Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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More than one or one at a time?
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Katie ATX
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Nov 19, 2008 01:21PM
Do you read books one at a time or several at once? I am currently reading Don Quixote and Mansfield Park, but then I did quick reads of Poe's short stories. I mainly read Mansfield Park at work and Don at work, but since I was readung the short stories at work I started reading mansfield Park at home and gave Don a rest. Confused? You would be surprised how easily I keep them seperate. And then I through in a random "easy read" like the Thirteenth Tale, just to ease my mind of all the classics. What about you?
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When I was a kid, I always read several books at once. I hid a pile of books next to my bed and read a couple of chapters of different books each night, depending on my mood. Not so much anymore - I mostly stick to one fiction novel and then maybe some non fiction. I have considered reading some short stories while reading novels, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
I usually have several going at once, of various types. Then I have options, depending on where I am or what mood I'm in - a lightweight paperback to take to the doctor's office, a heavy classic for quiet evenings, a non-fiction for when I'm in the mood to think, etc.
Hmm depends on the books I'm trying to read. Some require more concentration. 
I didn't used to, but now I'm reading more serious and less fluff. The problem with the serious, thought-provoking pieces is that I really need a completely mindless escape at times. (LOL 4 kids ages 7 and under, need I say more?) Also, I have a nonfiction inspirational book that I read before I start reading my scriptures at night.So, right now, I am reading:
1 nonfiction inspirational book (To Draw Closer to God: A Series of Discourses)
1 nonfiction book on education (A TJEd Home Companion)
1 completely frivolous and highly enjoyable book (The Goose Girl)
1 large book for the kiddos at bedtime (Mr. Popper's Penguin)
I just finished my "serious" book, but I had two from the library that I have been waiting for for awhile, so I am in the process of selecting the next "serious" one from the stack.
I didn't know I read so many books at once until I came to GoodReads and kept track, LOL. I guess I'll stop getting on my 7 yo's case for reading five books at the same time!
I don't usually read more than one at once, but I have been since joining goodreads. I have so many to get through! It's not really easy, I won't be able to do it with certain books.
I'm a one-book-at-a-time person, but the exception is when reading something heavy (literally and/or figuratively). If the book is long enough that it is too big to fit in my purse, or dense enough that I can't read it in distracting places like the bus, then I have an alternative, fluffier read going at the same time. I try to stick to one book at a time, because otherwise I end up ignoring the more challenging book and neglect it for so long that it is even harder to pick it back up...lacking in discipline, I suppose.
I start several books more or less at the same time & let the best win me over to exclusivity. Fickle? So many books - so little time! Some books are better read with a complimentary or supporting book esp history, biogs.
I never purposely try to read more than one book at a time. It happens because I have to have a book with me at all times and if I can't find the book that I was reading before then I will start another one. I guess it has more to do with impatience and absentmindedness.
I am almost exactly like Galen in my reading habits. Mostly though I just have one read, my carry-everywhere book. If I try multiple books, I just end up carrying-everywhere the one I like best. But unlike Coalbanks, I am annoyed if I abandon a book. I'm a big completist. And sometimes coming back to a book is hard. Especially with nonfiction, if I let a good page-turner fiction get in there, I will never finish the fiction.
Some of this single-mindedness is related to a medical condition I have that makes concentration and focus difficult. So I try to keep from voluntarily adding any confusion and distraction.
One exception is short stories or poems. Because they are short, and have a clear ending point, I have been successful at sneaking those in w/o detracting from my larger "purpose of the moment".
An example, I had started Satanic Verses so I could have done in time for our discussion here, but I couldn't get into it moodwise, and have read 2.5 books since I started it. Now whenever I do go back, I'll probably just start over.
I love all the different ways people have that all work perfectly for them. Whatever makes us happy and keeps us reading!
I always read several at once. Usually I'll have quite a few in progress at the same time, and depending on what I'm in the mood for I've always got several choices. I've usually have ten or so going at the same time.I don't usually have trouble keeping them all straight. Most books when I reach a certain point I can't put it down though.
I have reading habits more or less like you, Glenn, and for the same reasons. And yeps--when I get to a certain point, I too stay with that book until the bitter end;-) Goes for them all, heh (except if they are unusually boring, of course).I don't have that many books going at one time, though. 2-5 books is more like it. But it varies, and sometimes it's a matter of fiction and non-fiction at the same time. Does that count?;-)
I almost never read more than one book at a time I even bought a bigger purse to carry bigger books so I wouldn't be tempted to grab something smaller and easier when i went out. I am also usually driven to complete everything I try to read.
