Ringing?

We noticed last week what a disproportionate number of participants had Tolkien's Lord of the Rings either in their list of "most tattered" books or featured in the photos. So . . .

1. Have you read Lord of the Rings?
2. If so, how many times have you read it? Just once? Or so many you can't count?
3. If not, why not? Not your cup of tea?
4. And, while we're on the subject, did you see the Oscar-winning movie(s)? What did you think?

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

<br /><a href="http://bookingthroughthursday.blogspot.com/">Booking Through Thursday</a><br /><p><br /> <ol><br /><li><em>Have you read Lord of the Rings? </em>Reply here</li><br /> <li><em>If so, how many times have you read it? Just once? Or so many you can't count? </em>Reply here</li><br /> <li><em>If not, why not? Not your cup of tea? </em>Reply here</li><br /> <li><em>And, while we're on the subject, did you see the Oscar-winning movie(s)? What did you think? </em>Reply here</li><br /> </ol>

Imperfection

1. What is most battered book in your collection? The one with loose pages, tattered corners, and page edges so soft that there's not even a risk of paper cuts anymore?
2. Why is this book so tattered? Is it that you love it so much that you've read it a zillion times? Is it a reference book you've used every day for the last seven years? Something your new puppy teethed on when you weren't looking?

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> <ol> <li><em>What is most battered book in your collection? The one with loose pages, tattered corners, and page edges so soft that there's not even a risk of paper cuts anymore? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Why is this book so tattered? Is it that you love it so much that you've read it a zillion times? Is it a reference book you've used every day for the last seven years? Something your new puppy teethed on when you weren't looking? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Perfection

Okay, here goes . . . my first set of questions. (Is stage fright normal for this kind of thing?)

1. What is the most pristine, perfect book in your collection? The one that looks like it's never been opened (and in fact may never have been)? Whose binding is uncracked, the corners still perfect?
2. Why is that book so perfect? Was it a gift? Is it a coffee table book too beautiful to use? Something you simply have no interest in and haven't bothered to open?

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> <ol> <li><em>What is the most pristine, perfect book in your collection? The one that looks like it's never been opened (and in fact may never have been)? Whose binding is uncracked, the corners still perfect?</em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Why is that book so perfect? Was it a gift? Is it a coffee table book too beautiful to use? Something you simply have no interest in and haven't bothered to open? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Happenings

Deb has graciously agreed to help me out here in this meme by coming up with questions for you all to answer this week and in the future. Yippee! Not only is Deb a book junkie—as evidenced by her library of 2,760 books—but she is also a superb knitter, and mom to her sweet dog, Chappy. Make sure you check out her blog, especially if you're into lace knitting. Wow!

Thank you, Deb!!

Non-fiction

This week's questions were suggested by Christine.

1. Do you read non-fiction books for pleasure, not counting books required for courses or for work?
2. If so, what areas of non-fiction interest you the most? If not, why not?
3. What are some of your favorite books from those areas?

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> This week's questions were suggested by <a href="http://xinef.livejournal.com/">Christine</a>. <ol> <li><em>Do you read non-fiction books for pleasure, not counting books required for courses or for work?</em>Reply here</li> <li><em>If so, what areas of non-fiction interest you the most? If not, why not? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>What are some of your favorite (or least favorite) books from those areas? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Rereading

Wait! It's Thursday. Wholly cow. For being physically present, I've been emotionally elsewhere of late. Sorry this is late, but at this point I'm lucky to have remembered it at all. Gads.

This week's questions were suggested by Marie.

1. Do you ever reread your books?
2. If so, which ones? If not, why not?
3. Do you read the books the whole way through or pick through for favorite scenes?
4. What qualifies a book for the reread pile?

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>This week's questions were suggested by <a href="http://knittale.blogspot.com/">Marie</a>. <ol> <li><em>Do you ever reread your books? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>If so, which ones? If not, why not? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Do you read the books the whole way through or pick through for favorite scenes? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>What qualifies a book for the reread pile? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Abridged it?

We haven't talked about abridged stories for a while. These questions were suggested by Xine.

1. Are abridgements a good introduction to long, boring classics, or a blight on literature?
2. If abridgements have their place, what is it?
3. Have you read any abridgements, or will you read any? Why or why not?

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> We haven't talked about abridged stories for a while. These questions were suggested by <a href="http://xinef.livejournal.com/">Xine</a>. <ol> <li><em>Are abridgements a good introduction to long, boring classics, or a blight on literature? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>If abridgements have their place, what is it? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Have you read any abridgements, or will you read any? Why or why not? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Characters

This week's questions were suggested by Mary.

