Celebrate freedom

I bought a sweatshirt for my husband some years ago that says, "Celebrate freedom. Read a banned book." The shirt then goes on to list ten books that were currently banned somewhere in these United States. Here are a few examples: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, The Call of the Wild by Jack London, and Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. (For more information, see banned books online, and other sources.)

1. Have you ever knowingly read a banned book?
2. Have you read any of the books I listed above?
3. Knowing that the above books have been banned, would you read them now? Why?

If you want, highlight the stuff in the box, then copy it to your blog.

<a href="http://bookingthroughthursday.blogspot.com">Booking Through Thursday</a> <p> I bought a sweatshirt for my husband some years ago that says, "Celebrate freedom. Read a banned book." The shirt then goes on to list ten books that were currently banned somewhere in these United States. Here are a few examples: <em>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</em> by Mark Twain, <em>The Catcher in the Rye </em>by J. D. Salinger, <em>The Grapes of Wrath </em>by John Steinbeck, <em>The Call of the Wild </em>by Jack London, and <em>Gone With the Wind </em>by Margaret Mitchell. (For more information, see <a href="http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/banned-books.html">banned books online</a>, and other sources.) <ol> <li><em>Have you ever knowingly read a banned book?</em> Reply here</li> <li><em>Have you read any of the books I listed above?</em> Reply here</li> <li><em>Knowing that the above books have been banned, would you read them now? Why?</em> Reply here</li> </ol>

Children's books

With J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince making its sensational debut last weekend I started thinking about children's books. There have been a lot of wonderful ones over the years, The Cat in the Hat, Where the Wild Things Are, Bambi, the Mother Westwind stories, the Chronicles of Narnia, the Chronicles of Prydain, Nancy Drew, and on and on.

1. As an adult, do you own children's books?
2. If you do, do you still read them even when there are no children around?
3. What were your favorites as a child? Now?

If you want, highlight the stuff in the box, then copy it to your blog.

<a href="http://bookingthroughthursday.blogspot.com">Booking Through Thursday</a> <p> With J.K. Rowling's <em>Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince </em>making its sensational debut last weekend I started thinking about children's books. There have been a lot of wonderful ones over the years, The Cat in the Hat, Where the Wild Things Are, Bambi, the Mother Westwind stories, the Chronicles of Narnia, the Chronicles of Prydain, Nancy Drew, and on and on. <ol> <li><em>As an adult, do you own children's books? </em>Reply here </li> <li><em>If you do, do you still read them even when there are no children around? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>What were your favorites as a child? Now? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Come again?

Most stories are about people. Some authors are better with descriptions of places or things or weaving a tale than they are with character development. Some authors make the characters really come alive, seem like flesh and blood individuals with wills of their own, not merely the creation of someone's imagination.

1. What author that you remember having read does the best character development?
2. What book/series do you think is that author's shining work with regards to character development?
3. What was (were) your favorite character(s) in that book or series?
4. Do you ever find yourself really liking a character in a book that you're certain you would never be friends with in real life?
5. Do you ever re-read a book to visit a character because you miss him/her?

If you want, highlight the stuff in the box, then copy it to your blog.

<a href="http://bookingthroughthursday.blogspot.com">Booking Through Thursday</a> <p> Most stories are about people. Some authors are better with descriptions of places or things or weaving a tale than they are with character development. Some authors make the characters really come alive, seem like flesh and blood individuals with wills of their own, not merely the creation of someone's imagination. <ol> <li><em>What author that you remember having read does the best character development? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>What book/series do you think is that author's shining work with regards to character development? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>What was (were) your favorite character(s) in that book or series? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Do you ever find yourself really liking a character in a book that you're certain you would never be friends with in real life? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Do you ever re-read a book to visit a character because you miss him/her? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Coffee table books

My own personal definition of a coffee table book is a book that is large, over-sized, has lots of pictures, is about a specific theme (e.g., Georgia O'Keeffe's 100 Flowers, steeple chasing, Disney Animation, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.) and generally speaking not something that most people would sit down and read in an afternoon. Coffee table books are often displayed singly or in piles for the benefit of guests to peruse, to stimulate conversation, because they look good, or whatever.

1. Do you have any coffee table books?
2. Do you have one or two, or would you say you have a collection of them?
3. Do you keep them on your coffee table? If not, where?
4. What are they about?
5. Have you read them? All of them? None? Why?

If you want, highlight the stuff in the box, then copy it to your blog.

