More than one at once?

[Janet]

Normally only one at a time, but since I've started this AS Level English, I've often had two on the go at the same time! It's okay if they're different genres. I wouldn't like it if they were too similar in style!

[Icecream]

I remmber that Bagpuss. The good old days of studying, reading text books and fiction at the same time. I was likely to have about 20 books on the go, but of course textbooks don't get fully read (of course you are talking about having two fiction books on the go though).

 

I currently have two fiction books on the go though. As my chosen time to read at the moment is while breastfeeding, I have one book on the coffee table downstairs, and one on the armchair in the bedroom.

[Janet]

I've noticed that several people seem to read two books at the same time, and that Gyre is reading three - including two by the same author (Margaret Atwood).

 

I'm not a particularly fast reader so I think I'd get confused if I tried to follow two storylines at once.

 

How do those of you who read multiple books at the same time remember who did what in which book?

[Karen1]

Good question.

 

When I was younger I quite often had more than one book on the go at once, but now I much prefer to read one at a time. Like you Bagpuss I think I'd probably get confused.

[Kell]

I used to have as many as half a dozen on the go at any given time - they were all dotted around the house and in various bags, so I'd always have one of them handy to read. Nowadays I tend to stick to one book and one audio book, although occasionally, if I'm reading a chunky book that isn't totally engrossing me, I'll read a shorter book in between and come back to the thicker one.

 

I do tend to prefer one at a time nowadays - I my brain gets confuddled unless they're very very different.

[Weave]

I read on alternative days Bagpuss, but if I am really into a book, I will concentrate on that solely. Sometimes I do get confused though.

 

I also have books lying about the house, that I have started, then left x

[Fiona]

I don't usually, but at the mo I'm trying to read three (hah) Hemmingway (he's boring) The Harsh Cry of the Moon because I've been waiting for ages and Harry Potter 5.

 

HP is on the back burner for now, Hemmingway is my toilet book and I'll probably go back to it full time after I've finished the Harsh Cry of the Moon.

 

As I said, this time is an exception. Occasionally I might take a break and read a book inbetween. Usually I prefer to read one at a time otherwise it just takes too long to actually finish a book.

[Icecream]

When I was reading two I had one for day and one for night as I was up with the baby. I always had two very different books so as not to get confused.

[Angel]

On the rare occassion that I have had 2 on the go, I find that I don't tend to get confused at all!

 

I must confess that I now have a book in my work bag for lunch breaks - a new concept for me!! My only problem is that I don't get long enough and I often go back to the ward hungry because I've been concentrating more on the book than eating!!

[Moonchild]

I rarely have two on the go as I reckon I'd get too muddled up and lose track

 

Very occasionally I do but the second one is usually something very short and uncomplicated like one from the Enid Blyton series I'm currently re-reading.

[clockwork frog]

I usually have two or three books on the go at any one time but they are normally quite different types of books and I will read them at different times of the day and in different places so confussion is not really an issue.

 

If I have more than one novel on the boil then I sometimes sit for a couple of minutes with the book closed and just run through, in my mind, a brief re-cap of the story so far to remind myself of the characters and what they are up to, etc..

[Laramie]

I don't really know how I remember what's going on. I just kind of do!

[Echo]

I often will have more than one book going on at once, especially if one is particularly long. Sometimes I will stop reading one, read something else, and then go back to the original book. If it's been awhile, though, I will either have to skim through what I've already read, or start the book over. My main goal is to always read one book through before starting on something else, but it can be so hard!

[Oblomov]

I do parallel reading of two or three books, but never the same format. If I am reading a thriller, it would be the only one of that genre; but I might be reading a classic or biography at the same time.

 

I also have a large collection of non-fiction books related to my various subjects of interest, eg: Titanic, Unsolved Mysteries, JFK Assassination, WW2, Astronomy, Aviation and so on. I use those books mainly for reference and can look them up at any time, irrespective of what else I am reading at the time.

