The View From Sari's World

Thanks to Jessica at bookreviewbyjess for this questionnaire. What a fun way to get to know more about our reading tastes and styles. I changed the questionnaire to fit my reading style. Please feel free to fill it out on your blog then link back to me. I would love to see how other people feel about books and reading.

Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?
I really like the trade paperback. The print is big enough for my eyes, the book is light enough to carry around. I do admit though I prefer hardback when it comes to my history collection

Barnes & Noble or Borders? We have a Borders in my home town but unfortunately the staff seems to be made up of young people who have a distain for books. Not too long ago I went in looking for The Hounds of Baskerville. I asked the clerk where the Sherlock Holmes were kept and all I got was a blank stare. Finally he asked “who is Sherlock Holmes?” At least when I go to B& N I am always assured to be waited on someone who reads or who has read.

Bookmarks or dog-ear?
I love bookmarks but will dog ear a book out of shear desperation

Amazon or brick-and-mortar?
No not Amazon. Their ship time is far to long. I will use Powell’s Books or Barns and Noble. If my town had a local independent book store I would shop there first. Sadly it is getting harder and harder to find indi book stores.

Alphabetize by author, or alphabetize by title, or random?
First by subject then by size.

Keep, throw away, or sell? It depends on the book. Some books are worth keeping. Most of my science, history and religious books are keepers. When a work of fiction really moves me I may keep it other wise the book is given away or swapped at Paperback Swap.com

Keep dust jacket or remove it?
Keep them. Too me taking them off is the same as undressing a book.

Read with dust jacket or remove it? Back in the 80’s when I was a Stephen King fan I removed the dust jacket while reading, now keep it on.

Short story or novel?
I love novels but a short story is just what I need when I am in a reading slump.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
I tried reading the first Snicket book to my then 11 year old son. We both agreeded the book was far to depressing to be classified as entertainment. We have both read the Potter series.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
I like to read in bed so often times I have to stop when I become too tired to carry on. I try to stop at chapters but don’t always succeed.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Bothe sound like the opening to a fairy tale. I would take a dark fairy tale over a light one any time.

Buy or borrow?
Borrow from the library only. I hate borrowing books from friends. I feel pressured to read the book right away.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?
A little of all three. A good recommendation is normally followed by me reading more reviews. When I browse I go by the first few lines in the book or the blurb on the back jacket.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Cliffhangers are for shows like Dallas. Books need endings, tidy or not!

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
If the book is compelling enough I will rearrange my whole weekend to accommodate my reading of it.

Stand-alone or series?
Both are fine. My favorite author Salman Rushdie does not write a series, but it would be great fun if he did!

Favorite series?
Has to be Terry Pratchett’s Disc World.

Favorite children’s book?
I have to pick one? Can’t do it. I loved Nancy Drew, Black Beauty, James & the Giant Peach of course just about anything Dr. Seuss wrote. My favorite children’s book when reading to my infant son was Winnie the Pooh.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Little Miss Strange by Joanna Rose.

Favorite books read last year?
Every Rushdie I read last year.

Favorite books of all time?
Dante’s Inferno, Rushdie’s Satanic Verses and Karen Armstrong’s A History of God

What are you reading right now?
Doubt; A History by Jennifer M Hectch.

What are you reading next?
I never have a set plan for my reads. It may be the autobiography of St. Teresa or it may be the second installment of the Charlene Harris’ Southern Vampire series. You never can tell with me!

Favorite non fiction books to re-read?
The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong and a Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Favorite fiction books to re-read?
Dante’s Inferno, Rushdie’s Satanic Verses and Diane Sutterfeild’s The Thirteenth Tale

Do you ever smell books?
Almost every time I pick up a new one, weird huh?

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to read from my TBR bookshelf as much as possible; in the past I have really only managed to add to it, not subtract from it. I am happy to report I am making some progress though not as much as I had hoped. I keep getting good recommendations from friends and wouldn’t you just know it, I end up getting these new titles sent to me via Paperback Swap.
Another resolution I made regarding books is to go through my bookshelf with a critical eye; if a book has been sitting on a shelf for over two years, it needs to go. See in the past, if I found a book uninteresting I would put it back to try again at a later time. Many times the book would “click” with me the second time around, but I am finding I am keeping books after a second and third try. This year I vowed to be brutal in my attempt to clean my shelf. I have already traded several of my unread books and plan to continue with my vow of a brutal attack to clean out my bookshelf, after all a clean shelf needs new books!

Speaking of brutal, our company seems to be winding down; as if our company is its death throes. We are not getting any building contracts as businesses are no longer coming to Nevada in droves looking for new buildings. It is a scary time, and very boring for me. Since the three owners are not doing much, I am not doing much; as their executive secretary, I only have things to do when they do. What is a bored woman to do? Play on the internet! I have spent a lot of time doing things I never thought I would do at work; read The Huffington Post, answer stupid questions on Yahoo Answers, etc. Once my paper work is done (which sadly now takes just a couple of hours) I am free to stare out the window or become an expert web surfer.

While on the internet the other day I logged onto my page at bookblogs.ning.com. I like this site because of its reader’s forum. Readers post questions to each other; I have found some intelligent conversations on this site. I posted a question asking readers for biography recommendations. One lady named Hava answered and invited me to visit her non-fiction review site. I did and instantly felt at home. Here you will find a blog reviewing non-fiction books and an interesting take on working in a library. I highly recommend Hava’s blog.

Yes I would rather be working hard with little time to check my e-mail much less surfing the web, but the way things are going in our business I am grateful to have found blogs like Hava’s and sites like Book-Blog .

How about you? Do you keep books even when they no longer seem interesting or you wonder why you bought it in the first place?

When you are surfing the web, what book related sites do you visit? Why? Help me find new places to visit while I still have a job, or give me something to look at in between sending out resumes.