Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Day Three

So, at the time I am writing this, the Best Romance Blog has not been announced yet, but no matter! I recently found out that Online College.org's blog posted a top 100 list of Best Book Blogs and guess who's #72! Of course, the number doesn't determine the worth (all the blogs are organized by category - and the General Review Blogs are first), but still! You'll notice that Babbling About Books and the Book Smugglers also made the list.

Back to Book Blogger Appreciation Week, today we have a meme! Questions are in bold.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snacks?
I don't snack while I read, usually. However, I always read during breakfast, sometimes during lunch, and occasionally during dinner if I'm by myself (which usually means just a sandwich or an omelette before I hop off to work a night shift).

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
Oh, it horrifies me. Back when my generous mum and dad bought my books new, I'd always be very particular about taking care of them. Creased spines? Oh no! Bent covers - a tragedy! Now that I buy my own books and I'm incredibly cheap, I don't care so much as long as I can get a book for the least amount of money, so I don't mind the older books I get at library sales or used book stores, but I still don't mark pages. And when it comes right down to it - I usually don't need to. I have a selective memory, but I tend to always remember (sometimes down to the page number) what I read.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
Bookmarks. Always bookmarks. Again, I don't dog-ear pages (book abuuuuuse!), and besides, I brought home, like, 65 bookmarks from RWA Nationals so I can use a new one every time!

Laying the book flat open?
Hardcover or trade paperback, yes (great for when I'm eating messy/sticky foods and can't touch the pages). Mass market paperback, no (creased spines! The HORROR!).

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
I pretty much read 99.9% fiction. I read some interesting non-fiction in university, but right now all I have on my TBR are fiction reads. I think if I ever do get into non-fiction it will probably be biographies of interesting people.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Hard copy all the way. I've tried audiobooks, but I have ADD, so I can't actually pay attention to one person speaking all the way through without drifting off and then I lose my place (so to speak). Also - romance audiobooks are really, REALLY silly - I tried a Susan Elizabeth Phillips audiobook (Match Me If You Can) and the female narrator could NOT convince me she was voicing an alpha male. No she could not. I'm glad I turned it off before I got to any sex scenes. Ick.

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?
I can put a book down at any point, because usually I end up having to. I hate being unoccupied, at any time, be it on the bus, at the supermarket, or even brushing my teeth. I need to have a book with me (yes, even when brushing my teeth - I do it for 3 minutes) to fill up those tiny 3-, 4-, 10-minute gaps of nothing and that means I usually have to put it down suddenly when something important happens in real life.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
Not usually. I'm very lazy and I can usually guess what the word means from the context of the sentence. If it shows up often and I still can't figure out what it means, then maybe I'll look it up.

What are you currently reading?
Bertrice Small's The Last Heiress.

What is the last book you bought?
Mary Balogh's Simply Perfect.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?
I'm a monogamous reader. Unless I absolutely have to, I usually only read one book at a time. Even as a University English major I read like this, and I did it without too much trouble because I always was a keener and a bookworm who'd buy the entire reading list once it came out in August and read ahead.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
I can (and do) read anywhere, but my favourite places are in bed in the morning before I have to get up, and my father's armchair in the library in the afternoon.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
Both! As a reader of both fantasy and romance, I'm accustomed to both grand, sweeping epic series (fantasies) and the more stand-alone books (romance).

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
YES - The Secret Pearl by Mary Balogh. I'd recommend pretty much anything written by Mary Balogh.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
By the amount of space I have. I'm not kidding. I like organizing my books when I have some spare time but more often than not I just squish my books wherever they'll fit. Right now I do have a different system for my Read books and my To Be Read books. If they're To Be Read, they get packed away in three storage boxes by my bed. Bookshelves are a luxury, if a book wants to end up on a shelf it'd better impress me with its story!

Don't forget to check out other BBAW participants to see how they answered their memes!