College Students! discussion

When it comes to reading, are you monogamous, or do you get your thrills from having a different book each night?

If you are monogamous, how long do you usually wait to start up a new book after you're finished with the last one? When you're nearing the end of a book, do you ever feel like you are starting to get sick of it? Do you ever feel like you miss your old book?

If you are polygamous, how many books do you read at a time? What the most books you've ever read at one time?

As for me...
I prefer to read just one book at a time. Sometimes I have to read more than one because of school. After I'm done with a book, I like to read a little about it online through GoodReads or anywhere else. Then I usually wait about a day until starting the next one.

So I'm just curious as to what other people think when it comes to this oh-so-serious-and-important topic.

I generally read multiple books at a time. I usually have a serious-type read, a happy, sweet easy read and a classic that I'm reading at the same time. This way I have something to read no matter what my mood is. (Thank god for my Kindle!) Plus anything I might need to read for school.

I usually start a new book the next day. I'm addicted to reading. =D

I am definitely monogomous. Well, at least 90% of the time. If I don't really care for the book I am reading, I use the book I want to read next as motivation to get through one that is lagging.

And, I usually pick up whatever is close as soon as I finish one, unless it happens to be one of many times that when I finish I realize it is about 4:00 AM and I have to be at work at 8:00. :)

Especially during the semester, I'm a bit of a (book) slut. If a book isn't holding my interest, I'll drop it. Even if we're "serious" (ie, over halfway through). I'm a bit more dedicated during the summer and will tend to stick it through to the end. Once I finish a book, I really slut around and wind up starting about 5 or 6 books before settling on 1. (Haha...I had fun writing that)

Hahaha!!! Lori I laughed so hard at book slut! LOL

I stay pretty dedicated to my books. But I really love finishing them and finding new ones!

hahaha, Lori you made me laugh so hard! That's awesome.

For the most part I am monogamous. Once in awhile I get poly. I usually wait a day before I start another book.

I am definitely a book slut, but a little more in the sailor sense. I like to have a book at every port. One in bed, one by the couch, one in the bathroom, one for reading outside(soon). I don't really like to land anywhere without a source of companionship so I have many romances.
I can never finish a book and immediately start a new one, I need at least 12 hours for a book to really sink in. Sometimes though I can tell the end is getting near so I will limit my reading just to make it last. I have a book journal so in theory I write my entry for each book as I finish but I am about 5 books behind (oops).

I usually read one book at a time, unless I have to read some for class. I usually start my next book when I am one or two chapters away from finishing the book I am currently reading.

I love to read one at a time because I like to read them slowly and enjoy every page. Sometimes if I finish a book to fast, I get sad if it was a good book. :P at least I can always go back and re-read the book!

I'm a monogomous book reader. However, I usually plan what books I'm going to read in advance. So, I'll start a book, and when I'm halfway through it, I will already know the next few books I plan on reading. Since I've done it that way for so long, I have a pretty good system worked out. I'll read a fiction book, then a classic, then a light read, etc, etc.

The anticipation of wanting to read the next book allows me to make it through the one I'm currently reading pretty fast. And as soon as I finish a book, I'll record it on goodreads, etc and then go straight to my next book. Whenever I hit a plateu it's usually in the beginning of a novel, there's rarely breaks between books for me.

Annashu, I'm so glad I'm not the only slutty one in the group...

I usually read one "real" book and one e-book. I like to have the e-book on my ipod/nook to read when I'm out somewhere, but I also have to have a regular book going.

If I'm reading a book for school, that'll bring my total up to 3. I like to be as monogamous as possible :)

Recently I've been trying to keep my book count below 5 at a time. I don't remember my max but I know I'm good at 10-15 books, especially during school. I get bored easily and like to keep my options open. I usually don't wait between books, sometimes starting one within a hour of putting another down. Every once in a while I'll get into book overload and have to stop everything for about a week.

For those of you that read multiple books at the same time, do you ever confuse the story lines? I can't remember exactly which 2 but once I was in the middle of two and kept wondering why the one character was in both books. The names were similar, and I just ended up confusing myself. :)

I usually read completely different books because otherwise it does get confusing.

I don't really remember if the story lines were similar, just the name of the main character, or a significant character. :)

I've never had that problem. I'm not sure if it is because I've never read two books at the same time that were similar or some other reason.

I'm usually a one-book-at-a-time girl. But there are exceptions. Like if I'm reading a book of poetry then I'll also be reading a novel. Or currently I'm reading a book of short stories and a novel. Another exception is for library books. I can't read a library book in bed...you never know what gross things might be lurking in a library book! So if I get a book from the library then I'll also be reading a book I own.

The time between books varies. Sometimes I have to let the story "sink in" before I jump into something else. Or sometimes it takes me a day or two to decide what the read next.

