Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion
Follow up to reading more than one book at a time
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Doina
(last edited Aug 25, 2016 01:10PM)
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Oct 17, 2007 02:13PM
even though i never really leave the bookstore without at least 5 books, and even though i have now close to 100 books on my to read list, i am amazed that some people can read more than one book at a time. i can barely put down one book without finishing it, i can't even imagine being able to focus on more than one at a time. (i've done it for school but not when i am reading for pleasure) anybody else out there like me?
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ME! I never read more than one at a time. I like to give all my attention to one book, I think I'd get plots and characters confused if I were reading 4 and 5 books at a time! I'm also a little OCD when it comes to finishing one thing before I start another; I do this with other projects too, not just books.
I mainly read one book at a time but there are occasions where i get distracted by another book and read that book all the way and then i have to go back to the other book i started.
I generally only read two different books at the same time, occasionally more. I used to tote books around with me at all times, but I rarely need them anywhere other than work or home, so I keep one that I'm currently reading in both places. At work, I normally have some kind of easy fiction read that isn't going to be horrible for me to have to take frequent breaks from (these days, Elizabeth Peters does the job for me). I only am able to read books on my breaks and often get interrupted.That and I just prefer to keep my hardcovers at home these days. If I keep a book in my purse, it's always a cheaper paperback so I don't have to worry about damaging it so much. Sometimes I'll get distracted by a new release or an unexpected hold from the library showing up, and I'll read it and put aside one of the other books I was reading.
I used to read 5+ books at the same time, but these days I can't handle that much in my brain.
I used to have 3+ books going at the same time, but now I just have two. In my backpack I usually have a book from the local library that I read on my lunch break and whenever I need to go anywhere by bus/subway. This is generally smaller and not so intense books, because they are easier to haul about, can be finished in a shorter time (needs to be returned) and since I can only read relatively short periods at a time; easier to stop and return to.
At home I usually have the books I buy myself and this can be anything both in terms of size and content - however, I usually only read in bed at home.
I mainly read one book at a time, however I have found some books particularly hard to get into at which point I decide 'hold on . .not getting anywhere with this, lets try something else'. Two such books i've found this with were Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Gloriana by Michael Moorcock. I have never left a book completely, I will always go back to it to finish.
I usually read 1 book at a time, but there have been many occassions where I had a book that was my "commute book" and a book that was my "read before bed book". That worked out pretty well cause I was reading a book that I had been dying to read for quite some time, and a book for my monthly book club meeting, so I read both. It actually took me longer to read my "before bed" book, than my book club book, which was interesting.
When I'm reading fiction its strictly one book at a time... and the closer I can come to reading it in one session the happier I am....With non-fiction the picture is completely different. I never read a non-fiction book straight through in one session (even short ones) and I seldom have less than three on the go at a time... and even then I am usually browsing or skimming another 2 or 3 at a minimum concurrently.
By the time one of the "skimming books" gets in to the actual reading process I'll have probably read about 10% of it (random passages throughout the book).
I find that my learning increases as ideas from one good book reverberate off ideas from the others.
I tend to read a few books at a time, not counting the considerable reading I usually do for work. But the books are probably of different sorts. Right now, for example, I am finishing a novel, reading a couple books of poetry, and at bedtime I'm re-reading an old favorite novel slowly, savoring the experience.
I can only read one book at a time. To me , reading multiple books would be like listening to the radio and watching tv at the same time.... I wouldnt be able to get too much out of either thing... everything would kind of become backgrounded and confusing and eventually cause me a major headache. I like to devote myself to one novel, really dig in and pay attention to what I am reading. If I pick up two or three, I know I'll lose the plots and characters, and the books may begin to blend together as one....
That would be strange.... I guess depending on what you are reading, that would make a book cooler... But It would only cause me frustation and a lack of interest.... not to mention the nessecary rereading of many pages to regain its train of thought.
I agree with you Lori! It seems to me that on the very rare occassions that I read more than one book, it seems that it is only because either I have to take a break from a book because I need some time away from it, or because the book is boring. I like to give a book my full attention, and I usually read when I have enough time to finish the book in one setting.
I cannot read more than one book at a time. I feel like I confuse things about the books (which sometimes makes me wonder how I got through college). When I read, I like to give whatever I am reading my full attention. Sometimes I envy the people who can read three or four or five books at a time. But, I think if I had a choice, I would still choose to be someone who can only read one book at a time.
I find I enjoy books more and am able to focus on them more when I only read one book at a time. However, I find it helps me get through non-fiction books (particularly very dry non-fiction books) if I alternate each non-fiction chapter with a chapter of fiction.
i probably should add that when it comes to comics, graphic novels or poetry i can read more than one book at a time too. but it's usually things that i have read before. i was amazed reading some of the posts and seeing that people read up to 5 or more books at a time. i could never do that and do justice to all the books that i am reading. when i read i completely immerse myself in the story, often not noticing that i am running late, or that i missed my bus stop, or that i probably should be doing something else. glad to see there are other people who find reading several books at a time distracting.
My currently reading list is 127 books long today and I'd estimate that there is a bookmark somewhere in at least 90% of them. (The other 10% are ones That haven't made it to the top since I threw them in the pile) Granted thsi pile of books has logn since gone out of control but I find it easy to cycle through a more manageable 20-24 books at a time.
Wow, Matt. Now that is a number that just boggles my mind a bit. I imagine if I really count up all the books I've stopped in the middle of, I'd be up to that kind of crazy number, but I don't really count it as "currently reading" if I haven't picked it up within the last month, and by that point I start over. Impressive!
