Booking through Thursday-Best Reads

Booking Through Thursday-Recent Best

I have to say it's The Stories of John Cheever. I haven't read many short stories and the wonderful tales in the book have opened up a whole new genre for me.

Booking Through Thursday-Gold Metal Reading

Booking Through Thursday


You, um, may have noticed that the Olympics are going on right now, so that’s the genesis of this week’s question, in two parts:

First:

Do you or have you ever read books about the Olympics? About sports in general?
Fictional ones? Or non-fiction? Or both?
And, Second:

Do you consider yourself a sports fan?
Because, of course, if you’re a rabid fan and read about sports constantly, there’s a logic there; if you hate sports and never read anything sports-related, that, too … but you don’t have to love sports to enjoy a good sports story.
(Or a good sports movie, for that matter. Feel free to expand this into a discussion about “Friday Night Lights” or “The Natural” or whatever…)

No, No, and double no.

I did watch the USA girls gymnastics the other night and I'm keeping up with the medal count but that's about as far as it goes. I also own all my mothers figure skating books but I haven't read any of them.

I read Playing for Pizza which is about a football player. Does that count?

Booking Through Thursday-Vacation Spots

Booking Through Thursday

Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday?

Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip?

What/Where are they?

I usually take something with me. Usually?? Always!! I can only remember once going ot a bookstore while on vacation and that was somewhere near Austin or Dallas. I can't remember which so needless to say I'd never find my way back. I do have good memories of it though.

Booking Through Thursday-Trends

Booking Through Thursday

Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?


My tastes have definitely changed. During my teenage years I read romance. When I got tired of those I switched to nonfiction. Now I'm on a classic kick. But I'm building a TBR pile of modern novels I plan to attack once I finish the challenges I've joined. I guess these days anything goes.

Booking Through Thursday-Mayday!

Booking Through Thursday

Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do??

And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were . . . grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember….

Would it be cheating to get one out of my car? I've usually got a couple in the truck in case of emergency (no pun intended). If someone else took me to the airport, I'd either pick up a paperback in an airport shop or play Yahtzee on my phone. Unless Dean took me to the airport. He's always got books in his car so I'd take one of his.

Booking Through Thursday-Vocabulary

Booking Through Thursday

I’ve always wondered what other people do when they come across a word/phrase that they’ve never heard before. I mean, do they jot it down on paper so they can look it up later, or do they stop reading to look it up on the dictionary/google it or do they just continue reading and forget about the word?



I usually try to figure it out on my own. But I do alot of my reading at work between trucks. So if I'm sitting in front of the computer I'll go ahead and look it up. I use Word Reference alot. It's been very handy for Spanish and French.

Booking Through Thursday-Cover up

Booking Through Thursday

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?


Not knowing the difference between trade paperback and mass market paperback I had to do some research. I found this. So I have to go with trade paperback. At my local used book store they have a small section of trade paperbacks and that's where I head first. I like the size of them in my hands. If I have to have a particular book, I will stoop to the smaller mass market books. In that case, the older the better.

The covers very seldom influence my purchase. I'm reading alot of classics lately and covers don't matter at all, although the Barnes and Noble collection choose some really good covers, usually artwork based on the book. I don't much care for movie tie-ins, but after a movie is out the used bookstore is usually flooded with them and they are too cheap to resist. But you have to be very careful to get the complete book and not just the movie pieces.

Booking Through Thursday-The End

Booking Through Thursday

You’ve just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you’re going to read? What?

(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)


None of the above. I'm usually reading two or three books at a time. I'm in a Yahoo group that reads books in sections. And I'm reading Les Mes right now too. I've got the unabridged version and when Hugo moved into 40 pages about the battle of Waterloo or 60 pages about the French history I'll set it aside and pick up a quick read for a break. Since this book is 1500 pages, I've managed to squeeze Oliver Twist and Pride and Prejudice in.

I'm in the 888 and ILL challenges too, so I have quite a TBR pile (table-I need to take a picture) and sometimes I'll see a title I "have to read right this minute" and set aside the book I'm into then.

It's a strange system, but I'm enjoying myself.

Booking Through Thursday-Playing Editor

Booking Through Thursday

How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:

__________ would have been a much better book if ______________________.


Notes on a Scandal would have been a much better book if it had had an ending.

Naturally, the most recent books came to mind first. I have even posted this one on my blog. When I finished it I jut thought "Is that it?" Everything felt up in the air to me. Which is a shame because I really got into the book and liked it up to the last page.

Booking Through Thursday-Hero

Booking through Thursday

You should have seen this one coming … Who is your favorite Male lead character? And why?

I love Gus McCrae. He's one of the funniest characters I've come across. Plus, he's hell-bent to do the heroic thing. He's a tough as nails ex-Texas Ranger who has fought banditos, desperados, and Indians.

And Don Quixote is funny in a sad way. Totally bonkers, but he has the Rocky Horror attitude---don't dream it, be it.

