Booking Through Thursday: Recent Enjoyable

This Week's Question:

What’s the most enjoyable, most fun, most just-darn-entertaining book you’ve read recently? (Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean funny, since we covered that already. Just … GOOD.)

I really truly just reloved The Time Traveler's Wife, once again. It is one of those books where you really come to love the characters, and the writing, and the simplicity of the dilemma that Henry faces - he can't seem to stay in one place in time - makes the novel feel real despite the sort of science fiction element to it. It's a novel about characters and relationships and it's just an all-around good read. I think even my reading friends with extremely discriminating tastes will have trouble finding fault with it.

How about you?

Booking Through Thursday: Fluff

This week's question:

What’s the lightest, most “fluff” kind of book you’ve read recently?

That would definitely be Audrey Wait! Although it is light, breezy fun, by the time I got to the end, the whole thing receded from my mind because there wasn't much substance and ultimately it reminded me a little too much of The Princess Diaries. The comparison is both a good and bad thing. I loved The Princess Diaries, and Audrey Wait! had the same brand of humor, and lively characters. But at the same time, when I realized that almost every predictable event from Audrey Wait! occurred in some fashion or another in The Princess Diaries, I was less interested.

Booking Through Thursday: Recent Best

This week's question:

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
(Tell me you didn’t see this one coming?)

Man, that is a toughie. I've been reading a lot of books I really like, and depending on how I quantify "recently" would completely change my answer to this question. So I'm just going to pick books I've read within the past few weeks, and my answer would be the Walking Dead series. It's a graphic novel series set during the Zombie Apocalypse and it manages to be dark, but not too depressing, action-packed, but full of little moments for the characters to grow and develop, and each novel ends on a cliff-hanger that keeps me gobbling up this series. I just finished book 9, and eventually I'll get book 10 from the library (I'm on the waiting list).

In other news, my book club's pick for our next meeting is The Time Traveler's Wife. I read this book about two years ago or so, before I started my blog and began tracking my reading habits. I really loved it back then, but now that my tastes have become more sophisticated, I'm curious if I'll love it as much, or if it will pale in comparison to other books I've read and loved lately. I did try pushing for Persepolis for next month's read, but I didn't have any takers. I guess TTW is pretty hot right now, with the movie and all.

And man, is it Thursday already? I'm totally unprepared for it to almost be the weekend. I've had stuff going on after work all week so tonight is the first time in a while I've had to sit down at the computer. How has your week been?

Booking Through Thursday

This week's question:

What’s the worst book you’ve read recently?
(I figure it’s easier than asking your all-time worst, because, well, it’s recent!)

Of books I didn't actually finish recently, Away by Amy Bloom was one I really didn't like. Obviously, it could have gotten better towards the end, but I did sit in on the book club discussion, and those who finished it didn't have that exciting of things to say either.

Of books I did manage to finish, I really, really didn't like Eclipse One, which was a collection of science fiction-themed stories. I say science-fiction themed because some of them really didn't strike me as being very science-fictiony at all.

Booking Through Thursday

Shut Up. I know it's Friday already. I'm still answering anyhow.

This week's Question is:

Which do you prefer? (Quick answers)

Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? Frivolous
Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? PAPERBACKS
Fiction? Or Nonfiction? Fiction
Poetry? Or Prose? Prose
Biographies? Or Autobiographies? Biographies
History? Or Historical Fiction? History
Series? Or Stand-alones? Stand-alones
Classics? Or best-sellers? Best-sellers
Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? Straight-forward (Lurid? Fruity? Whaaaat?)
Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? P to the L-O-T.
Long books? Or Short? Short
Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? Illustrated
Borrowed? Or Owned? Borrowed
New? Or Used? Used

Booking Through Thursday: Time To Read

This Week's BTT Question is:

1. Do you get to read as much as you WANT to read?

(I’m guessing #1 is an easy question for everyone?)

2. If you had (magically) more time to read–what would you read? Something educational? Classic? Comfort Reading? Escapism? Magazines?

1. Heck no. There was a short time in my life when I was done with college and didn't have anything else to fill the time, but then I found book blogging, and I can definitely say I never have enough time to read all of the books I want. I don't even have enough time to read the books I have at home in my TBR pile.
2. If I had all the time in the world to read, I would read whatever book darn well looked good at the moment. I would totally read more sci fi (I love sci fi, but I haven't been getting enough of it), more YA, more recommendations that I get from other bloggers. I would definitely not being reading anything educational. Ha!
   

