book meme of the day

I picked this book meme up from Ayaan:

Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror? God, science fiction, I suppose - although I don't read any of the above, apart from the occasional attempt at one of Iain M. Banks' books. There are some books which I love which I would recommend to anyone who read science fiction, but which probably don't quite fit the genre: Kingsley Amis's amazing 'The Alteration' is one.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback? I like hardbacks instinctively, but they tend to be too heavy. So probably paperback.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar? Bricks and Mortar every time; the experience of buying books online has nothing on the experience of leafing through a book and taking it then and there; it's a sensory experience which online can never rival.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Borders. I didn't mind the Barnes and Noble stores when I was over in the US - but I'd take an independent bookseller over both any day.

Hitchhiker or Discworld? Death. Ok, Hitchhiker.

Bookmark or Dogear? Dogear, but done carefully - more to remember good passages than to keep my place, and a bookmark doesn't really cut the mustard once you've got more than one passage you need to mark.

Asimov's Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction? This question means nothing to me.

Alphabetize by author, Alphabetize by title, or random? Oh, totally random - I've never alphabetized anything, books or CDs.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell? Never throw away. Give to friends, ideally. I've made a lot of money from selling books to Brighton Books in the North Laine, however, so I can't rule that out.

Keep dust-jacket or toss it? Keep it of course! But I take it off if I'm reading the book on the go.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? Oh, I just answered that!

Short story or novel? Novel. I can't quite get on with short stories, although I admire the brevity.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Lemony Snicket, although not interested in either. There's something misanthropic in it that I admire over the Rowling books.

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"? The former.

Buy or Borrow? Buy - I want to come back to books. There's always the option of borrowing books and not returning them, of course!

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse? Browsing - I read book reviews, but it takes seeing the book in the flesh to inspire me to buy something. If something's recommended I'd normally be able to borrow it.

Lewis or Tolkien? Again, I can't imagine any scenario when I would take either. Can I take Cecil Day-Lewis instead?

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)? Don't tend to read short stories, but I would probably take a well-chosen anthology of new writing rather than a collection, given the choice.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger? I'm actually quite sentimental, so I like tidy endings. They needn't be happy, mind.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading? I do most of my reading late afternoon or early evening, on the way home from work. My favourite type of reading, however, is mid afternoon in the sun - but somehow I only seem to be able to do this on holiday.

Standalone or Series? Definitely standalone stuff. Sequels make my heart sink.

New or used? Whichever is the prettier, and the more sensual to the touch. That often means used, I find. Plus, then I don't have to stress about breaking the spine.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? Several books by the marvellous Pamela Hansford Johnson - 'The Humbler Creation' or 'The Error of Judgement' are incredible.

Top 5 favorite genre books of all time? Oh, I dunno. Ian Rankin's crime novels are good. Likewise 'Gorky Park' is a wonderful spy novel. In that area, there's lots to be said for John Le Carre's books. I have an embarrasing soft spot for Michael Chrichton's techno-thrillers.

Favorite genre series? Jesus, does whoever created this quiz not read real books? I dunno - can I count PG Wodehouse's Blandings Castle and Jeeves and Wooster books? Probably not. In which case Ian Rankin's Rebus series - but I don't really read genre fiction, so...

Currently Reading? Three books, see how clever I am!
- 'The Yacoubian Building' by Alaa Al Aswany
- 'Voyage In The Dark' by Jean Rhys
- 'For Lust of Knowing: The Orientalists and Their Enemies' by Robert Irwin