Mucking out the mess at The Ball and Chain on a Monday morning. May, 2010.
Their cleaning out the front steps of the restaurant and I have again returned to a meme to see me through the day; this time, a bibliographic theme...
Do you snack while reading?
I do read outside while eating on my lunch break. I don't eat nibblies while reading at other times, however.
What is your favourite drink while reading?
Coffee. Or orange juice.
Do you tend to mark your books while you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
I have been known to mark pertinent points in non-fiction books that I own, but rarely fiction. I've been relying on the public library at the moment, so no messing with them!
How do you keep your place? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book open flat?
Bookmarks of differing rectangular sizes.
Fiction, non-fiction or both?
For a long time I didn't read a lot of fiction. That has changed for the past three or so years. At the moment I'm reading maybe 90% fiction.
Do you tend to read to the end of a chapter or can you stop anywhere?
The nature of my reading - bus stops, buses, breaks, walking from A to B, the dunny - means that I am happy to stop anywhere. I generally try and make it to some kind of 'break' in the text, however.
Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
That sounds stupid. I am more a "tut tut" or "pfffft" man. I also groan.
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
I rarely have the opportunity. I generally note it down (in pencil or mentally) and look it up when I can later that day.
What are you currently reading?
I just started The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and some other short fiction by Alan Sillitoe.
What is the last book you bought?
Lately the only books I've been buying have been for Henry and Ezra. The last one was about 'life in a big city'. The last one for me was Culinaria Germany, a nifty combo of cookbook and social history.
Do you have a favourite time/place to read?
My preference has been in a comfortable place in the peace and quiet, so that rules out home.
Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?
Ummm, books.
Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
Lots and lots. If a book is good, and I think that someone will like it, I'll recommend it.
How do you organize your books (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)?
They're still all in boxes, where children can't get to them and wreck 'em!
Background noise or silence?
Ideally, silence. That said, I manage to cope with the late afternoon Risdon Vale express okay.
Comments
Misfit, I'll have to look it up.
Try the Bible for something mind expanding.
Penny westerns once, while I was at work. You can bend them, put them in your back pocket, lose your place and it just doesn't matter.
I don't seem to have the time to read these days, although I have about three books on the go at the moment.