"Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold...?"

"Pease porridge in a pot, nine days old."

How do you like your pease porridge?  Honestly, peas are one of the select few food items that I despise eating, and, honestly, does anything in pease porridge look even half-way digestible?

Eughhh...pig slop or congealed vomit.

Not to sound overly geeky, but I'm hoping that those of you who call yourselves avid authors also call yourselves avid readers, and I hope that those of you who call yourselves avid readers also know whether you like your books hot, cold, or in a pot, nine days old.  In other words, I'm not the only one who has book quality preferences...right?!



HOW I LIKE MY BOOKS:



1.) I like to really own books.  Libraries are okay for a wide exposure to multiple books, but, in order for me to feel as if I've really connected with a book, I like to have a book that is mine and mine alone, as in, all of my other siblings must ask me if they'd like to read the book before reading it.  Generally, this means that I have to buy my own books from a bookstore or order them online with my own money, but, hey...this is how I like my books.

2.) I like my books fresh.  No second-handers for me, please.  Again, to feel as if I've really connected with a book,  all of the wrinkles and stains and creases in the book must be made by me.

3.) If I can't get a fresh book, I prefer a second-hander that has tons and tons of scribbles and notes in it.  Twice this school year for my history class, I've read through a second-hander book that has such the most interesting margin notes, and, I don't know who made those notes, but I'd like to think that they were made by a very intelligent professor.  ^_^  What's even more mysterious and intriguing is that moment when I realize that a past reader has left a question in the margin and another different person has answered it.  (I've only had that happen to me once in Beowulf, but it was awesome.)

4.) If the book is mine and if the book is fresh, I must write in it.  Some people say I defile books this way and ruin the whole point of buying a fresh book, but...is it really?  After all, reading a good book is being able to vaguely empathize with fictional persons; reading a better book is seeing your life reflected in the life of another fiction person; reading the best of books is actually changing your life after/during reading.  If you read a truly excellent book and want to keeping track of the copious changes you'd like to make in your life, you must write down your thoughts for later meditation.

5.) I must keep track of my spot by dog-earing (rather than book-marking), and my dog-ears MUST BE 45-45-90 TRIANGLES COMPRISED OF ONE SHEET OF PAPER.
So why am I this way?
Well, on the subject of book-marks, I don't like bookmarks for paperbacks because the bookmark falls out too easily.  Plus, when I sit down to read, find my spot, and set the bookmark next to me, I end up dog-earing the page when I'm finished rather than using the bookmark anyway, just by habit.  Also, if you dog-ear a page while you're reading in, say, the Bahamas, then come back and re-read the book during a rainy day at home, chances are you'll remember that you dog-eared the aforementioned page during your stay in the Bahamas, and a great flood of beautiful memories of your time at the Bahamas will douse you before you read.  No, I'm not a super-stout devotee to dog-ears (I'm practical), but, no, you cannot change me, and, no, you should not try.  :)
On another note, the 45-45-90 triangle, single-sheet thing...

...like this...

...versus the ugly triangular dog-ear, like this...

...or the even worse combination of several pages in a dog ear, like this...

...that's all totally my OCD.  Plus, come on, guys, which one is prettier?  Duh, the first one.

6.) Also, one of the most important factors of any book ever...is its scent.

Yes, it exists.

Generally, I have three acceptable scents for books.  The first scent, which permeates the majority of the books that I've read, smells like paper and ink and wood, and the aroma reminds me of sunbeams coming through a dirty window into my luthier's workshop where varnish brushes, old green bottles, and beautifully-darkened violins are organized above a pile of fresh sawdust.  The second smell is  much like sweat, pepper, and man's perfume combined, but indescribable otherwise.  x)  (Honestly, the only books that I've ever read that smell like such are the Peachtree City Library's The Hunger Games series, but the aroma fit the book perfectly - everything was so intense and dangerous and gripping.)  The last scent is the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon and coffee, which often comes from the books bought in a joint bookstore and coffeeshop.
Anything that does not fit one of these three scents is automatically a low-quality book for me, though, fortunately, I can't remember ever reading a book that didn't smell like one of the above scents...  ^_^

So how do you guys like your books?  Hot, cold, or nine days old in a pot?  Have you ever smelled a really delightful book?  Let me know in the comment box below!

Write on!
Clove
I got a haircut...and my hair, which used to come down to the bottom of my ribcage when it was wet...is now...alas...at my collarbones...it took me...like...thirty seconds to wash my hair this morning...and no tangles...so weird...very short...much help...ugh...in other words...I'm never cutting my hair this short again...teehee...I'm also never going to make a character...with short hair...ever...