Books on the Nightstand discussion

Over at the blog, I just wrote about how I've been reading multiple books at once, something I never used to do. What about you? Do you "read around?" If so, do you need to read things that are completely different to keep them straight? I do. Tell me a little about your reading habits in this regard.

I generally have more than one book going at any given moment. HOWEVER -- oftentimes I may have three or four or five or even six going but only be seriously devoting time to reading one or two of that lot. It all depends upon my mood and what's happening in real life which means how much time is actually available for reading.

There have been some books which have taken me a year to work through -- dense subject matter or even in one case somewhat "dry" writing but definitely subject matter which I wanted to read -- and I read many books over the course of the same year while plodding along reading that one book. The one book which was going so slowly in both cases I'm thinking of ended up being books which are huge touchstones in my reading experience and I even have several small size notepads of notes on one of those which I will pull out when I go back to the book for browsing.

As for varying genres -- I'm not sure how that plays out generally around here. There are times when reading one book will lead me to pick up one or two others which all have some connection to the main book. In some instances of this, I know that I picked up both fiction and non-fiction books related to the original reading material.

Not only do I read multiple books to fit my mood, but I am guilty of starting additional books out of laziness. If I'm in the middle of one book upstairs, I'll start one downstairs instead of going up to get the other.
And good books always cause me to increase my reading list to titles mentioned in the book, or to additional titles from that author, etc.
I think it also helps with momentum to "read around". There isn't as much pressure to pick the next book, or to stop reading one that just isn't working.

I usually have at least a recreational book (fiction novels) and a business book (marketing/ideas) going at one time. For a little while, I tried to add a non-fiction topic (history, sociology, etc.) to the mix also, but couldn't keep up.

Does my google reader count as a "book"?

It wasn't until recently that I started reading several books at once. I used to read one book, carry it everywhere with me, and not pick up a new one until I'd finished it.

Recently, though, I've had several started at once. One is usually a YA book; I end up pinch-hitting on the kids' side of our bookstore during the holidays, so I'm trying to get to know some of the newer books. I also really enjoy them. I feel like authors are often willing to break the mold and try something different with YA books, which I like.

I love to read before bed, but I can't read something I won't be able to put down or it wreaks havoc on my sleep schedule! So I have another book for before bed, usually something with shorter chapters that's more introspective.

And then I usually have one adult fiction book going as well for when I'm not in a YA mood. Sometimes it's nonfiction, but not usually. I try not to have too many books going at once, because then I never end up finishing them!

I usually "read around" because I'll have one book going for my book club, another in my personal "I'VE BEEN DYING TO READ THIS ONE!" category, and then one or two more, just to suit whatever mood I happen to be in. I enjoy memoirs, too, and have a lot of books containing quotes, which I refer to often for my work.

That being said, every so often I enjoy the luxury of reading only one book at a time; I can't read my book club choices too far in advance of our meeting date (because I won't remember what I've read...one of the joys of growing older) so I'm usually under the gun to finish a hundred pages by Monday night. I also take notes about points I want to discuss at our meeting so, much as I enjoy each month's selection, it's sometimes like an "assignment." So it's bliss to slow down, relax, and savor each sentence and how those sentences are strung together to make paragraphs, chapters, and an entire, luscious book.

And I'm with mellymel...not only have I started another book because the one I was reading was upstairs, I've started another because the first one was in another ROOM!

All in all, my passion for books leads me to say I'll take my reading of them however I can get it...singly, or in tandem.

Confession - our Women's Club has an honor system library set up at our community center, and you can take books you've already read and exchange them for an equal number of "new" ones. I went there yesterday with a bag full, DETERMINED to just leave them and NOT TAKE A SINGLE BOOK because my house is overflowing with them, and I'm trying really hard to simplify my life. As I shelved my donations, I couldn't help but notice some of the titles; "oh, there's one I've been meaning to read." "That would be great to send to my son for Christmas." "I loved her last book; I wonder if this one is as good?"

You know the result...I came home with just as many as I'd brought over there!

I used to be monogamous, but in the last year or so, it's gotten out of control. I think I have 4 books going right now, many for the reasons listed here. I am terrible at staying up too late reading, so I do save business books for bedtime, but lately I've been choosing really good ones that still keep me up too late!

Stephen, I think that my GoogleReader should be considered a book, based on the number of words I read there daily. It definitely takes away from my "real" reading time.

