Book poll

I saw this book poll at Callpidder Days, and, being an avid book lover, wanted to participate:

1. Where do you most often buy your books? Online? Secondhand stores? Big name bookstores?

I most often buy them online or at our local Christian bookstore.

2. If you buy online, which do you prefer – B&N or Amazon.com? Ebay? Christianbook.com? or elsewhere?

I usually check Amazon.com and Christianbook.com against each other and buy from whichever one is cheapest at the moment. I just never think to check other places unless I’m looking for a hard-to-find or out-of-print book.

3. Do you put your name in your books? If so, are you a bookplate or stamp person?

I don’t usually, but if I do I just write it in. Occasionally I’ve put a return-address label on the inside cover.

4. How do you feel about loaning books to others?

I love to share good books and am probably more eager to loan them than people are to take them. I have been “burned” just a few times by not having valued books returned, so if it is one I especially treasure or one that is irreplaceable, I might think twice or take pains to try to graciously convey to the person how important it is to get it back.

5. Do you highlight or mark your books as you read?

I usually use a pencil so I can see it but it isn’t glaring or distracting. I don’t often underline passages unless they really strike me, but I do put a mark beside the line or paragraph in the margin. I often also put little slips of paper at the pages where I want to be able to look something up easily. I’ve also been known to turn down the corner of the page if I don’t have anything else handy. But I really don’t recommend that.

6. How often do you visit your local library?

We used to go often when my kids were younger, but we don’t go often any more. I went a few weeks ago to get a few books on my Fall reading list, but that was the first time in ages.

7. Do you collect any certain kind of book?

For a while I was collecting classics, especially children’s classics. But I am the only one in the family who reads them. When I mentioned to my husband a while back that I needed new bookcases, he suggested maybe I needed to get rid of some books instead. (I have two full bookcases, some shelves with double rows, and two half-bookcases full.) Now I try to only keep the ones I think I might seriously read again or the ones I might realistically read to a future grandchild (I’m keeping those kid’s classics and hoping I have a real bookwormish grandchild some day!)

I’ve also collected missionary biographies — they’ve had such a profound influence on my life — and books by favorite authors. I think I have all of Janette Oke’s books and most of Elisabeth Elliot’s, Amy Carmichael’s, and Isobel Kuhn’s.

8. What do you do when you’re done with a book and no longer want it?

I used to pass them along to my mom and mother-in-law, but my mom passed away this last year. I still send a great many on to my mother-in-law. The ones I don’t think she’d like or that I wasn’t impressed with I usually pass on to Salvation Army and take a tax deduction. I’ve thought of checking into selling some on E-bay or someplace like that, but just wasn’t sure if it would be worth the hassle for the amount of money you’d get for them.

9. Do you keep a list of or catalog the books you own?

No — never really had a need to, except for insurance purposes, I guess.

10. Any other weird book habits you’d like to share?

I can’t think of any that are “weird.” I do take a book with me when traveling or when going to any kind of appointment. I have a book-in-progress in each bathroom. One of my favorite times to read is Sunday evenings. We do like to make Sundays a day of rest as much as possible and make it a little different from the other days of the week, so we usually don’t have the TV on that day unless we watch “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” So Sunday evenings after church I’m often stretched out on the couch reading while everyone else is using computers.

I won’t tag anyone specifically, but let me know if you do this poll on your blog, or you can answers the questions in the comment section.

(Book photo courtesy of the stock.xchng.)