Math
Hey, how many books do you guys read at once?
If you get reading too many different things at once... doesn't it feel kind of immoral?? Like you're catting around when you should be going steady?
I usually read two books at once: my primary read, and something on audio for drives. But I admit I have this brand new, beautiful, incredibly light Kindle, and was thinking about starting a third book that would just be on the device. Seems like the ideal instrument for reading in bed, especially when you've hit the point where you know you should go to sleep, but you still have a craving to stare at a screen. Better a screen with a book on it than my phone.
But: back to the question. How many books do you read at once? Can you honestly defend reading more than two at a time?
If you get reading too many different things at once... doesn't it feel kind of immoral?? Like you're catting around when you should be going steady?
I usually read two books at once: my primary read, and something on audio for drives. But I admit I have this brand new, beautiful, incredibly light Kindle, and was thinking about starting a third book that would just be on the device. Seems like the ideal instrument for reading in bed, especially when you've hit the point where you know you should go to sleep, but you still have a craving to stare at a screen. Better a screen with a book on it than my phone.
But: back to the question. How many books do you read at once? Can you honestly defend reading more than two at a time?
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Amanda
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Feb 09, 2017 01:32PM
I'm a one book at a time kind of girl!
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Only one book at a time for me. I like to fully submerse myself in whatever I'm reading, whether it's fiction or nonfiction. I don't think I get the same level of enjoyment or understanding when reading multiple books at once. But to each, their own!
I usually read two (similar to you - one audio one regular) but I sometimes read up to four or five. It depends on the type of book. For example, if one is more of a biography, one a mystery, one an audio, one a YA, etc. then I might have them all going at once and when I get "bored" with one I turn to another.
One on my phone, one upstairs for bedtime and one downstairs. Sometimes an extra on my Fire for traveling.
I read quite a bit at once but usually different genres. I'm reading Love & War by John Jakes, One flew over the cuckoo's nest by Ken Kesey, Chronicle of a last summer by Yasmine El Rashidi, & I'm listening to Wives & daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. They are times when a book grabs me & I'll only read it. Like Pearl by Tabitha King, couldn't put it down!
1 audio book in the car, 1 audio book on my kindle for when I'm cleaning, 1 e-book for when I'm up in the middle of the night, and usually one nonfiction and 1 fiction book from the library.
Meow. I have so many going at one time I look like a hoarder! I start one, start another, go back and work on that first one, start another, finish the one I started 2 months ago, listen to an audio book in the car, throw in some children's picture books and comics. Whew!
I usually have several on the go...who doesn't? But generally it's two or three...I read while soaking in the tub mornings before work, I read one on the bus only, which if I'm absorbed I will stop off for half an hour coffee and read; and then I have a book I read before I go to bed. But if there is the book (like yours)that I just can't put down, I end up sneak-read throughout the day and night (hubby says I ignore him). I have not broken down and bought an e-reader yet....I just can't give up the look, feel and smell of a book, esp a new book or an old classic that I have bought from a small indie bookseller. And I love matching my bookmarks to my book I am reading....How can I honestly defend reading more than two at a time - simple.....I love to read!
No more than 3 books at once. The first is my main read. It is my go to book I want to devour. The second one is my nightstand book. I read it if I read enough pages of my main read that day. It is a book I'm not too ina rush to finish. The third book is on my phone. It if for the subway, waiting in line or waiting at the movies. It is something light that I can leave a lone for a couple of days if not a couple of weeks. Right now it is A Study in Scarlet. I never read audio books. They seem... wrong. Like it isn't really reading and I'm cheating. I'm also adraid I'd miss a lot since I'm a bit of a ADHD.
I usually read two at a time. One paper-book, and an audiobook for when I'm walking the dog or travelling on a bus/train.
I'm extremely bad about reading multiple books at once. I normally read like this:A kindle book for outside reading.
A book that doesn't require much concentration if my boyfriend is home and he's making noise.
A book for when my boyfriend is gone and all is silent.
A book I read in bed- although if I like it enough I might read it during the day too. (Usually a mystery)
An audio book if I'm multitasking or don't want eye strain.
My boyfriend is a one book at a time kind of person. He can't understand how I read so many at once. Haha.
I read 3 books at a time, mostly. 1 for work, 1 for home before bed, and 1 for weekends (usually a cozy mystery).
