How Many?

[Claire]

How many books do you have on the go at the same time? And how much do you swap between them?

 

I tend to have two on the go, most of the time. Usually there's something I'm reading for fun, (mainly fiction) - and something I'm reading because I'm keen to learn about something or other - (normally non-fiction).

 

I have noticed, though, that when I go through patches of being bored and frustrated and fed up with life, the number of books I have on the go tends to multiply vastly. I'll end up reading about 7 books all at the same time and they'll be open all over the house, as I randomly flit between them, unable to properly settle on any of them. Not normally a good sign!!]

 

How about anyone else?

[Darkstar]

I'm pretty much the same as you. I've got a couple on at the moment - one fiction and one non-fiction, but I have been known to have six or seven at once. Generally, if that's the case I end up not finishing one or two of them.

[Harriet]

I have about 4 on the go at the moment...I change when I feel in the mood to read a certain one. If I can't be bothered to read I'll read something light like Harry Potter or Terry Pratchett, if not then I'll carry on with the novel I'm reading (at the moment a Patricia Cornell book I got for Christmas).

[My Friend Jack]

Years ago, I often had one book upstairs and another downstairs. Nowadays I tend to stick to a single book, even if it's a large, heavy hardback that I need to take on the train.

[Justine]

I usually have 4 books on the go at once: at the moment, one on Islam, one about Greek History, Muriel Spark short stories, and a crime novel for light relief.

I have a butterfly brain! And, like Claire, if the book total goes above 4, there's something wrong with my life.......

[Adrian]

I've always got at least two books on the go, usually my latest novel and then a weightier book that takes some getting through and so just gets a few pages at a time.

 

Just recently (in the last year) I've taken to started a novel and then postponing it. Worryingly, it usually doesn't get read again. I've just done this with Ian McEwan's Saturday.

[Grammath]

I posted this on the how long before giving up thread yesterday, but I guess its now more appropriate here...

 

I typically have two to four things on the go - a long/classic/"difficult" book which I might take months over, a lighter novel, an audiobook and an item of non-fiction. I pick up whichever I'm in the mood for at the time. Occasionally, this means some things are never picked up again.

 

There can be practical considerations too. A fair chunk my reading is done on trains so hardbacks are likely to be read more slowly because they don't come out with me so often.

 

I'm also a member of a face to face book group, so sometimes for practical reasons I have to break off from something so I can read that month's choice, irritating when the group book turns out not to be to my taste .

[Opal]

I used to have 4 or 5 on the go at once, but over the last year I seem to have found less and less time for reading. Consequently I'm trying to stick to just one or two at a time now.

 

I started The Waste Lands by Stephen King last night, and expect to get through that by the end of the weekend if all goes well and I don't get distracted by computer games or coursework. Unfortunately I then have to wait for the fourth Dark Tower book to be sent on to me, so i'll probably flit between "easy" books for a while - generally DiscWorld books!

 

Occasionally I'll even read books that are relevant to my uni stuff, but they have a habit of making me fall asleep...

[My Friend Jack]

Oops! Sorry, Fiona, I forgot I hadn't done that.

[megustaleer]

You must all be so young!

 

It's years since I was able to carry several plot lines in my head at one time. With some books these days, I even have trouble remembering the page I read the previous night!!

[Slowreader]

I read one book at a time and then leave it at least a week, usually two or three weeks, before starting a new one. In the gap I'll read mags, papers etc

[Mad Dog & Glory]

I usually read one book at a time, but on my current holiday I experimented by having three on the go at once. In contrast to Chris, though, it was McEwan's Saturday which 'won', and I will read that throught to the end before taking up the other two again (The Falls by Ian Rankin, and Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Alborn, to save me posting this in the Current Reading thread).

[Colinj]

Three. One for work. One for silence ie no backround music. One bedtime book whilst the wife is watching the soaps & a passage from the bible before bed.

 

Readers Digest in traffic ques or on the bus or train.

 

CJ

[Silvergirl]

I'm a 'one book' girl - always have been and probably always will be.

[Blueskylark]

I usually only have 2 or 3 books on the go. One fiction which is my relaxation reading, for short breaks between jobs and at bedtime. The others are usually poetry books I did in and out of and another fiction book, often a biography, I love reading about other peoples lives! I hate not to finish a book but realise now it is not the end of the world if I give up on something that really does not interest me!

[scarymary555]

Can only read one at a time.........brain incapable of taking in too much information at one time (mother of two....well three if you count 'im indoors!)

 

M x

[ckqd]

i always like reading only one book at a time.. but somehow i always end up with 3 instead! Now im juggling between 4, with LotR forgotten in the cupboard.......

[Trudy]

I find that i lose the thread. In fact my most favourite thing is to get into a book and not stop until i finish it. I love being that involved in the book that the characters become friends! In fact i tend to avoid reading anything i really love when i am busy (trashy novels only) because it spoils my enjoyment too much if i have work waiting for me!

[melydia]

For a while I had so many going on at once - one at work during lunch breaks, one by my bed, one in my purse, one on my desk - but it got unwieldy. I wasn't able to keep track well enough to truly enjoy them. So now I've been trying to read one at a time (with the current one only being interrupted if something more pressing comes along, like a bookring book). I find I get through them faster that way, which is a bonus since I enjoy writing reviews. Right now I only have two books with bookmarks in them: the novel I'm currently reading and a collection of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Sometimes when I'm feeling different I'll read a story or two. That way I can put it down for months without worrying about losing track of the plot!

[Seraphina]

Ah, I THOUGHT this thread had come up before!! Someone else has started up a similar thread so I thought I'd dredge up the original. Perhaps Bill could merge them or something.

 

Oh god, I'm turning into such a web junkie.....! I used tothink people who did this sort of thing were really sad.....!

[Seraphina]

ps....

 

i mean merge with Royal Rother's thread on two or three on the go at once, soory if i got it wrong...i'm a little on the wrong side of inebriated, and the other half has gone to bed so am left up to slabber on about crap till my heart's content!! but there ARE two threads on nearlyh the same thing, surely it makes sesne to merge them..

[Bill]

Not sure it does make sesne, Seraphina.

[Seraphina]

 

well i think it does......will review tomorrow but mad for now!!

[Bill]

Just a gentle play on the irony of your spelling of 'sesne'.

 

More seriously though, I will keep the two threads separate, although I agree they are very similarly themed.

[jebbie74]

I try to keep only one book, but my brain wanders quite a bit. It usually ends up being two to four. There's always a book in the loo, a book in my bag in case I forget my current reading and then whatever I am currently reading (maybe it's more than 2-4! LOL)