I always have at least one book I'm reading, and another book I'm listening to on the ipod when I go to bed. (We live in a noisy apartment complex and the readers voice going all night long blocks out some of the other noises.) Then I usually also have a book I'm listening to on my computer while I do paper work or play games. And most of the time I have another book I'm reading, in another room of the house from the first one. I stick mostly to the same genre, and sometimes it does get confusing if the books have similar plots and characters. Listening to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books, and George R R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books at the same time was very confusing, since they both have a long list of characters and complex plot points.

I am a big believer in "reading around." I used to be a monagamist and couldn't understand how anyone could stand to read more than one book at a time. Then I tried it once, and now I'm addicted. Usually I have one serious "literary" novel going on and a trashy romance/sci-fi/fantasy novel. Mixed in with this can be non-fiction or just a book that I've been really looking forwards to and I can't wait for it to appear in my reading queue. Usually I switch between my books based on my mood of the moment and/or how fast the plot is moving in the book I'm currently reading.

Like everyone else I have multiple books going but I do have some that I want to read but that I am not passionate about and I keep those by the TV so I can read during dull parts and commercials - sometimes the dull parts encompass the entire show.

Dottie

I used to read only one book at a time but recently I have started reading multiple books at one time. Sometimes I have two novels going at once and then one e book going on top of that. Right now I have a book of short stories and another book going at the same time.

Ok, well I'll be the odd one out then. I'm a serial monogamist when it comes to books-I can only have one going at a time and as soon as I finish one, I have to start another one.

I usually only have two books going at any one time. I'll be reading on "3-D" book and listening to another in the car. Once in a while I'll have more than two going at once, but not often.

I should count my google reader as another book.

I usually have a few books going at a time. In most cases, one book in particular with grab my attention and then I will only read that one. If a book fails to capture my attention, then it sits in the "still reading" pile for quite a while. I am known to add more books to the pile rather than read what I have started. I still feel that if I start a book, I have to finish it.

I am like most everyone else above- and read more than one book at a time- at least one fiction and one non-fiction. I also have books that I read with my kids. So lots going on.

I bought a Kindle
a year ago today
and at first indulged
in having many books
open at the same time
Lately though
I find it better
to concentrate on one
less I never finish any
That may change again
since I also spent
many hours
reading the samples
that Amazon
so generously makes
free and easy

Hi Tom,
How do you feel about reading the chapter samples? Does it often drive you to buy the book?

We read excerpts a lot when we are learning about the books we will be publishing in the future. While it's nice to have a sneak peak and get to see what the book is about, I often get frustrated. If I like the excerpt, I want more (and it's usually not yet available to read); if I don't like the excerpt, I wonder if it's just one of those books that I would like if I read more, or if the excerpt was perhaps not the best.

Hi Ann
The sample has saved me numerous times
from complete boredom
with a poorly written book
The biggest problem is books are long
life is short
and so
many of my worthy samples
go unbought
On the other hand
I have become suspicious
of many of the nonfiction books
written to illuminate
a contemporary subject
Most of them seem worthy
of only a longish magazine essay
Buying a whole book - wasteful
of my money and my time

Never. I wish I could. It becomes too jumbled up.


conni

I am usually into 2-6 books at one time, one of which is always an audio book because of my hour commute. I like having a variety to fit my mood. My best friend, an English teacher, says I have book ADD. She is a monogomist.

I will have up to six books going at any one time, and which I pick up will normally depend on my humour and how much time I have to devote to some reading. I will normally only have one fiction book on the go at a time - I may start two or three and then decide which one I'm going to see to completion.

I tried to read more than one book at a time but the experiment failed miserably. Now I have one "main" book, and a small title that I carry around in my handbag. I just can't keep stories straight otherwise.

Peze, 6! Sounds like me. Trouble is, when I have that many going, I do only finish 1 or 2 out of the bunch. It's not for lack of interest but because often so much time passes that I have gotten too far out of the narrative.

Graceann, love the handbag idea!

I usually have at least two going at once -- typically a "home" book and a "work" book that I read on my lunch break. Right now, though, I am reading four books -- two of them are from the library and so I have a time limit! I've started keeping a book by my computer at home so that when I'm downloading something (my pc is old and does not multitask well) I can get in some reading.

I tend toward the one printed book and one audio book at a time. Often I'll mix up fiction and nonfiction in the print category, but for the most part I'm monogamous. The problem is I'm often looking forward to starting a new book. In my Goodreads profile I have two books "I'm reading" that I can't seem to finish and I keep picking up new books.