I have 3, if not 4, going at any one time: audiobook in the car, a different audiobook on my mp3 player or phone (for working in the garden or around the house), print book for lunchtime, and ebook on my phone for when I'm stuck in a waiting room. The key, I've found, is not having the genres the same, or I get universes confused. :)
I usually have 2 or 3 going at a time, I always have an audio book going in the car, a read at work (usually my book club book) and one at home (usually a horror or thriller that I save for quiet time), depends on the intensity of my current selections and my attention span, which can jump around a lot, especially if I can't make a connection with a book.
I read a few. I will bring one to work and read on my lunches and then I will have another one for home. Sometimes I get into three or four depending on how interested I stay in one book. Or I'll read a few different graphic novels at the same time as those can be easier to keep track of plot line wise than longer novels.
Great question! Usually 3-4. One for fun (fiction), and one for educational purposes (non-fiction), an audiobook, and another on my Fire if I'm traveling.
I usually have four going at the same time. One of those always must be an eBook, for laying in bed, riding in the car, or when my kiddo passes out in my lap and I don't want to disturb him. Beyond that, the second one is generally an anthology (for when I only have a few minutes and don't want to get sucked into a novel), and then the third and fourth are often a heavy novel and something light and fluffy, respectively. I try to keep genres apart, though; right now I'm working on a horror anthology, a reread of a YA fantasy novel, a contemporary, and The Hobbit.
Marc-André wrote: "No more than 3 books at once. The first is my main read. It is my go to book I want to devour. The second one is my nightstand book. I read it if I read enough pages of my main read that day. It is..."I used to feel that way about audio books. Now I think they're great. Especially when it comes to pronouncing unique names or places. There are some amazing readers out there. I find I can get lost in them also. But I do prefer to read.
Five. Five is the ideal number of books to be reading. Obviously.Reasons?
The satisfaction of that stack on the night table.
The avoidance of book hangovers - when I've finished a perfect book, if I don't have a few books I'm already invested in, it can take me days to shake the brilliance of the book I've just finished.
Different kinds of books appeal at different times of the day.
If I forget a book in the car, there are two on the night table.
Basic greed.
One book at a time. Give each one my full love and attention...even if I want to throw it across the room.
Three at a time, usually. On different formats and fitting into different time spots. Paperback for commutes, audio for driving, exercise and around the house background noise, and ebook for on the couch/in bed reading.
well i usually read 3 books at once, because i'm a rebel, get on my level. And i also just wanted to tell you, Joe Hill that i'm currently reading the fireman, and omgauuuud it's just sooooooo good. I'm a HUGE fan of yours!!!!!! <3
One audiobook (for walking the dog and driving to work) and one hard copy. And it's not cheating, because I'm in an open relationship with my books.
*Usually* I will read one fiction book and one nonfiction book together at any given time. I have been known to reach out and read a second fiction book, but usually only if it's a something like a graphic novel, short story collection, or something super familiar, like Harry Potter. That way, I don't get plot lines and characters confused.
:)
Curtis wrote: "I can only read up to three at a time, but there's a catch. They have to be different types of books. "Yep. This also seems to be true for me. I can do an audiobook. I can do a novel. I could also do a work of non-fiction. And mmmmaaaaybe a book of poems. I think I'd max out there. More than four would be more than I think I could manage.
For me it depends. Usually 3 to 5, sometimes 6 but I try not to get up that high too often. I can't concentrate on just one or two books, I have to multitask to the extreme or I get bored. But, if I have too many then I have the opposite problem where I get overwhelmed. Three or four seems like my happy medium.
I often read more than one because I keep them in places where I might need a book (a car book, a by the bed book, a by the couch book). They often languish when I get into one book and then read that one straight through....
I tend to read at least 3-4: a fiction or two, a non-fiction, and a teen book (I am a teen librarian). Sometimes I'll throw a comic book in there just because.
I typically read one at a time but lately I've had 2 or 3 going at a time. The thing is they all have to be diff genres or formats. Ex: fiction & nonfiction; physical book (or kindle) & audiobook; or graphic novel, fiction, and audiobook. That way they're easily separated.
Generally I do one, as I find a focused interest leads to a more enjoyable experience. Sometimes I read a non-fiction book to balance out the fiction. Very rarely do I read two fiction books at the same time, but if I do I try to make one more fast-paced and the other a slower burn. I don't like to read three at once, but I've done it and I found at least one of those three gets shoved aside more often than not.
I read a book for class (assigned novel weekly), and usually two besides that, so that's three at once! Sometimes though I will just read one book. I jump back and forth.