Which book character(s) would you...

1. Like to have dinner with?
2. Believe would be the best to help you out in a crisis?
3. Like to ask for an autograph?
4. Most identify with personally?

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> This week's questions were suggested by <a href="http://ltuande.blogspot.com/">Mary</a>. <p> Which book character(s) would you...<ol> <li><em>Like to have dinner with? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Believe would be the best to help you out in a crisis? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Like to ask for an autograph? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Most identify with personally? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Skipping another week

I'm not going to be in town this week, so I'm going to have to skip another week. Sorry, folks. I got some bad news about my dad last night, and have to go do family stuff. I hope to be posting here again on the fifteenth.

Best sellers from 1956

Jeanne came across this list of previous years' best sellers, and thought it might be fun to base some of our questions on them. I thought I'd start with 1956, the year my parents got married.

1. In 1956, these were the top ten best sellers for the year. Have you read any of them?
   1. Don't Go Near the Water, William Brinkley
   2. The Last Hurrah, Edwin O'Connor
   3. Peyton Place, Grace Metalious
   4. Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis
   5. Eloise, Kay Thompson
   6. Andersonville, MacKinlay Kantor
   7. A Certain Smile, Françoise Sagan
   8. The Tribe That Lost Its Head, Nicholas Monsarrat
   9. The Mandarins, Simone de Beauvoir
   10. Boon Island, Kenneth Roberts
2. Which ones have you read? Did you like them?
3. If you're like me and haven't read a single one, which ones have you heard of?
4. Will you be putting any of these books in your reading list?

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> <a href="http://mathomhouse.typepad.com/bluestocking/">Jeanne</a> came across this list of <a href="http://www.caderbooks.com/bestintro.html">previous years' best sellers</a>, and thought it might be fun to base some of our questions on them. <ol> <li><em>In 1956, these were the top ten best sellers for the year. Have you read any of them?</em> <ol> <li><I>Don't Go Near the Water, </I>William Brinkley <li><I>The Last Hurrah, </I>Edwin O'Connor <li><I>Peyton Place, </I>Grace Metalious <li><I>Auntie Mame, </I>Patrick Dennis <li><I>Eloise, </I>Kay Thompson <li><I>Andersonville, </I>MacKinlay Kantor <li><I>A Certain Smile, </I>Françoise Sagan <li><I>The Tribe That Lost Its Head, </I>Nicholas Monsarrat <li><I>The Mandarins, </I>Simone de Beauvoir <li><I>Boon Island, </I>Kenneth Roberts </ol> Reply here </li> <li><em>Which ones have you read? Did you like them?</em> Reply here</li> <li><em>If you're like me and haven't read a single one, which ones have you heard of? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Will you be putting any of these books in your reading list?</em> Reply here</li> </ol>

Recent finishes

We haven't done anything like this for a while, so here goes...

1. What are the last five books that you finished reading?
2. How long did it take you to read them?
3. Did you enjoy reading these books? Why or why not?

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> <ol> <li><em>What are the last five books that you finished reading? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>How long did it take you to read them? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Did you enjoy reading these books? Why or why not? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Meeting authors

This week's questions were suggested by Cate.

Have you ever stumbled on a reading and found the author so charming you started reading their books? Or, have you ever met a formerly favorite author and stopped reading their works because of how they treated their fans?

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> This week's questions were suggested by <a href="http://regency-cate.livejournal.com/">Cate</a>. <blockquote> Have you ever stumbled on a reading and found the author so charming you started reading their books? Or, have you ever met a formerly favorite author and stopped reading their works because of how they treated their fans? </blockquote>

Six degrees round robin

Jeanne suggested that we do this again, round robin style. I think it sounds like fun. It'll be interesting to see the book selections. I won't be here next week (see my blog for details, if you're so inclined), so see if you can keep this going for a couple of weeks. Here's what to do:

I'll start with a book, then the first person who comments uses my book as inspiration. Each person after that uses the book of the person above as their inspiration. There will be times when there's an overlap, with two or more people using the same book as their inspiration. When that happens, the next person will have their choice.

I hope that all make sense. If you need it said a little differently, see Jeanne's comment. Also, not required, but it would be nice if you link to the blog that inspired your book choice.

Since this one needs to go for a couple of weeks, feel free to play more than once!

