My reading habits

A meme from The Briarfield Chronicles.


Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack:
Usually not. My hands are busy holding the book and turning the page.

What is your favourite drink while reading?
Café au lait or milk coffee. [Yes, I'm a coffee person].

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
I (almost) never write in my novels. Not even my name. Take notes in notebooks, not in books.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
I use dog-ears (together with notes) when doing research. But normally when reading a book, I use a bookmark.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?
I do read non-fiction, especially linguistics, politics and books about literature or film or art. But I love novels, novels, novels.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I prefer to read to the end of a chapter, unless the chapter is too long, or I have things to do.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
No. I don't throw books. And in spite of my short temper, I never break things in a rage either. But if a book irritates me, I'm very likely to write about it.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
Depends. I'm used to reading books in languages that aren't my mother tongue so I can guess the meaning, and only look it up when I can't, and when it's a crucial word in the passage.

What are you currently reading?
As preparation for an essay in class:

For fun, Emma Thompson's diaries during the filming of Sense and Sensibility. Soon I'll get to Sarah Emsley's book Jane Austen's Philosophy of the Virtues. 

What is the last book you bought?
Can't remember. Over the past few years, for various reasons I've been borrowing books from the libraries instead of buying them. Recently I've got 2 books as gifts, however, War and Peace and Mansfield Park.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?
No. Any time, anywhere, as long as I have time and am in mood. But I don't like reading on a bus.

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
Stand-alones. I don't like TV series either.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
There was a time I went around telling people "Read this. This is a must-read", blah blah. Now I don't do it any more, but now and then I may talk about my favourite writers such as Tolstoy or Jane Austen or Dostoyevsky. I recommend films more often.

How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author’s last name, etc.)
According to languages and categories (fiction, non-fiction). But generally I'm a messy person.