In other bloggin' news, expect my year-end faves lists next week! I've been cultivating them for weeks now...and luckily, my friend Rick started recommending me music and sending me albums after my post about not having time to listen to music this year - so I definitely have ten top albums...not just three and one that doesn't really exist yet. And with films, I thought this was a decent year of them and I still have three or four I need to see before really making my list (Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, Nine, Invictus, Up in the Air).
So here are some questions regarding BOOKS again! I got some more after I last posted about the topic, and...drum roll...I FINISHED MY 52ND BOOK OF THE YEAR!!! Madame Bovary c'est termine!
Onto the questions...
Do you keep all of the books you've read, or only some of them? I personally can't bear to part with books I've read, as I feel that they have become a small part of me in a way. That and I like to display them!
I tend to keep the books, because, yes, like you, I can't let go of something that really got to me. And I love displaying my books - in the future, I want to dedicate one room of our (not yet existent) house as a private little library or study with books lining the entire room. This may have been one of the first things I told Jesse in terms of how I see our future, ha.
Also, I love to display my books because it's my favourite part of going to someone else's place for he first time. I love reading what's on their shelves. And while I don't base my entire opinion of the person on their books, I do love a good book-bond - "Oh, you read this? It's the BEST, let's get some coffee and talk about it for hours!" (Or, in the case of Zan and Anna Karenina, let's get some martinis...)
It's not like I ever walked out of a date's place because all he had was Catcher in the Rye on his shelf... actually, that book was definitely a dealbreaker in my dating days if it was the ONLY book you owned and you were a dude over the age of 16.
This will be difficult to articulate--but what sort of theme do you look for when you pick up a book? Do you prefer classics (looks like it! :D), or do you like to try something that looks interesting and just read it?
I don't actually look for a theme! I do kind of have a need to read books I've heard of over and over again in reference, like classics, so I gravitate to those, though I really despise some classics like Nathaniel Hawthorne (so boring). I tend to read things people/lists recommend to me and avoid things I probably wouldn't like - male coming-of-age tripe, something too chick-lit'y (I gave up on the genre when I read The Devil Wears Prada on vacation in college and it was seriously some of the worst writing, ever. Movie was SO much better.), and things that are too hyped (I think this is the reason I really can't get into Klosterman, I end up disappointed). Otherwise, I'm pretty open-minded about genres.
What does draw me in? A great first line. I don't judge books by their cover, I judge them by their first lines.
Did you buy or borrow most of your books for the book challenge?
I actually own most of the books I read this year, mainly because I have some great girlfriends who gave me books as part of my literature-themed bridal shower in June! I owned several books in the beginning of the year already (last Christmas I got a slew, and there are many books that have been sitting on my shelves for years unread). I only borrowed a few reads this year from friends who highly recommended a few reads (great ones, for sure - my friends know me well). If I didn't have all these books on my shelves, I would definitely be making use of the library. I get stuck in book stores wanting too many books and I just can't do it budget-wise! Though if I love a book, I will buy it - and my favourite places are used book stores.
That's what I've got! Any more questions? (Seriously all the other questions I have yet to answer are set up in posts, I just have to get around to typing out the answers and posting them! Gracias for your patience.)
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