Polls for Our Souls discussion

No I usually do 2-4 at a time only so that I can switch it up every now and then.

No. Usually I have 1 audiobook I’m listening to in the car. And then one book that I’m reading either on my iPad or on paper

No, I normally have at least 5 books going at a time. I pick up whatever seems to interest me at the time. I can have an audio book in the car, a nook book for reading in bed, and 3 or 4 paper books going. Both fiction and non-fiction. Hopefully I get them all done.

Lol, I'm usually reading 6 books at a time. I can see why this would be confusing, but I dont find it confuzzling.

Sometimes it gets confusing but not really for me

I have a serious problem with this. I've been trying to limit myself recently but I'm still reading 3 or 4 books at a time. It's not confusing to me just frustrating because it takes me so much longer to finish one book than it normally would if i was reading it alone. But on the other hand rewarding when I finish 4 books within days of each other. If that made any sense?

Yes that’s kind of my situation I was just too lazy to post it :)

Samantha wrote: "I have a serious problem with this. I've been trying to limit myself recently but I'm still reading 3 or 4 books at a time. It's not confusing to me just frustrating because it takes me so much lon..."

That makes sense...

Depends on books if one is emotional and the other isn't then yes it is difficult. I they both are decent then it is easy.

It's very difficult for me to read more than 1 book at a time, because then I have to focus on two different plots, characters, and I might forget some parts.

I always read 2 books at a time. One is a physical copy which I read before bed every night. And the other is an audiobook so I can “read” when I can’t actually sit down and find time to read. Like when I commute to work, or do chores around the house.

I'm pathological with the number of books I read at a time. Some I won't put on goodreads until I finish because I don't want to get over 10 currently reading. I haven't always read like this. Maybe my attention span is inversely proportional to my age.

I enjoy reading two books at a time, but never two physical copies. My second read is always an audiobook just so I can read while I'm cleaning my house or cooking a meal.

I struggle to read one book at a time, I want something to read but I might not be in the mood for whatever book I’ve started whether I’m enjoying it or not so I read something different. I usually have about 4 books going in different genres or writing styles.

For me it is only easy if the stories/subjects are very different. I struggle to read 2 paranormal fantasies or 2 drama at the same time. However I am really interested in military history so I can read a text on that and a scifi/fantasy/horror etc at the same time easily. Same with Scifi and a Fantasy. As soon as the genres start to blend I have trouble. Seems to be very different types of books occupy different parts of my brain : )

Nope, I do it all the time. I like to be able to switch according to mood, etc. Also, if one of the books I read is somehow slow, another book on the side often helps me pull through.

It's a bit difficult if all the books are so good you can't decide which to read on in first, though. ;-)

@Anni! Same! I could be reading a really good high fantasy book and then my brain is like "you know what you need? SOME URBAN FANTASY!"

I am totally capable of reading two or more book at a time, although it didn't go well when I happened to have been reading Divergent and Battle Royale at the same time though. So I prefer just one at a time.

I always have at least 2 books on the go (one to read before bed and another for the rest of the time). There have been times I've had a different book on the go in every room of the house and when I was younger I would have one book on the go for every bookmark I had.

If i read more than one at a time (which I usually don't, but am currently) I read one a day and switch every day to the other one and back and forth til I finish

Whenever I read 2 books at the same time (I don't do more than that because I want to be totally devoted to the stories) I choose two completely different books, one contemporary and one fantasy. This makes it easier for me, rather than reading two books of the same genre that are similar.

Not really. In fact I prefer to read multiple books at one time, since you never know what mood you might be in at that particular time. So I keep starting with new books from time to time, while already reading another books. They are usually of different genres,and I read what fits my mood.

Angelia wrote: "I always have at least 2 books on the go (one to read before bed and another for the rest of the time). There have been times I've had a different book on the go in every room of the house and when..."

I havent gone as far as a different book on the go in each room but I have 2-3 going at once. I have 1-2 I read during the day and another I read before bed (usually a no brainer escapism as I have a long driving commute). I get the different genres, for me makes it easier to keep track of the story lines plus sometimes you feel like pulp vs more complex books.

I do honestly just because I can't focus on both. It's not that I get them confused, I don't but I have noticed that I tend to put all my attention and focus on one book at a time. But that's just me. Sometimes I will change books if I am getting bored but that doesn't happen too often since I really prefer to read one book at a time.

