All About MEme: Supah's Book Club, Part 1

 

with MommyBrain and SupahMommy

 

You can consider this my own personal couch jumping incident ...

First of all, can we talk about my awesome PhotoShop skillz?! I give full credit to Supah for being my inspiration.  But the skillz, those are all mine.  I am especially proud of this one because the idea was hatched at 2:30 am while nursing my sweet CJV.  And the logo was created at 3:00 am ... while sitting on the floor in my walk-in closet so I could hear CJV if she needed me but have enough light to see what the heck I was doing.  Sleep deprivation conjures up all kinds of delightfulness ... a whole lot of crap, too ... but this is delightful!

Anyhoo, on with the interview ...

What are you currently reading?

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

I am only 25 pages in.  The main character is an old (and very lonely) man.  I have a thing for old guys; they are just so endearing.  He feels invisible and does things to get noticed ... like posing nude for a drawing class.  Whoa, did that create some unwanted visuals!  But I like his gumption ... and that's a word I've never thought to use before now.  Ultimately, this is a book about a book (my friend Terri would love it!) ... a book written by the old man that somehow helps another lonely soul.

When do you find the time to read?

Right now, I am not really finding time to read. I can't keep my eyes open once I crawl into bed at night.  And spare minutes during the day are rare to say the least.  When I was pregnant - just a short time ago - and enduring twice weekly doctor's appointments, I read almost a book a week.  I don't make time to read, but if I find time, I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing.

Where do you do most of your reading?

Now, currently, because I am house-ridden with children ... in my bed with my eyes closed ;)

In the past, when I had a life ... on the beach ... oh, I've done some great reading on the beach.  In an airplane/port ... unless there's someone interesting to talk to.  And I love sitting outside to read.

How do you choose what you read?

I think you already know this about me.  I judge a book by it's cover.  (I kind of feel the same way about blogs, but that practice does not translate into how I choose my friends, though!)  The overall design of the cover has to be appealing to me.  It's not one certain thing that I look for ... the cover could be pretty or interesting or weird.  As long as it catches my eye, I'll give the book a try.

I don't stick to one author.  In fact, I prefer to read virgin first-time authors.  There's something about knowing this is a person's first attempt that intrigues me.  I've found that well-published authors can fall into a rut ... like they've been type-cast or their publisher has too much control or they aren't willing to break the mold of their first successes.

I also love book recommendations.  And the website paperbackswap.com has a cool feature that suggests books you may like based on your browsing history.

From where do you get most of your books?

My friend Tammy loans me a lot of books.  And we both share a love of used books stores and the occasional trip to Good Will.

But most recently, I've been using a website called paperbackswap.com.  I trade the books I've already read for a book that someone else has already read.  Pretty cool, huh?  All I do is pay the shipping (media rate) for the book I send, and in return the other person returns the favor.  You can even print postage right from the website.  If you haven't checked out this site, you really, really should.  What a great way to recycle a book!

What do you do with a book after you've finished reading it?

If the book makes me think of a specific friend, I pass it on.  I love knowing a friend is reading and enjoying a book that I gave her.  And right now I have about 10 books listed on paperbackswap.com, which will earn me credits to get more books!

QUICK UPDATE ... after reading comments from BJ_Mama and Amber, I did a little research ... it turns out that I can earn book credits for referrals to paperbackswap.com.  I seriously had no idea!  But if you do decide to join and use my email address - dverhoff (at) gmail (dot) com - as your referrer when you register, I'll use those credits to get Newbery Medal winning books to donate to a local children's charity - yes, paperbackswap has children's books, too

What are your book (reading) quirks?

I must finish a chapter before putting down a book.  It really bothers me to stop mid-chapter.  If it can't be avoided, I'll reread the whole chapter rather than picking up where I left off.  I prefer books with short chapters ;)

Most of my books are used, but I love the smell of a new book.  I just close my eyes, flip those pages, and breathe deeply ... it's one of my favorite smells.

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Now it's your turn to play along ... my favorite part of all this mayhem!

• Put together a post that remotely resembles an answer to the prompt.
• Be sure to copy/ paste/ post our super fabulous button thingy (at the top of this post) on your post somewhere! (That's how we'll grow and we THANK YOU 100X for helping!)
• Come back here and link up with Mr. Linky! (If you can't see it at the bottom of this post, hop over to Supah's place and link up there.)
• Visit the 3 blogs above your name if you have time and leave them a comment!! (This is the secret to growing a blog!) ... and if you're first, ... well then aren't you special! You'll just need to visit the 3 below your when name when they appear and leave a comment!