MEME | Reading Habits

I saw quite a few bloggers participating in this reading meme from Book Blogger Appreciation Week including Fantasy Cafe and Only the Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy.  I meant to do this a while ago, but vacation, work, and conducting interviews kept getting in the way.   So here is my take.  Please feel free to add your own answer to any of these questions.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Sometimes.  Probably chocolate covered pretzels.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

No one should ever write-in or mark a book unless it is for a class.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

I usually have a bookmark of some kind or a postcard. For long awaited reads I pull out a green leather bookmark I picked up in Ireland.

Laying the book flat open?

Never on purpose. Some of my friends comment that when I lend them a book it looks like the spine isn’t even cracked.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Mostly Fiction, but I do like to mix it up from time to time.   A couple years ago I went through a long bout of Science and History books and no Fiction. 

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Hard copy. I’ve only tried audio shorts so far.  I read my first book on a borrowed Kindle over vacation.  It was an okay experience, but I still prefer hardcopy.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

I can put a book down at any point, but if I can I’d rather read to the end of a chapter.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Not usually. Rarely do I run across a word that I can't intuit the meaning.

What are you currently reading?

Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks. I read the first two Night Angel books soon after they came out and liked them quite a bite, but for some reason never went back for the third. This has happened with C.C. Finlay’s Traitor to the Crown series as well. My goal is to finish up any trilogies I’ve started, but haven’t finished before the end of the year. That is if they are all available.

What is the last book you bought?

That’s tough just because I got a couple books recently, which I pre-ordered months back. So I guess it would be Metatropolis ed. by John Scazli or The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ed. by John Joseph Adams if you went by most recently received. The last books I purchased were Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.  Thank you Borders Bucks.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

I only read one book at a time. Although, I might break it up a little by reading a graphic novel at some point in between. Also, I have no compulsion about finishing a book and starting another within minutes.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

Anywhere is fine, but in bed on a Sunday morning is bliss.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

Yes, please! I am probably more of a series fan, but I like standalones as well. Big and fat preferred.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Not just one, but the same names do keep coming up. Zafon, Rothfuss, Abercrombie, Lynch, Fforde, and Moers are always at the tip of my tongue.  Usually I ask what authors someone likes and base a recommendation on that.  I've turned a lot of people on to Forever by Pete Hamill and The Shadow of the Wind.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

No, but I keep saying I will. My favorite authors/books do occupy the waist levels of my shelves along with my limited and signed edition, but that is about it. Oh, my travel narratives are almost all together, but that was mostly because of a request from my wife. My dream is to have a library/reading room at some point, which is well organized by genre.