Book Poll (2010)

I got this poll from Dianne who wrote it. Read her answers.

• Where do you most often buy your books? Online? Secondhand stores? Big name bookstores?
I have one second hand store that I like & I will sometimes go to antique bookstores as a little treat. I sometimes work trips to tiny bookstores into my vacation. I like museum bookstores. I occasionally buy books at Walmart & I have a member card at Barnes and Noble.

• If you buy online, which do you prefer - B&N or Amazon.com? Ebay? Christianbook.com? or elsewhere? Amazon. I have never been to Christianbook.com

• Do you put your name in your books? If so, are you a bookplate or stamp person? I usually only put my name in books if I am going somewhere that I don’t trust people or I am lending it to someone that might not give it back but that I feel needs to borrow the book. When I lend this way, I will write my name in/on the book in several places as it is often a book that I need back. Other than this I don’t usually write my name in books as I might give them to someone at some point.

• How do you feel about loaning books to others? See the last answer.

• Do you highlight or mark your books as you read?
I am a heavy annotater….my professors & classmates have always noticed this right away. I not only annotate about what I am reading but anything that comes into my head. I find reading my own annotations interesting. My annotations are private to me so I usually don’t lend out anything that I annotate. My descendants will have a fun time with the amount of writing that I end up leaving behind.
I don’t write in good books….anything that I might need/want to lend out or anything, most hardbacks, or anything of value.
I treat most books like workbooks for me to learn from.
I have even been known to annotate magazines.

• How often do you visit your local library?
I don’t. I often don’t like the way library books smell or the snobbiness of the staff.

• Do you collect any certain kind of book?
Chaucer, Recipe books, Self-help books, anything on literature, books on religion (not necessarily my own),art books

• What do you do when you're done with a book and no longer want it?
I am pretty picky with my books. Usually a book is something that I never get finished reading….something I read over & over learning something new each time. If I feel a book is a detriment to society I have been known to destroy it….for instance books that advocate political violence or books that teach women to hate men (yes, there are plenty of both). Otherwise, I give books I can no longer use to friends or co-workers. I also give books to friends or co-workers if I feel they need them more than me.

• Do you keep a list of or catalog the books you own?
No, but I really should. I need to look at librarything.com.

• Any other weird book habits you'd like to share?
I sometimes like to make altered books as I am annotating. I usually do not like to alter the original content of the book at all. I like the idea of hiding a lot of gifts in a book that is a present to someone. When I need a book back by a certain date, I have been known to write reminders about the return date needed on the front of the book. I keep a journal that will be a present to my husband….when I get it done that is….it has been quiet a few years that I have been writing in it. I am going to write a lot of books in my lifetime….I hope.