The Book Meme
Oct. 23rd, 2004 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
omorkaGanked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
starcat_jewel"
Hardback or Paperback?
Most of the books I own are in paperback, but that's more because of cost issues than personal preference. I don't like the little-bitty mass-market paperbacks with paper just above the level of newsprint, but given a choice between a trade paperback with acid-free paper and a hardback, I don't really have much of a preference.
Highlight or Underline?
Neither; Post-It Notes. At least, for nonfiction. I rarely am moved to do any sort of internal marking in fiction books. (In fact, most of my heavily Post-Ited books are for work.)
Lewis or Tolkien?
J.R.R, hands down. (Although I generally enjoy Lewis's non-religious nonfiction, and the first two books of the Silent Planet series.)
E.B. White or A.A. Milne?
White, most definitely. But mostly on the strength of Charlotte's Web. (Waits for the Pooh Clan folks to pelt her with fishbowls)
T.S. Eliot or e.e. cummings?
Oh, don't make me choose! Such a mean meme! Okay, okay, cummings, but only barely.
Stephen King or Dean Koontz?
I have read three King books and liked one of them. I have never read anything by Koontz, to the best of my knowledge. So I guess I have to choose King, but I'm not terribly enthusiastic about it.
Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Half-Price. ;) If I must pick one, Borders, but I'm more or less "meh" about both of them.
Waldenbooks or B. Dalton?
Haven't shopped at either one in years. I vaguely remember getting really poor service at a Waldenbooks once, but that's not enough to give me a real preference.
Fantasy or Science Fiction?
I read more fantasy than SF, but I refuse to choose either one over the other, dammit!
Horror or Suspense?
Horror, but only on account of H. P. Lovecraft, as I read very little of either.
Bookmark or Dogear?
Bookmark, but I use all kinds of crap for bookmarks - strands of yarn, students' papers, grading pens (capped), the stems of spoons, socks, etc.
Hemingway or Faulkner?
Faulkner, mostly on regional prinicples. And because Hemingway is a dick. But I prefer Welty to either one.
Fitzgerald or Steinbeck?
Steinbeck. But again, not by very much.
John Irving or John Updike?
I think I prefer Updike, but to be honest, I'm not 100% certain I have them straight in my head. *blush*
Homer or Plato?
Homer for the content, Plato for the writing. But my Greek is really bad, anyway.
Geoffrey Chaucer or Edmund Spenser?
Oh, this is another "don't make me choose!" Hmm . . . Wife of Bath versus the Epithalamion . . . arrgh . . . sorry, can't do it.
Pen or Pencil?
For what? Numbers require a narrow-lead mechanical pencil with a good eraser. Writing to keep requires a fountain-tip pen, preferably in blue-black ink, but I can use either black or dark blue. And I grade in fine-point rollerball in red, green, or purple.
Looseleaf or Notebook?
Looseleaf, and a really big binder.
Alphabetize: By Author or By Title?
Fiction: By author, and then chronologically within an author. Nonfiction: by category, and then alphabetically by author.
Dustjacket: On or Off?
On, unless I've torn it or gotten something sticky on it.
Novella or Epic?
Either's fine with me . . .
John Grisham or Scott Turow?
Don't think I've ever read anything by either one.
J.K. Rowling or Lemony Snicket?
Rowling, although that should not be taken to indicate any distaste for the Lemony Snicket books.
Fiction or Non-fiction?
Nonfiction, although again, that should be taken as a preference, not a rejection of the less-preferred item.
Historical Biography or Historical Romance?
Biography.
A Few Pages per Sitting or Finish at Least a Chapter?
Usually a few pages, but not by preference. :(
Short Story or Creative Non-fiction Essay?
Either is fine. I have, I'll admit, I have a fondness for essays . . .
"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
Depends on whether the author is Snoopy or the Brothers Grimm . . .
Buy or Borrow?
Buy. I haven't had a valid library card since I left Rice. I should fix that . . .
Book Reviews or Word of Mouth?
