Book meme

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?

Trade paperbacks. Somehow they present the illusion of literacy.

Amazon or brick and mortar?

Amazon for book-specific quests and BAM for shopping, including Christmas shopping. I feel strangely unable to browse in a browser window.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?

B&N. And now that I think about it, for whatever reason I associate Borders with better stock. Weird.

Bookmark or dog-ear?

I had a Currencies of the World phase in my previous, bookmarking life. Now I barely take the time to dog-ear. Normally I leave the book open-faced, upside down, wherever.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?

Random.

Keep, throw away, or sell?

Keep. Wife's orders.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?

Between dogs, children and dad, "toss it" doesn't even begin to cover it. No pun intended.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?

Remove it. At which point the carnage begins. See previous answer.

Short story or novel?

I'll have to side with Borges on this one. But the question really ought to read "fiction or non-fiction. " I find I've abandoned the fake-and-honest for the real-and-dishonest anymore.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?

Anthology. It is so rare that I find an author I like, I have to hedge.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?

Heh. Neither. I will likely prefer the Lemony Snicket films to the Harry Potter films, if that counts.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

Ladies, skip to the next question. Those of you who are still here, I told you so: I stop reading when I flush.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?

If a book begins with either, I've probably bought it for the kids.

Buy or Borrow?

Buy. I'm an ownership snob.

New or used?

I actually like coming across notes from previous readers. It's the most frank form of literary criticism you can find. But nevertheless: new.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?

I've given you my thoughts on book reviews, and everyone in my circle has stopped recommending books long ago. So it's "browse" by default.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?

All endings are cliffhangers, by definition. But at least a cursory tying up of all the Obvious Loose Ends is a pre-requisite of good writing. (And good reading.)

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?

Afternoon. I actually read Life of Pi in a single afternoon in Cancun, toes in the sand, coconuts falling all around, waiting for my wife and mom to finish a scuba dive. Morning is for commuting and nighttime is for sleeping. (Note to my kids: nighttime is for sleeping.)

Stand-alone or series?

Just as all endings are cliffhangers, all books are stand-alone publications. I'm just saying.

Favorite series?

See somewhat surly answer above. If I must answer, I'd say the Don Juan series by Carlos Castaneda.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

The Names of Things by Susan Brind Morrow. A friend recently, cruelly deconstructed my favorite passage, but I've forgiven both him and the author.

Favorite books read last year?

That's a huge assumption, although I may have finished Winning by Jack Welch. I'm not sure. Like I said recently, I cannot stand management books, but Winning is excellent. I find myself remembering his advice often.

Favorite books of all time?

I'll name five:

1. The King, by Donald Barthelme. Somehow tragic and riotous at the same time. And yes, it is a postmodern novel set in World War II.
   
2. Pedro Paramo, by Juan Rulfo. Another absurdist tragedy set during wartime. (In this case, the Cristero revolt of 1927.)
   
3. Seek, by Denis Johnson. Money quote: "They had myths instead of heads."
   
4. Age of Iron, by J.M. Coetzee. An elderly white woman meets her delivering angel while South African apartheid dies around her.
5. Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani. "The Falcon" may be my favorite short story.
   

Do not let the order fool you. I cannot rank one above the next, although Kanafani lived the most interesting life. You should read them all.