Here are the instructions:  Please choose one or two questions to answer or try to answer all the questions in five words or less.  Or choose a picture to answer a question!  Brevity is the goal of today!

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
No, too messy.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?
Sometimes I make notes/underline.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
BOOKMARK!!!!!

Laying the book flat open?
OMG! The spine!

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Fiction

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Both

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you
able to put a book down at any point?

The end of a chapter.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Nope

What are you currently reading?

NIGHT RUNNER by Max Turner

What is the last book you bought?

Same as above.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time?

One at a time.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

Anywhere, Anytime

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

Series junky

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Changes over time.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

You’re supposed to organize?  Hm…I have piles.

As a person who enjoys technology and the convenience it adds to my life, I have been contemplating the electronic book.  I ask myself: Would I enjoy reading from a thin piece of metal?  Would I miss the feel of a real book in my hands?  I don’t know the answers to those questions and the problem is, at $299 I can’t afford to experiment.  Amazon has offered the Kindle for a while now and I’ve only had two in my hands to examine.  My mother received one recently and after playing around with it I decided that I liked it.  

iPhone/iTouch has a Kindle app you can download where you read the books on those devices like you would a Kindle.  But, the iPhone screen is just a little too small for me to use for an extended period of time.  Plus, it would really run my battery down fast.

Now, I’ve found out through the Book Blogger Appreciation Week website that Barnes & Noble is going to be offering the same technology to their readers with the iRex.  The device will be available in the US at the end of the year.  Technology is so exciting!  Imagine – being in your car and listening to NPR when an interview with an author comes on.  They begin to talk about their book and it sounds great to you.  For someone that doesn’t have a Kindle or (soon) an iRex, they’d have to wait until they had a chance to go to the bookstore or order it online.  But, for those people that have an eReader, they can just download it right there in the car and have it immediately.  WOW!!

So, how do you feel?  Old fashioned books, Kindle/iRex, or the iPhone/iTouch app?

Everyone be sure to say hello to my new friend Erika from A Book Blog. Period.

I was lucky enough to partnered with her for the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Interview Swap.  Read on to learn a little about her.

1) Are you a one-book-at-a-time girl or do you keep multiple books going at once?

Oh, most definitely a one-book-at-a-time girl! My attention gets too divided among too many books, and I can’t focus on everything I want to focus on. I just can’t enjoy each individual book as much. I wish I could, though!

2) Where is your favorite place to read?
 
I love to read in bed, wrapped up in my blankets, surrounded by my pillows. It’s so comfy!

3) What time of the day do you find yourself reading the most?

Usually at night, right before I go to sleep. It’s the perfect buffer between the hectic day and the difficult task of falling asleep, for me at least. I do tend to read a bit more during the day on the weekends, though. This is especially true on those sunny fall days when you can open all the windows in your house. We’re getting there!

 4) Do you keep a book with you in the car?

Not really. I don’t really drive all that much while I’m at school. I would totally have one with me on my bike if I could in fact both read and navigate myself down a hill without crashing and thus dying painfully. It would be a nice addition to Louise (my car) though!

5) If you could meet an author (dead or alive), who would it be and what would you want to talk to them about?

Oh gosh, this is tricky. I mean, one of my most favorite authors is Alexandre Dumas so I think hanging out with him would be pretty awesome for awesome’s sake. Marcus Aurelius would be another amazing person to meet (he did write some philosophy so I guess he’s technically an author). Imagine talking to a true, live, ancient Roman, I think the Classics major in me would die and go to heaven in two seconds flat– if the smell of his togas didn’t kill me first!

6) If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 books would you want with you considering they’d be the only books you’d have for the rest of your life?

This is something I think of fairly frequently, and I can never choose just three! Here goes though! :
1.) The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
2.) Crown Duel – Sherwood Smith
3.) The Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis – The big book with all the books included in it. That counts right?

It’s just so hard to decided and it’s an ever changing list!

7) Where do you compose your blog posts?  Office, kitchen table, recliner?  Take a picture and show me the area that inspires your creativity.

I usually blog at my desk. Ever once and a while I go to the coffee shop downtown and blog there as a break from my work.

8- Where do you keep your books? i.e. bookcases in alphabetical, strewn everywhere, coffee table, etc.

At school they are usually in my bookcase that I just built all by myself. It was a very proud moment. ;P Most of my books at home are filling up my window sills though.

9) Do you read with anyone?

Lu from Regular Rumination! Well, we don’t read aloud to one another but we do happen to be in each other’s presence while reading every now and again.

10) Who or what most inspired your love of reading?

Probably my Grandpa. He gave me his whole collection of 70s style Agatha Christie’s which really triggered my reading bug. Even now when I go to his house we talk about which Agatha Christie I’ve read and then try to find the movie version to pick out all the faults in it. He’s probably the coolest cat I know.

11) Where do you get most of your books? i.e. bookstores, libraries, friends, the mailbox, etc.

Oh, the library most definitely! I used to buy all my books from bookstores but then I discovered that thing called tuition and it all went down hill from there. I love my library now! It’s location is amazing and they have an awesome selection for being where it is!

Today is the first day of BBAW.  I want to take the time to spotlight a few of my favorite blogs that didn’t make it on a shortlist for the YA Blog Award.  I haven’t been in as much contact with my blogging friends lately because of my schedule, but I still check in on them from time to time and always find great information.  For instance, Vania’s Waiting on Wednesday post is a book that I’d kill to get my hands on. Go check it out.

So, I’d like to give an appreciative nod to the following blogs.

Reverie Book Reviews

Ravenous Reader

Readingjunky

Fellow Librarian Carrie’s YA Bookshelf

Thanks for all you do for the Young Adult book community.

For those of you keeping up with the BBAW happenings, the voting booth is now open.  Be sure to get over there quick and voice your opinion.  Voting closes Saturday, September 12th at 11:59 pm EST.

I didn’t make the shortlist for YA Book Blog, but five other great blogs did.  Be sure to check them out before you vote.

Green Bean Teen Queen
Mrs. Magoo Reads
My Favorite Author
Pop Culture Junkie
The Story Siren

I am flabbergasted.  I received notification that Karin’s Book Nook has been nominated for a Book Blogger Appreciation Award.  I’m so honored.  It has been nominated for the Best YA Review Blog Award – The blog is supposed to cover primarily young adult books and have great reviews and recommendations. I’ve submitted the necessary information in order to be considered for this wonderful award with the total understanding that I’m up against some of the best bloggers in cyberspace.  Some of the others that I’ve seen nominated in the same category are Books By Their Cover, The Story Siren, and Reverie Media.  To be included in the same category with the likes of these talented and respected bloggers is a true honor.  Now I just wait to see what happens.  I’ll be happy to at least be short-listed – much less win.

Keep up with the latest news about BBAW by visiting the blog.