I'm definitely guilty.
I check out books from the library, then I can't decide which one I want to read most so I'll start them all.
It generally tapers down until I'm reading only 1-3 print books and listening to an audiobook or two.
It doesn't really matter which genre, but sometimes the very beginnings will be sort of confusing until I know the characters better.
(For instance, I was reading Hunger Games and Ender's Game at the same time, and for the first couple of pages I thought Katniss was a boy... :D)

I have three titles in play at any given time: a print book (ALWAYS with me); an audiobook that I listen to on my daily commute to-and-from work and; the title I'm proofing, researching or engineering at the audiobook company I work for (I read and listen at the same time). Right now I actually have four titles in rotation as I have been assigned two at work. That said, I won't start another print book or audiobook until I've dispositioned the title I'm reading or listening to as either finished or a DNF. You know, it's kinda weird, but I spend about 11.5 hours of my day reading or listening to titles, and yet I only get through about 125 titles a year! I think I need to look at this (the siren call of a spreadsheet project beckons!)

I usually have three print titles and one audiobook going at one time. One print title by the bed for evening reading, one print title to read at work on my lunch hour, and one print title that is a reread for the weekends.

I prefer reading three at a time but sometimes one of these is a audiobook, mostly classics. I use it during commute to work.

I love this topic; I wonder if, in the age of the Internet, our brains are evolving to both crave and manage multiple books at one time.

I also always have an audio book for the car, which is usually something off the beaten path from my normal reading tastes; audio books give me the opportunity to branch out a bit, because I usually get them from the library and am limited to what's on the shelf. Listening to books is a very different experience from reading them for me; a slightly more passive experience, I think--and also perhaps more emotional than intellectual.

Then I'll have literary fiction--a novel, either classic or contemporary, which is the "main course" book--and then something I can chew on in smaller bites, like essays or short stories or poetry. It occurs to me as I write this that I very much think of books as food, i.e. nourishment; so the multiple books make up the full meal. "Dessert" might be whatever fiction appears in the magazines I read.

So right now: Lily Tuck's "The News from Paraguay," Bolano's stories/Adam Zagajewski's essays, and Ali Smith's "The Accidental" (on CD). Feels like a balanced meal.

Sonya wrote: "I love this topic; I wonder if, in the age of the Internet, our brains are evolving to both crave and manage multiple books at one time."

I developed the ability to juggle multiple books when I working on my English lit degree in college.

I too used to be monogamous but I frequently juggle two books now, especially since I joined a book club. Rarely more tho as the chances are much higher they will become orphans. Like Stephen and Catyche, I like to pair up fiction with non-fiction when I do.

Right now, I am attempting to read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." It's beyond lugubrious so I paired it up with a David Sedaris book ("Holidays on Ice"). Alas, I seem to use the Sedaris book as an excuse not to read McCarthy. Another reason why people have multiple books in their queue I suppose.

I usually have 3 or 4 books going at a time, along with reading for work. I know a book is a winner when I ignore all my other reading. That happened a couple of days ago with The Book Thief. The 550 pages should have taken me a couple of weeks, but I read it in two days. I will be adding it my BOTN shelf.

I'm currently reading seven, yes seven, books. This isn't necessarily by design, it just sort of happened organically. It was nine at one point.

At least I diversify. I've got two non-fiction (history), one book of poetry, one science fiction, one fantasy and two general fiction.

Somehow, I'm able to keep all the storylines straight due to the diversity.

I am trying to get back to a monogomous reading relationship, so I've made the following decision. I will not start a new book without first finishing one of my unfinished books. This way I'll alternate over the next 14 books and be back to just one.

Dennis,
I've found that once you go beyond reading 3 books at a time, you can never go back to monogamy ;)

The diversity definitely makes a difference, but unfortunately, I find that reading so many at a time means I never finish anything in a timely manner. I'm trying to get back to monogamy, too.

I say, the more the better. I am usually into around 5-7. Different genres, and one is always an audio for my ridiculous commute to the job I am probably going to lose b/c I have been out sick so much this year with everything going around. So, probably only a few more months with a lot of audio listening. Sigh.

