I have seen this meme on Litlove’s and Nils blogs and I thought I would have a go at it myself. I’m not tagging anyone, Lori.
Hardback or paperback?
I prefer second-hand paperbacks because they are cheap. I do luxuriate in an occasional hard-back.
Amazon or brick and mortar?
Shops. I love the feel, the smell, the ambiance of real books. Plus I can read a chapter or two each time I visit. I have lost count of the number of books I have read over a number of visits to a bookshop 
Barnes & Noble or Borders?
We have Angus and Robertson or Dymock’s. Elizabeth’s Second-hand bookstores, and a whole lot of “book exchange” shops. I’ll frequent all of them.
Bookmark or dog-ear?
I try to bookmark but often have to dog-ear (sob, sorry, Mr Book)
Alphabetize by author, alphabetize by title or random?
Group by rough subject, sort of, sometimes and I promise I will next time I get a spare hour or two.
Keep, throw away, or sell?
I tend to keep (hoard) but sometimes don’t.
Keep dust jacket or toss it?
I tend to keep them on.
Read with dust jacket or remove it?
The dust jacket protects them from my grubby environment.
Short story or novel?
Novels by preference although I was brought up on SF magazines so short stories hold no terrors.
Collection (by same author) or anthology (by different authors)?
Either. Providing the anthology has a defined theme.
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Harry Potter. Lemony Snicket is trainee chick-lit!
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Stop reading? I’ll fall asleep first!
‘It was a dark and stormy night’ or ‘Once upon a time’?
Either – I wonder if there are any other story starters.
Buy or Borrow?
Buy
New or used?
Used if possible
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
Browse and the memory of recommendations.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Cliff-hangers show the story has not ended.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
yes
Standalone or series?
I prefer stand-alone, although why do I read Terry Pratchett?
Favourite series?
At the moment, Discworld. In the past WE Johns’ “Biggles”, Azimov’s “Empire” series, Heinlein’s “Lazarus Long” series, Leslie Charteris’ “The Saint”, Jean M Auel’s “Earth’s Children”, Dorothy Dunnett’s “Lymond” and “Niccolo” series – the list goes on. Oops – I think I said I preferred stand-alones – - -
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You know Dorothy Dunnett is someone I hear a lot about on the blogworld and I have never read any of her books. Hmmm, must rectify this! Do you happen to know of a good place to start, Archie?
Sorry, Litlove, the answer is going to be scatty
The “Dolly” books (about a BOAT named “Dolly”) are fun “sort of” thrillers. For the serious stuff, the Thomas of Lymond series was her first series (she wrote the first book because she had run out of books to read). “The Game of Kings” was the first volume. Historically, “Niccolo Rising” is the first book (although it is her second series) I find her hard to follow at times because she writes in a descriptive way, stating what happens and leaving the motivations of the principal to be discerned by the reader. I’m not good at this in real life so Dunnett’s work is a challenge. The history is wonderful and accurate and the plotting tight and compulsive. Apparently she would read up to 800 books, articles, letters and notes to put her background into place. Her stand alone novel, history or whatever, is the massive “King Hereafter”, about the creation of Scotland under MacBeth/Thorfinn.
There are a lot of sites dedicated to Dorothy Dunnett on the Web. If you do start reading her, I would be interested in your reactions.
Good one, Archie. But reading books in, um, installments during book shop visits? Really!
Brother Cadfael books, any Wilbur Smith, any Clive Cussler (especially the Dirk Pitt ones), any Anne McCaffrey (especially the Pern ones), any Di Morrissey (Australian author), the Janet Evanovich “number” ones, the … oh, never mind! One cannot pick a “best” book anyway. Almost every book is wonderful as long as you read it. Fantasy, SF, crime, war stories, biographies, family histories, historical romances and fictionalised fact, even horror (remember Stephen King?). And of course, any comedic fantasy.
Just a short list … a longer one would take pages!
Nils, I caught the reading bug when I was four. I have found it to be incurable. Put a book in my hands and I will automatically read it. Considering the excessive profits now made by the book publishers, I feel they can survive me reading an occasional book without actually paying for it.
Buff, thank you for stopping when you did. Do you realise neither of us mentioned Enid Blyton, or Agatha Christie?
This is a great meme! I think I’ll do it on my blog today sometime. I’m a total bookworm and I love the questions here.
It is good fun, isn’t it. Especially that last question.
[...] Tue 6 Feb 2007 book thang Posted by azahar under books, films & music Swiped from Archie. [...]
They don’t mind when you fall asleep reading in the bookshops?
hehehehe – Luckily I have to read in the vertical position in book shops – and I try to limit myself to a chapter at a time.
Ooh, you’re right about cliff-hangers, Archie! And I agree with you about stand-alone books, although I may end up contradicting myself over that one.
Can I pinch this meme at some stage too?
Go right ahead, Helen. It wasn’t mine in the first place but it has certainly spread since I posted it. I have found some interesting blogs through following the links.
[...] Many are silly, but this one lets me talk about books. And more importantly, books I like! So, tagged by Archie, here I [...]
Thank You