Book Meme

It's been a while since I've done a Meme, and this one over at Meg's looked interesting.

1. To mark your page you: use a bookmark, bend the page corner, leave the book open face down?
I do all of the above. Mostly, though, I bend the corners down. I usually have several books going, and I can't remember exactly where I leave off; it's easier to just turn the corners down. But if it's somebody else's book, I don't do that.

2. Do you lend your books?
Yep. All the time.

3. You find an interesting passage: you write in your book or NO WRITING IN BOOKS!
Yep. I write all over them sometimes (as long as they belong to me). There are whole graduate classes devoted to studying people's marginalia, actually. I usually just write on what I consider "academic" books, though. There have only been a few fiction books I've actually underlined passages in -- and that was because they were favorite passages and I wanted to remember where they were.

4. Dust jackets - leave it on or take it off.
Most of the time I take it off. They get in the way.

5. Hard cover, paperback, skip it and get the audio book?
Mostly paperback. Hardbacks cost too much money. If I want the book to hold up longer, though, I'll spend the cash to get a hardback.

6. Do you shelve your books by subject, author, or size and color of the book spines?
Mostly by subject. We have shelves that are early American lit, philosophy, history, good literature, pulp (although we tend to give that away and not hang onto it), I have two shelves full of Vogue magazines, some Brit lit, science type stuff. Yeah. Mostly by subject.

7. Buy it or borrow it from the library later?
Mainly buy it. I'm trying to get better at doing the library thing, mainly because the university can get me pretty much whatever I want. Our public library is a sad little thing.

8. Do you put your name on your books - scribble your name in the cover, fancy bookplate, or stamp?
Yes, I write my name in the cover and usually the year I got the book, too. I don't know why. I usually only do that to "work" related books, though.

9. Most of the books you own are rare and out of print books or recent publications?
We have a really old complete set of Cooper novels that was given to us by a prof who wanted the shelf space. That particular set is probably out of print. But we can't afford rare and out of print books in principle, who are you kidding?!

10. Page edges - deckled or straight?
Deckling books sounds like an illegal activity. Or a sexual orientation, given its position next to "straight". I guess I like queer books?

11. How many books do you read at one time?
It depends. I try to do only one at a time, but that rarely happens. Right now I have five sitting on my night stand in various stages of completion.

12. Be honest, ever tear a page from a book?
Yes. Because I wanted to keep it with me always. :)

If you choose to do the meme, let me know.

-- DV