I'm pretty monogamous too, although sometimes I'll read two books at once, but that's usually when one of the books is particularly difficult and I want a fun read to keep me going. I always begin a new book straight away...I usually hit the library within hours of finishing a book, otherwise I get a strong feeling of restlessness - I really don't like not having a new book to read. That said, I won't usually let myself buy more than one book at a time, because I love the thrill of buying a book, so I like to have that feeling as often as possible.

Here's what I've noticed about my reading habits (this thread made me think about them a lot): If I'm reading 2 books at once, and I'm excluding school books, it's usually a fiction and a non-fiction. Sometimes I'll throw in even more genres for a greater variety--poetry, short stories, etc--if I'm feeling like Rory Gilmore. Very rarely do I read 2 novels at once. I don't really know why I do that.

For a long time, I only read one book at a time. It wasn't until recently that I started reading two at a time. I think I've only read 3 at once before.

Book slut. Sometimes something just isn't holding my interest, so I'll wander away for a while until I can come back to it when I'm in the mood. Generally, I've got one book that I'll be reading intently and a few others I've put aside until I feel the need to come back to them. I always tell myself I should be monogamous, but I don't think it'll ever happen...

I go from slutty to monogamous depending on what I'm reading. If I'm reading something pretty hefty or serious like right now I'm trying to work on Winston Churchill's biography of the Duke of Marlborough, I have to read outside books or else I'll get bored. I usually read in order a biography, a classic, and either a nonfiction or fiction book. I also usually start the next book right away.

I typically just read one book at a time because if I read more than one, it takes me forever to finish all my books. But of course, there are exceptions, such as when I'm really excited about a couple of books and I can't decide which one I want to read first, so I read both. Or if I can't get into a book, I'll usually start reading another simultaneously to try and get me back in the groove. Right now, I have actually started 3 books, none of which are holding my interest that much, so I'm considering starting a fourth (something I can't remember ever doing before). It must be Summer that's making my brain so sluggish. As ironic as it is, I get less reading done during vacations.

I used to be all about reading several books at once. But now, I'm into monogamy. I used to try and read a personal book along with a school book, plus maybe a library book or two... But if I allow myself to read while I'm in the middle of a book for school, or even an assignment, things get out of hand. I will completely ignore the assignment or assigned reading until hours before it is due, and then I'm stressed, and everyone is unhappy. Plus, once I read a book, it starts a reading kick. I just don't have time to read the thirty books on my shelf that are constantly staring at me, begging to be read.

I am easily distracted by books, so one book at a time is a good rule for me.

I usually do one at a time. I find I get so wrapped up in a story that I don't want to trade it for another! When I was little though I used to do 3-4 at a time.. it blew my parents and my teachers away! Too bad I couldn't to math like I did reading haha

If I'm reading literary, brain-drain, heavy stuff, then I like to read something fun at the same time. For school, especially. I took this Victorian Novel class and goodness, I wept at books we had to read. Vanity Fair is not a fun read, I don't care what anyone might say. I find that if I'm reading something for the writing, I'll read it slowly, absorbing the details and the poetry in the sentences but I'll also read other books at the same time - the ones I read for the plot. So I'm sort of slutty? But only when I'm trying to be good. Haha.

Lately, I've had at least two books going at the same time. I think because I keep changing my mind about what I feel like reading.

I've been trying to read one so I can actually finish something by the end of the semester, but I keep starting other books and reading just a couple of pages of them. Grrr!

I read 5-6 books at once. Otherwise I can't properly focus on any of them.

I can only read one book at a time. I'm the type of person who gets really invested in a book and its plot & characters (like, dream-about-the-story-invested), so if I read another book at the same time, I'll either confuse the two or won't be as invested in either.

That being said, I will "take a break" or "break up" from a book if it's taking too long to catch my interest, and just move on to another book. Sometimes I'll go back to the original book when I'm ready, but if I do, I'll still only read one book at a time.

After I read a book, it depends on my mood or how heavy the book was before I move on to another. If it's a deep book, I like to mull it over for a few days, but if it was a quick, light read, I'll usually be ready to dive right in to another book!

This discussion reminded me of this quote...

"All morning I struggled with the sensation of stray wisps of one world seeping through the cracks of another. Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you? You leave the previous book with ideas and themes -- characters even -- caught in the fibers of your clothes, and when you open the new book, they are still with you.
-- Margaret Lea"
— Diane Setterfield (The Thirteenth Tale)

anyway...
I can read more than one book at a time but prefer to read one at a time. When I do read more than one book at a time (usually only up to 2 at a time) they are completely different.

I usually only read one book at a time, and almost always finish what I start before I start anything else. It bugs me forever if I don't. I am terrible for getting impatient and rushing through the ends of books though, I always regret that because I am enjoying it and ruin it by ripping through.

Elise, That's a really nice quote. And it's quite true.