Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Reading Habits Meme

So I'll be the first to admit that I'm a little behind on the whole Book Blogger Appreciation Week thing. I only have so much time, and I chose to focus on the Blogoversary festivities instead. So this was actually Tuesday's (?) activity, but I thought it was fun enough that I wanted to jump in. And you can see all the other answers to this meme at the original post too.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?I don't really snack while I read, though I usually bring a book with me and read while I'm eating breakfast/lunch/dinner unless I'm eating with my family or something.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?
It horrifies me. Which is kind of funny seeing as an English major, you're expected to make notes/underline in your books as you read. It wasn't until my last two semesters of college that I could bring myself to underline in my books. And it still disgusted me. So nope, no writing!

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
Dog-ears are flat out book mutilation. Bookmarks all the way. I actually kind of collect bookmarks, so I have a LOT laying around.

Laying the book flat open?
It depends on the book. If it's a hardcover, definitely. But with paperbacks I absolutely do everything possible to keep from breaking the spine. I've made it through quite a few without creasing those spines, and I'm very proud of that.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Both, but mostly fiction. My non-fiction stuff is mostly Disney related or about a historical period I really enjoy (i.e. Tudor Times). I also like historical "unsolved mysteries".

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Both again. I actually listen to a lot of audiobooks. My family teases me that I don't go anywhere without my iPod. Audiobooks are a great way to get through some of those books that I kind of want to read, but not bad enough to pick them up completely. For example, right now I'm listening to the A Series of Unfortunate Events books. Probably would have never read them (my TBR stack is so huge) but I do enjoy listening to them. I'm on book 9 and going strong.

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 used to be an end of chapter person. But now I just stop where ever. Read too many books with super long chapters I guess.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
Nope. I hardly look anything up. I just ignore it and move on.

What are you currently reading?
I'm actually in the middle of four different books, but the one I'm reading the most is The True Adventures of Charley Darwin by Carolyn Meyer.

What is the last book you bought?
Remember what I said about my Disney thing with non-fiction? The last book I bought is called Walt Disney World: Then, Now, and Forever.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time?
Uh, see above. Although I read more than one at a time, I usually focus on one more than the others. I have one main book, and the other 3-5 I just dip my toes in occasionally until I get sucked in enough that that one become my main book instead.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
Not a preference, but lately the only time I have to read is at night right before bed. And I read at meals a lot too.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
I don't really consider myself a "series" reader, since I just pick up what is interesting, regardless of whether it is a series or not. Though I find that if it is a series, I like to wait a bit before I start reading them, so I'm not always waiting for the next book.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
Not really. I usually base my recommendations off of what that person likes, so it always varies. Of course, I always put a plug in for my personal favorite books, but I don't think that counts for this necessarily.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
This is going to make me sound weird, but I organize by size. Of course, I group books from the same series together, but every other organization is done by size. Books that are the same height are all grouped together. I'm a little OCD about it. It really, really bugs me when I have half a series in paperback and half in hardback because then they are different sizes and I don't know where to put them! I end up reorganizing my bookshelves every six months or so. And it takes me about 4 days to do so.

IMDB Meme

This is another one I found at Becky's Book Reviews.

Here's the rules:
1. Go to IMDB.com and look up a bunch of your favorite movies.
2. Post three or four official IMDB "Plot Keywords" for each.
3. You guys guess the movies (no looking them up!)

So here goes. I'll post the answers in about a week, so you can go ahead and guess. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think they are!

1. Shopping Montage. Alternate Dimension. Singing. Rescue.
2. Costume Drama. Marriage Proposal. Piano. Dancing.
3. Curse. Sword Fight. Parrot. Anti Hero (ooh, big word...).
4. Old Lady. Arranged Marriage. Cliff. Evil Prince.
5. Evil Empire. Saga. Princess. Bar Fight.
6. Robbery. Sword Fight. Revenge. California.
7. Mask. Secret Door. Ballroom. Diva.
8. Throne. Unicorn. Betrayal. Professor.
9. FBI. Library of Congress. Grandfather. Car Chase.
10. Teenage Boy. North Africa. Sleepwalking. Brother Brother Relationship.

Photo Meme

I got this one from Miss Erin. I won't tag anyone, but it's fun, so try it!

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into flickr search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush/hero?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name. (I don't have one, so I used one of my internet usernames.)

Shuffling Meme

Well, as most of you know, work has kept me busy lately, and this blog has been sort of neglected in the process. So I've built up a couple of memes along the way. So look for a few of these to be slipped in along the way.

This one I happened to see on Becky's Book Reviews.

1. Open your iTunes library or iPod (or MP3 player or whatever you have)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and pretend you're cool…

Like Becky, I'm going to ignore any audio book tracks. I'm warning you, I have a lot strange stuff on my iPod...


Opening Credits
"They Can't Take That Away From Me" from Crazy for You

Waking Up
"A Real Fine Place to Start" by Sara Evans (No, I didn't cheat!)