<a href="http://bookingthroughthursday.blogspot.com">Booking Through Thursday</a> <p> My own personal definition of a coffee table book is a book that is large, over-sized, has lots of pictures, is about a specific theme (e.g., Georgia O'Keeffe's 100 Flowers, steeple chasing, Disney Animation, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.) and generally speaking not something that most people would sit down and read in an afternoon. Coffee table books are often displayed singly or in piles for the benefit of guests to peruse, to stimulate conversation, because they look good, or whatever. <ol> <li>Do you have any coffee table books? </li> <li>Do you have one or two, or would you say you have a collection of them? </li> <li>Do you keep them on your coffee table? If not, where? </li> <li>What are they about? </li> <li>Have you read them? All of them? None? Why? </li> </ol>

Detective qualities

Most people I know enjoy some sort of mystery stories. My mother-in-law loved police and courtroom procedurals. My mother likes detective fiction. There are also murder mysteries, general mysteries, and hard-boiled detective stories, with protagonists such as Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade, Amelia Peabody, Kinsey Millhone, Mamur Zapt, and Perry Mason to name a few.

1. Do you enjoy reading mysteries?
2. What's your favorite kind of mystery?
3. Do you like plenty of blood and guts, or do you prefer the details to be left to the reader's imagination?
4. Do you prefer mystery stories based in the author's time or in previous centuries?
5. Do you prefer mysteries based in your own country, or in distant lands?
6. Do you like to figure out the solution, or do you allow yourself to be carried away with the story?

If you want, highlight the stuff in the box, then copy it to your blog.

<a href="http://bookingthroughthursday.blogspot.com">Booking Through Thursday</a> <p>Most people I know enjoy some sort of mystery stories. My mother-in-law loved police and courtroom procedurals. My mother likes detective fiction. There are also murder mysteries, general mysteries, and hard-boiled detective stories, with protagonists such as Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade, Amelia Peabody, Kinsey Millhone, Mamur Zapt, and Perry Mason to name a few.</p> <ol> <li><em>Do you enjoy reading mysteries?</em> Answer</li> <li><em>What's your favorite kind of mystery?</em> Answer</li> <li><em>Do you like plenty of blood and guts, or do you prefer the details to be left to the reader's imagination? </em>Answer</li> <li><em>Do you prefer mystery stories based in the author's time or in previous centuries? </em>Answer</li> <li><em>Do you prefer mysteries based in your own country, or in distant lands? </em>Answer</li> <li><em>Do you like to figure out the solution, or do you allow yourself to be carried away with the story? </em>Answer</li> </ol>

Series

Probably most books stand on their own. But a lot of them are part of a series. J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy comes immediately to mind, as well as Stephen R. Donaldson's Gap series, Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody series, and lots more.

1. Do you read books that are part of a series?
2. Do you collect all the books in the series before starting?
3. What if the series is brand new, and the only book that's been published so far is Book 1?
4. As subsequent books in the series are published, do you go back and re-read the preceding books?

How many?

Some people are like my uncle, and they read four or five books a week, every week. Some are like my father, and read four or five books in a year.

1. How many books do you read in a week? Month? Year?
2. What's the best book or series of books you've read so far this year?
3. What's the worst book you read this year? Did you finish it?

Format

Some people, like my mother, only read paperback books. Others prefer hard cover books. Some read hard cover books because they come out first, but prefer paperbacks otherwise. And you?

1. Do you prefer to read hard cover or paperback books?
2. Why?
3. Do you read books in the other format anyway?

Buy, borrow, trade

Some people like to be surrounded by books, and keep everything they've ever read. Others don't like the clutter, and keep them long enough to read them. Most people seem to be somewhere in the middle...

1. Do you buy the books you read, or do you borrow them from the library or from friends or from somewhere else?
2. Do you prefer new or used books?
3. If you buy them, do you keep them?
4. If you don't keep them, how long do you hold on to them before letting them go? What do you do with them?

A numbers game

Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to...

1. Are you currently reading more than one book?
2. If so, how many books are you currently reading?
3. Is this normal for you?
4. Where do you keep your current reads?

An introduction to genres

I thought for this first question I'd start with something fairly basic...

I once knew a man who read about WWII. He read everything he could get his hands on on the subject. He had a whole wall of books that were all about WWII. It amazed me. How could he continue to find one subject that engrossing? My mother, on the other hand, loves to read best sellers. I've known other people who read science fiction to the exclusion of everything else; for others it was philosophy, self-help, or history.

So, to the questions...

1. What kind of books do you like to read?
2. Why? Provide specific examples.

I moved my response to this question to my regular blog. If you want to see it, it's here.

Suggestions?

Have a suggestion for questions I might include here? Add a comment to this post, and I'll consider your suggestion. I'll give credit by providing a link to the blog of anyone suggesting something that I use.

The birth of a new meme?

Well, that's my intention, anyway. Only time will tell if this is a good idea or a horrid one. I am admittedly quite new to blogging and memes. I am, however, a life-time reader of the voracious sort, and have been poking around in search of a weekly book meme. And I haven't found one. So, here I am, ready to give it a whirl.

If this proves to be a popular idea, I will consider adding some sort of an email list so that people will know when I post the week's meme.

Meme questions will be about books, authors, reading preferences, that sort of thing. If you want to participate, please jump on in.

Questions will be released on Thursday mornings. The exact time will vary.