Word of Mouth, preferably from people I know.
starcat_jewel"Hardback or Paperback?
Most of the books I own are in paperback, but that's more because of cost issues than personal preference. I don't like the little-bitty mass-market paperbacks with paper just above the level of newsprint, but given a choice between a trade paperback with acid-free paper and a hardback, I don't really have much of a preference.
Highlight or Underline?
Neither; Post-It Notes. At least, for nonfiction. I rarely am moved to do any sort of internal marking in fiction books. (In fact, most of my heavily Post-Ited books are for work.)
Lewis or Tolkien?
J.R.R, hands down. (Although I generally enjoy Lewis's non-religious nonfiction, and the first two books of the Silent Planet series.)
E.B. White or A.A. Milne?
White, most definitely. But mostly on the strength of Charlotte's Web. (Waits for the Pooh Clan folks to pelt her with fishbowls)
T.S. Eliot or e.e. cummings?
Oh, don't make me choose! Such a mean meme! Okay, okay, cummings, but only barely.
Stephen King or Dean Koontz?
I have read three King books and liked one of them. I have never read anything by Koontz, to the best of my knowledge. So I guess I have to choose King, but I'm not terribly enthusiastic about it.
Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Half-Price. ;) If I must pick one, Borders, but I'm more or less "meh" about both of them.
Waldenbooks or B. Dalton?
Haven't shopped at either one in years. I vaguely remember getting really poor service at a Waldenbooks once, but that's not enough to give me a real preference.
Fantasy or Science Fiction?
I read more fantasy than SF, but I refuse to choose either one over the other, dammit!
Horror or Suspense?
Horror, but only on account of H. P. Lovecraft, as I read very little of either.
Bookmark or Dogear?
Bookmark, but I use all kinds of crap for bookmarks - strands of yarn, students' papers, grading pens (capped), the stems of spoons, socks, etc.
Hemingway or Faulkner?
Faulkner, mostly on regional prinicples. And because Hemingway is a dick. But I prefer Welty to either one.
Fitzgerald or Steinbeck?
Steinbeck. But again, not by very much.
John Irving or John Updike?
I think I prefer Updike, but to be honest, I'm not 100% certain I have them straight in my head. *blush*
Homer or Plato?
Homer for the content, Plato for the writing. But my Greek is really bad, anyway.
Geoffrey Chaucer or Edmund Spenser?
Oh, this is another "don't make me choose!" Hmm . . . Wife of Bath versus the Epithalamion . . . arrgh . . . sorry, can't do it.
Pen or Pencil?
For what? Numbers require a narrow-lead mechanical pencil with a good eraser. Writing to keep requires a fountain-tip pen, preferably in blue-black ink, but I can use either black or dark blue. And I grade in fine-point rollerball in red, green, or purple.
Looseleaf or Notebook?
Looseleaf, and a really big binder.
Alphabetize: By Author or By Title?
Fiction: By author, and then chronologically within an author. Nonfiction: by category, and then alphabetically by author.
Dustjacket: On or Off?
On, unless I've torn it or gotten something sticky on it.
Novella or Epic?
Either's fine with me . . .
John Grisham or Scott Turow?
Don't think I've ever read anything by either one.
J.K. Rowling or Lemony Snicket?
Rowling, although that should not be taken to indicate any distaste for the Lemony Snicket books.
Fiction or Non-fiction?
Nonfiction, although again, that should be taken as a preference, not a rejection of the less-preferred item.
Historical Biography or Historical Romance?
Biography.
A Few Pages per Sitting or Finish at Least a Chapter?
Usually a few pages, but not by preference. :(
Short Story or Creative Non-fiction Essay?
Either is fine. I have, I'll admit, I have a fondness for essays . . .
"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
Depends on whether the author is Snoopy or the Brothers Grimm . . .
Buy or Borrow?
Buy. I haven't had a valid library card since I left Rice. I should fix that . . .
Book Reviews or Word of Mouth?
Word of Mouth, preferably from people I know.
