This or That? #100 … The Finale!

This or That? #100

This is the final instalment to the awesome’s Bookmark Chronicles questions for This or That? So let’s make it a good one!

This week Bookmark Chronicles (and myself) would like to know?:

What do you value most in a novel?

Quality writing ~ Character development ~ World building ~ Logical endings ~ Relatable characters ~ Real life situations ~ Storytelling

Something else?

(You must pick one)

This is such a hard question, and yet such a good question at the same time. Sometimes a lot of all of those ingredients makes for a great story and can also make for a bad story if they don’t all *mesh*

I am going to have to go with though, the character development. A good character can pull anyone in and it shows at the same time good writing skills. I think that no matter how bad a plot may be or even a bad story-line. A good character who develops over time and can be shown to “human” and relatable, can sometimes all you need to have. How else could you explain stories like Twilight and 50 shades. They have some terrible plots and endings (Twilight is my most hated type ending, where it’s “like a dream” and people just ‘wake up’).

Although it probably sounds like relatable characters, I don’t know how many people can relate to characters all the time, especially Vampires. However I feel like when people grow and change, and it’s written well in a story, people will relate better. Not everyone relate to a “Vampire” but they can relate to the feelings and how they change and how people change with different situations (for example).

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This or That? #98

This or That? #98

This week Bookmark Chronicles would like to know:

What do you think is worse:

A book with water damage or a book with a broken spine?

Oh this a great question, mainly because they are both horrible situations to find yourself in and both can potentially lead quicker into the books becoming more easily damaged.

I would rather a book to have a damaged spine than water damage. It also depends on the water damage, has it ruined the ink? Has it gone all the way through? One of the major problems with water damage is that there can repercussions with the water. You have more of a chance of mould and attracting little insects. Watch out if it doesn’t dry properly.

A damaged spine you can get repaired, while you might be able to do something. Do not get it repaired yourself, take it to a professional. They are not too many places to get them repaired, but they are out there!

This or That? #97

This or That? #97

This week Bookmark Chronicles would like to know:

How do you feel about laying books open, face down?

This is a really great question! It’s a question in the Library field that has been asked for centuries! Literally last week we were talking about this where I worked. There are a whole bunch of variations, based on the weight, how many pages, how strong the book is.

However, I try not to leave my book open any which way if possible, but if I had to chose or something else got my attention and I have to put it down and I have no bookmarks around. I am probably most likely to turn my book open and face down.

Like this:

 

This or That? #95

This or That? #95

This week Bookmark Chronicles would like to know:

How long has it been since you last bought a book?

• 1-7 days
• 8-14 days
• 15-21 days
• 22-28 days
• Over a month

It has been kind of over a month since I bought a book. I say “kind of” because I did buy a book from where I work, a lot of Libraries will have some sort of book sale. They make good money from those. From an actual book store, has definitely been over a month. My brother got me a book store gift certificate and I have actually bought a book from the store. Now comes the responsibility though of what books do I buy, do I wait for a sale, do I just go crazy and get what I want. Or do I wait for a book I want to read to come out or be on sale…The pressure!lol

This or That? #94

This or That? #94

This week Bookmark Chronicles would like to know:

Do you have a TBR list? 

If so, tell me about it: Is it written or typed? Do you use Goodreads? How long is the list? How many books are on it? etc.

I have two kinds of TBR lists…Just a quick note for those who may not understand what TBR stands for, it’s just simply “To Be Read”.

As mentioned above, I have two types of lists. The first one that I have is on Goodreads. It has probably my most simple list on there. A lot of the books I either already have and am just waiting to read.

The other list that I have, is just the one in my mind. Which is probably why I AM CONSTANTLY FORGETTING WHAT I MEAN TO READ! It’s funny, now that I’m actually working in a Library, I keep seeing these books or just items I want to read or listen too. Yet, I keep forgetting to get them. That’s also because though I don’t really have anything to carry them all in!

This or That? #93

This or That? #93

This week Bookmark Chronicles (and myself) would like to know:

This week I want to know…….

Have you ever found a typo (or typos) in books?

 I have to say that I have and I found them even with my favourite authors and some of my favourite books. Also like Bookmark Chronicles I understand that people make mistakes and even technology can as well. I have also noticed sometimes when I purchase books that are written by American authors, sometimes their English is different from ours and that their terms have been left in. For example:

Colour vs Color

aluminium vs aluminum

biscuit vs cookie,cracker

Just a few examples.

This or That? #92

This or That? #92

This week Bookmark Chronicles (and myself) would like to know:

If you’re in the bookstore looking for a new book to read, which of these would play the biggest role in whether or not you purchase a book:

Cover ~ Description ~ Author

(must choose just one)

Too be honest what would bring me over would probably be the author or the cover and if it catches my eyes…BUT…saying that, it would be the description for me whether or not I would purchase a book. A book can be pretty and the author might possibly be a favourite of mine, but if the description doesn’t catch me or bores me for one reason or another, I am probably not going to buy it.

This or That? #91

This or That? #91

This week Bookmark Chronicles would like to know:

If your favorite author released a surprise novel today, how likely are you to buy it?

Buying it for sure ~ Very likely ~ Somewhat likely ~ Not likely – Not buying it

I am totally buying it!

Especially at the moment, I was sooooooo lucky this Christmas and my brother bought me a Dymocks $100 gift certificate. I’ve already bought a couple of books with it, and I couldn’t definitely afford another one. Since it’s already been my birthday and it’s not close enough to ask for it for Christmas, I would definitely be getting it when it comes out. I don’t think that I could not buy it to be honest,lol

This or That? #90

This or That? #90

This week Bookmark Chronicles would like to know:

This week I want to know if you have ever read books by any of the following authors:

• Danielle Steele
• Harlan Coben
• James Patterson
• Nora Roberts
• John Grisham
• David Baldacci

I have to be honest I have never really read a Danielle Steele book, I’m just not that into pure romance novels. I can completely respect though that she has done really well for herself though, it’s fantastic. I am just personally not interested in romance type novels.

I have mainly read James Patterson novels, as crime and how people think really do intrigue me and why someone may commit the crimes that they do. Which probably makes me sound a little creepy. If you read James Patterson books you can probably guess that I am mostly interested in his Alex Cross books/series, and that series of books includes “Along Came a Spider”. Which you might have heard of since it was then made into a movie which has starred Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry as the detective, in different films.

This or That? #88

This or That? #88

This Bookmark Chronicles would like to know:

How do you get out of a reading slump?

Reread a favorite ~ Stop reading for a while ~ Read a brand new book 

Or something else?

I can’t believe that I keep forgetting to do these, I guess I’ve been in a This or That slump myself!

Too get myself out of a reading slump the first thing that I usually try is reread a favourite book of mine. These can be from any section of my books, even if it might be considered to be “lame”. The other thing I’ve noticed when I think about it, not only do I usually reread a favourite, but it has to be a particular favourite. Sometimes I feel to get myself out of my slump, will also depend on my book. If I want to something easy or fun to read to help, or just just to get myself reading again, I might read something like my new found Babysitters Club books. If I want to get more into fantasy type reading (to maybe inspire myself to write as well) I’ll start reading maybe something like The Hobbit.

I could never stop reading, because that’s usually how I get into my slumps in the first place. I wouldn’t be able to read a new book to get myself out of my slump. I don’t know where the new book is going to take me, if I don’t like, I would probably stop reading for a while.