amazon.
Hardback or paperback?
Both.
Bookmark or dogear?
Definitely bookmark. If you turn down corners of a book I've lent you - take a good look at that book because I will never ever lent you a book again:-)
Keep, throw away or sell?
Unfortunately (regarding the space the books take up...) it's keep. I don't sell the books I don't want to keep but rather give them to unsuspecting friends. *gr* The only book I've thrown away was Jonathan Franzen's "Corrections". Highly recommended by literary critics but in my humble opinion a load of tripe...
Read with dust jacket or remove it?
When I'm taking a book somewhere else, I'll read it with the dust jacket.
Short story or novel?
Novel. Almost all short stories leave me wanting more.
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
It would be great if I could stop reading at chapter breaks :-)
Buy or borrow?
Both. I have a couple of friends who have the same "reading taste" and it's fun to swap books. (Saves money as well - though I've been known to buy a book if the borrowed one was great. Defeats all the "saving money" idea, I know.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
Yes, all of them. I have picked up books because I thought the cover looked nice :-)
Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Tidy endings are nice. Cliffhangers preferably in a series because otherwise I go bonkers. On the other hand it allows for the imagination to run wild.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
Any time is a good time for reading. My motto is: I read therefore I am.
Standalone or series?
Both.
New or used?
New. Used books only if it is out of print.
Last five books you read:
01. The Serpent on the Crown / Elizabeth Peters
02. Das Spiel des Engels (The Angel's Game) / Carlos Ruiz Zafon
03. The Right Attitude to Rain / Alexander MCall Smith
04. March Violets / Philip Kerr
05. Tintenherz (Inkheart) / Cornelia Funke
Philip Kerr's book is really interesting. Detective stories that take place in Germany during the Third Reich with a PI who is quite unusual (and has a terrific sense of humour). A bit annoying are typos that show that "they" didn't research German names and places properly. (e.g. Every German knows that the owner of one of the biggest warehouse chains was a Hermann Tietz yet in the book they spell him Teitz. Sheesh.) If you haven't read Carlos Ruiz Zafon - what are you waiting for? "The Shadow of the Wind" was great and "The Angel's Game" is just as good in my opinion. One of those books you simply can't put down (and chapter breaks will be ignored!).
Next five books you want to read:
01. When will there be good news? / Kate Atkinson
02. Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death / Gyles Brandreth
03. Tintenblut (Inkspell) / Cornelia Funke
04. Good / C.P. Taylor
05. The Painter of Battles / Arturo Perez-Reverte
The first novel you remember reading
Damn. I don't remember.
A book that changed your life
Lord of the Rings / JRR Tolkien
A book that made you cry (really cry, not just a shed tear)
Two Lives / Vikram Seth
A book that made you brood for days
The Road / Cormac McCarthy
A book that made you laugh
Skinny Dip / Carl Hiaasen
A book you have signed by the author
Histoire de ma vie / Jean Marais & Enduring Love / Ian McEwan
A book where you have drowned in the language
Die Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. I never knew that the German language could be this beautiful. Astounding.
A book you have lost
Dr. Shivago / Boris Pasternak
A book given to you by your father
"Disney's most wonderful stories" (Don't ask why it's "stories" *gr*)
A book given to you by your mother
Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg / Theodor Fontane
A book given to you by a friend
Shantaram / David Gregory Roberts.
And I'm keeping the extra question too...
Five books you would recommend:
1) The Brooklyn Follies / Paul Auster
2) The Road / Cormac McCarthy
3) The Shadow of the Wind / Carlos Ruiz Zafon
4) What I Loved / Siri Hustvedt
5) The Swarm / Frank Schaetzing
What's your bookstore?
Local book chains. Living in a big city (Cologne) has its advantages. Mainly big book stores that carry a decent choice of foreign (i.e. English!) literature. If the book stores don't have what I want it's Amazon.
Hardback or paperback?
Both.
Bookmark or dogear?
Definitely bookmark. If you turn down corners of a book I've lent you - take a good look at that book because I will never ever lent you a book again:-)
Keep, throw away or sell?
Unfortunately (regarding the space the books take up...) it's keep. I don't sell the books I don't want to keep but rather give them to unsuspecting friends. *gr* The only book I've thrown away was Jonathan Franzen's "Corrections". Highly recommended by literary critics but in my humble opinion a load of tripe...
Read with dust jacket or remove it?
When I'm taking a book somewhere else, I'll read it with the dust jacket.
Short story or novel?
Novel. Almost all short stories leave me wanting more.
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
It would be great if I could stop reading at chapter breaks :-)
Buy or borrow?
Both. I have a couple of friends who have the same "reading taste" and it's fun to swap books. (Saves money as well - though I've been known to buy a book if the borrowed one was great. Defeats all the "saving money" idea, I know.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
Yes, all of them. I have picked up books because I thought the cover looked nice :-)
Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Tidy endings are nice. Cliffhangers preferably in a series because otherwise I go bonkers. On the other hand it allows for the imagination to run wild.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
Any time is a good time for reading. My motto is: I read therefore I am.
Standalone or series?
Both.
New or used?
New. Used books only if it is out of print.
Last five books you read:
01. The Serpent on the Crown / Elizabeth Peters
02. Das Spiel des Engels (The Angel's Game) / Carlos Ruiz Zafon
03. The Right Attitude to Rain / Alexander MCall Smith
04. March Violets / Philip Kerr
05. Tintenherz (Inkheart) / Cornelia Funke
Philip Kerr's book is really interesting. Detective stories that take place in Germany during the Third Reich with a PI who is quite unusual (and has a terrific sense of humour). A bit annoying are typos that show that "they" didn't research German names and places properly. (e.g. Every German knows that the owner of one of the biggest warehouse chains was a Hermann Tietz yet in the book they spell him Teitz. Sheesh.) If you haven't read Carlos Ruiz Zafon - what are you waiting for? "The Shadow of the Wind" was great and "The Angel's Game" is just as good in my opinion. One of those books you simply can't put down (and chapter breaks will be ignored!).
Next five books you want to read:
01. When will there be good news? / Kate Atkinson
02. Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death / Gyles Brandreth
03. Tintenblut (Inkspell) / Cornelia Funke
04. Good / C.P. Taylor
05. The Painter of Battles / Arturo Perez-Reverte
The first novel you remember reading
Damn. I don't remember.
A book that changed your life
Lord of the Rings / JRR Tolkien
A book that made you cry (really cry, not just a shed tear)
Two Lives / Vikram Seth
A book that made you brood for days
The Road / Cormac McCarthy
A book that made you laugh
Skinny Dip / Carl Hiaasen
A book you have signed by the author
Histoire de ma vie / Jean Marais & Enduring Love / Ian McEwan
A book where you have drowned in the language
Die Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. I never knew that the German language could be this beautiful. Astounding.
A book you have lost
Dr. Shivago / Boris Pasternak
A book given to you by your father
"Disney's most wonderful stories" (Don't ask why it's "stories" *gr*)
A book given to you by your mother
Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg / Theodor Fontane
A book given to you by a friend
Shantaram / David Gregory Roberts.
And I'm keeping the extra question too...
Five books you would recommend:
1) The Brooklyn Follies / Paul Auster
2) The Road / Cormac McCarthy
3) The Shadow of the Wind / Carlos Ruiz Zafon
4) What I Loved / Siri Hustvedt
5) The Swarm / Frank Schaetzing