How many books open at one time?

[Joshua]

I'm the kind of person who wont say 'oh I don't like this book' and stop reading, I either finish or it sits on my desk until I decide I need the bookmark and sit down and finish it; But as for just switching between a few books I don't do it often but if while I'm reading something I find another book that really catches my attention I'll have to, I'm too impatient to wait until I finish the first book, but I tend to not have more than 2 books going at one time -I start getting characters and plot lines confused.

[Quinn]

Life is like a stack of books next to my bed.I usually have at least 4 books being read at a time.

[Ron]

Quinn wrote: "Life is like a stack of books next to my bed..."



Reminds me of "box of chocolates" from Forest Gump!
And, decent analogy, books and chocolate.
Love both.

Currently have 6 books in various states of being read.
One will finish today, but, think I'll start to diminish
the number down a bit.

[Pixelina]

I often have many going on rotation. A few are 'long-term projects' like Dickens or Proust, one is bedtime book (usually something fast and entertaining) A few are on kindle and some paper. a few non-fiction, some collection of short stories etc.
Right now I got 14 as currently reading but actually only actively reading 3 or so.
I noticed that reading Mieville and VanderMeer at the same time was impossible though. They kinda bled into each other.

[Rita]

What about the same book - in print, on device, audio? I can finish it faster this way. But yeah, usually it's 2 or 3 different.

[Neal]

Sometime 4 at a time, but only one of them is my main read. The other's are things I peck at and are usually books of short stories, or reference, or something of the like.

[Scott]

usually 2 going at once

[Light]

Maximum 3. One bookbook, one e- on my Kindle and one (not too heavy or difficult) audio for jogging or doing the dishes etc.

[J.E.]

I usually do 2 or 3. Right now I have ~10 going. Oops.

I'm slowly making my way through both Patrick Rothfuss's series and Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn. I'm not a huge fan of Epic Fantasy, so those are slow going.

Also been on a Tom Perrotta kick -- bout halfway through The Leftovers.

Reading 2 Holly Black novels -- Tithe and Coldest Girl in Coldtown -- I dig her prose.

Continuing my Dresden Files catching up -- Currently halfway through 8.

I also have a Vince Flynn thriller in hardback that I take with me places and read whenever I don't have my computer/tablet. So that kinda goes down in chunks.

I'm sure I'm missing something.

Believe it or not, but I prefer to read one book at a time.

[Scott]

James wrote: "I also have a Vince Flynn thriller in hardback that I take with me places and read whenever I don't have my computer/tablet. So that kinda goes down in chunks."

Have you read many of his books? How do you like them? I've read the first few of that series and really want to like them but something always seems off. Not sure what to make of it, would love your opinion on them

I started trying to do the 2 at once, 1 on the kindle and one actual book, but I've already picked one I want to stay with till the end. I find myself having troubles staying immersed in one story if I'm also thinking about another one I have open.

[Micah]

One.

I used to have 2 going at a time: one for home and one I carried around to read at lunch or over coffee.

But now I'm writing more, I don't have time for two. And I get through books a lot slower. When it comes to a choice of consume or create, I tend to go for the latter.

[J.E.]

Darwin wrote: "Have you read many of his books? How do you like them? I've read the first few of that series and really want to like them but something always seems off. Not sure what to make of it, would love your opinion on them"

I dig 'em. They move pretty fast. Short chapters. Easy to read on the fly and pick up and put down.

But I know what you mean--

I think it is because he writes 3rd person omniscient. But it's not really obvious until you get into scenes that don't have Mitch Rapp in them.

KILL SHOT starts off by going back and forth between chapters of Rapp and the badguy. It wasn't until he went to scenes with the cronies in Langley that I realized he was writing 3rd omniscient. (So like 50 pages into the book lol).

Most people who write 3rd omniscient generally have a strong(ish) voice -- so the narrator ends up throwing in a viewpoint as well. Flynn's prose is pretty much totally devoid of any personality, which makes it weird and a little flat.

He also gives us pretty much what everyone is thinking at any time, which can get annoying.

But his books aren't about the prose. They're more about punching people in the face, and shootin' baddies, while being a spy who loves to terrify terrorist.

They're fun. :)

[Dale]

I rarely have more than 1 at a time. The main exception is when I am nearly done with one, but am going somewhere and know I will have reading time. Then, I'll pick a new book to go with me.

[Melinda]

I often have 2 books going at the same time, but usually not more.

[Gumps]

I always have at least two books going at one time, sometimes more. I think the most I have had going at one time is 6(??). This is how it goes.

Book 1 - A physical non-fiction book that I usually just read at home (unless I really get into it and I take it everywhere).
Book 2 - A physical non-fiction book for home, a change of pace book that usually takes a bit longer to read.
Book 3 - An e-book that I take almost everywhere.
Book 4 - An audio book that I listen to when driving back and forth from work.
Book 5 - A book that I am reading concurrently with my boys (recently the Percy Jackson's first series)
Book 6 - My just in case book that stays in the wife's car. This is for when I get stuck somewhere (like at a quilting store) and need something to pass the time. This started before e-books when we had infants. We would go out to the car to feed the little ones, or just did not want to wake them up, so I would need something to read while I waited.

