My reading habits meme

I found this meme over at the blog Stuck In A Book and decided to fill it out as well.  They remind me of those emails I used to get when I was in high school where you'd fill in a bunch of trivial details about yourself.  This is the same thing, but about books so even nerdier than the old ones.

What is your favorite drink while reading?
I don't have anything specific I drink while reading.  Maybe coffee or water, but that's usually what I'm drinking anyway.

Do you tend to mark your books while you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
I hate writing in books.  I've done it only in text books and even then rarely.  I keep pieces of torn up Post-Its in the front of whatever book I'm reading so I can mark down pages that interest me.  Of course I have a habit of forgetting what I thought was so interesting on that page.  I should find a new system.

How do you keep your place? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book open flat?

If I have something on me, I'll try to use a bookmark.  It's usually whatever piece of paper I have on me.  Right now I'm using an iTunes card from a Starbucks.  I hate dog-earring a book, though if I get a book that way I don't mind it.  I just don't like ruining a new, unbroken down book.

Fiction, non-fiction or both?

Both.  I find it easier to start non-fiction books.  You don't have to acclimate yourself to a new world to start them.  But my favorite books are fiction

Do you tend to read to the end of a chapter or can you stop anywhere?

I'll stop wherever.  If I can I try to stop at the end of a chapter but I don't worry about it too much.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?

I'll put the book down and then bitch loudly to whoever is unlucky enough to be near me then.  And now I have this blog to bitch to. 

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

Nope.  I try to just use the context to figure out what the word means.  This works the majority of the time.  Or else there are a lot of words I misuse. 

What are you currently reading?

I just finished Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today's Pop Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter by Steven Johnson and I'll be starting Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore next. 

What is the last book you bought?

Coyote Blue.  Before that it was a few other Christopher Moore books: Fluke, A Dirty Job and Island of the Sequined Love Nun.  I've been on a Moore kick but should probably mix it up a bit.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?

Whenever I can I suppose.  I do most of my reading on the subway during my commute, though I can't really say that's my favorite place to be.

Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?

Stand-alones.  I don't generally have the attention span for a long series, although I love Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series and Nursery Crime series

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

I recommend Bill Bryson to everyone.  I know plenty of the other books I like aren't for everyone, but I can't think of anyone who won't like at least one of Bill Bryson's books.

How do you organise your books (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)?

At one point I tried to do them in order by author's last name.  Then I moved and put them on the shelves as they came out of boxes.  I try to group ones by the same author so all the Shakespeare is together and I try to put similar genres near each other so Stephen King and other horror books are on the same shelf.  For the most part though it's wherever a book fits.  I'm currently out of space so there are books stacked all over.

Background noise or silence?

I most always have something else going on in the background.  If I'm on the subway, I have my headphones in and if I'm home the TV is usually on.  I have trouble giving my full attention to a TV show so I usually pick up a book or something while the TV is on.  If I need to finish a book I might turn off everything else.