The World's Common Tater

I found this over on Life and Other Disasters yesterday and decided I would make it my post for today. Generally, I feel no guilt about my reading unless I feel guilty about reading when I could be doing something others would consider more productive. Let’s get to the questions to see if I have guilt elsewhere.

One. Have You Ever Re-Gifted A Book You’ve Been Given?

Books I’ve been given as gifts – no. I would be too afraid I would accidentally give it back to the person who gave it to me. Books I’ve been given at conferences – yes. I have picked up multiple books, ARCS and otherwise at conferences and then used them as gifts.

Two. Have You Ever Said You’ve Read A Book When You Haven’t?

No. I see no reason to lie about having read a book. I’m not trying to impress anyone. I might not remember if I’ve read a book, so I guess it’s possible I might have assumed I read a book when I didn’t.

Three. Have You Ever Borrowed A Book And Not Returned It?

Yes. I still have my brother’s copy of The Punch by John Feinstein. I still haven’t read it. I’m not sure when or if I will ever read it and give it back to him. I should feel bad about it. He doesn’t read a lot and I’ve stolen one of the few books he owns.

Four. Have You Ever Read A Series Out Of Order?

Not on purpose. I’m very much a “read in order” reader even when it is a series that can be read out of order without really missing anything. I have on occasion read a book and realized at some point that it is not the first book in a series. Just recently I read a book that was a companion book to another one I’d read and realized there was a middle book connecting them that I had missed.

Five. Have You Ever Spoiled A Book For Someone?

If I have I don’t remember doing it. There are times I’ve told someone about a book and, after they confirmed they would never read it, told them how it ended. I would never spoil a book if I thought the person was going to read it.

Six. Have You Ever Dogeared A Book?

I’m sure I’ve done this before. I would never dogear a library book or a book that belongs to someone else. I would never dogear a book I plan to keep on my personal shelves. If I had an old paperback book I was taking on a trip and planned to leave behind I wouldn’t hesitate to do it if I didn’t have a bookmark.

Seven. Have You Ever Told Someone You Don’t Own A Book When You Do?

I don’t see a reason I would do this. I guess you would do it to avoid loaning it to someone? I would just be honest and tell the person I don’t loan my books. I have forgotten that I own a book and then bought a second copy only to discover the copy I already own on the shelf when I go to shelve the new copy.

Eight. Have You Ever Skipped A Chapter Or A Section Of A Book?

I definitely did this in school. When reading for pleasure I have skimmed over sections quite often. I’ve never just skipped a section because I would feel like I’ve missed something. The skimming happens a lot on books like Game of Thrones with multiple character viewpoints. I find some characters very boring and skim them when it gets tedious.

Nine. Have You Ever Bad Mouthed A Book You Actually Liked?

I don’t think so. I don’t see why I would, Because others are bad mouthing it? I don’t care enough about what others think to do that. If I’m in book club and everyone else hated the book I wouldn’t lie and say I hated it. I won’t waste any effort to try to plead my case for the book, but I would admit I liked it.

I guess I would say I said yes to 4 of the 9. 3 definites and two kind ofs, so I will stick with 4. Not too bad.

feel free to play along in the comments or in your own post.