Booking Through Thursday

This Week's Question

Suggested by Miko

Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?

Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?

What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?

I can tell you a couple of worlds I wouldn't want to live in. Off the top of my head, the future predicted by World War Z (my review here). The world of Children of Men. Or The Handmaid's Tale (my review). (They're all science fictiony distopias of one sort or another).

Okay so I've answered the opposite direction. Now for worlds I'd like to live in. First of the top of my head is Hogwarts, I mean c'mon, who's read the books and not wished they were secretly wizards instead of muggles? Really?

I had a long desire growing up to join Starfleet when I grew up... surely by that time, we'd have Starfleet, right? Yeah.

And of course if I had the chance to visit Middle Earth (pre-every-character-dying-or-leaving-Middle-Earth) I'd so jump at the chance. Elves, hobbits, dragons? Although I heard there was something about this one ring...

The last one coming to mind is the Wrinkle in Time books. I'd so love to travel the galaxy by tesseracting, meeting strange bag ladies who happen to be former stars (of the gaseous variety), battle evil across space and time, and make friends with aliens who have wonderful names like Aunt Beast. This wonderful essay/review of A Wrinkle in Time pretty much sums up what's to love in this series. And if you haven't read any of the books, shame on you. You really should, because you'll like them. I guarentee it.

How about you? Which book-created worlds have captivated your imagination?

Booking Through Thursday and Weekly Geeks

It's been a long, long week, so in thankfulness for the fact it is friday, I'm doing two memes in one post.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's question: A combo of two suggestions by: Heidi and by litlove

Have you ever been a member of a book club? How did your group choose (or, if you haven’t been, what do you think is the best way to choose) the next book and who would lead discussion?

Do you feel more or less likely to appreciate books if you are obliged to read them for book groups rather than choosing them of your own free will? Does knowing they are going to be read as part of a group affect the reading experience?

I have recently joined a book club at work, and we meet for about an hour and eat food, then discuss the book. Usually whoever picked the book will sort of guide the discussion, but it is kind of a free-flowing group, so it usually evolves into chatting time by the middle of our meeting.

So far, I've been to two meetings, and for one the pick was The Handmaid's Tale, which I had already read (and did not have time to reread). This month's pick was Entombed (read my review here). It was a book that I did not care for. I would not have finished it if not for book club, and I forced myself to sit and read large chunks of it when my other books were calling my name. I don't know if I appreciated it more, but I actually finished it.

Weekly Geeks #7
Let’s have Photos Week.

1. Decide what to illustrate and start taking photos: Most of you are book bloggers, so you may want to post photos of your favorite reading spot, your TBR pile(s), your local book store, your favorite librarian, your child reading, etc. You may want to post several photos of a certain topic (like all nine of your kids reading!) or a mixed bag of photos that are unrelated except that they’re bookish. Or you may want to post just one photo, it’s up to you. If you have a different type of blog, post photos of whatever you think is suitable.

2. Create a post of your photos.

3. Don’t forget! Also link in your post to another participant’s WG photo post. Weekly Geeks is a community thing, remember! If you’re one of the first finished, of course, you may have to add your link later. See if you can find someone you don’t normally read to link to.

4. Once your post is up, come back and leave a link to that specific post (not just your regular blog url) in the Mr Linky at the bottom of this post.

If you've read my blog for very long, you know that I have a puppy named Rusty, who is pretty much the cutest, smartest puppy in the world. In fact, just because I can, I'm going to post a picture of him right now. Awww... isn't he cute??

This right here would be my stack of review books. I was very curious how to obtain the free books I saw other book bloggers talking about. I followed some of their advice (especially Eva's great post here on getting free books) and now I've got a stack of my own.

This picture (even though it is a bit blurry) shows you the three loves of my life. My husband (trying to get Rusty to pose for me), my books (this is where I keep the books I'm currently reading) and my puppy (who is chasing a laser light under the coffee table).

Rusty's been getting swimming lessons. Yes, I know that it is supposed to be instinctive for dogs, but it doesn't mean they always like being in water.