First Day of School
"Bradenburg Concerto" by Bach

Falling in Love
"The Medallion Calls" from Pirates of the Caribbean

Breaking Up
"You'll Never Walk Alone" by the Tabernacle Choir

Prom
"Under the Sea" from Little Mermaid on Broadway

Life’s OK
"Would You Love Me" by Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband

Mental Breakdown
"Dear Old Shiz" from Wicked

Driving
"Love to Love You" by The Corrs

Flashback
"Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol

Getting Back Together
"Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz

Wedding
"Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney

Birth of a Child
"No One Mourns the Wicked" from Wicked

Final Battle
"Evacuating London" from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Death Scene
"Linus and Lucy" by Vince Guaraldi (Okay, that's going to sound a little weird)

Funeral Song
"For Good" from Wicked

End Credits
"IllumiNations" from the EPCOT at Walt Disney World

So there you have it. I'm not going to tag anyone (since this is so old) but feel free to participate if you haven't done it!

Reading Meme

Jocelyn over at Teen Book Review tagged me with a meme! a few days ago, but I didn't have time to do it there. But now the homework is done (for now), so here goes:


Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? Honestly? Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I just can't seem to bring myself to read it, although I will be doing so in a few weeks for my YA class.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be? Hmmm, that would be hard. I think it would be fun to travel somewhere. I would pick Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, Ella from Ella Enchanted, and Kate from The Hollow Kingdom.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave? I know I'm going to get flak for this one... I've heard War and Peace is pretty boring, so that might just do it.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it? I can't think of one of the top of my head, but I've faked a lot of english assignments.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book? I can honestly say I don't think that's ever happened to me.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead of personalise the VIP) I think I'd like to be book advisor to a big VIP's children... it would be more fun. I'd probably start them off with the Stravganza series, since I'm still trying to get my brother to read it.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with? Spanish. I already know a bit, and for some reason it holds the most interest for me.

A mischievious fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick? Um, probably a Harry Potter book, since I already reread those so often. I really feel guilty when I reread something because there is so many new books that need to be read!

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)? I;ve learned about a ton of new books, which could be taken as a good or a bad thing.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free. My dream library

would look a lot like the library in Beauty and the Beast; lots and lots of book. Plus, my library would come with an unlimited book budget so I could buy any book I wanted. Oh, and a time-stopping device would be cool too. That way I could spend hours reading and never actually lose any homework time. And no library would be complete with at least two cats... one to sleep on the bookshelves, and one to sit on my lap and purr as I'm reading.


I tag Em, Sarah, and InkMage. Have fun!

Musical Meme and Contest

I got this from Sherry over at Semicolon a few weeks ago and couldn't resist. How fun is this?

Instructions for me: Access your iPod, Media Player or music storage device of choice, set it to random, and post the opening lyrics to the first 10 songs that come around, then let the friends-list guess the songs and artists (or songwriters, if you will). Offer fabulous prizes if do-able; if not, offer virtual Hershey’s kisses or somethin’.

And the instructions for you: Guess away, and have fun. Just refrain from peeking at the comments until you’ve made your guesses, because otherwise that’s JUST NOT RIGHT. And, uh, if you’ve WRITTEN the song in question, maybe you should bypass it.

Good luck. If anyone gets one right, I might just send you a prize from the Prize Box. Simply post a comment with at least one correct songtitle and you're entered! That's it, so now go tell your friends. And if anyone gets 10 right I'll give you 2 prizes! All you have to do is enter before December 18th, 2007.

A Note to those who undertake this challenge: I have a VERY eclectic taste in music. So good luck! O.o Also, I sometimes omitted little “la la la”s, etc. that came before the lyrics. And PLEASE resist looking them up in Google or similar sites. That just takes the fun out of it.
__________________________________________________________________

1. I've been waiting all day for ya babe
So won't cha come and sit and talk to me
And tell me how we're gonna be together always
Hope you know that when it's late at night
I Hold on to my pillow tight…

2. Sometimes I think about you
Wonder if you’re out there somewhere
thinkin' 'bout me
And would you even recognize
The woman that your little girl has grown up to be?

3. I want to know what makes your tock tick
I want to know what makes your clock click
All them gears going round and round inside your head don't make a sound
I want to know what makes your boat row
What makes your engine go, go, go, go, go, go, go

4. Done a lot of things that I'm not so proud of
Took a lot of turns that turned out wrong
That's a worn out song
Day by day, moment by moment taking my chances
Trusting my heart, It wasn't too smart

5. Imagination
Dream a fantastic dream
Use your imagination
See it in your mind
And you can find
In your imagination
Mysteries and Magic
Visions fantastic
Leading to strange and wondrous dreams

6. I took a walk around the world
To ease my troubled mind
I left my body laying somewhere
In the sands of time
But I watched the world float
To the dark side of the moon

7. You know the words Once Upon A Time
Make you listen
There's a reason
When you dream there's a chance you'll find
A little laughter or happy ever after

8. Sometimes it seems like you’re falling
Falling out of the sky
Sometimes it feels like you’re slipping
And running out of time
And that’s when you’ve gotta throw it all away
All of the things that people say

9. You never looked so good
As you did last night,
Underneath the city lights,
There walking with your friend,
Laughing at the moon.
I swear you looked right trough me.