One at a time usually keeps my attention then I stay excited for the next one on the shelf calling the loudest to be picked up. My problem is trying to stop buying them but I'm sure that's a whole different thread. I tried a moratorium on all but used hardbacks but it didn't last long...
I almost always have at least three going. One is an audiobook I listen to in the car, one is from The List, and then the third book is what I call the fun one. I usually can't handle more than one book from The List at a time because most of them are very dense. In fact, my current read from The List, "Kim," hasn't been touched in weeks. But I think that has more to do with my new job occupying so much space in my brain rather than the difficulty of the book. Plus, I've recently been put in charge of the book club at my library, so that automatically means another book each month.Sometimes, I'll just be "in a mood" and drop everything to read a romance, a mystery or a young adult author. I can usually plow through those in a couple days. They sort of cleanse the palate.
I usually have 2-3 books going at any given time. Something light to read maybe when a ballgame is on or the kids are home and another that I like to spend more time with when it's quiet in the evening or when I have a length of time alone. I try to always have one going from "The List".
I usually have 3-4 books I'm perusing at once. Usually one anthology of short stories, a novel (book club selection), an ebook for my bus commute on my BlackBerry and a non-fiction for studying.
I generally have 4-5 going at once...2 classics that I'm reading online at work through my email one in the morning and one at lunch time
Then I have 1 either horror or comedy book that I carry everywhere
And then I have one book that I have to review for a website somewhere... these generally take the longest since most of the time they aren't in my fav genres (and some of them have been just plain bad).
I read at least 300 pages a day so I generally finish about 3-4 books per week, so I'm constantly rotating out my supply. My husband says I'm a book junkie.
Oh, and I have to finish every book I start, so I had to make a new rule that a book isn't "started" until I pass page 20... then I have to finish it no matter how bad.
If you like anthologies, have you read the Unaccustomed Earth by Jhirir Lumpara(the spelling might not be correct; she wrote the Namesake and Lingering Maladies). They were excellent!
Sometimes I have more than 1 going at once. especially if I am reading something that is really "deep".I usually counter with a "lighter" read.
I agree w/most of the folks here, in that, I read 2-3 books at a time.I am reading a book "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord, Red Mutiny: Eleven Fateful Days on the Battleship Potemkin
by Neal Bascomb, Douglas and Lincoln by Paul and Stephen Kendrick along w/Operation Red Jericho,by Joshua Mowill.
I also will read magazine articles in-between.
:0)
I'm not consistant, but lately I've got a few going at once. I'm like Jon in this: a novel, a book for study, a short story anthology, and as soon as I master the digital audio books I'll listen to one in my car. The Art of the Story: An International Anthology edited by Daniel Halpren is an excellent collection of short stories.
I'm like a lot of you, I read a few at a time, I got up to eight at one time a little while ago, but that was because I was really craving a book I couldn't put down, and not finding it. I feel like I'm always on the hunt for a new "favorite" book.
I usually have a fiction and a non-fiction going at the same time. And I keep short-story or essay anthologies in my desk to read during short breaks at work. AND I usually have some sort of audiobook that I'm in the middle of at the gym. That sounds like a lot but I make sure everything is a different genre so I don't confuse myself.
I usually only read one at a time. But lately, I've been exploring e-books, and thanks to the novelty of the format and all the new places I can go to get books for free, I'm now in the middle of three books. One book in paperback format, and two e-books. I may continue in this manner, but with only one e-book at a time. The book I read in regular book form will be a modern one, then most of the e-books will be the classics that are too large to carry around.
I read several at once. And a mix of plots which helps if I'm not in the mood for one of the books I can put it aside for a day.
I end up reading several at once, though I'm generally happiest with fiction if I'm only reading one fiction book at a time and I allow myself to become immersed in it. I don't mind mixing fiction and non-fiction (including the many design books I read for classes or leisure), but I do tend to have a problem enjoying fiction books if I have too many going at once.
I usually read several at once - at least one through DailyReader or DailyLit, and one that I can carry around easily. Plus usually something "not practical" like not-released-here e-book or some heavy volume.
Well, currently I'm reading Bad Astronomy, The Name of the Rose, How to Win Every Argument: The Use and Abuse of Logic, and Holidays on Ice.So yeah, I tend to read more than one book at a time.
I always read one book at a time so I can give it my undevided attention. I am able to, and have read, several books at the same time but I see it as a matter of my self-discipline to read one at a time.