That is usually about it....

[Therin]

I only ever read one at a time. Just my preference. :)

[Ron]

Gumps wrote: "Book 6 - My just in case book that stays in the wife's car. This is for when I get stuck somewhere (like at a quilting store) and need something to pass the time. .."

Now, that I can relate to! Even my wife got a chuckle out of it.

And, it's one of the reasons I want an e-reader. But, she says a computer for her comes first. Which I agree with, but, hey...

[Judy]

Usually at least 3. Four at the moment (2 on paper, one on Kindle, and an audio book on my ipod :)

[Melinda]

I start getting confused if I'm reading more than about three. I put the wrong characters in the wrong worlds accidentally, and then when I realize, I get caught up wondering how they'd interact.

[Gateacre]

Normally I have 2-3 on the go at the same time but never from the same genre!

[DavidO]

I currently am reading 5 paper books and about 7 books on my kindle. When I get to about 60-80% done with one of them I concentrate on it until it's done. Although if I find an amazing book I will put all the others aside until I finish that amazing book.

[Marybeth]

If i can't figure out what book i want to read then i do a one chapter rule. In every book that i get i read at least one chapter in the book and if i get hooked in the first chapter i will read that book but if i don't I go to the next one. It just depends on what books i want

[YouKneeK]

I consider myself a one-book-at-a-time person. However, I suppose in practice, that isn’t strictly true. In addition to whatever book I’m reading for fun on my Kindle, I’m usually also reading at least one textbook for school. But I don’t really count school textbooks because I lump that under “schoolwork”, not “reading time”.

Once in a while I’ll also listen to an audiobook while commuting or exercising or doing something else that engages my body and my eyes but not my brain. But again, I don’t really count that as "reading time". It's just a way to fill “mindless activity time” during which I could never have been reading a regular book anyway. I never just sit and listen to an audiobook without doing something else at the same time.

But when it comes to the time I actually spend reading a book by choice, for pleasure, I focus exclusively on one book at a time. I don’t think I would necessarily have trouble keeping the different storylines straight. I just like to fully immerse myself in one story. If I’m reading more than one story, there will inevitably be one that I like better and I won’t appreciate the other one as much. I’ll end up just wanting to read the one I like best anyway. Also, I feel like I lose some of the momentum and/or investment in the story and characters if I’m not fully engaged with them from the beginning to the end. Even with a single book, if it’s during times when I’m extremely busy and can’t read much each day, I start to lose interest because I lose the momentum.

I’m actually similar with TV shows. When I used to keep up with a few different shows weekly, I was constantly falling behind even on the shows I really liked because, by the time a week had passed, I had lost that emotional investment in the story and had trouble getting in the mood to watch the next episode. These days, I just pick one show at a time and watch it all at once. (Over the course of several days/weeks, of course!) I enjoy them a lot more that way even though it means longer waits between seasons and even though it means I’m usually at least a year behind whatever is current. It also saves me the trouble of investing in a show that might get canceled after its first year.

With books, I tend to even take it a step further – I’ll usually only read one series at a time. Meaning, if I like a book that’s part of a series, I’ll most likely read all the books in that series before I start something new.

[Aaron]

Currently 11 which is pretty close to my average. I'll reach the end of a chapter in a book and just stop sometimes for a few weeks or a month at a time then come back in.

[Brave]

I don't think I actually read books faster when I read multiple books at once. On those rare occasions that I am reading multiple books at once, I find that one book will really "grab" me and I neglect all the others until it is finished OR I get so overwhelmed by how many books I am reading and need to finish that I never read more than a few pages at once of any given book.

I guess there are some exceptions though - I am currently working my way through a collection of Roald Dahl's short stories, and I typically read a few of those whenever the mood strikes me, so if it is something like that, I will read multiple books at once.

[Mark]

I'll often have a half dozen fiction books on the go at the same time, as well as a couple of non-fiction. Sometimes they all inch forward a couple of chapters at a time, other times, one will just catch me and I'll concentrate on it. Between that and spending a fair bit of time analysing why writers are writing they way they are, I'm unfair on books!

[Michelle]

10+ books at one time, some that I might not get back to for months. I will finish though; I just finished A Game of Thrones today, even though I set it down for 6 months.

[Ben]

I always have several short story collections and non-fiction works on the go at he same time. Novel wise it all depends on how well I am (I suffer with fatigue) and the type of books I am reading but it is usually at least 2-3 novels on the go at once and sometimes up to a dozen.

[L.G.]

I usually only have 2-3 fiction books open at a time, but I'll have quite a few non-fiction books open at the same time too.