Here is a video of Rusty's 1st swimming lesson. Okay, apparently you have to crane your neck to see it because I don't know how to rotate the video. But in this video, you can just see the conflict going on in his head. "I want the stick. But I'm getting wet. I don't know if I like this water stuff. Okay, I'm leaving. No, I'm going back. But I don't know about this..."


Other Weekly Geeks I've been browsing:

Melody (and her cute daughter)
Chris' bookshelves
Katrina
Melanie's pics from Ukraine

Booking Through Thursday

This week's question:

Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?

Well since graduating from college, my book reading has changed from 10 pound textbooks with $150 pricetags back to leisure reading. More than anything, I'd say book blogging has changed the amount and type of reading I do. Before blogging, I was looking for ways to get more book recommendations. I would have trouble finding books I liked at the library. Now my wishlist is so long its a wonder I make any progress at all.

I've read my first graphic novel recently (and enjoyed it immensely). Pretty much every book I've read because of "My Year of Reading Dangerously" have been books I would not have normally read. I love that! Even if every book hasn't thrilled me, at least it gets me out of my reading rut.

One thing that hasn't changed is my enjoyment of YA fiction. I loved it as a teenager, and I thought I'd grow out of it eventually, but that hasn't been the case so far. I just realized the other day that I've already read the 12 books required for the YA reading challenge. I don't think that will stop me from reading more, but gosh, already?

One big change for me is that I used to read a lot more science fiction than I have been reading these days. Personally, I think the Sci-Fi Experience should have lasted longer.

Bogged down in Email (and BTT)

Emails

I've just been sorting through my email. When I first started blogging, I wondered how to get the free books everyone kept talking about. Now I'm wondering how to find the time to respond to the offers I get, and manage to read the books I do actually request.

I not only sorted through my home email, but I also spent a good deal of time at work sorting through work emails. Does anyone else feel like sometimes email makes you almost less productive? Our phone and emails were down this morning for a few hours, and I was actually quite happy at the thought of not having to deal with it for a while.

On another happy note, I finally got my hands on Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. Finally. I'm almost finished. Oh yayness.


Booking Through Thursday

This week's question:

Suggested by: Thisisnotabookclub

What is reading, anyway? Novels, comics, graphic novels, manga, e-books, audiobooks — which of these is reading these days? Are they all reading? Only some of them? What are your personal qualifications for something to be “reading” — why? If something isn’t reading, why not? Does it matter? Does it impact your desire to sample a source if you find out a premise you liked the sound of is in a format you don’t consider to be reading? Share your personal definition of reading, and how you came to have that stance.

(Two weeks late for Reading is Fundamental week, but, well…)

Reading traditionally included novels, so let's set those aside for now. We can all agree that those are reading materials. Comics, graphic novels and manga involve written words, and they are in a format similar to a book. I would say that makes it reading. Exasperated moms who want their sons to put down their comics and read a real book aside.

E-books are reading, too, just a slightly different format.

Audiobooks are really the only ones that we can't technically read. However, I wouldn't differentiate between reading a book and listening to it on audiotape. Yes, they are both different experiences, but in essence, I'm absorbing the material that the author wrote. So are they exactly the same? No, but close enough. I really should read (I mean listen to) more audiobooks. I need something to keep me sane while driving home through rush hour!

Booking Through Thursday

This week's question, suggested by: Superfastreader: Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?

Interesting question. Books give the reader the chance to imagine certain things, to delve into dialog or a character's thoughts in the way a movie can't. It can also be much, much longer than a movie could ever be. Books have the luxury of giving us millions of details and backstories about characters.

Movies obviously can be very connected to books, but a skilled director has to know how to present the events and ideas of the book in a visual way. Actors have to often times portray the thoughts of the characters using facial expressions instead of internal dialog. And where a book like Lord of the Rings spends lengthy passages describing the scenery of Middle Earth, in the movie, it is simply there. We see it as the director interpreted it to look.

Have you ever seen a movie that was all about the mood and the music and the visual aspects that you could never imagine it to be adapted into or from a book? The first movie that comes to mind is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. (An awesome movie by the way). It is about a guy who is trying to erase his memory of his girlfriend. Partway through the erasure, he decides he doesn't want to give her up anymore. A big part of the movie is dreamlike sequences, and presented in book format, it would have been completely different.