10. It took too long
It took too long
It took too long for you to call back
And normally I would just forget that
Except for the fact it was my birthday
My stupid birthday

And here’s a few for extra credit, since some of those were pretty hard. :-) Can you get to ten by guessing these? (Though not all these are easy either)

11. It's so strange he doesn't show
me more affection than he needs
Almost formal, too respectful
never takes romantic leads
There are times when I imagine
I'm not always on his mind

12. Moon so bright, night so fine
Keep your heart here with mine
Life's a dream we are dreaming
Race the moon, catch the wind
Ride the night to the end
Seize the day, stand up for the light

I love it when…. meme

I love it when I get packages in the mail

I love it when I’m with my family

I love it when my cat goes asleep by my head so I can hear him purr as I sleep

I love it when I finish a good book

I love it when I get email that’s not spam

I love it when I read an inspiring piece of scripture

I love it when I listen to great music

I love it when my roommates try to cheer me up

I love it when I fly home for Christmas break

I love it when I actually understand something I’ve read for school

I love it when I watch movies with my brother

I love it when it snows and I don’t have to walk to class in the storm

I love it when I get to visit Disneyland during Christmas

Library Meme

I found this meme on Becky's Book Reviews several days ago, but and I just couldn't resist.

1. How old were you when you got your first library card?
Let's see, I was in first grade, so I was... seven? Maybe six. THat card lasted me until I was ten, when I had to get a new one because the old had been worn out from too much use.

2. What's the first book you can remember reading from a library?
The first I can remember was the American Girls book. You know, Kirsten, Felicity, Samantha, and Molly. Anyway, I know I got tons of picture books from the library before that, but I don't really remember them.

3. Did you ever participate in a summer reading program or other kids' event at a library growing up?
Yup. All the time. One year, I was the only kid my age that finished all 50 books for the summer reading event.

4. Do you remember when card catalogues weren't computerized?
No. But I do remember when the card catalog was on a computer that's screen would only be black and yellow.

5. When was the last time you went to the library?
Honestly, it was yesterday.

6. How many books do you usually check out of the library at one time?
At least 4, usually about 8 or so, maybe more, depending on how many requests I have to pick up.

7. Name one great author you've discovered at your library.
Only one? Most new authors I discover at the library, becuase I usually don't buy a book by a new author until I've tried their work at the library first.

8. What was the librarian at your elementary school like?
I don't remember. Our school hardly ever let us visit the school library. We could only go with our whole class, and even then the teachers usually checked things out for us.

9. How many times a year do you go to the library?
A year? Um..... probably at least 60 times, since I usually go once a week. No idea.

10. If you could change on thing about your library, what would it be and why?
My library has selection issues, so I would like to change that. For a while they were doing an Inter-library loan program, which was awesome becuase we could get all sorts of books our library didn't have. But then they discontinued it, because our branch of libraries was getting way more stuff from the other two particpating libraries than vice versa. Which you think would have given our purchasing librarians a clue. But no, they still insist on buying 50 more copies of a book they already have than spending that same money on buying new books not already in the system. Yes, they have a suggestion for purchases form, but it takes (I kid you not) about a year for them to get to your request.

Harry Potter Tag

This was just too fun! Thanks to Miss Erin for the tag.

1. Butterbeer or pumpkin juice?

Pumpkin juice. I would hope it would taste like Pumpkin Pie. Plus, I really like juice.

2. What House would you most likely (or want to) be in in Hogwarts?

I would want to be in Gryffindor, but I would probably end up in Ravenclaw. I'm just too good at school stuff, and I am a chicken at heart. I have no backbone...

3. If you were an animagus, what animal would you turn into?

A cat. Or a unicorn. But probably a cat.

4. What character do you empathize with, or resemble best?

Which HP Kid Are You?

Yeah, I'm a know-it-all. I admit it. Besides who else could I be when I read so much? :-)

5. What position do you play at Quidditch?

Anything but Keeper. I'd be hopeless. Though come to think of it, I'm horribly unobservant as well, so I probably wouldn't be a very good Seeker either.

6. Which teacher is your favorite?

Professor McGonagal. But I really like Lupin too. And Lockheart's just too fun to read about.

7. Any Harry Potter 7 predictions?

Snape redeems himself though I'm not sure how at this point. He'd better anyway, or I'll hunt him down with a pointed stick for killing Dumbledore! (Yes, I am aware he's a fictional character and my hunt wouldn't be very sucessful....)

I tag Shelia, Kim, and Jocelyn, and anyone else who hasn't done this fun post yet!