... and if so how many usually?

Right now I'm working on 3 of them. Many would say that almost everything I read is fluff, but I still need to break it up once and a while so I work on usually three or four from different genre's so that if I get bored of one I can start another.

edited for spelling

Message edited by its author, Jun 20, 2008, 12:59pm.

I like to read one book at a time. Now, however, I'm reading four. :)

Message edited by its author, Jun 20, 2008, 1:09pm.

I am always reading (or listening to) multiple books. Today the total is six.

I've had as many as 5 or 6 on the go at once, but usually it's 2 at a time.

I just finished two up within the last day, so I only have one that I'm in the middle of, but I usually have three or four going at one time.

It depends on what I'm reading. I used to refuse to read more than one book at once, but now I make exceptions in certain situations. For instance, I might have one book to read at home and one book for the subway. The subway book will be something that requires less attention or focus--light chick lit or less dense non-fiction. I usually only do this if the book I'm reading at home is 1) large and therefore uncomfortable to read on the subway when I might have to stand up or 2) requires a lot of concentration to read, like a dense literary book, a detailed fantasy, etc.

I will also take a break from a longer book to read a trashy romance novel or something, a book that I can read in one sitting before returning to my previous book.

I try to read no more than 2 books at a time, though.

Usually I stick with one at a time, but very occasionally I can be reading around three. That doesn't usually last long though. Sometimes during my monogamous periods I'll dip into some non-fiction to try and learn something. :-)

#6: The subway book will be something that requires less attention or focus--light chick lit or less dense non-fiction.

Maybe I should try this so I won't miss my stops anymore. :)

#8 -- I keep getting paranoid that one day I'll miss a stop while reading, but it hasn't happened yet! I did once have an uncle who missed a plane flight because he was so into the book he was reading at the gate.

I drive my family nuts in that I generally have about 6-7 different books going at the same time. They do not understand how I can keep them all straight. I also listen to audiobooks while I am at work.

I used to juggle tons of books at once when I was in school. But I can't do it now. Maybe if I got into audio books I could, but for now, one book at a time for me! I've gotten pretty darn good at tuning everything out while I read, and luckily, I don't have to take a subway. :)

3 or 4, usually.

Usually one fiction, one non-fiction and one audio book.

I usually have a few going at once. I've got about five going at the moment, Insomnia, the Dangerous Book for Boys, a History of God, Under the Banner of Heaven, and a ER book, Mindfulness and the Art of Change which is turning out to be completely different from what I expected. Thankfully its a short book. I usually have a couple going at once, partly because I have such a massive TBR pile, and partly so that I can have something different to read depending on my mood.

I usually have three to four books going at once. Right now I am reading The Landmark Herodotus, Farewell My Lovely and The Generalship of Alexander the Great. I like the variety of going back and forth but I think that if I was reading one at a time I would get through them faster.

I usually have a few going on at the same time. Usually just one fiction, either literature or a mystery. i will usually have something philosophical, something mathematical, and some thing current events. Plus the usual coterie of magazines.

Always - although usually one gets a lot more attention than the others. Have four going now.

I usually have one to review, one recent book, one "for me" book and two on my bedside table. Plus I usually have a graphic novel and/or a manga going at the same time. Busy!

At least two. I need this to avoid the empty feeling that follows when I've just finished a really good book.

Currently, I have three going; a difficult, but good ER book, a fantastic book that I'm trying to make last and a chick-lit that I just received that I've been reading in those moments where I can read, I just can't give my full attention to it. Oh, and there's an enormous history that I've been reading in bits for several months and an Oprah book that I just can't get into (the protagonist is self-absorbed and annoying). So that's five, actually.

Usually one for at home, and I keep one at work. The one at work is usually work related such as books about autism or syndromes we deal with there, that is easy to put down and walk away from for perhaps days at a time.

Always have at least two going, one for the train ride, one home. Usually, I have three, one NF, two fiction, which is exactly the scenario I'm reading today.

Yes, I read several books at one time...I leave them in different place around the house..so that wherever I am...I can take up where I left off.

I always have an audio book going in the car, and I always have a print book going at home. I will sometimes have a second print book in progress if one is something I'm having trouble becoming absorbed into. And I will often have a second audio book at home for when I'm doing hand sewing. My husband doesn't understand how I can keep track of more than one book, but the only time I got confused was when I had two audio books going - different authors, but the same reader and similar plots. Since the sound and style of the stories were so alike, it took me a few minutes to remember which one I was listening to each time. Now I'm careful to have some contrast between my audio books, but otherwise anything goes. If I ever get more than 3 print books started at a time, though, I know it's time to quit at least one of them - I don't start a new book unless the old one is not holding my interest.

