a post about reading

Reading something frivolous? Or something serious?

Depends on my mood.  I'm currently reading The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and it's touching and beautiful and poignant.  It is laced with a lot of humor but it's not the side-splitting "har har" stuff... 

Paperbacks? Or hardcovers?

doesn't matter

Fiction? Or Nonfiction?

fiction - definitely.  non-fiction generally loses me somewhere after the lengthy acknowledgements... *yawn*

Poetry? Or Prose?

Prose

Biographies? Or Autobiographies?

biographies - generally somebody on the outside looking in is not as defensive

History? Or Historical Fiction?

historical fiction

Series? Or Stand-alones?

You know, that's a funny one because I say it doesn't matter but then find myself REALLY disappointed to come to the end of a WONDERFUL read only to realize that's it... 

Classics? Or best-sellers?

Best sellers.  I find the classics demand a more dedicated pursuit than I am able to commit most of the time.

Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose?

fruity, baby!  I like the juicy details that paint the picture for me.  Stark prose doesn't pull as much. 

Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness?

definitely plots.  stream of consciousness makes me dizzy. 

Long books? Or Short?

depends on how good it is.  You know what I mean by this too - good books you want to go on forever.  Bad books, you're thankful when they are short. 

Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated?

I love the trend toward the graphic novel.  Affirms those pictures in my head. 

Borrowed? Or Owned?

Owned.  I dread loaning my books out (even though I do it all the time) and am terrible about becoming attached to a story or characters and assimiliating a really good find into my collection.  As a result, I very rarely borrow.

New? Or Used?

doesn't matter AS LONG as they aren't written in.  I can't STAND writing in books!!!!  (yes, I've done it but it makes my heart ache to deface a book; even if it's mine and it's a wonderful non-fiction resource)