The Thursday Bookworm #10

The Thursday Bookworm (1/27/05)

"No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting." -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

There’s no real cohesion to this week’s Worm: just some random questions that popped into my head throughout the week.

1. We’ve all heard the phrase, "Don’t judge a book by its cover." Have you ever picked up a book based solely on the title or the picture on the cover?
haha. totally. a friend and i used this method to buy wine once. i don’t recommend it–either for books or wine.

2. Along the same lines, do you ever look at whichever book someone else is reading in public or whatnot, and based on that make a snap judgment about their character or literary taste? (I realize this might not seem all that clear, so let me give an example- for instance, whenever I see someone reading War and Peace, the first word that pops into my mind is "pretentious." Most of the people I’ve known who carry that book around just do it to get attention and demonstrate how "smart" they are, when they actually never get past page 10).
absolutely. i try not to be judgmental at all, and i’m working really hard to shed my literary snobbery, especially now that all i read these days are Star Wars novels. however, i’m not apt to read mass-market paperbacks, or what i call airplane books.

3. Do you buy books online? If so, where is your favorite place to find them?
not often. i like to get my book immediately. i like to feel the cover and the book’s heft in my hands. so i’m a bibliophile–so what?  heehee.

when i do order books online, i order from Amazon.

4. From someone who’s had more than her fair share of library fines… what is the largest late fee you’ve ever incurred at a library for returning a book past the due date? Have you ever borrowed a book from a library and never returned it?
i don’t want to know what my largest fine is, because i believe i’m currently incurring it. last i remember, about 2 months ago it was $13. i’m not even sure if i’ve returned the book. i can’t find it anywhere. on the other hand, i’ve never not returned a book. i’m too paranoid about having to pay an exorbitant price to replace it.

5. What is the first book that you can remember reading by yourself?
it was a book about a gingerbread man being chased by his village or something like that–an old folktale, i think.