Reading Habits ~ a meme and a book I "bought"

I found this meme on Helen's Book Blog.  Her answers helped me know her better as a reader, so maybe you'll know me better when you learn about my reading habits.

Do you snack while you read?  If so, favorite reading snack:

Food?  Why are we starting with food?  No favorite reading snack, though I often read during a meal, if I'm alone.

What is your favorite drink while reading?

Food, and now drink?  When do we get to the books?  That's what reading is all about.  I drink when I get thirsty, not because I'm reading.

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

I read with pen and tablet at hand, so I can make notes to use when reviewing or discussing a book with other book lovers.  I wrote in books in college and graduate school, because it was faster than copying from the book -- and saving time was important when it seemed I was expected to read the entire theology library before graduation.  Now my books come mostly from the library or are novels I never plan to re-read and will thus trade in for other books at the giant used book store in my town.  Books are tradeable only if they look good.

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

Always a bookmark.  Writing in books (see the question above) does not horrify me, but folding down a corner of the page in the shape of a dog's ear does.  Sometimes I use two bookmarks at a time, especially if I'm studying a nonfiction book -- one marks my place in the chapter, while the other marks my place in the endnotes section.  (During the Read-A-Thon, I won one of these crocheted bookmarks made by Joy Renee.)

Fiction, nonfiction, or both?

Both, though fiction is usually a quicker read because I am not having to assimilate ideas in the same way.  I take fiction breaks from nonfiction, especially when I'm really working at a particular subject.  Fiction is a change of pace from my deeper studies.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?

What happens is that I decide to read to the end of the chapter before (choose one) turning off the light or having lunch or doing the laundry or whatever.  Then the next time I think of it, I'm in the middle of the following chapter!  The author beguiled me into finding out what happens next, and I didn't stop at the end of the chapter.  Now that I know that about myself, I've learned to stop at the nearest section break (extra blank lines or one of those squiggly marks between sections) and just do what I need to do.  It works for me.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?

No, because I don't "do violence" to a book because of the idiot who wrote it.  I did once throw a book, though, I must admit.  My husband complained, once too many times, that I was reading -- and throwing the book (carefully, so that it landed on a sofa, but defiantly, to express my frustration) was my signal that THAT was the last straw.  Within a year I had divorced the husband, but kept the book.  (Sounds cold, but I had tried for 14 years to make the marriage work and finally gave up.)

What are you currently reading?

Woman's Inhumanity to Woman by Phyllis Chesler, a library book I brought home last week.  I'm 112 pages into this 551-page nonfiction book, which has a second bookmark in the endnotes.

What is the last book you bought?

This morning I was working my way through this meme and, when I got to this question, I wrote (yes, I did, I left this message to myself):  "Be right back -- I want to go buy a book so my meme will be an up-to-the-minute report!"  Actually, I needed to get ready to meet my friend Donna for lunch, knowing we were going to a bookstore after we ate.  She bought the book I picked, which doesn't usually matter, since we share whatever books we read.  But I protested that this meme asks for the last book I "bought," not the last book I "borrowed."  She laughed at me when I handed her a shiny nickle and two shiny pennies so I could pay for part of what is now OUR book.

Look Again, a 2009 novel by Lisa Scottoline, is about a woman who suspects that her adopted child is actually another couple's kidnapped child.  The "look again" title is what the mother did when she glanced at one of those missing child cards we all get in the mail -- and realized the kid looked like her son.

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?

Always several.  Reading novels is a break from studying nonfiction, so I always have a novel handy and usually several nonfiction books in varying stages.

Do you have a favorite time or place to read?

Anytime, any place, but stretched out comfortably on sofa or bed is always nice.

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?

A book that stands alone.  If I know a book is part of a series, I usually forgo reading it.

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

At my bookstore, I sold every book by Jodi Picoult almost as soon as it came in the door.  Donna and I owned a USED book store, so we could never predict when a book might show up.  However, I would willingly order new books for anyone who gave up waiting for a particular book to be traded in.

How do you organize your books (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)?

My fiction is alphabetized by author; my nonfiction is by genre (my interests include women's studies, religion, books about books, and writing).  Occasionally I have had a novel on the nonfiction shelf, like when I would assign the students in my Religions of the World class to read Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh (1956), which follows the fate of the Sikh, Muslim, and Hindu inhabitants during the violent 1947 partition of the Punjab region between India and Pakistan.

That was fun!  Now you know me better.  If you do the Reading Habits meme, leave a link so I can read about you.