Booking Through Thursday

Following up last week’s question about reading writing/grammar guides, this week, we’re expanding the question….

Scenario: You’ve just bought some complicated gadget home . . . do you read the accompanying documentation? Or not?

Do you ever read manuals?
How-to books?
Self-help guides?
Anything at all?

I pretty much always at least skim the manuals that accompany my electronic devices because without them, I'd never be able to use the dang thing. Yeah I'm kind of weird like that.

So yes, I read manuals when needed.

I do not, however, read self-help books. I spent time studying real psychology in college, and I'm a bit snobby about pop psychology.

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday's question this week:

Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?

I had a giant unabridged Webster's Thesaurus which I have lost track of. I used it occasionally, but I've grown dependent on google. I do, however, have several English-Spanish dictionaries and a book of "501 Spanish Verbs" with full conjugations. The later is practically falling apart from use. I also have a Spanish grammar book which I haven't picked up since I studied abroad in Spain, but it did save my life while I was there.

Otherwise, I generally rely on my instincts and spell-check when writing in English.

Booking Through Thursday

Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do??

And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were . . . grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember….

Well if I'm going to be stuck at the airport for a while and presuming I have enough money, I'd buy some random book from an airport shop. I once was stuck at an airport in Cancun for 8 hours. I read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood during the wait.

But okay I think the point of the question is what would I do besides read. Well crosswords maybe, although I have trouble finding ones that aren't so easy that they bore me and aren't so hard that I can't even get started.

I've been known to curl up and sleep, or just people watch if all reading is taken from me. Usually I don't have enough brain power to do any writing, but maybe some journaling if it came down to it.

Other ways to pass the time include taking those moving walkways as far as they'll go, exploring the nooks and crannies of the airport (Did you know that the Amsterdam airport has a museum in it?), and perusing the assorted trinkets at the duty-free shops.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's question:

Well, here where I live, Spring is sprung–weeks early, even. Our lilac bush looks like it will have flowers by this time next week instead of in the middle of May as usual. The dogwood trees, the magnolia trees–all the flowering trees are flowering. The daffodils and crocuses are, if anything, starting to fade. It may only be April 24th but it is very definitely Spring and, allergies notwithstanding, I’m happy to welcome the change of season. What I want to know, is:

Do your reading habits change in the Spring? Do you read gardening books? Even if you don’t have a garden? More light fiction than during the Winter? Less? Travel books? Light paperbacks you can stick in a knapsack?

Or do you pretty much read the same kinds of things in the Spring as you do the rest of the year?

My reading habits do change, and indirectly, I suppose, it's related to the weather. In the cold Minnesota winter, I don't go outside more than I have to, which gives me more time to curl up and read inside. Once the days start getting longer and the weather nicer, I feel the need to go outside, eat dinner on the deck and spend more time playing with my puppy outside. So I've got less time to commit to reading a book, and it has to be portable so that I can bring it outside with me.

This month the weather has been a terrible tease-warm and sunny one day but blizzard the next. I've still managed to do a fair amount of reading despite the nice weather, but mostly it's been a lot of YA books and other shorter books.

Happy BTT everyone!

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday
Suggested by Nithin:

I’ve always wondered what other people do when they come across a word/phrase that they’ve never heard before. I mean, do they jot it down on paper so they can look it up later, or do they stop reading to look it up on the dictionary/google it or do they just continue reading and forget about the word?

Yup, I write down all the words I don't know so that I can look them up in the dictionary later. I have notebooks full of words, words, words so that I have enriched and enlarged my knowledge of the English language.

Ummm... just kidding. If I'm on a computer, I will google a word depending on how badly I want to know it, but as a rule, I don't dig out the dictionary. In my laziness, I like to rely on the old method from elementary school: context clues. This has led to plenty of times I thought I knew what a word meant but I really actually didn't. Other side effects: recognizing words from reading books, but completely butchering the word when trying to actually say it out loud.

For example, I was familiar with the word picturesque. I wanted to describe something to my mother as picturesque, but when I told her it was picture-a-scew, she laughed and had to let me know the correct way to pronounce it.

Alarming?? You Tell Me.

