Book Survey

Wanted something fun to do while I listen to (and completely enjoy) really awful music!

Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?
If it's an author I really like, I enjoy having hardcover books. Otherwise, paperback are easier to carry around, but not mass market.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
I like Barnes & Noble a lot better, but I can't figure out the exact reason. It feels more like a book store to me.

Bookmark or dog-ear?
For books I care about and really like I use bookmarks, but I do dog-ear pages in a lot of my paperbacks.

Amazon or brick-and-mortar?
For pre-orders of books I plan on buying, I really like Amazon. And if I am going to buy many at once because sometimes Amazon has really good deals. But I love being in an actual bookstore and being surrounded by books!

Alphabetize by author, or alphabetize by title, or random?
I organize differently on each bookcase. Examples of bookcases/bookshelves I currently have: Dystopia shelf, Classics shelf, Books to read shelf, Books to convince my husband to read, Non-fiction shelf, Favorites shelf... and so on. I know exactly where everything should go, but no one else would be able to figure it out.

Keep, throw away, or sell?
I keep almost everything.

Keep dust jacket or toss it?
I keep them unless they get ruined for some reason.

Read with dust jacket or remove it?
I keep them on while reading most of the time and use the leaf as a bookmark.

Short story or novel?
I really like novels, but I also like short story collections at times.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Harry Potter. I haven't read any of Lemony Snicket, though I liked the movie.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
At chapter breaks, always.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
I think "It was a dark and stormy night" is my preference.

Buy or borrow?
Buy. Unless it's a book I am really unsure of, and then borrowing (either from library or friend) comes in handy. If I end up really liking it I will buy it later.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?
Pretty much all three. I like to see what book bloggers are reading and if we have similar tastes I will go by their recommendations, and I also like to just find out what's coming out soon and see if anything sounds good.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Cliffhangers in series are good, because then I will actually read the next book. But in stand-alone novels I really like a tidy ending with nothing left to wonder about.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
All the time reading.

Stand-alone or series?
I like both, depending on the quality. I don't like waiting for books in series to come out though.

Favorite series?
Harry Potter, Hunger Games, when I was young I liked the Dealing With Dragons series.

Favorite children’s book?
Leo the Late Bloomer is such a good one. There are a lot that I really like though.

Favorite YA book?
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti and Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Hmm... Samantha Crane on the Run by Linda A Cooney (it only has 3 ratings on GoodReads)

Favorite books read last year?
Highlights of books in 2010: Mistwood by Leah Cypress and Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

Favorite books of all time?
That's a little difficult...

What are you reading right now?
Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski

What are you reading next?
Nightspell by Leah Cypress

Favorite book to recommend to an 11-year-old?
Harry Potter! And the Redwall books.

Favorite book to re-read?
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti, The Hobbitt by JRR Tolkien

Do you ever smell books?
Yes, but I don't like the smell of really old books because it feels like it fills my lungs with fog.

Do you ever read primary source documents like letters or diaries?
Not really, though I like looking through those things periodically.

Happy Birthday Number Forty-Five!

Today is former Boston Bruins player Mark Stuart's birthday. This makes me very happy. Stuart was one of my favorite Bruins for the past few years, he's tough and a good player, rarely taking penalties. But sadly, he was traded to the Thrashers earlier this year. But not before I got my Stuart B's jersey! So Happy Birthday Stuart! Though he is number 5 on the Thrashers, I will still think of him as #45.

In other Bruins news, today is a big day for the Black and Gold. Tonight is game 7 of the Bruins/Habs playoff series. We try not to do anything to jinx the B's on game day, so all I will say is that I hope the boys play a good game tonight and come out on top!

In other news, I only have 2 more assignments (for the same class) due and then I am done for the semester. I have both my Weds and Mon classes next week, and then one more Monday class. I probably won't have any time off before my Summer internship starts though, which is a little disappointing, but at least I won't be traveling to Boston every week!

Blogging as a Means of Procrastination

I can't manage to blog every day, but I can certainly manage to blog when I should be doing homework. It isn't even a difficult assignment. I had to watch 2 movie and a tv show and then write about them. As assignments go, it's definitely on the easy side of the slope. However, because I know the level of effort I have to put into it, it's difficult to actually find that effort, because it's such a small amount. Sigh.

I've also got this voice in the back of my head saying I should ditch everything and go get Chipotle for lunch. I keep shoving this voice aside in hopes that I can convince Mike that Chipotle would be a great Tuesday dinner option. I think it's the guacamole.

For this assignment I chose Easy A, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and Degrassi. I chose a new episode of Degrassi that I hadn't seen yet and I hadn't seen the movies either. I officially really like all of the things I chose though. And I think teenagers would too (part of the assignment). There are always friendships, fights, first loves, maybe second loves, and a lot of drama.

BEODA continues (BEDA 8-9)

Every other day really seems about all I can manage. I don't know why this is a flaw that I have, but even when I say "OK, have to blog today," it just doesn't happen.

Today is Mike and his friend's Jean Claude Van Damme marathon. Which means I have now watched 4 Van Damme movies in a row. I keep saying "Van Dammit!" in my head, but haven't said this out loud yet, since I think I'm the only one who finds this hilarious. I have used the past few hours to my advantage, reading two books and starting a third. I read Grace by Elizabeth Scott and Where She Went by Gayle Forman (companion to If I Stay). Now I am on Numbers by Rachel Ward. I'd consider this a productive Saturday. Especially since the day also included coaching two of my students, eating Chipotle for lunch, watching the Bruins win today's game, having Tim Thomas set a new league record, and consuming my mandatory NRG Kick Cumbies slush (see, I can't resist them!).

