Addicted to YA discussion

So I'm currently listening to the Snow Like Ashes series because Kate Rudd is an amazing narrator, but I was thinking about what to read concurrently (physical book / eBook). I have the Grisha Verse series ready to go, but I wasn't sure if it would be too difficult to switch between the two book worlds. Has anyone else tried reading two series at the same time? Would anyone recommend it or discourage (specifically these two series)? I have a few standalones I can read instead, but I thought I'd see if anyone else has tried it.

I actually prefer to read multiple books at once. Here are some of the reasons:

1. I find that if the plot is lagging in one, I'll always have the other to pick things up. This way I know there's always something interesting to read.

2. I usually try to chose two books of different moods/tone, so I can match whatever I'm feeling to the tone of my book. It's worked out fairly well in the past, but evidently you can't have a book for every single possibility of how you're feeling.

3. I commute an hour to and from school every day, so I almost always have an audiobook to listen to in addition to whatever I'm physically reading.
If you're worried about having trouble distinguishing the two books your reading from one another, this is a good method, because one will be read in your voice, and the other from the audiobook narrator, so it will be easier to tell them apart.

4. There are so many new books coming out all the time that I'm always trying to stay on top of what's new and good. Reading multiple books helps accomplish this, because even if it slows down the process of reading the books, I'll still be able to hop on the bandwaggon and join the fun while I'm reading the books.

5. If you're reading one with a book club, friend, or family member, it's nice to have another on the side so you don't read ahead or spoil your reader friends.

6. I have to read a lot for school, but the books are not always interested. Having a book of my own is always reassuring. And, often my teachers don't like for me to read ahead, so it allows me to be able to read at my leisure and without pressure.

Some disadvantages include:

1. Slowing down the reading process. When you read two books at the same time, neither of them are finished as quickly. It might feel like you're making less progress. This is a problem I've struggled with in the past.

2. Difficulty balancing the two different worlds. This can be particularly troubling if both novels are in the same genre, and even more so if the universes are very similar. I personally find it's harder to read two fantasy books than to read two contemporary novels, because of the complexity of the worlds.

But some tips I've established include:

- read them in a different location. If you always read one novel in your bedroom, and another in your living room, then you'll enter the books with separate mindsets and therefore be less likely to confuse them. You can try the same idea with certain times of day (morning vs evening), or by eliciting certain senses (always burn a candle when you're reading book A, but never when you read book B, that way the smell will help bring you into the universe of book A).

- listen to the audiobook for book A, and read Book B physically. If you don't wan an audiobook, you can have a similar effect of balancing an ebook for book A with a physical copy of Book B.

- keep notes. I've done this before, especially for fantasy or complicated science fiction novels. There can be a lot of characters, world building, etc, and it can be easier to keep track of if you write it down and return to it whenever you want to verify something.

So to answer your question, yes, I have read two books simultaneously quite successfully. I think the separation of listening to the audio book and reading physically will be enough to distinguish the two. Plus, the worlds and characters of Snow Like Ashes and the Grisha Trilogy are separate enough that I don't think it should be too difficult. However, you can always try out some of my other tips. Hope this helped!

Thanks! Those are some awesome insights!

Yes I have totally done that. But I read two physical books at the same time (sometimes even 3) and in the beginning it was a bit confusing.
So I decided to read them alternately and not in the same day as that really confuses me.
I actually am currently reading Ice like Fire and Scarlet together and I can keep up with them as the premise of the two stories is fairly easy to distinguish between.
Also great tips Sara. Thanks for sharing them.

Yes I have, I actually listen on audible and then a book that I been waiting on comes available so I will stop listening and starting reading. Especially if I been waiting on that books sequel.

I'm ADHD so at any given time I am reading a series, a single book, a long manga series, a short manga series, and listening to two different books on Overdrive via my library. I'm pretty much a hot mess but I never seem to confuse any of them or if I do it's very brief and instantly cleared up. I have a terrible memory but for some reason I can remember the differences in them all. I do read vastly different stuff- or it feels so different to me anyway. It's definitely different for each person but I'd try it and see how you feel about it and go from there.