# Does anyone else read more than one book at a time?



## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

I usually read an actual book, then at night I read an ebook when I get in bed (because I'm lazy and don't want to get up and turn off the light.) Often I will also have an audio book for the treadmill. 

I like reading all kinds of fiction and non-fiction. 

Anyone else this eccentric?


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Yes, mainly because I read a lot of non-fiction. If it's literature, it needs to be more continuous.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I'm always reading two or three books at a time, usually because someone is coercing me to read their latest favorite, and I have to cram it in.


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

Yes. I often have at least two books going at once, typically one fiction and one non-fiction. I will occasionally add another non-fiction in there. I agree that with literature, I prefer to read one at a time.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have a couple books going at once, and then sometimes i will divert to reading back issues of hot rod magazines for a while.


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## Jacred (Jan 14, 2017)

Sometimes, but I prefer not to.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

No, never, I like to concentrate on one.


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

This may be bragging, or just an indication of extreme mental instability, but I usually have 10-12 books going on at the same time (whim, mood, atmosphere...)


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

Absolutely. I'm currently reading three. I have my own little rule where I'm always reading at least one fiction and one non-fiction book at any given time. (The fiction part is kinda hard because there's little fiction I actually like, but a good sci-fi or spy thriller is always nice.)


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Oldhoosierdude said:


> Anyone else this eccentric?


Very much more eccentric. I read a few non-fiction books concurrently, usually with a fiction thrown in, along with the Bible. (For every chapter I read in any book I alternate a chapter of the Bible. I tend to read through the Bible in less than a year.) I have not yet tried _simultaneously _reading multiple books, but feel this could pose some insurmountable problems.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

For systematic, cover-to-cover reading, I usually concentrate on one book at a time. 

However, throughout the day I'm constantly dipping in and out of various books for reference, particularly music history and theory books. Such "reference-dipping" is often prompted by specific questions or interests that come up in the course of my musical activities. 

For instance, when listening to a piece, I might become curious about a certain chord progression that I hear. In such cases, I whip out my trusty Piston or Schachter textbook for some information.


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2017)

I'm never not reading. Even if I just go out to eat I take a book. To sit around eating while not reading is wasting time. Anything I can do while reading is how I do it. I always have 2 or 3 books going at once. I dislike being called a reader because it implies the person calling me that doesn't read. Everyone should be a reader. But then I know people who don't own books. To me, they are more impoverished than someone with no money.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Totenfeier said:


> This may be bragging, or just an indication of extreme mental instability, but I usually have 10-12 books going on at the same time (whim, mood, atmosphere...)


And you can pick up where you left, just like that?


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

I do it quite often, 2 -3 at a time


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

Pugg said:


> And you can pick up where you left, just like that?


Actually, just so. I am a teacher of English language and literature, and over the decades I've just developed the faculty of grasping, connecting and building the ideas in a book, fiction or non, into a coherent, enduring structure. Sometimes, I can surmise where the author will be going next. Maybe it is somewhat like those conductors who don't use a score in performance.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

I am usually reading at least 2 or 3 books simultaneously by Joyce. One chapter from Finnegans wake followed by a chapter from Ulysses. It's the only way any of it makes sense.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

I've got 2 eyes I suppose I could try it


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> I am usually reading at least 2 or 3 books simultaneously by Joyce. One chapter from Finnegans wake followed by a chapter from Ulysses. It's the only way any of it makes sense.


Sssh! You're not supposed to tell about the secret decoder ring!


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## Desafinado (Apr 13, 2014)

I always find people worrying about conforming to norms with reading more odd than doing stuff that's a little outside the norm.

- making sure you finish a book once you start it so you can tell people how many books you finished
- trying to finish an arbitrary number of books in a time frame 
- only reading one book at a time

If a book is no longer serving you, drop it like it's hot as the Doggfather would say.

I read non-fiction almost exclusively (usually history), and in the past 5ish years I've probably started and not finished anywhere between 50 - 100 books. My Goodreads 'reading' section has 17 books in it right now, all in that state so I can keep track of which books I have a vague interest in.

In that same time-frame I've probably actually finished 10-20 books, a few of which were speed read. That only happens when I _really, really_ like a book.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Desafinado said:


> If a book is no longer serving you, drop it like it's hot as the Doggfather would say.


Excellent advice and applicable to many things in life. Just because I start something is not a good reason to finish it if I find a better way to spend my time or money or just lose interest in what I started. Unfortunately, that does not work on the job, else I might never finish any of work and be out of a job. :lol:

Ha, I am reading two books at once right now. Well, I am alternating between them. I had started one and then got the other book, which was too interesting to wait until I finished the first book.


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## ZJovicic (Feb 26, 2017)

I've tried it a couple of times, but usually there's some risk of eventually abandoning both.
The only exception is if books are collections of short stories. Then I can read multiple at ones, and it's actually great way to read short stories. For example each day one story from 3 different books by different authors, in total 3 stories a day. In such way I can compare different styles constantly.


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