I haven't updated my book review blog in about a week, sadly, but I think sometimes I get in these zones where I don't want to talk about books, I just want to read them. So for now, that's what I'm going to do. I don't write either of these blogs for anyone but myself, so if I don't feel like updating with reviews, I'm not going to force myself. I'm enjoying the books I'm reading and I love that I still get that feeling of extreme satisfaction when I finish the last page of a book. Often, that feeling is also accompanied by sadness and loss if I don't feel ready to leave behind those characters, or even true joy if I feel a character I like has been done right by.

A while ago, on my other blog, I wrote about why I love reading, how it can transport you to anytime in your life, how I can be the same person reading a book that I was years ago reading a book. I've come to understand that this is also why I like driving in my car by myself. Driving in my car (her name is Lyla) today and listening to a song that I remember listening to years ago can make me feel like that person again. I can remember what my life was like at another instance and see it so clearly. Sometimes this doesn't go so well and I am left feeling unstable and emotional, part of me aching for that time to be back again, and part of me is amazed at how similar or different I am as a person when compared to then.

I Should Learn By Now (BEDA 6-7)

I think this is quickly becoming Blog Every Other Day in April. Sad, but true. I get too distracted by things during the day and then I just plain forget to blog. Or I remember and it's already past midnight so I decide to wait anyways.

Yesterday was filled with school, skating, and watching dreadful movies like Butchered and Dark Corners. Though I kind of liked Dark Corners. Thora Birch was in it, and I like her. She isn't obnoxious like a lot of actors are, and she's very pretty. We were at a friend's house watching these movies and we got home at about midnight. At which point Mike and I were so tired that we fell asleep on top of the covers with our jeans and both lights on. I woke up at 6 am and was very confused by this. I don't know how we both managed to fall asleep with all the lights on, they are seriously bright.

After falling back asleep at 6, we then managed to sleep until 1 pm. I really don't know how we let these things happen. Thursday is our slacker day though, since I have the whole day off and Mike works from home at 3. So sleeping for 12 hours works out well. To make up for being such a slacker, I walked 3 miles and played Just Dance 2 on the wii and did a dance workout video from On Demand.

Other than that, I've filled the day with reading. I am currently reading Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright, based on the screenplay by David Leslie Johnson. The previews for the movie gave me no desire to run out and see it. But then I saw the book, and thought it might be good. Then I realized the book was written after the movie. I am about halfway through and can't decide if I actually am enjoying what I'm reading. And I still don't have the desire to see the movie. Though I probably will.

Oops! (BEDA # 4-5)

I completely forgot to blog last night. Oops!

Yesterday, Monday, was a pretty good day. I worked a little and then went to a friend's house for dinner, book discussions, and blog preparations. We're starting a new blog project together soon, and preparations are going a little slow, mostly because we get distracted and start talking about books and looking on Amazon. I feel so lucky to have people in my life that I can talk to about books and know that they understand exactly how I feel when I'm talking about why I did or didn't like a particular book that I've read.

Now I keep getting distracted by that Four of a Kind show on Lifetime, about the identical quadruplets.

It would be a lot easier to blog everyday if there were interesting things going on in my life. But really, my weeks all look pretty much the same. Not in a bad way, just in a very routine way. Today, Tuesday, I get to hang around the house by myself for about half the day, which is nice because when there are 3 people, there isn't a lot of "home alone' time. This is how I get to be distracted by Lifetime TV shows.

Now to continue on with my Me Time and read Deb Caletti's new book, Stay.

Cumberland Farms Chill Zone: Or, Why The World Is Good (BEDA 3)

The best thing about my apartment is its proximity to a Cumbies. I can see the Cumbies from my living room and it's about a 30 second walk across the street to get there. The only goods I purchase there are blue Powerade and Chill Zone slush. My favorite frozen flavor is the "NRG Kick" pink one that has a pink tornado as the mascot. The right amount of sugar, caffeine, and tornado flavor. I can't really describe the flavor, because it doesn't taste like any other drink, but if I'm in a bad mood, this drink kicks its butt.

The people who work at this Cumbies also add to its greatness. I don't know where this mix of people comes from, but some of the strangest (though very nice!) people I've ever encountered work there. There's the guy who tells you your total in cents: "That will be two-hundred-fifteen pennies." The woman that has a story for every item you buy: "Oh, cookies? I've made cookies before." The younger guy that looks about 50% employee, 50% shoplifter. The younger girl that judges your purchases: "It takes a real guy to come here to buy tampons" (I think Mike should have responded with, "Oh these? They're for me"). I absolutely love going into Cumbies just for the interactions with the employees. You never know what they're going to say to you or what items of yours they are going to judge you for.

In other news, today was no different than any other Sunday, really. I went to the rink to coach, went to Barnes and Nobles to feed my book habit, and have had 2 of the aforementioned Chill Zone slushes. Now I am settling in for a night of reading The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa and watching the Lord of the Rings movies, per Mike's request. To me this is actually a perfectly wonderful Sunday.