I like to have a collection of short stories in one more book on go through out the year because sometimes I need to change the mood after I have read heavy book or few crime books I read a horror or if other way real crime short story

Sometimes

It depends on my mood. I like reading multiple books at once; sometimes I don't but more often than not I do.

Depends, sometimes i feel like reading a bunch other I'm in the mood for only one specific book

It depends, if the books are two completely different genres it usually doesn’t bother me but if they are super similar the plots sometimes get jumbled up in my head.

Asia wrote: "It depends, if the books are two completely different genres it usually doesn’t bother me but if they are super similar the plots sometimes get jumbled up in my head."

Same here.

It honestly just depends. Some days I could read 3 at the same time, but that means I might focus on one book more

I'd rather read one book at a time so I can focus on the story

I usually read multiple books at a time, so that I can choose exactly what I feel like reading- YA, non-fiction, short stories, an e-book, an audiobook, rom-com, comedy, etc. My "currently reading" list is insane. I really appreciate the ability to change it up. However, it is important to have a big coffee table, no joke.

Well, I enjoy reading multiple books reading at a time. But if one of those is very very very addicting, I can't stop reading it. And by the time I finish it, I forget some details of the others so I need to revise my notes an all. But, it's fun reading multiple books at a time. :))

I can read a maximum of 12 books at a time, but that is only because each book is different (genre, format, writing style etc) to satisfy a different mood.

I find it very easy , but then I have stabismus .

I may find it difficult when there of the same genre or have two characters with the same/similar names

I average about 10 at a time. Now that most of them are on my Kindle I can keep track of them fairly easily by using multiple bookmarks and folders ("to read", "about to read", "reading now", "come back to later", etc. ). Usually that would include roughly: 2 novels or plays, 1 short fiction anthology, 1 poetry collection, one book I'm proofing for Project Gutenberg, and the rest misc. non-fiction.

Some of the big books (e.g. Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire stay in my system for years with me still making progress and not losing my place.

I'm pretty neurotic and Aspergery, though. I doubt my system would be as fun normal people...

I usually read one or two at a time

I agree with Manisha, you need to read Books of different genres

I’ve also noticed it’s easier to read more than one book at a time if you don’t start them at the same time. I like to be at the beginning of one book, in the middle of another, and near the end of another. But I just started both Strange the Dreamer and A Darker Shade of Magic on the same day, and I have gotten them a little mixed up.

I read a lot of books at a time and I don't find it confusing. I read some for school, some for myself, and some for my own personal goals. I'm also in book clubs and I read those books too. I manage to keep the stories straight somehow, though I've fallen into a bit of a slump!

I can find it difficult when I get really into a book but then the other books I'm reading take me forever to finish. I'm reading "Insurgent" and "The Maze Runner" right now and I love "The Maze Runner" but am having a hard time with "Insurgent".

I feel like the more books I read at once, the longer it takes for me to finish them. But the most I've read at once has been something like 5 or 6 books.

I listen to an audio book when I shower, do chores, or anything like that. I read a physical book before I go to bed, and a kindle book if I'm out doing anything. Also would switch between kindle and physical at night if I felt like reading the other more, because I'm also kind of a mood reader.

Oh definitely. The only time reading multiple books at a time works for me is if it's on different mediums like the user above said. I can simultaneously read a paperback/hardcover, an e-book, and listen to an audiobook within the same day(s), but give me two of the same type at once and chances are I'll never finish EITHER.

C.A. wrote: "Oh definitely. The only time reading multiple books at a time works for me is if it's on different mediums like the user above said. I can simultaneously read a paperback/hardcover, an e-book, and ..."

Yeah, I had intentions of reading like 3 physical books once and I always kept going back to the same one to the point I put the rest back on the shelf because I was sucked into the physical book I was already reading.

Not at all! I'm currently reading 3, what I find more difficult is to read multiple physical books, if I read one ebook and another physical, is more easy. When you are reading in different formats is better, because when it's physical books you always have the one you like the most closer and the rest forbidden

If they are completely different maybe but sometimes it's hard to keep track for me. I prefer not to but I can.

I have found that I can do this but only reading in chunks. For example, I am currently reading two long books Middlesex and The Cartel, both of these books are broken up into 4 or 5 'parts' or 'books'. So I am currently reading a section of one then switching to the other.

If I'm reading shorter books (around 400 pages or less) I only want to read one at a time but with longer books I can feel a bit defeated by the book if I don't break it up.