Stefani from I Read Novels asked for my answers to the following five questions which are about how I choose and treat my books!
1. What do you use for a bookmark?
If I’ve read to the end of a chapter I usually just remember where I am,, I never, ever fold down the corner of a page. I do own bookmarks and I go through stages of using them but then they aren’t where I need them and I use whatever random scrap of paper I have to hand such as a receipt, removed clothes labels or tickets (preferably used)
2. Do you ever mark (dog-ear, highlight, underline, write in, etc.) your books? If you do, what kind of things do you do?
I like my books to look like new even when they’ve been read, so much so that I am often teased for not opening them fully so that the spine doesn’t crease. None of my books are marked in anyway whatsoever unless they have been signed by an author.
3. Outside of GoodReads, do you have a system for tracking your books? (i.e., somewhere that you keep track of what you read, what to buy, what is on your TBR shelf, etc.?)
I use the Amazon Wishlist system for noting what books I want to buy and then I have a trusty excel spreadsheet which has most of the books I own on it, although I sometimes (often) forget to update this with the books I have bought. The spreadsheet contains all the books I have to review with the date of publication and is divided by month. I then mark this with the date read so that I make sure Goodreads and Amazon are updated with the reviews. Goodreads is where I reliably keep track of the books I’ve read but I don’t always add everything I have or want to read to this. So basically it is a bit of a shambles but allows me to kid myself about the true state of the TBR.
4. Do you ever flip to the end before you start a book to find out how it ends?
Never! I remember being shocked as a child that anyone would do this and my sense of outrage has never lessened in this respect.
5. Do you judge a book by its cover?
Yes, I’m drawn to attractive covers and they are useful for giving a signal of genre but I wouldn’t choose a book just by its cover, I read the blurb and unless I’m feeling particularly reckless read reviews about a book before buying. I also have books with seriously ugly covers.
