Kimberly Hirsh

I got this from slayground.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
I like all three, but I like mass market best, because they fit in my purse.

Bookmark or dog-ear?
Bookmark.  I have a recent tradition of asking for one type of small cheapie gift for my birthday, making my friends' shopping easy but leaving room for creativity.  The first year I did this, it was mints.  This year, it's going to be bookmarks.

Alphabetize by author, alphabetize by title, or random?
Sort into genres and then alphabetize by author.  Then by title or if it's a series, chronological order of publication.

Keep, throw away, or sell?
Keep or give away.  When I get rid of books it's only to lighten shelves, so I donate them to thrift stores.  This provides some people who might not otherwise be able to afford them with some good books.  It's a deduction on my taxes.  It also keeps me from the used bookstore trap, wherein they offer you lots more value in store credit than they do in cash, and you just end up with more books.

Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Keep, but not always on the book.  Sometimes in a file folder.

Read books with their dust jackets on or off?
Depends on the book and the weight of the dust jacket.  I usually leave them on but if they are flapping around or getting in the way, I take them off.

Short story or novel?
Novel.  I like short stories too.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
I wasn’t aware I had to choose.  I’ve read only one Lemony Snicket book, but I liked it well enough.  I tear through Harry Potter.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
It depends.  If I have to do something else, I stop wherever I am.  If I’m sleepy, I’ll read until the chapter break.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Once upon a dark and stormy night.

Buy or borrow?
Both.  I borrow a lot of books but if I love one and want to re-read it, or want to have it accessible all the time, then I buy.

New or used?
Both.  Used books have history.  New books smell good.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?
Recommendations.  Mostly from slayground.  Or my mom.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Cliffhangers are only acceptable if they’ll be resolved in another book.  An ending shouldn’t be too tidy, though.  It needs to be apparent that the lives of the characters continue after the book’s over.

Read in the morning, afternoon, or evening?
All day long.

Stand-alone or series?
I like both but I must read a series in order.  This makes it really hard to buy a book at the airport.

Favorite series?
All by Piers Anthony: The Incarnations of Immortality Series, the Mode Series, and the Apprentice Adept Series.

Favorite children’s book?
That’s not a fair question!  It’s too hard to pick one.  For some reason Misty of Chincoteague is leaping forth in my mind, though I couldn’t really tell you anything about it except “There are wild horses in Virginia."

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