The first book

I don't read classics as often as I should, but when I do I usually love them. One of my favorites is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. My husband has a nice collection of leather-bound books, and it's his special edition of this book that I first read. It made the experience just that much more enjoyable for me. The smell of the leather, the fine gilt-edged pages, the beauty of the prose, the eerie feeling of the tale, all made my first sojourn into this wonderful story that much more special.

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> <a href="http://mathomhouse.typepad.com/bluestocking/">Jeanne</a> suggested that we do this again, round robin style. I think it sounds like fun. It'll be interesting to see the book selections. I won't be here next week (see <a href="http://laruaanne.blogspot.com">my blog</a> for details, if you're so inclined), so see if you can keep this going for a couple of weeks. Here's what to do: <blockquote>I'll start with a book, then the first person who comments uses my book as inspiration. Each person after that uses the book of the person above as their inspiration. There will be times when there's an overlap, with two or more people using the same book as their inspiration. When that happens, the next person will have their choice. </blockquote>

Six degrees of booking

This was suggested by Mary. If you need to, check out Mary's post to see what she did. Mary, since you already did this one, I think you should do it again with a new group of books. :-) I love this one. Great idea!

Connect any six books in your library to each other by any way you want. One book will remind you of another because the author's name is similar, a fictional character shows up in someone else's book, another author is talked about by characters in a book, maybe the same friend recommended both books, or whatever. Your list should be at least six books long. Books from a series count as one entry in your list.

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>This was suggested by <a href="http://ltuande.blogspot.com/2006/04/six-degrees-of-booking.html">Mary</a>. <p> Connect any six books in your library to each other by any way you want. One book will remind you of another because the author's name is similar, a fictional character shows up in someone else's book, another author is talked about by characters in a book, maybe the same friend recommended both books, or whatever. Books from a series count as one entry in your list.

Something nearby

I'm a day late. Sorry folks. Yesterday was just insane. We haven't done this one for a while, and last time it was rather fun.

Reach out a hand, and grab the book that is closest to you. Turn to page 231, or pick a page at random if the book isn't that long. Locate the first sentence of the last paragraph on that page.

1. Type the sentence here:
2. Does the sentence make sense out of context?
3. Does reading the sentence make you want to read the rest of the book? Why or why not?

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> Reach out a hand, and grab the book that is closest to you. Turn to page 231, or pick a page at random if the book isn't that long. Locate the first sentence of the last paragraph on that page. <ol> <li><em>Type the sentence here: </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Does the sentence make sense out of context? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Does reading the sentence make you want to read the rest of the book? Why or why not? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

An interesting character

This week's questions were suggested by Kim.

1. Do you have a favorite character(s)?
2. What book/author is he/she/it from?
3. Why do you like this person--what is it about the way he/she was written that drew you to them?
4. Is there something more you would like the author to tell you about them?

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> This week's questions were suggested by <a href="http://knitterinprogress.blogspot.com/">Kim</a>. <ol> <li><em>Do you have a favorite character(s)? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>What book/author is he/she/it from? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Why do you like this person--what is it about the way he/she was written that drew you to them? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Is there something more you would like the author to tell you about them? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

A favorite author

Pick one of your favorite authors.

1. What are some of your favorite books by this author?
2. Why do you like this author?
3. Have you read everything by this author? Why or why not?

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>Pick one of your favorite authors. <ol> <li><em>What are some of your favorite books by this author? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Why do you like this author? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Have you read everything by this author? Why or why not? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

New authors

Today's questions were suggested by Christine.

1. How do you decide to read a book by an author you haven't read before?
2. What sort of recommendations count most highly in making that decision?

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>Today's questions were suggested by <a href="http://xinef.livejournal.com/">Christine</a>. <ol> <li><em>How do you decide to read a book by an author you haven't read before? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>What sort of recommendations count most highly in making that decision? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

This week's questions about self-help books are from Nicki.

1. Have you ever read a self-help book?
2. What do you think about self-help books in general?
3. Would you ever recommend a self-help book?

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> This week's questions about self-help books are from <a href="http://plushcat.blogspot.com/">Nicki</a>. <ol> <li><em>Have you ever read a self-help book? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>What do you think about self-help books in general? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Would you ever recommend a self-help book? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>

Autographs

This week's questions are from Cate.

1. Do you have any books that are signed by the author?
2. Do you have a story behind the autograph?

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> This week's questions are from <a href="http://regency-cate.livejournal.com/">Cate</a>. <ol> <li><em>Do you have any books that are signed by the author? </em>Reply here</li> <li><em>Do you have a story behind the autograph? </em>Reply here</li> </ol>