I was lucky enough to get an invitation to Google Wave the other day, so I have been having a bit of a play with it to see what it is like.

My first impressions were that is a glorified chat room. Which is unfair, but that’s how it felt. You can chat in realtime with your contacts, to the point of even seeing their text as they write it.

However, that aside, it does have some great collaboration features. You can edit messages, both your own and other’s, which is useful but at the moment it is hard to know what was edited. The authors details change to include the names of everyone who has edited that message, but there is currently no way of knowing what they edited or what the text was previously.

It does have potential as a collaboration tool. You can attach files and images to messages as well as maps and other gadgets such as a voting tool. There is also a Sudoku gadget you can play if you’re that way inclined!

Personally, I don’t have any use for it at the moment. I wish I had had access back when I was at university, and completing group assignment after group assignment. It might have made communication that much easier.

For now though, I will keep experimenting and watching with interest any changes they make.

This meme has been going around lately, and I may be a little late to the party, but here is my answers to the Reading Habits meme.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

I don’t think I have ever snacked whilst reading – my fingers would get dirty and then I wouldn’t be able to touch my book! I do on occasion have a drink whilst reading though.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

The idea of writing on my books horrifies me! But on the other hand, I love finding old books with notes in margins and underlines everywhere. If I need to remember something, I’ll put a post-it note in the book.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

Bookmarks. I own a rather large collection of bookmarks. I could never lay a book flat open – I love my spines to be pristine. I’ve even gone so far as reading a book keeping it open as little as possible so as to not crease the spine.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Fiction mostly. I’d love to read more non-fiction, but I always get so distracted reading them, even when it’s something I’m genuinely interested in.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Hard copy – I tend to tune out noise really easily, and I find that my mind wanders and I’ve missed half a chapter when I’m listening to audiobooks.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

I can stop anywhere.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

No – usually the meaning is made clear by the context, or it is explained a little further along.

What are you currently reading?

Currently I have 4 books on the go which is unusual. I’m reading Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco but it is currently on hold while I read The Children’s Book by A. S. Byatt. I’m also reading a short story anthology called Extraordinary Engines and I’m reading Watch Your Mouth by Daniel Handler as it’s handbag sized!

What is the last book you bought?

The Children’s Book by A. S. Byatt and The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters – they’re both Booker Prize nominees.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

I can have multiple books going at once. Normally I only like to have one or two, but as you can see from above currently I have four! I use the DailyLit service a lot so often I will have one hardcopy book and one DailyLit book going at once.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

These days I tend to read most when I’m travelling to and from work. I can’t read in bed at all, but when I was younger I used to have a beanbag that I spent most of my reading time in.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

I like series as you get to spend more time with characters you like. But I will quite happily read stand alone books.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Neil Gaiman. Although as time goes on there are fewer and fewer people who haven’t heard of him, so I shall have to find a new author soon!

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

Mostly by author alphabetically by last name. Though cookbooks are separate and not really organised at all. And there’s a big section that is organised by size. These books tend to be non-fiction hardbacks or graphic novels. Or simply too big to fit in with the rest of the paperbacks.