Scenario: You’ve just bought some complicated gadget home . . . do you read the accompanying documentation? Or not?
Do you ever read manuals?
How-to books?
Self-help guides?
Anything at all? – BTT

In the least, I usually skim manuals. I won’t say I read them cover to cover, but I do browse through them. I haven’t read a how-to book in a while. I don’t really read them as I would other types of books. I don’t consume them like I do novels or some other nonfiction as I usually just flip through, skim, and read what I like from how-to books. I have read self-help guides, but it has also been awhile. I would say I read a couple in a year.

Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library? – BTT

I don’t “read” them per se. I do have a couple, and I like a good reference book as the next bibliophile. I have two English dictionaries, a couple of English other language dictionaries, and one purely French dictionary. I use the computer and online dictionaries more. I also have one grammar book, and I would really like to get a copy of the Elements of Style. I like owning grammar books rather than using them though. I listen to the Grammar Girl podcast which says a lot about me, but I am horrible at grammar and syntax. When I learn languages, writing and proper oral communication is the hardest for me to learn while I learn quickly through comprehension.

Bit late today since I’m busy on thursdays now. I haven’t had time to read this week. The weekend can’t come fast enough.

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…. – BTT

First: Ha! Second, I usually do have a book on hand in my bag. In these situations, I think I would buy a magazine or two. If not, I would buy an overpriced book from the book store. Preferably a classic, prize winner, or something from a favourite author I have yet to read. I’m more inclined to think I’ll buy the New Yorker or something though.

I do wonder, why would they check for ID in the ethnic food aisle?

Do your reading habits change in the Spring? Do you read gardening books? Even if you don’t have a garden? More light fiction than during the Winter? Less? Travel books? Light paperbacks you can stick in a knapsack?

Or do you pretty much read the same kinds of things in the Spring as you do the rest of the year? – BTT

Generally my reading habits are the same in the sense that the books that are read are usually the same the rest of the year. I do read more once the warm weather starts showing up. Maybe sub-consciously I read more travel books or light paperbacks. Though most of my TBR books are planned months in advance these days. I always read more in the spring and summer than I do in the winter/fall though.

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? – BTT

Nowadays, I either look it up or I forget about it. It depends on my mood, how engrossed I am, and how near a computer/dictionary I am. I read at my desk a lot so I end up just looking it up on my Mac’s dictionary program. I like learning new words, but I usually forget to look them up. Sometimes, I can glean their meaning in the text so I don’t really need to look it up. 

• Pick up the nearest book. (I’m sure you must have one nearby.)
• Turn to page 123.
• What is the first sentence on the page?
• The last sentence on the page?
• Now . . . connect them together….
  (And no, you may not transcribe the entire page of the book–that’s cheating!) – BTT

The closest books to me are my school books, so I reached one inch farther (I have piles and piles of books every) to get my fun reading:

“If my dear love were but the child were state, which die for goodness, who have lived for crime.”

William Shakespeare’s sonnet #124.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

• When somebody mentions “literature,” what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?)
• Do you read “literature” (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must? – BTT

I think of classics (Tolstoy, Shakespeare, and more authors) and contemporary award winners. Books that won the Pulitzer, penned by Nobel Laureates, Booker prize winners, and other prestigious literary awards.

I looked literature up in two dictionaries, one of them says “writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays.” and the second “written works, esp. those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit”. 

A friend and I had a similar conversation the other day and asserted that you can get that sense of universality or meaning from any written work that may not literary. It is true. It’s you who reads the book, not the book reads you. Having said that, I do read a lot of literature whatever it may be, but I know a lot of the books I read can last the test of time and be valued for their themes and artistic style.

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.? – BTT

I generally prefer hardcovers over softcovers. Having said that, they are heavy to carry around, and in the few times of the year when I buy books, I prefer trade paperbacks. I like their smooth covers, the better than mass market paper, their durability, and their pricing. They usually have better cover design than their mass market counterparts too. I also really love library editions or the hard binding that the libraries put on some paperbacks. As for font and illustrations, these things do not matter as much, but a nice cover is a nice cover.

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!) – BTT

 Most often, I’ll start up a review for it either by writing most of it or jotting notes of what I will right. Sometimes I will dive into another book because I have time or in the rare case the book is part of a series and I have the followup, I will start that. I usually take a bit of time between books. Not a lot because I’ll choose my next book fairly quickly, often right after I finish the last one (oh big TBR piles). I just won’t start reading it for a day or two though. Since I read a lot of books (when I have time) in long sessions, I usually like a little break to do my other hobbies and duties: knitting, blogging, chores, etc.

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

Off the top of my head:

Morpheus from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman – Okay, so he’s not particularly heroic. He’s broody, quiet and mysterious, but awesome characterisation.

Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre – If anything, he is entertaining to read.

Will from the His Dark Materials series – One day, if I am blessed, I’d have a son as loyal, loving, strong and smart as Will.

Calvin and Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes – Technically comics but whatever. I love Hobbes more.

Harry Potter from Harry Potter – ’nuff said.

Hazel from Watership Down – Smart, quiet, and talented.

Peter Pan from Peter Pan – Maudlin again.

Cal from East of Eden – Flawed, angsty Cal. Not a hero per se, but definitely a lead.

Winnie the Pooh from Winnie the Pooh – Well, he’s somewhat heroic.

Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?) – BTT

I always dislike favourite questions because I can never narrow it down to one or two. Here’s the list I could think off the top of my head:

Elizabeth Bennet of P&P – I like her moxie. Heh.

Anne of Anne of Green Gables – I have only read one Anne book, and like thousands of others, she won my heart.

Jane Eyre – Enough said.

Cassandra from I Capture the Castle – Unrequired love, this girl can relate.

Death from the Sandman series – She’s not exactly a female lead, but she is awesome.

Viola from Twelth Night – Fun times cross dressing.

Wendy from Peter Pan – Now, I’m just being maudlin.

Natasha from War and Peace -  Her transformation to naive girl to mature woman through war and romantic mistakes makes her the best female Tolstoy character.

Thursday Next – Well, she’s pretty much done everything.

Hmm, this list seems very short. There are most likely more.

All other things (like price and storage space) being equal, given a choice in a perfect world, would you rather have paperbacks in your library? Or hardcovers? And why? – BTT

Hardcovers. I know. I’m such a traditionalist, but they even smell differently in their new conditions. For paperbacks, I only really like trade paperbacks because the covers are more durable and the paper less cheap. In the end, portability of paperbacks is not always my priority as I tend to do a lot of my leisure reading at home where I snuggle up with a big book. I like books that last a long time. For centuries even and hard cover, acid free paper is probably where it’s at. This is why I love the Everyman’s Library editions.