Read more books and watch less tv

Here comes my first ‘baton’ or meme. I grabbed it from Anke who has it from zeitlos who translated it from system13, who got if from litlove who saw it at Danielle, and so on. This in how batons work, you pass them on and on and on…
I like books and here are the meme’s questions and my answers:

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
If I can or want afford it I like to buy hardback. Most of my books are paperback though.

Amazon or brick and mortar?
Get information from Amazon and try to buy mostly at brick and mortar stores (to support them).

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Since I am from Germany, I don’t know them. I have seen Borders in Santa Fe, but I didn’t visit them.

Bookmark or dog-ear?
Bookmark, of course! I love the magnetic bookmarks. Poor book with a dog-ear…

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
If I stay at a country for longer than a few months, I would organize my bookshelf by author or by genre. But my books are in boxes at the moment.

Keep, throw away, or sell?
Mostly keep them, sometimes sell them, never throw any book away. Throw a book away like it is garbage? Horrible.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?
It belongs to the book! I always keep it. It is like the CD booklet…often on the dustjacket you can read about the author or other details.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
I didn’t have many books with a dustjacket yet. Hmm…still I say I would read without it.

Short story or novel?
Novel. I like to sink into stories. Short stories are too short.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?
I am not experienced with short stories, therefore I cannot answer this one.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Who is Lemony Snicket? However, I really like Harry Potter. I became addicted through my friend Nico who could convince me of trying it out and read the first book. I never expected that a mass hype would get me. Nevertheless, I really liked the writing of the author and couldn’t stop reading. Last one I’ve read is the fifth book.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
When I am tired it makes no sense to read, so I better stop and continue the next day, although it is hard to stop in the middle of a chapter. I try to read until the next paragraph at least.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Neither. If the first one means crime stories, then I take it. Fairy tales will be a topic when you can call me ‘cola-mom’.

Buy or Borrow?
I like to buy books, either…oh that’s the next question:

New or used?
Either way. Mostly new, but sometimes used (I bought some used books at amazon.de).

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
I often look at the reviews at amazon, but that’s just for the first insight. Recommendations can be tricky, because everyone has a different taste and for instance, I didn’t like the always very highly recommended book “Sophie’s World” at all. I like to browse books, either online or offline.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
I prefer the tidy ending.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
I would like to change the word night time to evening. I mostly sleep at night. Since I am a person who cannot get up very fast in the morning, I seldom read in my half-consciousness; only if my partner is still sleeping next to me and I don’t want to leave the warm bed.

Standalone or series?
Both. I like series but I often need changes, therefore I mix it.

Favorite series?
When I was a child, I loved the “Mystery of…” books from Enid Blyton. Now it is the “Harry Potter series.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
I guess there is no favorite book that really nobody else heard of before.

Favorite books read last year?
“Notes from a big country” from Bill Bryson (I’ve read the German translation) and “Digital Fortress” from Dan Brown. My first Dan Brown book.

Favorite books of all time?
“Die letzten Kinder von Schevenborn” from Gudrun Pausewang was my favorite book as a child. Now it probably is “Down under” from Bill Bryson.

If you like this baton, feel free to do take it. Maybe Sabine?