Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Top 10 Tuesday: Bookish secrets!

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

1. I'll often read the last line (or last paragraph, or last page) of a book when something tense is happening earlier on. And more than once I've flipped through the book looking for a favourite character's name to know that they aren't going to die. It's a terrible habit, and more than once I've spoiled the entire story...but I can't quit it!

2. I'd rather buy a book than loan it from a library. If I borrow a book (from a library or a friend) I feel obligated to read it, and that usually ruins it for me. If I buy it, then I feel free to take my time and get to it when I get to it. Unfortunately this has resulted in bookshelves that are 40% full of books I haven't read and probably won't, if I'm being honest, ever read.

3. If it has a person's face on the cover, I probably won't buy it. Unless it's a book I need for a class I will avoid these covers like the plague. I'll search for weeks for a typography, abstract or plain coloured cover and even pay more if it means it's faceless! Oh and don't ask me why, I have absolutely no idea where this weird aversion came from!

4. I'm irrationally precious about some books, but others I'll happily annotate, dog-ear and crack the spine. There's no reason for this, they could be expensive, cheap, signed by the author, for a class, new, second hand...some books just seem more...special...than others.

5. I guess my next secret should probably be that I annotate books. Perhaps it's because I'm a researcher and my life would be infinitely more difficult if I couldn't make notes in my books as I go, but sometimes I just HAVE to underline a quote, or note a particular style of writing I like.

6. I'll probably judge you by the book you're reading on the bus/train/bench. I know I shouldn't, but if I see you reading a trashy romance novel, 50 Shades or a book I hated I will instantly judge you (sorry!).

7. I'm a notorious skimmer if I find myself bored. I skimmed all the songs in Lord of the Rings, the first 2 or 3 chapters of Harry Potter (before I fell in love and re-read it over and over!), and dialogue scenes in books that aren't quite doing it for me.

8. I really like the idea of poetry, but I just can't read it. I find it infuriating and boring and the second I see a poem my eyes slip off the page and focus on something (anything) else.

9. I really want to support local sellers, but Amazon and The Book Depository draw me in all the time. Considering they're usually 50-75% the cost of non-second hand booksellers here in Australia, it's really hard to resist their charms. Interestingly though, I will always buy my comics local and never online.

10. A bit similar to the face covers, my series have to match. They can't be a mix of hard and paper back, and they can't be a collection of different editions. I spent 2 hours rummaging through the Lifeline Book Fest tables searching for a complete set of The Lord of the Rings that matched, and I've got two collections of Harry Potter - the child and adult editions!

6 comments:

  1. I don't really like face covers either, something about them turns me off the book. Also, usually the model doesn't fit my image of the character anyways and that just annoys me (pet peeve-alarm)! And I also have special books that I sometimes just look at! Thanks for sharing :)
    My Confessions
    Juli @ Universe in Words

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  2. Oh my gosh, I never have collections that match! My books would freak you out so much! My Harry Potters, for example, are a mixture of paperbacks, hardcovers AND I have the Deathly Hallows in the adult edition and that's it. It's a mess! Same with The Dark Tower. What can I say, you gots to compromise when you buy most of your books secondahand!

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  3. Glad I'm not the only one Juli! The face not matching my idea of the character makes sense- at least for books I've read before!

    Laura, I know, it's like a disease! I'll sometimes buy mismatched editions but only until I can find a complete set somewhere else. *hides head in shame*

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  4. I hate it if my series don't match either! I used to read the last line of books but I've gotten better at resisting.

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  5. Ah, great top 10 Tuesday.

    I love the idea of annotated books, but have never made them myself. Partly because my handwriting is illegible 90% of the time. Would love to have a peek through your notes though...

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  6. I might take photos of my books one day then Roger! I tend to use a shorthand that makes sense at the time, but as luck would have it sometimes I can't work out what the hell I was trying to emphasise when I come back to it weeks/months/years later!

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