June 27, 2008 • randomness, reading •

Friday Q&A, back on schedule

Tuesday Thingers

Last week I asked what was the most popular book in your library- this week I’m going to ask about the most unpopular books you own. Do you have any unique books in your library- books only you have on LT? How many? Did you find cataloging information on your unique books, or did you hand-enter them? Do they fall into a particular category or categories, or are they a mix of different things? Have you ever looked at the “You and none other” feature on your statistics page, which shows books owned by only you and one other user? Ever made an LT friend by seeing what you share with only one other user?
Well, since I missed last week’s Thinger I’ll answer them both this time, but I’ll begin with this week’s question since it has a very short answer: No. I’m apparently not the sole “owner” of any book I have listed on LibraryThing. However, I do have six books that are listed by a total of 10 or fewer LT members, including me (* means that I’ve read it and it’s been reviewed here):
  3. Life After Death: A Novel, Carol Muske-Dukes (never read; donated to the library) (6)
  4. Odds, Patty Friedmann (7)
  5. American Cookery: A Novel, Laura Kalpakian (7)
  6. Rockabye: From Wild to Child, Rebecca Woolf (8)

I don’t think I had trouble cataloging any of them via my usual ISBN-lookup method.

As for last week’s question, the 7 most popular books in my library are all by the same author and feature the same title character, so you might guess from that information that they’re the Harry Potter books. The top ten is rounded out by three classics: Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Great Gatsby.

I really haven’t played much with the statistics aspects of LT before this. One reason I enjoy participating in Tuesday Thingers – even if I don’t post my response until Friday – is that it’s a great way for me to learn more about the ins and outs of LibraryThing!

Booking Through Thursday: Definition

What, in your opinion, is the definition of a “reader.” A person who indiscriminately reads everything in sight? A person who reads BOOKS? A person who reads, period, no matter what it is?  … Or, more specific? Like the specific person who’s reading something you wrote?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!
Trish suggested that a reader “(is) someone who, if asked what they enjoy doing, would answer with, ‘I like to read books.’ Because it’s those people who read ‘everything in sight.'” I think she’s on to something.

In my experience, “readers” are people who love to read, feel a need to read, and don’t quite know what to do with themselves when they don’t have at least one book in progress. Yes, I do think it’s being drawn to books – because they want what books offer, as a source of enjoyment – that makes a person label her- or himself as “a reader,” and I suspect that this isn’t an unusual perception. Some people read primarily newspapers or magazines, but will admit to rarely reading books unless they are related to work or school – I don’t think they’d describe themselves as “readers,” and I probably wouldn’t either. (Readers, on the other hand, may be found reading newspapers or magazines in addition to, or as a break from, their books.)

Anyone who is engaged in the act of reading anything, at any given time – newspaper, magazine, book, instruction manual, map, blog – can be called a “reader” at that specific moment. However, outside of that moment, they may or may not seek out opportunities to immerse themselves in reading. To me, that type of immersion is most likely to be offered by books, and the people that do seek it out are the ones that I’d define as “readers” – like me!

What do you think defines a reader?

Friday Fill In #78

Questions courtesy of Jennifer this week; thanks, Jennifer!

1. Birthdays are your own personal holiday, and if at all possible, should NOT be spent at work!

2. Spring is my favorite season because that’s when my birthday is the days get longer and the weather is nicer, and the plants turn green and flowery.

3. I feel my best when I’m wearing clothes that fit me well and my hair is being cooperative (yes, I feel good when I think I look good – is that shallow?)

4. In general, Italian is my favorite food (I can’t pick just one favorite dish, sorry)!

5. First impressions are not always accurate, and I try not to emphasize them too much.

6. The best piece of advice I ever received was “Always take a book with you, so you have something to do.”

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include seeing Get Smart at the movies with friends and Sunday, I want to get me chores done, but still have some fun!

What are you reading right now, and what’s happening on Page 123?
  1. Pick up the nearest book, and open it to page 123.
  2. Find the fifth sentence, and post the next three sentences.

I started Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris while I was on vacation; kind of an odd time for a workplace novel, I suppose, but much better than actually being at work. And I think that this may be the first time since I started doing this routine that I’ve actually read past page 123 before answering the meme:

Roland told him that he stopped by there every time he worked a night shift, so every Thursday night.
“And have you ever found anything?”
“Nothing,” said Roland, “except that lucky rabbit’s foot.”
They may never let me come back to Tennessee now. Then again, my birth certificate was issued in Yonkers, New York, so my Southern claims have always been a bit questionable…

You Are 70% Yankee, 30% Dixie

You’re so Yankee, it’s possible you’ve never even been to the South!

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9 comments

  1. lol I had the same score as you! I saw Get Smart last Friday…can’t wait to hear what you think of it 🙂

    I follow that advice religiously!

  3. Janet – But I lived almost half my life in the South, so I was actually a bit surprised by my score.

    So, what did you think of Get Smart? Or are you going to keep it to yourself until after I’ve seen it :-)?

    Marie – It’s a pretty good anthology. I reviewed it here, if you’re interested. I’m not an only child myself, but my son is (or was for 22 years, until he acquired two younger step-siblings).

  4. Are you going to post a review of Get Smart? I’m curious what you’ll think of it. No, I haven’t seen it. But we are probably go to see Wall-e next weekend. No, my kids don’t rule the house at all. 🙂

  5. Mike – Probably. I may try to get Tall Paul to write one too. He was a HUGE fan of the show, so he may be a bit pickier than I am about the movie. We’re seeing it with his best friend and his wife, and the friend is an even BIGGER fan; he actually bought and restored a Sunbeam Tiger like Maxwell Smart drove on the show.

    The experience should be interesting, anyway, no matter how the movie is :-).

  6. I think you summed up what I think of when I hear the term “reader” too.

    I’m with you in not wanting to be at work on my birthday! I’m always surprised when people work on their birthdays.

    I always think of my birthday as being in my favorite season (fall), but it’s really actually in summer. It’s that September month which can be so deceiving.

    My response to the quiz:
    You Are 60% Yankee, 40% Dixie
    You’re a pretty even split of Yankee and Dixie. You’ve probably traveled around a lot in your life.

    I hope you are enjoying your weekend, Florinda!

  7. Literary Feline – If my birthday falls on a weekend, I’ve been known to take the day before or after it as a vacation day, just so I don’t get cheated out of my birthday “holiday” :-D!

    And my birthday is at the end of March, so in a lot of places it still feels like winter then. When I lived in more northerly places, sometimes it snowed. So much for spring!

    I may have to re-take that quiz. I definitely feel more Southern than my score reflects!

  8. Oh I love Italian food too! And that is very good advice. I usually carry a book with me everywhere too but at the very least I always have a magazine with me.

  9. Tanabata – I figure that there’s always a chance I’ll have to wait for someone, or something, somewhere at some point during the day, and reading is a good way to fill that time :-).