Literary Junkies #6

I can't believe we are already on the 6th Link Up of Literary Junkies! Abigail and I love doing these link ups, because we are nerds. Are you a fellow Literary Junkie? Link up with us! We'd love to have you!

Currently Reading?

Abigail:

Unfortunately, nothing at the moment. A stack of my TBR books went missing including The Paris Wife :( I have no idea and I don't want to go buy a whole bunch of new ones since I have a huge stack somewhere. Only I could be talented enough to lose a whole stack of books. :P

Jessica:

First of all, I think I saw Abigail's books. On her bookshelf. But that could be just me. I'm not really reading anything at the moment. I was going to read The Paris Wife after Abigail, and I still will, I just didn't get to it before the link up. 

Amazon or brick and mortar?

Abigail:

Amazon all the way :)

Jessica:

Depends. I love shopping on Amazon for books. I love finding free gems on the Kindle store. But I also love going to a used bookstore here in town and digging for books. And Abigail and I both enjoy looking at books at Good Will. 

Locally owned bookshop or big name chain store?

Abigail:

Locally owned however when Borders was still here I loved that place. I like going to the one where I live but they have a small selection. The best one I've found isn't exactly local to me. It's in Pismo and its huge and wonderful. There are even a few cats wandering around the store and the owner is an amazing woman. 

Jessica:

I love locally owned stores. I love the used bookstore here, as I mentioned. And my little town has a bookstore that is attached to a flower shop. Although I don't usually go in unless it is Christmas time and the stores stay open late. I do miss Borders though, but I must confess, I hardly ever bought anything there.

Bookmark or dog-ear?

Abigail:

Bookmark. I usually pass on my books so I like to keep them in good condition in case they want to pass it on too.

Jessica:

Bookmark. You think with me being a Graphic Designer, I would have my own fancy one. Nope, I usually just use a piece of paper. But that's also usually because I'm not about to dog ear Abigail's books. She might hurt me. Usually though I'm on my Kindle and it remembers for me ;)

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?

Abigail:

I would love to alphabetize by author but right now my 5 bookcases are all random :p

Jessica:

My bookcase at home is split into Non-Fiction and Fiction, and then alphabetized by author. I got a little OCD when I cleaned my bookshelf.

Keep, throw away, or sell?

Abigail:

Keep or donate. I've never thrown away a book or sold any. Well maybe at a yard sale but If I enjoyed a book but its not one I will read over and over I will give it to someone I know. Everything else that I don't keep I donate. Generally ones that at one point I wouldn't part with are donated to make room for some new obsessions lol.

Jessica:

I've never thrown a book away! That's blasphemy. I am pretty much a book hoarder. Unless I lose them. Or someone borrows them and never gives them back. I keep thinking I should go trade in some books to get new ones, but they are like my children, how do you decide which to give away?

Keep dust jacket or toss it?

Abigail:

Keep it. I generally use it as my bookmark.

Jessica:

Same here. 

Read with dust jacket or remove it?

Abigail:

If I only have a short period of time to read I keep it on. If I have time for uninterrupted reading I take it off.

Jessica:

I typically leave it on. Except for when I read 11/22/63. Then I took it off, because it kept getting in my way, because that is a huge book.

Short story or novel?

Abigail:

Novel for sure. In short stories I don't feel like there is enough time to really get lost in the story.

Jessica:

Either. But I will admit I have read more novels than short stories. But I love J.D. Salinger's short stories, like A Perfect Day For Bananafish. Or Stephen King's short stories.

Collection or anthology?

Abigail:

If I had to choose probably collection. However, I have yet to actually finish a whole collection or anthology.

Jessica:

Not sure what the difference is, but I don't really care much for anthologies. I tend to favor some of the authors over the others, based on name recognition, and not get into the authors I don't know. Because I'm weird like that.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

Abigail:

I always try and get to the end of the chapter but when it gets to the point where I am reading the same page over and over and still have no idea what it said, that's when I know to put it down lol. I've also fallen asleep in the middle of the page and wake up with my book laying next to me. :p

Jessica:

I always try to make it to the end of the chapter. But then I want to read the next chapter. And the next. And that's how  I finish books in days. I can't say I've ever fallen asleep reading, but I've come close.

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?

Abigail:

Both!!! I have never met a genre of book I didn't like.

Jessica:

Both! I like my genres of books like I like my music, random!

Buy or borrow? 

Abigail:

I love to borrow but I usually end up buying instead. I think I have a problem.

Jessica:

Usually borrow. From Abigail. Because she has a problem.

New or used?

Abigail:

Used definitely.

Jessica:

Used. I love finding books that have been loved. Although, I do love new book smell. Is that weird?

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?

Abigail:

All 3. I see book reviews as recommendations. I love hearing what someone else thinks I would like to read and I love browsing. Oh, lets face it. I love books!

Jessica:

I will be the first to admit, I do judge books by its cover. If I like the cover art (I am a designer afterall)  I will look at the book a little more closely than I would if it was ugly. But I like reading book reviews too. And I can't get enough recommendations. Especially since I go into other genres. So if you ever find a book that you think I would like, let me know!

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?

Abigail:
Cliffhangers get me worked up more than a tidy ending but if it was done well I love both of them equally.

Jessica:

I like tidy endings, because I like knowing about what happened to my characters and their lives. But cliffhangers are conversation starters.

Morning, afternoon, or nighttime reading?

Abigail:

YES!

Jessica:

I am a morning person (usually) and I like to be up and doing stuff in the mornings. (Ask Dakota, he gets annoyed with my morning perkiness. He tries to hit my snooze button!) So I like to read at night in bed, or on weekends when I can shut the bedroom door and spend a few hours reading (or eight.)

Single volume or series?

Abigail:

You want me to choose? Ha! I love them both!

Jessica:

Both. I love series because you get to know the characters better, and plus it kind of just fufillls my addiction. I kinda wish some of my favorite books were series.

Favorite series?

Abigail:

I think it would have to be The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich or The Alphabet Series by Sue Grafton.

Jessica:
Harry Potter. Or The Hunger Games. Or the The Saga of Darren Shan. I loved those books. And there was 12 books in the series! I just kept reading and reading and reading.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

Abigail:

Hmmm...well I know some others have heard of it but not a ton. Dutiful Daughter by Shawn Graves. I've mentioned it in previous link-ups but seriously. Everyone needs to read this! It is sold on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online. Oh and the second one, Dedicated Doctor, is amazing too but that one is only sold for e-readers. Once you read the first one you won't be able to resist!
Jessica: I second Abigail's answers. Mind blowing books. And I know the author. So that's pretty cool. But also Darren Shan books are great, there was a movie made about the first one, but I don't think it got too big.