Booking Through Thursday-After the Honeymoon

Booking Through Thursday

Here’s something for Valentine’s Day.

Have you ever fallen out of love with a favorite author? Was the last book you read by the author so bad, you broke up with them and haven’t read their work since? Could they ever lure you back?


I can't say I ever have. However, I have left genres behind. In high school I went through a lot of romance novels and you can barely get me to look at one these days, much less read it. I've had mystery phases and science fiction phases. I get tired of them and move on. But I eventually pick up another book. Just no more romance, thank you very much.

Booking Through Thursday-Huh?

Booking Through Thursday

I'm on a classic kick. The best one I could think of was "Rose's Garden" by Carrie Brown. It's about an old man who comes to a new life after his wife's death. There's a little more here.

Booking Through Thursday-Catalog

Booking Through Thursday

Do you use any of the online book-cataloguing sites, like Library Thing or Shelfari? Why or why not? (Or . . . do you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking to?? (grin))

If not an online catalog, do you use any other method to catalog your book collection? Excel spreadsheets, index cards, a notebook, anything?

I'm a Lifetime paid member of LibraryThing. I have all of my books listed there. Except my cookbooks. Maybe someday when I get some energy I'll do those too. And I need to spend some time writing more comments.

I'm also in goodreads, but on that site all I'm doing is listed the books I've read and giving the 1 to 5 star rating.

And I've also got a spreadsheet on Google for my TBR and challenges, but I haven't figured out how to post it where people can see it.

What Holiday Are You?

You Are Thanksgiving

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love. It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is. You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one. You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff. What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?

Yeah, I pretty much agree with the personality assessment. I love to bake and holidays give me a chance to try fancy stuff. Thanks to Good housekeeping and Taste of Home online recipes, I get to experiment on my family every holiday.

Booking Through Thursday-Rolling

Booking through Thursday

Do you get on a roll when you read, so that one book leads to the next, which leads to the next, and so on and so on?

I don’t so much mean something like reading a series from beginning to end, but, say, a string of books that all take place in Paris. Or that have anthropologists as the main character. Or were written in the same year. Something like that… Something that strings them together in your head, and yet, otherwise could be different genres, different authors…

Not really. I can only remember twice that I deliberately went after a book that was like my current book. While reading "Heart of the Sea", I was led to "Moby Dick." And after I read "Year of Wonders," I immediately wanted "The Plague."

And sometimes I'll follow an author. When I read "Of Mice and Men" I wanted more Steinbeck but I was disappointed with "The Pearl". "The Alchemist has made me a Coelho fan. I read "Veronica Decides to Die." And I want more of his books.

Sometimes I'll follow genres for three or four books, but other than that my reading is controlled my my TBR list and which books can be inserted into the challenges I'm in.

Booking Through Thursday-Preservatives

Booking Through Thursday

Today’s question comes from Conspiracy-Girl:
I’m still relatively new to this meme so I’m not sure if this has been asked yet, but I’m curious how many of us write notes in our books. Are you a Footprint Leaver or a Preservationist?

Strictly Preservationist. No marks whatsoever. No dogearring the corners. I have a large collections of bookmarkers I pick up for free. My books are my pool. Please son't spit in it.

Booking Through Thursday-Volume

Booking Through Thursday

Would you say that you read about the same amount now as when you were younger? More? Less?
Why?

I think I read the same amount, but I'm reading better books these days. I used to read alot of romances and mysteries. Today I reading classics and bestsellers.

Bob Crane

You know, sometimes you come across something so stupid you have to pass it along. This is in that category. http://www.shoppingcartabuse.com/news/stories/2002/crane/ I realize it's meant to be touch-in-cheek, but still. Can't people find somethng better to do? Like read a good book?

Men

You Have Your PhD in Men

You understand men almost better than anyone. You accept that guys are very different, and you read signals well. Work what you know about men, and your relationships will be blissful.

How Well Do You Understand Men?

Huh? Me? Somebody's got some splainin' to do.

Rockin' Girl Blogger

I logged on to complain about having a book in the house I can't read (it's my sister's Harry Potter and I have to read VI before I force it out of her book-a-month reader's hand---but that's another post)and learned Stephanie has listed me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. Yeah! go me. And now I get to nominate 4 of my bloggettes.

First is Petunia because she pointed me to a book that I fully expect to help enrich my little literary critiques. And check out her vacotion photos. I liked the waterfall and the caves. I love caves---big time.

Second is Tammy . Her blog is brand new, but her book lists could be carbon copies of mine. And with her last post she convinced me to move "Beloved" up my TBR list.

Third is Dewey who recently hosted the Blogroll (where I won 2nd place---Yeah for me. Again) She always has something interestind. She also started a side blog for Harry Potter discussions---but beware spoilers. This new page is here.

And lastly, I name 3MHer blog is always very interesting---and a good place to find a good challenge. I can almost guarentee I'll be joining the Books to Movie Challenge.

Finally, I would like to thank Stephanie for the notice. I wish I could renominate you.