I have had as many as 8 books going at one time, but now that I'm writing this, I can't think of why. I usually have one book that is my primary which I carry everywhere I go. One in the "library" (as my mother would put it). The audio book in the car. I usually have a mindless book in the car just in case I don't have my carry book with me (happens occasionally - but this book takes years to finish which is why it is mindless - so I can keep track of the plot.) I may have something heavier or lighter to "cut" the present book's density. And, it is not unusual for me to have some reference type of book - about writing or an almanac or learning history - one never knows when Jeopardy will call! And don't forget kiddie lit, too.

I'm a polygamous reader as well. I toy with going back to reading one book at a time, but then something will happen and I'll find myself reading more than one at a time. I usually have two or three going at once. A fiction, a classic, a non-fiction that is usually historical or political in nature and then a non-fiction book that is related to health and/or fitness. My problem is I have a stack of library books and they always get precedence over the books I own.

I'm hoping to get back to just reading one book at a time. I usually carry one with me, so it shouldn't be too hard to do.

I don't think I will be able to go back to one book at a time, now that there are so many devices to read and listen to books. I also take out stacks of library books in addition to purchasing books, downloading books on my e-reader, and downloading audiobooks. I tend to read mostly fiction. Sometimes I have difficulty picking up where I left off, which for me is a drawback to reading multiple books at one time.

I've always been a multi-book reader, but Laurie you are right in that the different media available now has increased that number. I never leave the house with out a print novel, a audio book, and an e-book -- that to my multipurpose iPhone the latter two are even one the same device. I am pretty good about keeping plots straight or I just go back two pages and I have. I know a book is really good when I start putting down the others for it. This is esp. the case if I start playing my audio books in the house instead of the car.

I usually have at least four books going at a time. Right now my mix consists of a non-fiction introspective, a big bulky classic, a history, and a "comfort book" that I've read many times before and will undoubtedly read many times again. I'm planning on adding one more as soon as I get all the Christmas decorations put away: a children's classic as a read-aloud to the three-year-old (in short doses to match her attention span, of course).

If you don't count what I'm reading to the kids, I have 3 going at a time. One is always an audio, then I have a big meaty book or a classic, and then a lighter fun read.

If you do count what I'm reading to the kids, then I have six going at a time. I'm reading through the Little House series with my 7 year old, and The Series of Unfortunate Events with my 10 year old. We're also listening to the audio of Peter and the Starcatchers as a family in the car.

I usually read bout four at a time.

One classic
One non-fiction
One young adult
One "easy-read" or anything that is light which is very helpful especially when I'm reading a couple of depressing books

Wow. I feel so good knowing so many people have the exact same reading habits I do- I always have about six books going at once; several are print; one is audio; one is on the kindle; and one is a reference or cookbook. I read specific types of books at certain times of day- nonfiction in the morning when I have the energy, and the comfort book before bed. Also, always a YA or kids' book, like Jesue.

I LOVE how Mellymel will start a new book out of laziness, starting a new book instead of going upstairs! I love that! I live in 600 square feet, and sometimes I have started a new book to avoid getting out of bed and getting my book in the other room! That's pretty lazy.

I generally have at least four books going: one (or two) in the bedroom, one in the family room, one in the kitchen, and one (or two) in the car. I don't read while I am driving, but I read while I am waiting for my kids to finish an activity, or waiting in the doctor's office, etc. Other people may dread lines and long waits, but I see them as opportunities for reading.

I agree - waiting times are perfect opportunities to read, guilt-free about other stuff I should be doing! I got in over a hundred pages thanks to the delay in our cruise departure time last week.

I wish I could read more than one book at once, but I always feel like I'm neglecting one book if I'm reading the other... I'm weird I know!

Kirsty wrote: "I wish I could read more than one book at once, but I always feel like I'm neglecting one book if I'm reading the other... I'm weird I know!"

Kristy, your not alone. I too feel like I'm neglecting one book.

Melissa wrote: "… but I read while I wait…"

I'm with you Melissa and it drives me NUTS that more and more medical offices have TV going in them. Let's promote more reading and less TV. How will those old magazines in the doctors' offices
ever be truly appreciated if there is a video option?

One sentence read is one sentence read.

Linda

I'm with you Melissa and it drives me NUTS that more and more medical offices have TV going in them. Let's promote more reading and less TV. How will th..."

Once when I was the only one in a waiting room I turned off the TV so I could read. The woman at the desk said it had to be on for privacy issues. Presumably I could hear what she said to another patient if the TV wasn't blaring.