Booking Through Thursday - Plain or Pretty?

Which do you prefer? Lurid, fruity prose, awash in imagery and sensuous textures and colors? Or straight-forward, clean, simple prose?

Straight-forward and simple for sure. I seriously skip most descriptive paragraphs in all books I read. In my head I read, blah blah blah. I'm terrible I know.

I hate descriptions. True story.

What about you?

How to make a Non-Reader a Reader...

This was the gist of today's Booking Through Thursday that is circling around and that apparently blogger won't let me copy and paste into my blog. And I am lazy because, I STARTED MY 4 DAY WEEKEND. Yes, that required shouting.

Anywhoo... My suggestions to be taken with a grain of salt. If it is a child, who claims to hate to read, I always first try to determine if they are having trouble reading. Since a surefire way to not like something is when one cannot do it well.

Barring any issues in that department. I start to question their sanity. How can you not like to read, child??? I kid. I kid. I ask them what they are interested in. Not related to books. Do you play sports? Do you like to run? Are you a fan of dolls? What is your favorite television show? Is there something you want to learn more about? Then I use these answers to come up with some reading selections.

A boy who likes sports? Matt Christopher. Scooby Doo fan? Here is a book. A fan of comedy? Captain Underpants to the rescue. Mysteries? Goosebumps. Michigan Chillers. Whatever. So it may not be "great literature," but it doesn't need to be. Hook em' with what they like and they will eventually venture out. Will it mean they will enjoy Shakespeare? No. Will they suddenly want to read the entire canon? Probably not. But, I am a firm believer in reading a gossip rag is better than being illiterate.

I remember growing up, my parents had us watch the nightly news with them every night and got two newspapers a day. I read them both willingly. My brother read the Sports sections in each. We both read every day. My dad read the newspaper and the occasional Mitch Albom or Ohio State related book. My mom always had a magazine and/or book going on. Reading was all around us. Yeah, my brother hasn't read a book since Junior High, but I read every day.

Positive experiences and encouragement go a very long way. Oh and a library membership that I believe everyone should have.

How did your parents shape you into becoming a reader? Or a non-reader? ::shudder:::

Booking Through Thursday..

Do you read the inside flaps that describe a book before or while reading it?

If it is a random book that I am picking up based on its cover *gasp* or one that I got off a list and heard nothing about, then yes. If it's something that was recommended to me or something I know I want to read, then no. I tend to have read reviews online or I just know it's an author I like so I will pick it up. I also very rarely read the cover for James Patterson books or the Kinsey Milhone series by Sue Grafton or any mystery book for that matter. It tends to ruin the book for me because I figure out the "surprises" from the cover.

What about you?? Do you read the flap / back cover? Are you like me and pick books by their cover?? :)

Booking through Thursday

What’s the biggest book you’ve read recently?
(Feel free to think “big” as size, or as popularity, or in any other way you care to interpret.)

Hmm.. the biggest book I've recently read length was We Were the Mulvaney's. My biggest book of 2009 was definitely Blonde, also by Joyce Carol Oates..

The biggest book popularity wise would probably be Finger Lickin' Fifteen, out of the Stephanie Plum series...

I really need to get working on Revolutionary Road!!

Booking through Thursday

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
Hmm...by recent being this summer, I would say the best book I've read this summer was between Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich because it was freaking hilarious or Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo because it was a dang good mystery and I love mystery and intrigue and who-dun-it's. Looking over the books I've read this summer is kind of dissapointing because there were a lot of dud's!

Booking through Thursday

Follow-up to last week’s question:
Do you keep all your unread books together, like books in a waiting room? Or are they scattered throughout your shelves, mingling like party-goers waiting for the host to come along?

My unread books are spread throughout the house. There are a bunch of older books from my grandma in the bookcase in the living room. There are random books collected from many resources in the other two book shelves in the office. There is one next to my bed, which has been there since last May. There is a large bag in the living room from my grandma and another large bag from the library in the living room. I have a lot of books to-read, yet always seem to go out looking for new books when I need one. Check out other answers here.