I'm just thrilled to pieces to know that there are others "out there" like me who read more then one book at a time. I have family and friends who just pooh-pooh the idea totally, citing that I can't seriously digest or enjoy more then one book at a time. That said, I usually have 2 or 3 going at a time. My "traveling book" which is the one that fits into a tote or under my arm is usually light fiction or comedic memoir; the "homebound book" which I'll read curled up in a chair or out by the pool. This one usually is accompanied by a highlighter or notebook, and usually is some type of heavy themed or educational book; and then the "bedside book" which is usually also a novel. I usually have a few magazines going at once also.
Molly4407 -Thanks for the thread

I prefer to read one book at a time. Not that there is anything wrong with starting more than one book provided we have enough time to read them all in a reasonable time but usually when I read something I don't want to stop.

There can be exceptions, off course: for example, with very large books, taking a break and reading something short in the middle can be refreshing. Non-fiction books are often best read in parallel to some fiction unless they are real page turners. Sometimes a new book just can't wait. Or there can be practical reasons such as reading a pocket sized book that you can take with you while keeping that huge hard cover volume at home.

But other than that I prefer to finish what I'm currently reading.

I just figured up that I am currently in the midst of reading 18 books at the same time which for me is an All-Time Personal Record. Here are the books I am reading at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to finish them so it will make my Goal of 50 books that much closer.

1. The Mists Of Avalon
2. Potrait Of A Witch by Dorothy Daniels
3. Cat's Prey by Dorothy Eden
4. Lady Of Mallow
5. Stone, Paper, Knife
6. To The Lighthouse
7. Maria or The Wrongs Of Woman
8. Animorphs The Android
9. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through
The Looking Glass
10. The Stand original 1978 version
11. Jane Eyre
12. Wuthering Heights
13. The Witches by Roald Dahl
14. Memoirs Of A Medieval Woman The Life and
Times Of Margery Kempe
15. The HandMaid's Tale
16. Cat's Eye
17. Encounter At Hanover Prelude To Gettysburg
18. Freedom's Gate

Chances are I will be adding even more titles to this list.

beatles1964

Message edited by its author, Jun 24, 2008, 8:00am.

Like others who have mentioned it, it is refreshing to see so many others like myself, who have multiple books going at the same time. And, similarly, they are usually of different genres. I have occasionally gotten mixed up between storylines, like when I had a Jodi Piccoult audiobook going in the car and was reading 19 Minutes by Jodi at the same time. I started getting characters mixed up! Otherwise, I find it follows a typical pattern, I start to read one, then start craving a particular type of genre and add that book in, then another. Inevitably, I feel like I have too many going on at the same time and finish them one by one. A new interesting twist has been the addition of my Kindle. I always keep at least one book on the Kindle for reading convenience (very lightweight, slips in my purse) and because I can read it very easily on my treadmill (no turning pages!!!!).

I usually only read one novel at a time but will often have several Non-Fiction books going at the same time. Every once in a while I will have 2 novels going but that is rare.

The 18 books at one time breaks my previous high of 13 books which I set last summer. The thing is I never intentionally set out to read these many books all at one time, it just happens. Normally in the past my average number of books being read at any given time was between 3-8. I know I could always count on being in the middle of that many books. I have always been this way even as a kid I was reading more than one book at a time. It's just a habit I picked up somewhere along the way that remains with me to this day. It's not like I wake up one morning and say to myself I want to read 13, 15, 18, 20 or 30 books at one time. It just happens. I don't know if that is the case with everyone else that reads more than one book at a time.

beatles1964

I used to read multiple books when I was little. You were able to take 8 books from the library at a time, so I always made sure I got my full quota :)
As a kid the minute something stops holding your interest you move onto the next.

Nowadays I tend to read one-at-a-time. I do most of my reading on the bus so portability is a big factor. If I have a bulky copy of a book then I might save this for reading at home/ bedtime and then have a paperback for travelling with.

*typo

Message edited by its author, Jun 25, 2008, 8:02am.

Better make that 19 books being currently read. I just remembered I am reading Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell. I don't think I have gotten too far into the book since I am reading so many others at the moment.

beatles1964

Message edited by its author, Jun 24, 2008, 11:03am.

Most of the time I'll just read one book at a time, but not always. Particularly if I'm reading a non-fiction book I'll usually have a fiction book going at the same time.

I just have too much trouble trying to remember what I'm reading from book to book if I read too many at the same time.

#24 ljreader -- you're very welcome :) I did this thread because I was interested to see how many people share my "bad" habits.

#30 wonderlake -- I must still have that "kid" personality you were speaking of. I very often get bored of what I am reading so I just start another, and another, and another. Eventually though, I find my way back to where I started and finish them.

i have to focus on one novel at a time, however sometimes i will read poetry or short stories at the same time that i am reading a book.

I generally have one "focus" book which is the book I'm currently making an effort to finish, but at any given time I'm in the middle of at least 7 or 8 books. More often than not I work on my non-fiction books when I'm in between fiction books.

Every once in while I purge the books I'm currently reading because there are more interesting books that I'd rather say I'm in the middle of. Also, I figure if after several months, I never get around to actually finishing the book, it can't have been that good to begin with :P

Usually I read only one book at a time, unless I am reading short stories, they can't keep my attention for too long.

I usually read 3 at a time.

