For those who don’t know, this is Book Blogger Appreciation Week. The official site has blogging topics for each day this week. I’ve been busy and missed them all so far, but I’m going to do today’s and I’m hoping to do at least tomorrow’s too, which sounds like fun. (It’s writing about a book you loved that you discovered on a book blog – it would be very hard to choose just one, though!)

So here is today’s topic – some questions about reading! Feel free to answer them all (or your favorite questions) in the comments.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

No, never. I’d probably get crumbs all over my book if I did that and that would be one of the bibliophile’s seven deadly sins. However, I do like to drink coffee or tea while reading. My favorite summer drink for reading is an iced mocha latte. The rest of the time, it could be any number of things – a cafe mocha, raspberry mocha or vanilla latte (or cinnamon if I can find it – that’s really my favorite).

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

Writing in books is one of the other seven deadly sins of bibliophiles; therefore, I do not practice it.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

I used to remember which page or chapter I was on. Since my memory is no longer quite what it once was, I now use a bookmark.

Laying the book flat open?

Only very rarely, very loosely so it’s not even close to flat, and if I’m putting it down for two seconds or less. My books tend to still look new when I am done reading them, and I’m very careful with them.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Fiction. I don’t have the attention span for – what were we talking about again? Oh yeah, non-fiction.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Hard copy since I’ve never listened to an audiobook in my life.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

If I have to, I can put the book down but I usually try to read to the end of the chapter or at least a stopping point if I really need to stop (other stopping points being when there are extra page breaks in the middle of a chapter).

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

That depends on how convenient it is to do so at the time. If I’m reading before going to sleep, no. Otherwise, I often do. I leave the computer around for just this purpose when reading Elizabeth Bear’s novels (not only do I end up looking up a lot of words but using Google a lot in general to look up references when reading her books).

What are you currently reading?

Havemercy by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett. I’m almost at the end and LOVE it. It’s not quite as good as Sarah Monette’s The Doctrine of Labyrinth series, but it’s one of the better books I’ve read this year.

What is the last book you bought?

Well, technically, the last time I bought books was a book order in which I bought several books with a gift card. So the last books I bought are:

Night’s Master by Tanith Lee (in expensive hardcover and it was misdelivered today! Augh!)
Black Ships by Jo Graham ($5 trade paperback bargain book!)
Hart’s Hope by Orson Scott Card
Alanya to Alanya by L. Timmel duchamp
Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Or if you want to go by last book I bought that I actually have in my possession at the moment, that would be Jasmyn by Alex Bell, which sounds really good.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

Normally I stick to one book at a time. Once in a while, I read multiple books but usually only if I need a break from the book I’m reading or am reading a short story collection instead of one cohesive story.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

No, not really. Anywhere quiet, preferably next to a coffee.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

That’s tough. Since I like reading more about my favorite characters, I’ll go with series, but I really like stand-alones too if they’re good.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Just one? Guess I’ll go with Sarah Monette and The Doctrine of Labyrinth series.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

I would love to organize them by author’s last name, then chronological order (but with all the series books together so if the author wrote another book in the middle of the series it’s not interrupting the series flow). Since my space is limited, I’m subjected to just cramming them in wherever there is room, though, which means I have the hardcovers and trade paperbacks together and the mass market paperbacks together. The authors and series are together if they will fit that way, though.