A MEME

Despite my best intentions, I have again delayed writing book reviews. I've now read six more books that I need to review. I'll get to them, but in the meantime I'll post this MeMe that I found on Janet's blog.

Do you snack while you read?

Yes, I am guilty of that. My books do have food smudges in them, and dog slobber too. And if a dog jostles me at the wrong time, there may be splashes of red wine on the page too.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read them, or does the idea of writing on your books horrify you?

I usually don't mark my books. I put post it notes on pages with passages I want to go back to.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog ears? Leaving the book open flat?

I am guilty of both dog earing my books and leaving them open flat. I love bookmarks but seldom use them as I tend to misplace them right away. Someone gave me a magnetic bookmark that worked great, but Gracie chewed it up.

Fiction, Non-Fiction or both?

Mostly fiction, but I do like well-written non-fiction too. This past spring I read a glut of non-fiction books about the Celts. And I do love a good biography.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

I keep on reading until I have finished the book, or have run out of time, or until I'm too sleepy to read one more word. I've often stayed up all night just to finish a book. I read "The Stand" almost non-stop for two days.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

No, I have a pretty good vocabulary. If I run into a word I don't know, I try to take the meaning from the context. However, that sometimes leads me to having an incorrect or only vague understanding of the word's meaning. I only just realized that avuncular means uncle-like, not jolly.

What are you currently reading?

"The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder" by Rebecca Wells.

What is the last book you bought?

Just ordered "The White Garden" by Stephanie Barron and "Testament" by Alis Hawkins from amazon.com used books. "Testament" is the January pick for an online book club I just joined.

Are you the type of person who can only read one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

I usually read only one novel at a time, but can have a non-fiction book going on the side at the same time.

Do you prefer series or stand alone books?

Series can be wonderful but they can also be terribly disappointing. I loved "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon but the succeeding books in the series got worse and worse.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

The one book I have been consistently recommending for 40 years is "To Kill A Mockingbird". Of more current books, I often recommend "Water For Elephants."

How do you organize your books?

Willy-nilly. They are stuffed into bookcases as they are read. This fall I was finally able to get the various stacks of books off the bedroom and hall floors.