Single or multiples?

[Maggie]

I have always been a one book at a time reader. I completely finish one book before starting another. Lately I have been debating about having more than one book going at a time. I am wondering if I would be able to get through more books on my To Be Read list if I had two books going at once. Any advice from readers who make a habit of reading multiple books at a time? Do you feel you read more books than when you focus on a single book at a time? Besides picking books from two separate genres, are there any strategies to enjoying and keeping books separate when reading multiple books?

[Gerald]

I usually listen to one book at work and read a different book at home. I h

[Gerald]

I have tried reading and listening to the same book via Amazon and Audible. My hours are not normal so that really hurts my reading. I just read what I like and stay away from genres. I am not sure how people read five or six books a week. I figure they are retired or single or very fast readers.

[Amy]

I always read more than one book at a time. Always at least one fiction and one nonfiction. That allows me to jump back and forth between genres depending on my mood/interest of the moment. I don't do it to rack up a higher total of books read--I just do it because sometimes I feel like reading nonfiction and at other times I want something a bit less challenging on which I don't have to focus as much.

[Sue]

I usually have a print book, an ebook and an audiobook going at the same time. Audiobooks are for my commute to work (2+ hours a day in the car) and the print and ebooks are for home or when I'm waiting somewhere (doctor, kid's actvities, etc.)

[Denise]

I read at least two at a time. e-book when commuting by bus and one at home. I confess I often juggle two or three at home.

[Adore]

i can't read more than two (one fiction and one nonfiction) or it feels like bad multitasking and i don't enjoy any of them. however, i love reading one short story a day and then continuing whatever novel/nf i'm reading before bed. i'm now learning that i don't have the attention span for audible books despite binging on podcasts regularly! i am super jealous of those who can listen to books since it seems efficient and has the fun performance aspect.

[melodie]

I read at least 3 at A time but sometimes 5 books

[Kalen]

I am typically monogamous (aside from whatever Classics/Impossibles book I may or may not have going) but lately I have had several books going at one time and I don't like it. I can't focus on any of them and I feel like I am racing through each to get to the next one.

[Melissa]

When I graduated from college I made a pact with myself I would only read one book at a time. Having been an English major always juggling numerous pieces of literature at a time, I was done trying not to confuse stories, characters, plot devices, etc! I do however often have one audiobook going and one print book. I've been listening to the Flavia deLuce stories.

[Maggie]

Kalen wrote: "I am typically monogamous (aside from whatever Classics/Impossibles book I may or may not have going) but lately I have had several books going at one time and I don't like it. I can't focus on any..."

When I think about attempting to read more than one book at a time, my concern is exactly what you mentioned.... Not focusing on any of them, racing through and not enjoying them.

[Maggie]

Denise wrote: "I read at least two at a time. e-book when commuting by bus and one at home. I confess I often juggle two or three at home."

I have never considered reading a book and an e-book at the same time. That might help me delineate the two novels. I don't think I would have more than two going at once. I have a short attention span for nonfiction but might be able to get through nonfiction a bit easier if I was able to break it up with fiction.

[Linda]

I always have several books going. I just recently started with 2 audio books as well as 2 physical books. I have an audio in the car, one on either my iPad or iPod, a book in the "library" at home and one I take with me wherever I go.

I don't have trouble keeping the books separate but I don't usually read all the same genre or kind of book.

I understand that many people can not do what I do or don't care to, I've thought they might get through books faster since their entire effort is concentrated on one book.

[Marianmar]

I was always a one-book-at-a-time kinda girl. Then sometime back in '92 or '93, when I started to listen to audiobooks, I changed to multiples - one for the car, one for the house, and one paperback. I'm still pretty much the same, except the paperback is replaced with e-book ;-)

[Sarah]

100% multiple. I can't imagine just reading one book at a time!

[Cindy]

Ditto to Sarah's comment. I can't imagine reading one book at a time. I am a "mood" reader ... sometimes I want just the facts (non-fiction); sometimes I want to be someone else (biography); sometimes I want to escape reality (light fiction); sometimes I want a brain workout (literary fiction); sometimes I need something to put me to sleep (hmm..not sure of a category here). I don't think this multiplicity allows me to read more books over a period of time. It just allows me to find the right book for my current mood or circumstance.

I have noticed I shouldn't read (include audio here) two books that are too much of the same genre (i.e. two British mysteries). The one time I did this, I had to keep a character list on a post-it in the front of the book to keep everyone between the right covers!!

I don't believe monogamy or multiplicity is inherently the "right" or "wrong" way to read. We are all different in our reading styles, tastes, reasons why we read. Celebrate our differences!!

[Cory Day]

I think whether or not multiple books helps you read more would depend on how and why you're reading. Like others have said, I use multiple books for a number of reasons, but it started with wanting to read non-fiction but feeling like I was just slogging through to get to the next novel. So now I keep a non-fiction book at home and space it out over weeks or months while reading multiple novels. Then Audible made audiobooks convenient. I don't do that well with focusing on audiobooks, so I save them for rereads - I don't need to pay as much attention when I already know the plot. Then ebooks came, and I realized that in moderation I can even read on my phone if necessary. So I usually have at least one going for traveling and when I'm out and about. Then I discovered graphic novels, so sometimes I'll throw one of those in too. Finally, if I'm reading a work of fiction frat is going slowly, I'll read a plotty book (or more) to avoid moving through the slower one too quickly.

All of this means I usually have at least 2-3 books going at a time, but that's just my way. It has inadvertently become confusing before - sometimes patterns emerge that I'm not aware of choosing.

[Amy]

Cory (Bigler) '00-'05 wrote: "All of this means I usually have at least 2-3 books going at a time, but that's just my way. It has inadvertently become confusing before - sometimes patterns emerge that I'm not aware of choosing.
..."

Very true. As I mentioned, I am always reading a fiction and a nonfiction. I've found that often the nonfiction book will gradually begin dictating the fiction that I choose. For instance, when I was reading No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin, I started gravitating toward historical fiction set in the time period of WWII. It was interesting to get different takes on the same events --and I found that reading the nonfiction simultaneously helped provide a deeper understanding of what was actually going on at the time when the fictional characters were being portrayed. I felt as though I got a fuller, richer experience out of my fiction reads because they were being supplemented by the nonfiction.

[Dree]

I always have at least 2 books going, more often than not 3. I have Oyster on my phone, and always have a book and a short story collection both going on there--sometimes I read these at home, but mostly when I am waiting for kids, standing in line at the post office, etc.

At home I usually have a novel and/or play, as well as a nonfiction. I get virtually all of my books from the library, so sometimes I read one physical book at a time because it came form my queue and I won't be able to return it.

I don't do audiobooks--I have tried (last time was 2 months ago), but I can't follow the storyline and tend to get confused about who is narrating, etc. And I lose my place in the book when I pause it and come back (this is Overdrive, for library books).

When I am cooking and cleaning I listen to podcasts ;)

[Gayle]

I usually have 3 books going at any one time. An audiobook, and on my Nook - a novel and a non-fiction. I am impressed with those of you who can handle several at one time.

[Sarah]

I am also a one book at a time person. I can't read more than one because I often find myself sucked into one and don't want to do anything but read it. I just read The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and it took me literally a day. I was almost late to church because I could not stop reading it.

[Linda]

Sarah wrote: "I am also a one book at a time person. I can't read more than one because I often find myself sucked into one and don't want to do anything but read it. I just read The Fault In Our Stars by John G..."

I saw a review of the movie this morning that used the word "perfect".