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This week on BTT: Does the price of a book affect your decision about buying it? Do you wait for cheaper editions of books you want? Yes, I rarely buy books new. The majority of my books are used books from school or charity sales. If I do buy a new book, it is often from a book overstock site. If I do buy a book completely new (say from Amazon), it is usually a…

BTT this week: I read an interesting blog post from the YA author A.S. King the other day that touched on censorship—especially as it pertains to young adult books. Here’s an excerpt, but really, you should go read the whole thing because it’s fascinating: I don’t know about you, but quiet censorship freaks me out. It’s the censorship that’s spoken over tea, over lunch, at random times when we are not prepared to answer because…

Sponsored post: Use Grammarly's plagiarism checker because you don't want to become like Shia LaBoeuf. From BTT this week: What do you think of fanfiction? In general—do you think it’s a fun thing or a trespass on an author/producer’s world? And of course, obviously specific authors have very firm and very differing opinions about this, yet it’s getting more popular and more mainstream all the time. Do you ever read or write it yourself? Yes,…

If there was one book you could make sure nobody ever read again … what would it be? And why? - BTT I'm not the kind of person who doesn't "hate" many things. There are many books I find boring, but few that I truly hate or dislike. Here's a run down of books that are just not for me: Wuthering Heights - The only classic on the list. I like Anne and Jane, but…

Outside of books, what’s your favorite thing to read? Newspapers? Magazines? Blogs? Fanfiction? Specific websites? - BTT I use to read a lot of fanfiction and it's diminished considerably since I became an 'adult'. I do spend a fair amount of time on TWOP forums. I read a couple of blogs, but to be honest, I've always found it hard to track a lot of blogs. I like reading emails and messages from friends. I…

Which is better (or preferred) … stories with multiple character points of view? Or stories that stick to just one or two at most? And, why? This question reminded me about the popular Song of Fire & Ice series by George R. R. Martin which does the multiple character POVs to the hilt perhaps to the annoyance of some readers. I don't think it's bad when an author can do it well. Martin does for…

Are “best” and “favorite” the same thing? If someone asked you “What’s the best book you ever read?” would the answer be the same as for “What’s your favorite?” - BTT I try to tailor my recommendations to whomever is asking. Bests and Favourites are very subjective. If someone asks me the best book on travelling to certain places, I may offer a travel guide, but my favourite would probably be a memoirs of the…

Connected to last week’s—it’s one of the ways writing has changed. Books from a century or two ago spent huge swaths of text describing locations and character traits, but modern writing does all of this in shorthand. You might know a character is short with blond hair and blue eyes, but the author leaves the rest for you to figure out on your own. The writer might tell you the story takes place at a…

How much do you visualize when you read? Do you imagine faces for the characters? Can you see the locations in your mind’s eye? Or do you just plunge ahead with the story, letting the imagery fall to the wayside? - BTT I don't know how one let's imagery fall at the wayside. Isn't it natural to be immersed in the world of the books especially when it is fiction? Imagining these things is my…

Which is more important? Quality for your reading? Or quantity? - BTT In almost every case in life, quality is better than quantity. Having said that, I aim for both in my reading. I like reading a lot of books. I love them, and I'm very glad to have a range of interests in genres, styles, and periods. I have thousands of books I could read and most of them probably wouldn't be bad. Yes,…

I’ve asked before how you feel about lending your books. I’ve asked how you feel about libraries. But—how do you feel about borrowing books from friends? Is this something you like to do? Does it make you feel uncomfortable or rushed while reading? Does it affect how you feel about the book you’re reading, pressured into liking it? - BTT Thankfully, I do not have to borrow books from my friends very often. I read…

All other things being equal (good writing, enthralling story, etc), which would you rather read—something serious, angsty, and tragic? Or something light, fluffy, and fun? Or a blend of both? (Since, really, isn’t that how real life works?) - BTT I try to balance my reading to be both light and serious. I think it veers slightly more to the serious side these days especially with all the non-fiction. I like to escape to books,…