This question of the week is inspired by a recent conversation with member @Marijana_Bankovic, who has several books going at the same time.
How about you? Do you have more than one book in rotation at any time? If so, how many do you typically read at once, and what strategy do you employ?
I usually read 2 books at a time. One at night and one in the daytime!
I usually have 2 to 4 books going at once. They are usually different in genre so I read whatever suits my mood at the time. I also have both hard copy books and ebooks in progress so how tired my eyes are plays a role and also where the book is in relationship to me. If I’m in the LR both are usually nearby but depending on whether I remember to carry the hard copy upstairs I may not have it handy when in bed.
I find especially as I get older that I can only handle one audiobook and one book-book at a time, and they have to be completely different or I start to confuse them. I can’t say that I’ve ever been able to read more than one book at once, though. I think I tend to keep returning to the one I’m enjoying more & eventually DNF the other.
I typically don’t like to read more than one book at a time, but sometimes it happens. I’m nearing the end of Wandering Stars in preparation for the online discussion. ** Meanwhile I’m in the midst of an ebook. After finishing a book, the story and feelings linger a bit. These can intrude on a new book, which can be quite different. I have to let a bit of time flow between titles when possible. Flow time might only be a few hours, though, as the need for a “new” read drives me. I mustn’t be without a book!
Boy, isn’t that the truth, @NanK! I almost hate finishing a good book because starting something new seems daunting - like there’s no way this new book will live up to the one I just completed. And if your mind is still wrapped around that last book, it’s hard to concentrate on the new.
I have tried at this many times and failed many times! The only time that this worked with me was similar to what @Marcia_Kirby said, I had a book that I carried around during the day and one on my nightstand. Also sometimes I’ll be reading a drier nonfiction book and supplement that with a fiction book. But more often than not I’ll forget about the nonfiction book!
It seems like I’ve always read multiple books at a time. There’s the audio book for the car or sometimes when I’m putting away groceries or doing jigsaw puzzles. There’s the physical book or even books from the stash all around me and those might be for a book club. And best of all are the e-books read on my iPad Kindle app. After all so many books and so little time!
Sometimes 2 books at a time
I often read one on my kindle, I library copy and listen to a third