Blogger Book Drive: Would You Rather?

Original image courtesy Svilen Milev at Efffective.com

Natalie Patalie, The Happy Arkansan, and Hodge Podge Moments are hosting a virtual book drive for First Book! First Book is a charity that aims to provide books to low income American children. There are loads of studies about the relationship among books in the home, early reading, and later academic (and overall) success. Obviously just the presence of a few books is just a part of the puzzle, but a part is better than nothing at all! You can donate, you can retweet/reblog my entry (or one of the above entries if you think mine is crap), or you can just pimp out this fundraiser link. You can also browse previous prompts (if you're the kind of person who has free time on a Monday): favorite book quotes, favorite childhood books, favorite authors, and everyone's favorite ______ books.

This week's theme is "would you rather," which is fortuitous because I had just seen this theme on Of Stacks And Cups and was thinking of answering anyway. Now I can kill two birds with one stone!


1. Would you rather read only trilogies or stand-alones?

If you were to snoop in my library (which you can do, kind of, through my GoodReads page), you would see that singles outnumber the series by a good margin. And since we are talking only, I would definitely have to choose stand-alones. I don't always have time to hunt down the next volume of a series. And cliffhangers? Pffft, forget it. I don't need that kind of stress in my life!


2. Would you rather read only male or female authors?

Patriarchy-smashing feminist me says FEMALES! Bookworm me would lament the work it would take to find new favorites and new classics, since many of my favorites were written by men. And I loathe Jane Austen and the Brontes. Sigh.


3. Would you rather shop at Barnes & Noble or Amazon?

Most of my books these days come from the library, my friends abroad, or swaps with other foreigners here in Stockholm. I guess my preferences are closer to B&N (I like going to book stores and looking for things) than to Amazon. But if I were going to go bookshopping here, it wouldn't be Barnes & Noble (there are none). It would be either SF Bokhandeln or The English Book Shoppe.


4. Would you rather all books become movies or TV shows?

Movie. That way it either gets made or it doesn't. You don't have to worry about it being canceled in the middle of the story.


5. Would you rather read 5 pages per day or 5 books per week?

If you're asking what I would rather my life be like right now, I'd say 5 books per week, easy. But if you're asking what I'd be more likely to accomplish, the sad truth is much closer to 5 pages per day. ;_;


6. Would you rather be a professional reviewer or author?

I think it would be easier for me to be a professional reviewer. I mean, heck, this jewelry blog is practically a book blog anyway...

This is not to say that I don't write fiction, or don't like to do so. I actually have a billion novels I'm working on, but I invest a lot of time and energy and perfectionism into them, and quite frankly I don't know how well I could hold up to public scrutiny. Or praise, for that matter. If I were to become an author, I'd either have to publish under a nom de plume or go the total recluse route so that I could keep my writing separate from myself (and my "self," if that makes sense).

If I were a professional reviewer, on the other hand, I could integrate that pretty well into my daily life. I already sit on my ass and snark on the Internet anyway, so I'm already halfway there!


7. Would you rather only read your top 20 favorite books over and over or always read new ones that you haven't read before?

Is this a list of 20 that I decide beforehand? Or is there some magical book genie out there who knows me better than I know myself?

Either way, because I tend to have a good book memory, I think I'd rather always read something new. If I want to remember something about a book I've read before, I can always look it up on the Internet.


8. Would you rather be a librarian or book seller?

I still haven't entirely given up my childhood dream of being a librarian.


9. Would you rather only read your favorite genre, or every genre except your favorite?

Puny mortal! As if I could have one single favorite genre! As if my favorite books could be neatly categorized into one genre! Hah!


10. Would you rather only read physical books or eBooks?

I acknowledge the utility of eBooks, but if I have to make a choice for life, I am very much Team Dead Tree.


Feel free to answer these questions (or Natalie's or Amanda's), add them to the link-up, and spread the word! The Blogger Book Drive Fundraiser ends soon. If you've been putting off donating, they're coming up on the point of no return, so do it. Do it now!