Is reading several books simultaneously, being promiscuous?

'How can you hold more than one book in your head at once?'

A friend complained that I was not paying each author sufficient attention. She accused me of being promiscuous in a literary kind of way.

I often have three or four books in progress at once. One may be on the Ipad and I read it on the train, another audio while exercising and a third in print format. But apart from the formats, they might also be completely different kinds of books in subject or genre. One may be non fiction. Another a mystery or adult crime.

I thought most people read in multiple books.Do you have multiple books which you are reading? Do you feel you are insulting the author by reading others at the same time?

Frankly it doesn't seem any different from being a freelance author where you may have several big writing projects which require different kinds of research, plotting or crafting. It is possible to switch between the ideas.

Currently I'm researching Islamic customs for a junior chapter book, have written about first elected female parliamentarian Edith Cowan in the Aussie Heroes series for ten year olds and just finished Trail Magic with my son. He did ALL the THRU walking, I just helped proof reading Trail Magic: Going Walkabout for 2184 Miles on the Appalachian Trail|20424486] .

Just vicarious experience, not literary promiscuity.
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Published on January 11, 2014 22:43 Tags: trevelyan-quest-edwards, www-hazeledwards-com
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