[angerball]

I've given up on reading more than one book at once. I tried reading a non-fiction and fiction book at the same time, but I found that I put aside the non-fiction book for months, as I was distracted by fiction. I find a lot of non-fiction challenging to read, regardless of how interesting it is. I think it's because I just prefer to be swept away by a good story. I think I will have to try to read non-fiction and fiction together again at some point, as I have a huge 'history of the world' book that I'm dying to sink my teeth into, and which will probably take me months to finish. :thud:But two novels at the same time? Noooo, it's something I wouldn't be able to do without getting quite confused!

[Hazeltree]

I tried reading a non-fiction and fiction book at the same time, but I found that I put aside the non-fiction book for months, as I was distracted by fiction.

 

I often pick up a non-fiction book to read at the same time as a novel - especially if I've just bought it, but the novel always wins!

 

The only time I've had two books on the go is if I have gone upstairs to feed the baby and forgotten to take my current book with me. I tend to pick up the next book I want to read, but I try not to get distracted by it until I read my current book. Unless I remember the beginning really well or it is a book I've read before, I usually start it again from the beginning when I start to read it properly just so I am into the story.

 

At the moment, I have picked up The House at Riverton upstairs on occasion but I've not read much - I need to finish the Jacobite Trilogy first!

[Kasei]

Haha, oh yes. I'm very guilty of multitasking with my novels. A few weeks ago I was running around the house frantic looking for more bookmarks because I was tired of using tissues and bits of paper to hold my places. I do the same thing at the library--every time I go to return a book I inevitably come back with at least two more and then start reading them, it's a bad (and sometimes confusing) habit. Especially when I get so many going that I don't have enough time to read them all before they're due--the compounded suspense from multiple unfinished books is horrid I can assure you. I'm trying to get better though. I still check out a lot of books but I'm now trying to finish them one or two at a time in order to keep things manageable.

[kitty]

I have never done this before until last month. Both books were over 800 pages I think. Its not something I would rush to do again, but I wouldnt rule it out. I read Wicked by Jilly Cooper and I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. I think I managed it as they were two very different books.

[NiceguyEddie]

I only ever have one on the go at a time these days. When I was younger, I could have more than one going at the same time. The most ever was four, but I never managed to get all the way with all four.

 

These days, one is plenty for me as I have neither the stamina or more importantly the memory any longer.

[Ruth]

I never read more than one book at a time. I did it once, when I was reading American Psycho - it is a brilliant book, but so disturbing that I couldn't read it in bed at night, so I read The Lovely Bones as well.

[julie]

I only read one book at a time . I guess I have a one-track mind, or I like to keep organized and if I am reading several books at once, I can't remember what is happening in each story at the same time .

[Kylie]

(It looks like I haven't been the only one trawling through old threads to bump some up! Thanks Julie. )

 

I used to read one book at a time, but nowadays I have multiple books on the go at the same time—mostly because I have so many books that I can't wait to read that I keep getting ahead of myself. 

[Athena]

I can only read one fiction book at a time preferably. When I was in school I sometimes had to be reading several books at once, and I wanted to read one for myself too. This was very confusing! I have tried reading two fiction reads for myself but I usually end up just finishing one completely and then the other. I can sometimes read a fiction and an information book together (but not for example a fiction read and a biography).

[Anna Begins]

I do sometimes- like I always have a short story going or BBC History Magazine going with my other books.  I just can't mix fiction with fiction or History with Historical Fiction, etc.  So if I am reading, say an autobiography, I can read something else along with that, but it does slow down my reading.  This is the first year I've tried to read 2 books at once for a long time, when I was younger, I did it all the time!

[Devi]

I try to stick to one book at a time, but sometimes on rare occasions I may read a non fiction along with a fiction. Once I had started five books (started at different times), and found it a bit too much to handle so ended up finishing one at a time before starting a new book.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Devi