This week’s Book Blogger Hop question: Do you like to read books with a theme such as Halloween, Christmas, etc?

I definitely d0–in theory, but I don’t think I’m all that good at actually reading themed-books at the relevant time!  For example, I spent most of spring listening to the audiobooks of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  Never occurred to me that maybe four books set over four summers would make sense as summer reading… 😉  Maybe next time!

I think I focus themes more when I reread books.  I don’t pay all that much attention to themes/seasons when I pick a new book up, but if I read it and observe the theme, I’m more likely to reread it during the proper time of year.  I read Mischief of the Mistletoe for the first time in spring (although that was because of a long hold list at the library…) but now I try to reread it near Christmas.  Valente’s Fairyland series feel like very autumnal books to me (the main character is named September!) so even once they’re all out and I’m not rereading in anticipation of October release dates, I could see myself rereading them in the fall.

I tend to do better on holidays/themes with movies.  I like to watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the Fourth of July, I try to always watch V for Vendetta on Guy Fawkes Day, and I have several favorite Christmas movies.

Do you read many theme books?  Do you have particular ones you reread in certain seasons or for certain holidays?

This week’s Book Blogger Hop question: Do covers pull you in?

Definitely!  I don’t agree with the old cliche about not judging a book by its cover.  Yes, in principle, sometimes good books have terrible covers (and terrible books have good covers), but more often than not, a cover at the least reflects the style of a book.  I don’t expect a cover to necessarily tell me if I will like a book–but I do tend to judge whether it’s in a genre I might like by the cover.

Covers make less of a difference now, when I mostly find new books based on other blogs’ reviews.  When I found most books by browsing at the library, covers were huge.  I’d see interesting titles (and sometimes judge by the font of the spine!) then look at the cover–and very often never open the book because the cover would be enough to clarify that this was not what I was looking for.  Like…to invent a title, say I saw a book called The Time of Stars.  Could be sci fi, maybe fantasy, so I’d pull it from the shelf.  And if the cover showed a teenage girl with an iPod, or maybe someone walking on a red carpet (you know, celebrity stars!) then that’s a no.

So much for covers dissuading me–for pulling me in, well, I do have a weakness for covers with girls in sweeping dresses, or girls staring defiantly at the viewer.  And dragons are always a good sign.  Or cats.

Do covers pull you in?  What cover features will grab your interest?

This week’s Book Blogger Hop question: Do you read books in translation? What are the last three books in translation you read?

I really don’t read much in translation, which makes me feel, somewhat guiltily, that I am getting a very American and British view on the world.  Since I mostly get my book ideas from around the blogosphere, I’m going to try to shift responsibility for that out into the wider world!  🙂  In more seriousness, it does make me wonder about whether there are lots of books translated into English and I’m just somehow missing this entire segment of reading, or if this is a widespread gap, between what English speakers read and what the rest of the world writes.

Off the top of my head, without hunting through my book lists, the last three translated books I read were Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris) by Victor Hugo, and The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l’Opéra) by Gaston Leroux.  And in anticipation, I’ve been meaning to reread Around the World in Eighty Days (Le Tour du Monde en Quatre-vingts Jours) by Jules Verne.

Which seems to suggest that I’m getting an American, British and French view of the world!

Oh wait–I dip into the Brothers Grimm now and then.  German is represented too!

Your turn to confess.  Do you read many books in translation (and what do you recommend!) or do you mostly read books originally in English?