Posts under ‘BTT’

Do you give books as gifts?

I give books as gifts almost exclusively, with some exceptions depending on the person. This year, everyone in my family is getting a book or, in one case, books.

To everyone? Or only to select people?

Generally, almost everyone gets books, but not everyone gets books all of the time. I also make dolls and scarves and things — and sometimes find more creative gifts for the non-readers in my life. But I tend to be surrounded by bookish people, and so I tend to find books to be very appropriate gifts.

I receive a lot of review books, but I have never once told lies about the book just because I got a free copy of it. However, some authors seem to feel that if they send you a copy of their book for free, you should give it a positive review.

Do you think reviewers are obligated to put up a good review of a book, even if they don’t like it? Have we come to a point where reviewers *need* to put up disclaimers to (hopefully) save themselves from being harassed by unhappy authors who get negative reviews?

I’ve asked, in the past, about whether you more often buy your books, or get them from libraries. What I want to know today, is, WHY BUY?

Even if you are a die-hard fan of the public library system, I’m betting you have at least ONE permanent resident of your bookshelves in your house. I’m betting that no real book-lover can go through life without owning at least one book. So … why that one? What made you buy the books that you actually own, even though your usual preference is to borrow and return them?

Are you a spine breaker? Or a dog-earer? Do you expect to keep your books in pristine condition even after you have read them? Does watching other readers bend the cover all the way round make you flinch or squeal in pain?

I try not to break the spines of the books I read … but I don’t try that hard. I fold pages. I wrap the cover all the way around the book. I leave books open with things like table edges between their pages. I throw them into my knapsack, and when I take them out, I throw them on the floor. Sometimes they get stepped on. Or sat on. Sometimes I mark up my books, though only in pencil.

BTT

What tomes are waiting patiently on your shelves?

Oh, sheesh, there are tonnes of them. I’ve got a lot of classics sitting around — some which were given to me, and some which I bought for myself, sometimes accidentally. (Note to undergrads: don’t ever buy books until your prof has given you a final syllabus. Because it will change. And then you will be sitting around with copies of Rousseau’s Confessions that you’ll never read.) For the most part I intend to read them… someday!

What, in your opinion, is the best book that you haven’t liked? Mind you, I don’t mean your most-hated book–oh, no. I mean the most accomplished, skilled, well-written, impressive book that you just simply didn’t like.

Like, for movies–I can acknowledge that Citizen Kane is a tour de force and is all sorts of wonderful, cinematically speaking, but . . . I just don’t like it. I find it impressive and quite an accomplishment, but it’s not my cup of tea.

So . . . what book (or books) is your Citizen Kane?

Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer?

Fall is also starting to appear here in Canada (I know, it’s not news, it’s happening in the entire Northern Hemisphere) and I — though not really a kid anymore — have also gone back to school. This has a profound effect on my reading habits, mostly because I have so much time to read!

I’m not interested in today’s actual BTT, so here’s one from last February! Groovy!

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?

All else being equal, I have to say that I generally prefer paperbacks. They don’t even have to be those fancy “trade paperbacks” either — I like the mass market versions just as well (and sometimes more).