Thom’s Comments (group member since Mar 28, 2011)

Thom’s comments from the Book Buying Addicts Anonymous group.

The pre-Christmas book-buying bug has bit me again and I've bought: and . This should lighten Santa's bag a little this year!

I went to Rotterdam and bought: . Not a bad days shopping!

I only have this problem when reading for work. I think Ellie has hit the nail on the head when she says it probably has to do with age (the language that I read also has an influence). I compensate this by reading work documents first thing in the morning and keep my fun reading for evenings.

I will certainly increase my numbers. A challenge should have a significant difficulty level. I increased my goal during the spring but haven't really been challenged.

I think most of the people that have so far reacted to this subject don't see the forest for the trees. So many people are worried about developments twenty years from now when they should be enjoying the present. Don't sweat the future and live in the present. You don't complain about buying a new car when over twenty years the internal combustion engine could be obsolete. You buy the car and drive it now......in twenty years your Kindle or Nook will probably have died a natural death.

1.Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
I occasionally snack while reading and generally it is some kind of hard sausage. Yes, I know it is not the wisest or most healthy of snacks but it is delicious.
2. What is your favorite drink while reading?
Hot tea with lemon; It combines remarkably well with my snack.
3. Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
I don’t disfigure any book and it is a horrifying idea.
4. How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ear? Laying the book flat open?
I am defiantly a bookmark man.
5. Fiction, Non-Fiction, or Both?
I’ll read almost anything in print.
6. Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
Taking into consideration that I read anytime and any/everywhere, I stop anywhere and pick it up again when the time and opportunity presents itself.
7. Are you a person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
I can’t honestly say that it has never crossed my mind but prudence prevails and I have never actually done it.
8. If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
I love words and consider the mastering of each a treasure. If the opportunity presents itself I look it up directly and to help embed it in my mind and active vocabulary I try to use it within twenty-four hours. If I can’t look it up immediately I write it down and look it up later.
9. What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading Code to Zero by Ken Follett.
10. What is the last book you bought?
The last book I bought was Fire Along the Sky by Sara Donati.
11. Are you a person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
I generally read one book at a time, being a male I’m not the best at multi-tasking but occasionally I do venture two books.
12. Do you have a favorite time/place to read?
In an old high-backed Chesterfield chair in my library is my favorite place. As long as the place is warm and dry I can read happily anywhere. I think this is because I generally leave this world and step into the story.
13. Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?
I have no preferences in series or stand-alones but I do prefer thick books (1000+ pages) to thinner books.
14. Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
The last great story I’ve read would be my current recommendation. I do tend to stay true to any great author I read and look for and read as many books by them as I can
15. How do you organize your books? By genre, title, author's last name, etc?
I generally organize them by author’s last names (the thought of organizing them by the author’s first name had never occurred to me).

I am presently at 95% (52 out of a goal of 55). During the first half of the year I was well ahead but with the coming of fall (American football season) my reading slows down drastically.

I don't focus on the classical music I listen to I concentrate on the book and just go with the flow of the other.

and The Power by Colin Forbes.My October purchases have now reached 47...... Imagine, I estimated that I would read 55 books this year. I guess I'm like many of you and my library grows much faster then I can read. I'm not worried as I will always have something for a rainy day.

Hi Tammy, In answer to your question, I would probably say you go into a world of your own when engrossed in a good book. This escape from present reality isn’t unique to you (as I’m sure the majority of the Goodreads members experience the same thing). Unfortunately non-readers have no idea of this special place and see you as uninterested and tuned out to them. Some may even feel that such a world inspired by books is a bad substitute for their company….. They may just be wrong!

I am an avid book market shopper. I love to dig around in boxes and stacks of books to recover that hidden gem.

I went to an annual book market in the neighboring village of Asperen. The search is sometimes long and hard but almost always successful in finding gems in English among the thousands of Dutch books. Here are our finds..... and Dickens A Life by Norman and Jeanne MacKenzie Oxford University Press 1979

I can’t put a time or amount where books are concerned. I know that I will continue to buy them but I never stick to any given schedule. As most of my book buying is secondhand, I accept pot-luck and buy whatever strikes my fancy. Logically this ad hoc approach has its drawbacks, I sometimes buy real losers but every once in awhile I may also find a diamond in the rough. My library can certainly be called diverse as I have a little of everything. Ever so often I become inspired by a book. Then my buying tactics undergo a metamorphosis and I look for a particular title or author; I’m a very loyal reader if a writer inspires me. Inevitably, however, I return to my loose approach in acquiring new books.

I once spent two weeks of my vacation in the library!

Hello Alondra…..It sounds like we will get plenty of discussions and deep questions from you in the near future. It’s a shame that Goodreads couldn’t offer bookmarkers like that as it might inspire more open discussion.

Hi Philip,
How do you keep all of the story lines clear? I sometimes read two books simultaneously but even then it takes a few pages before I remember what had happened previously. I suppose that is the reason I generally read series together...... it helps with the flow.

It looks like the perfect visual example of chaos. How on earth do you find any particular book or are all your reading meals pot luck?

If I find a series that really grabs and holds my interest, I generally make a marathon run without any deviations. The Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes is a good example of this; his North and South Trilogy follows suit. I read the Outlander series without a break but had to temper The Bronze Horseman Trilogy by Paullina Simons with a couple of other books.

It seems to me that September will be some kind of buying record (the closing of many traditional bookstore chains may have a hand in this). I couldn't resist bringing home: This is the third or fourth posting I have done since the beginning of September.