SF Book Meme

Nicked from the Hornswaggler, once again.

DISCLAIMER: My responses are prone to change at the drop of a hat, especially the five favorites towards the end.

• Science fiction, fantasy, or horror?
  I’ve got to say Fantasy, pretty easily. Though I “graduated” into reading adult fiction for pleasure through the likes of Stephen King and Robert R. McCammon
  
• Hardback, trade paperback, or mass market paperback?
  Mocks nicks.
  
• Heinlein or Asimov?
  Heinlein, just by virtue of the fact I’ve read more by him.
  
• Amazon or brick-and-mortar?
  Most of my books arrive via amazon wishlist around my Birthday and Christmas
  
• Barnes & Noble or Borders?
  At one time I would say BN, since the Borders stores near me always seemed a mess. Now, either.
  
• Hitchhiker or Discworld?
  Hitchhiker, by a slim margin.
  
• Bookmark or dogear?
  Bookmark, usually a notecard
  
• Magazine: Asimov's Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction?
  FS&F
  
• Alphabetize by author, by title, or random?
  Most of my books are in boxes, so I would say random, though I do keep the books by the same author together . If I had enough bookshelves, it would be alpha by author.
  
• Keep, throw away, or sell?
  Keep aside from the occasional trade in at the used book shop.
  
• Year's Best Science Fiction series (edited by Gardner Dozois) or Year's Best SF Series (edited by David G. Hartwell)?
  Probably Dozois
  
• Keep dustjacket or toss it?
  Keep, of course.
  
• Read with dustjacket or remove it?
  More often than not, with dustjacket.
  
• Short story or novel?
  Novels, though over the past couple of years I have been reading and enjoying short stories more than I have in the past.
  
• Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
  Potter, the Snicket books were getting a bit repetitive when I stopped. I do plan on finishing them off now that THE END is published.
  
• Stop reading when tired or chapter breaks?
  Stop reading when: a) my lunch hour is over, b) the chapter breaks, c) the timer on the elliptical machine finishes counting down.
  
• "It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"
  "Once upon a time, it was a dark and stormy night" I go for the high-concept!
  
• Buy or borrow?
  Buy. Or review copies
  
• Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation, or browse?
  Word of mouth/recommendation.
  
• Lewis or Tolkien?
  Tolkien
  
• Hard SF or space opera?
  Space opera.
  
• Collection (single author) or anthology (multiple authors)?
  Collections and themed anthologies.
  
• Hugo or Nebula?
  PotAto, PotAHto
  
• Golden Age SF or New Wave SF?
  New Wave, probably
  
• Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
  Not really one of the options, but logical endings that are consistent with the story.
  
• Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading
  Lunchtime, a bit before bed and at the gym while I’m on the precor machine
  
• Standalone or series?
  Either or.
  
• Urban fantasy or high fantasy?
  High, though just by a margin.
  
• New or used?
  Mostly new, though I do find some cool stuff at the used shops.
  
• Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
  The Watch by Dennis Danvers is a pretty good book. I see next to no talk about it, especially in the SFFWorld Forums. As for favorite, I don’t know, but it was a very interesting book from a few years ago nonetheless.
  
• Top 5 favorite genre books read last year? (in no order)
  With over 70 books read last year five is tough. Two or three really stood out, with about 10 others just under those top 2 or three
  The Crooked Letter by Sean Williams
  The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
  Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
  20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
  Paragaea by Chris Roberson
  
• Top 5 favorite genre books of all time? (in no order, this changes everyday for me)
  1984 by George Orwell
  The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub
  Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover
  A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
  Dune by Frank Herbert
  
• 5 favorite genre series? (in no order)
  George R. R. Martin’s "A Song of Ice and Fire"
  Tad Williams’s "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn"
  Matthew Woodring Stover’s "The Acts of Caine"
  Stephen R. Donaldson’s "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever"
  Stephen King’s "Dark Tower"
  
• Top 5 favorite genre short stories? (in no order)
  "The Way of Cross and Dragon" by George R.R. Martin
  "Jeffty is Five" by Harlan Ellison
  "The Boogeyman" by Stephen King
  "The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant" by Jeffrey Ford
  "The Star" by Arthur C. Clark