On a completely different note, any turkey hunters out there? Anyone? Anyone? Even better if you are dating a turkey hunter, because this sucker makes the perfect birthday present. Who doesn't want to be awakened by the sounds of "an owl hoot, a hen cutting and then a gobble" followed by a "shotgun blast" when you hit the snooze? I for one would like to buy three. Check Cabela's to order yours today!!

Friday Randomosity

Some randomosity for Friday:

I was doing my every once in a blue moon catch-up on SF Signal, when I ran across this article: Is Science Fiction Antithetical to Religion? It is a part of their Mind Meld series where they tap various SF writers and afficianados for their opinions on SF-related topics. Since I have a love for both science fiction and interesting discussions about religion, I ate this article up. I have had passionate discussions over the merits of science fiction, but I've never contemplated its relation with religion. Usually when I'm discussing religion and books, it is fiction of the fantasy genre that gets people talking. (Harry Potter is the devil! No he's a way to evangelize to non-Christians! No, it's just a well-written fiction series and don't make it out to be more than it is! [Those three opinions do not all belong to me. Just the third one.]) It is a lengthy article, and I did read, not just skim the article for names that sound familiar to read their opinions only. Now I of course have to espouse my own opinion on the topic.

And my answer is that of course science fiction is not antithetical to religion, that's just plain sillyness. Science Fiction is a rather large genre, and authors have taken it in so many different directions, it would be impossible to generalize all of science fiction writers as being anything, much less anti-religious. Take away one word from that question: Is Science Antithetical to Religion? And we get back to the age old "Inherit The Wind" debate. All religious people are anti-science. And all science people are anti-religion. What's wrong with that picture is that there are (I promise) people who are deeply religious yet believe firmly in science. Science is at heart observing and testing. Science fiction is merely a genre of fiction which asks: what if? Just because science fiction has been used to speculate that religious beliefs are harmful doesn't mean it couldn't be used to speculate about the exact opposite. What if robots became so advanced that they developed souls? Would they develop their own religion? What if there was a plague and the only survivors was a group of monks living in isolation in Alaska? What if humans met another alien species that could only communicate through religious symbolism? I'm getting all sorts of ideas already.

And with no further ado, my tardy Booking Through Thursday post:

Pick up the nearest book. (I’m sure you must have one nearby.)
Turn to page 123.
What is the first sentence on the page?
The last sentence on the page?
Now . . . connect them together….
(And no, you may not transcribe the entire page of the book–that’s cheating!)

The book: The Collected Stories by Amy Hempel

1st sentence: I was the one they sent when it was Halloween night and Miss Locey couldn't move.

Last sentence: I told her what we ever did was to pack an extra mask so we could visit the same house twice, a house that gave Mars bars, for example.

I was the one they sent when it was Halloween night and Miss Locey couldn't move. We all sighed a deep sigh of relief. When her arthritis acted up, we were safe. Or safer at least. You can't be sure of anything when your orphanage is made of gingerbread and the headmistress is a witch. I knew very well that this night, this Halloween night, every one else's welfare depended on me. If I got enough candy to fortify the chocolate lacing and gumdrop planters, Miss Locey's temper would be in good humor, and chances were good she wouldn't throw one of the kids into the oven to turn them into gingerbread kids. I was taking Tracy with me, and she was a newbie who thought her parents still loved her and would find her eventually. I told her what we ever did was to pack an extra mask so we could visit the same house twice, a house that gave Mars bars, for example.

Booking Through Thursday

• When somebody mentions “literature,” what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?)
• Do you read “literature” (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must?

My first thought is to shudder and remember my Spanish Lit. class. I like Spanish, and I do decently well with reading Spanish literature, but I had this professor who sucked all of the fun out of learning by making us memorize dates and facts instead of learning or speaking Spanish. In fact my extreme dislike for him made me switch colleges (he was the ONLY spanish prof in the college, if you can believe it).

Aside from Spanish lit, I never took any English, writing, or literature classes in college (which I regret deeply now). The last time I took an English class it was my senior year of high school, and we did a mix of literature, writing, and grammar. So the word "literature" also brings back memories of books and short stories that I read and analyzed in that class. I enjoyed some of them more than others, but for many of the readings, I didn't "get" the story until I had taken time to analyze it and pick it apart a little. Analyzing literature seemed so scary, but we had a great teacher, so I remember getting into the analysis. So when I think literature, I define it to myself as books that can stand up to being analyzed. Books I don't think of as being "literature" are ones that don't really hold up well to analysis (chick lit for example).

