Tuesday Tea Break (5)

I found this book survey on BookGeekChic's tumblr yesterday, and decided to fill it out.

1. Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
I prefer Trade paperback over Mass Market, and while I don’t really have a reading preference between hardcover and paperback, I typically buy paperbacks because they're cheaper than hardcovers.

2. Amazon or brick and mortar?
Brick and mortar all the way!

3. Barnes & Noble or Borders Indie Bookstore?
Barnes & Noble, because it’s only 10 mins away, and the closest decent Indie is 50 mins away.

4. Bookmark or dog-ear?
I typically bookmark, but with some books it just seems like dog-earring fits. (I know that doesn’t really make any sense, but I don’t know how else to describe it.)

5. Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
None of the above. My shelves are organized by genre/subject/content, and then sorted by favorites/how much I like the book within each category. (Category ex: Mermaids, Vampires, Dystopian, Witches, Contempory Romance, Murder/Mystery, etc)

6. Keep, throw away, or sell?
Always keep. Someday, I want a library like below, so I need to start collecting now.

(via Pinterest)

7. Keep dust jacket or toss it?
(Again) Always keep. I actually take the dust jacket off when reading to keep it pristine.

8. Read with dust jacket or remove it?
See above.

9. Short story or novel?
I prefer novels because if I love a world I’m with it longer. Though I do love short stories/novellas that are from another character’s POV and give us an insight on how they think.

10. Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?
Well, in the YA world there aren’t very many Collections (at least that I’ve found, I mean, I only have 3), so I’m going to say Anthologies (I have 20-25 of those). Anthos also introduce you to a bunch of authors that you may not have otherwise payed attention to or known about.

11. Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
I think I’ve only read like two Lemony Snicket books, so Harry Potter!

12. Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
I try to stop at chapter breaks, but sometimes I still have a lot of chapter left when I get tired and can't keep reading, so I stop at the end of a paragraph.

(via Tumblr)

13. “It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Depends on my mood, but usually “Once upon a time.”

14. Buy or Borrow?
Buy! Sometimes I’ll borrow a book from my cousin or friend or the library if I’m not sure I’ll like it, but I like to have my own copy of books I love.

15. New or used?
New, but depending on how used I don’t really mind a used book (quite-used books are the main reason I don’t go to the library often, they feel too dirty and I end up not even reading half the books I get because of that). Actually, the Indie bookstore I vaguely mention in #3 (which is called Schuler Books, by the way) has an awesome used books section, and that’s typically where I get books from when I shop any of their bookstores.

16. Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation, or browse?
Browse, and recommendations from people I trust. Though I buy a lot of books based on buzz, so I guess book reviews, too.

17. Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Both. Though I hate cliffhangers, they leave me craving the next book, which will get me reading it when it comes out. (I have a big problem with buying sequels and then letting them sit on my shelf.)

18. Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
Depends on my mood. If I need to wake up I’ll read in the morning. Sometimes I’ll go to Starbucks for a few hours in the afternoon/evening if I just want to get out of the house, and read. Nighttime is typically when I get on my computer and catch up on email/tumblr/pinterest/etc., so, unless it’s a very riveting book, I don’t read much at night.

19. Stand-alone or series?
Series, because I’m in the world longer (see picture below). But, as there are A TON of series’ these days, sometimes I get series-fatigue and like a good stand-alone.

(via Tumblr)

20. Favorite series?
The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. These are such good books! TMI still has one more book to finish the series, but TID has the best end-to-a-series I have ever read.

21. Favorite children’s book?
I don’t even know. My favorite Middle Grade, though, is a tie between Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy, and Liz Kessler’s Emily Windsnap series.

22. Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Dark Visions (omnibus) by L J Smith. L J is such an amazing writer (hello, Vampire Diaries), but I don’t really hear much (if at all) about her non-Secret Circle/Vampire Diaries books, which makes me quite sad. Dark Visions is quite a different take on vampires, and I love it so.

23. Favorite books read last year?
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman, Poison Study by Maria V Snyder, Easy by Tammara Webber, and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.

24. Favorite books of all time?
See #20—City of Bones and City of Glass in TMI, and the whole TID trilogy. Also: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, the Night World series by L J Smith, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, and The Host by Stephenie Meyer, just to name a few.

(via Tumblr)

25. Least favorite book you finished last year?
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson. (You can read my review here)

26. What are you reading right now?
Dreamless by Josephine Angelini. It's pretty good so far, but the "cousins" thing is really frustrating to read. (blocked out for Starcrossed spoilers, highlight to unveil)

27. What are you reading next?
I don't know, probably Invisibility by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan, which I started awhile ago, but just wasn't feeling at the time.

All done! See you next week!

—Erin