5-6 at once is normal for me. A mix like a "work" book, an audio book, a hard book, an easy book, a graphic novel or two, some fiction, some non-fiction etc. I like the variety!
I don't have a number, but lately I've found something lacking if I'm only reading a male or female, old or young, white or black author. Diversity is key, whether I'm reading one or several books at a time.
I usually have an audiobook plus a kindle or paper book going at a time. But I occasionally have both a kindle and a paper book going at the same time for three total. More than three, I feel like one of them is going on "hiatus" until another is finished.
I used to read several books at once when I was younger and the storylines were more simple, and easier to follow. As I started to read larger, more complicated books, the high number of books I would rotate through and read started to dwindle. I used to read two at a time, up until recently, when I don't have my own bathroom and can't keep a toilet-book in there. Haha. So now I'm down to one book at a time.
I read one NOVEL at a time (unless it's a really long one, then perhaps two), but I also read 2 to 3 additional non-fiction books. For me, non-fiction doesn't require the concentration that fiction does, so it doesn't matter where/how/when/how long I leave off, since I'm mostly just collecting information. There are exceptions; 'Columbine' from Dave Cullen had me completely immersed, as did 'Tuesdays With Morrie' and Brad Gooch's biography of Flannery O' Connor. But most non-fiction is like mingling at a party for me; light conversations that I'll come back to in good time. But I rarely do more than one long fiction work at a time. But hey, that's what short stories are for. Muahahah.
If you get reading too many different things at once... doesn't it feel kind of immoral?? Like you're catting around when you should be going steady?Nope, I'm a total book slut. I usually have one longish book that I read fifty to a hundred pages per night, one audiobook for when I'm driving, walking, or otherwise putzing about, and then on weekends I'll plow through a couple short, pulpy novels that I can read in a single afternoon. And then there are comics...
Alison wrote: "Five. Five is the ideal number of books to be reading. Obviously.Reasons?
The satisfaction of that stack on the night table.
The avoidance of book hangovers - when I've finished a perfect book..."
Love this answer.
I only do one novel at a time and will read however much of that I can in a day. Then I usually have a non-fiction book and I'll read one chapter a day in that one. Sometimes there are two non-fiction books going at once or sometimes a play is thrown in there, but mostly I stick to one fiction and one non-fiction at a time.
Actively reading three books...another two have been set aside unfinished...to be read later. Or, not. This is my way.
I really try to keep to some sort of order, like one novel, one comic, one nonfiction, (one epic poem?) (one collection of short stories?) (one novella?) (desperately separating mediums so i can pick up more?) but I always feel like picking up another novel anywayso the real answer is: ???
and I do feel weird about it, cuz they get unequal attention and some of them end up sitting for way too long and I feel vaguely dirty about taking so long to read a novel, but I end up doing it anyway
I am all for one at a time, but I do have my lunchtime read at work usually a trade paperback comic..so I guess I do two
I try to limit myself to one audiobook, one ebook, and one physical book. This way, no matter what situation I find myself in, and since I normally have both my iPod and iPad with me when leaving the house, I should always have a book ready to help pass the time running errands, waiting at appointments, etc.
I'm strictly a one book at a time person, but sometimes if I'm reading a physical book, and I'm away from it, I'll start something else on kindle (where I can easily move from phone to tablet to e-reader). But otherwise, one book at a time.
I used to read 2-3 at a time, but I noticed that I just ended up misremembering plot lines and characters as a result. Now I'm a monogamous reader :P
I usually keep one or two novels going at a time, but with non-fiction and short story collections ill often have as many as a dozen in progress because you can pick them up and put them down so easily without losing anything. I consider myself poly-literous lol
Usually at least one fiction and one non-fiction at a time. Often with an anthology that I can dip into as well.
I read three e-books at a time, and one paper/hardback book. I need the variety sometimes.
For the longest time, I was only reading one book at a time. My commute to work is pretty long and recently I started listening to audiobooks for the commute. I blasted through World War Z and just started on Amy Poehler's Yes Please. I haven't had any trouble with differentiating between the two but I feel like if I tried to read two paper books at the same time, I might lose track of what's going on. On the other hand, I might end up preferring one over the other and never going back to the first one.
I have always typically been a one book at a time person, but as I have gotten older, I find I usually have a book and at least a graphic novel going at the same time with an occasional non-fiction read, but that is far and few between.