When I read a good book and I feel like there's more to be gotten out of it, I head over to sparknotes.com for an analysis. So we could also define "literature" this way: if its got an analysis on Sparknotes.com, then it's literature. Although that probably sounds silly to define literature by a tool that historically been a way for students to get out of reading literature, if it isn't being assigned by professors, it isn't on sparknotes.com.

With that as a broad definition (and I am one for making "literature" a broad term) I would say read plenty of literature. Sometimes it is pure pleasure reading, other times I need a little kick to read it. My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge, for example, has been an excellent kick in the pants for me to read books I wouldn't normally place high on the priority list.

I enjoy books on different levels. Sometimes I enjoy the fact I'm done with them (finally), sometimes I enjoy them on a cerebral, appreciate level (boy that was well-written and I feel so educated right now) and sometimes I enjoy a book so much I will stay up late reading it and I won't want to put it away for anything and I'll try to force my husband to read it immediately.

I've had "literature" reading experiences that fit into any of the three categories. So yes, I did enjoy Great Expectations, but there were times it was a drag to read. The Poisonwood Bible or Ender's Game, however, were of the "keeping me up at night" variety. As far as "literature" I avoid, maybe someday I will get around to picking up Don Quixote or The Old Man and the Sea, but it would probably take a literature course to make me do it.

Booking Through Thursday

This week’s question comes from Julie, who asks:

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?

Do you want to know the one redeeming factor about Thursdays? On Thursday, you know that the next day is Friday. That and Booking Through Thursday. So I guess there's two redeeming factors.

But I digress...

And I disagree. If we didn't judge books by their cover, why on earth do publishing companies spend mucho dinero designing eye-catching art work? When we go to the bookstore or library to browse, I challenge you to honestly say you don't look for books that catch your attention. In my experience, anyhow, the title might catch my eye, yes, but the print or color of makes the title stand out, which makes the book stand out. When I pick up a book, even before I can flip it open to read what it says on the back, I'll notice the cover. Before I've read a word, the artwork lets me know what genre the book will be, and from that I can make a good judgement (usually) on how much I'll like the book.

Now that's not to say that book covers can't deceive. I've been fooled into buying books I ended up not liking by book covers that lured me in. But I'd be lying if I didn't say the artwork influences my reading choices.

Once I've picked up the book to read it, the design of the book still plays a part. A book thats too stiff to bend is annoying, since I like to read while doing activities not conducive to actually holding the book open (don't think dirty people! I'm talking about reading while eating or blowdrying my hair.)

A book that's too heavy might make my hands sore during a late night reading fest. (Its been known to happen).

But when I'm reading a book with good cover art (especially if you need to have read some plot point or another to understand the cover art) will make me flip back to the cover to look and think about it. I also really like when there are little illustrations at the beginning of the chapters, like in Harry Potter. The last time I reread the books, I spent extra time looking at those illustrations and thinking about the scenes that they alluded to.

So in answer, I guess I would have to say a resounding yes! The design of the book is very important.

Booking Through Thursday

Suggested by John :
How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:
__________ would have been a much better book if ______________________.

Oohhh... great question. And this question has an excellent crossover appeal to movies. (For example: Transformers would have been a better movie if Michael Bay had taken up underwater basket-weaving instead of making movies. And if they had hired writers.)

First of let me start with my college textbooks. They would have been much better books if only they didn't cost $150 apiece and have chapters the length of a decent-sized novel.

Wuthering Heights would have been a much better book if it wasn't so dang long. And moody.

Silmarillion would have been a better book if there had been a plot.

A Walk to Remember would have been a better book if only the main character would have keeled over earlier in the book. Or maybe if the author could have worked in blood-sucking vampires somehow (hey vampires made the Gardella books interesting).

His Dark Materials trilogy would have been a better series if the momentum of the first book hadn't petered out by the second book.

Scarlett (the sequel to Gone With the Wind)... well the only thing that would have helped this one is if Margaret Mitchell had risen from her grave and written the thing herself.

Although I certainly don't like every book I read, I'm having a hard time coming up with books. I really think movies would be easier, and I may have to put some thought into a list of my own worst ever movies.