Six. One for each eye. A right-handed and a left-handed Braille book. An audio book for each ear.

Three at the moment.
I usually try to keep to a non-fiction or classic (at the moment Trollope's "The Way we Live Now"),a volume of short stories and a lighter work of fiction.

1 in each room of the house, 1 in the car and in the office and about 4 stashed under the bed.

I always have at least on book, usually a novel (Currently The Stand) or a good non-fiction that is my main book of focus. Then I keep a different book around like a good poetry book (Currently White Shroud by Ginsberg), or a small play to read on the side. I also have several anthology's with book mards in them on my shelf. I read about one short story a day, sometimes more. Then, I have my bathroom book, currently "On Bullshit" by Henry Frankfurt.

I used to stick with one at a time, but I just got a Kindle and for some reason it's easier to do multiple reads; it's also dangerously easier to acquire books for the device. I tried to make a rule that I couldn't buy another book until I finished one, but...

I read multiple books at a time too! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one ;o) All my friends and family think it's so weird that I do that and don't understand how I can possibly remember what is going on in each of them. I tell them, "It's a gift!" Lol!

I read books simultaneously. In my book bag, I have:

The City: a global history by Joel Kotkin - very good.

Landscape Painted with Tea a novel, by Milorad Pavic. a harder read

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: how bronze-age riders from the Eurasian steppes shaped the modern world, by DAvid W.Anthony - quite good, but I have skipped over some of the archaeological details.

Born again and again: surprising gifts of a fundametnalist childhood, a memoir of sorts by Jon M. Sweeney. I just checked this out of the library and wanted to look at it before I read it (which I did this morning on the bus), but I will really read it.

Shiva 3000: the million Gods of the Hindu Pantheon walk the earth, by Jan Lars Jensen - a lighter read.

Then I usually read the daily 'office' from The Divine Hours: prayers for summertime, compiled by Phyllis Tickle.

I also have two more non-fiction books at home, which I almost finished with.

42: I try to do that with physical books, but it's never worked. Sigh. I have nine pages of To Be Read on my computer because of that—I can't imagine what it would be like if I had really easy access to them 24/7!

I usually only read books one at a time because they go by a lot faster that way. Exceptions come when, like now, I'm reading a particularly dense book (the 900-page, 9-pt.-font, unabridged Count of Monte Cristo, currently) and therefore can't read it at night because everything gets blurred together, so I have a considerably lighter book (A Spell for Chameleon) for before bed. And then because I had neither of them with me at a point where I'd be waiting for a while, I started an entirely new one (Germ) that I refuse to read before bed due to how gory it is and how impressionable my subconscious is, but it makes a good substitute for Monte Cristo when it gets too heavy on the mind.

45

Welcome to LT

I read your squibb on your profile, and it reminded me that if I spend a lot of time in a bookstore, I feel obligated to buy one or two books regardless of whether I need them. It's like I feel a need to pay rent.

I keep my "to be looked at" book list on 5x8 sheets of paper. I must have a 100 books written down, and am backlogged 3 years on some books.

I'm new to LT and find it so interesting that many people read multiple books at a time. I usually read two three at once. Over that number slows me down on all of them. I sometimes put one aside after partially reading it, but I don't consider that on my "active list". I grew up with a father who read a book while watching football and listening to baseball, so multi-tasking was a learned skill! I do the same with my cross stitch projects.

I keep light fiction at my bedside...just finished Anna Qunindlen's Rise and Shine last night and non-fiction lives downstairs and travels with me to the deck, the bathroom, the doctor's office, etc. Almost finished with Michael Pollan The Omnivore's Dilemma.

When I was younger (i.e. 14, 15, thereabouts) I almost already read three or four books at the same time. I would keep one in my bedroom, one in my backpack, one in the living room, and read whatever was close at hand.

Now I usually stick to one book at a time, and if I pick up one book while I'm reading another, I don't alternate them, I tend to completely finish the second book before returning to the first.

That said, I am current in the middle of about 4 different books. So, it's not a hard-and-fast rule.

I only read one at a time. I fear if I do otherwise, I will be more tempted to put a book down permanently in favor of others.

I do, but I'm trying to limit myself to two books at a time. I get through them a lot more quickly that way than when I alternate between 5 or 6 books at a time. The problem is that there are so many things that I want to read right now that it's hard to stick to my two book rule.

I once had two books that I absolutely could not put down so I'd read a chapter in one book, read a chapter in the other and back to the first. It took me a day and half to read both books, and by the time I got to the end, when I normally focus on one book (end stretch - that kind of thing), I still alternated between the two.

If I'm engrossed and engaged, I am a one-book woman, but if my guts aren't in it, I definately have wandering eyes.

I usually have 4 books going at once. One in the CD player or MP3 when I walk the dog, a book on cassette in the car (no CD player), one I am reading at work in preparation for book club, and one on my nightstand to read before going to sleep. Sometimes I will have two on the nightstand, one fiction and one NF.

I usually have 2 but right now I have four because I cannot seem to finish one.