In January, I wrote a post about how I like to read my books. By that I don't mean where I read or if I like background noise (maybe that will be another post at some time), but the medium I prefer.
At the end of the post I said that I usually read three books at a time these days, a print book, an ebook and a book that I read out loud - mostly digital ones now because it's hard to read to a cat who's lying on your chest and also holding a book with one hand as the other one is obviously needed to pet said cat.
Then I heard a British writer and presenter saying that she reads about seven to eight books at a time. To each their own, but it made me wonder if I would be able to do that - or rather if I would even want that.
Let's first get out of the way that I'm talking about reading for relaxation.
If you study something or research for something, it's not unusual to work with several books at a time, but that kind of reading can mean jumping between chapters, skipping chapters, re-reading parts, etc. I mean reading or listening to a book from the first word to the last (including the prologue or epilogue 😉).
I'm not the first person to write or talk about that, there are a lot of posts and articles on the topic - which is also the reason why I didn't talk about benefits or drawbacks - but I'm sure you will want to know my personal take on it.
Nah, I'm kidding, it was just a topic that came to mind last weekend when I had finished a book and thought about what I should be reading next.
Then I mentioned the three books at once to a friend and she sounded very surprised. I didn't think to ask if she thought that's too few or too many or if she was surprised how stubborn I undoubtedly sounded about the number of three (I asked now, it was the last one).
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| Yes, I have a folder called "NOW" and no, there are never more than two books in there. |
That's not a number I actively chose, by the way. It just kind of happened because I noticed getting distracted if I tried to read more than three at once (again, not counting something I might use for research). Also they really have to be from different genres. Two vintage crime books, two children's books, two movie-related books ... absolutely a no go for me.
It used to be different when I still commuted because one book would be for the commute, another one for home, and they could be the same genre.
I'm glad that I have found the right routine for myself which doesn't leave me overwhelmed or confused, and I think everyone has to do what works for them.
I'm not a fan of "why you should read two books at once".
If people prefer reading one book after the other, for example because they think they owe the writer their undivided attention, let them do that.
If people need eight books for their happiness, fine by me.
If people like to read a fiction and a non-fiction book on the same topic or set in the same time period to have them bounce off each other, good for them (I rather start with a fiction book and then read a non-fiction if I want to know more). If people thrive on book piles around the house (I don't anymore), great!
If you like to choose between books depending on your mood (very much something I do), enjoy being able to do that.
It was interesting to read that some people felt they had to apologize for reading just one book and others for reading more than one at once. Why is that?
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| Public domain via pxhere |
One benefit mentioned in several articles or posts was that you get through your TBR list more quickly.
I admit that I didn't understand that one completely. Granted, taking a break from one book you are struggling with and reading something easier may give you fresh energy for the first one.
All in all, I need a certain time for a book, though, and how is jumping between books going to change that? Just theoretically speaking, if one books takes me a day and another takes me a day, how do I get through my list more quickly if I alternate between them? Are there people who magically need just one and a half days for both then?
Serious question, maybe you can explain it to me.
I'd love to hear about your own routines and why you chose to read just one book at a time or several at once.
Sometimes I get a little bored or put out by a book, then start a new one maybe just to clear my mind. Then go back. Its not a perfect system. Sometimes I try really hard to finish a book club selection, wanting to be able to add an opinion when we meet up. But the last couple of them have been stinkers. Bleh. Reading should be enjoyable, I hate to suffer through!
ReplyDeleteA system is perfect as long as it works for you.
DeleteI totally agree that reading should be enjoyable. I think not being able to finish a book for whatever reason is absolutely an opinion worth hearing at a book club, too!
I love how you're approaching this topic because it does come up a lot. I am one of those people who have 7 or 8 books going at the same time. And I almost hate to ever mention it because it does sound crazy. haha. But of those books, I usually have only one novel at a time; the others are non-fiction that are usually all very different. Those of us who love to read each find what works for us! :)
ReplyDeleteYes and that's how it should be!
DeleteI honestly don't understand why readers are so judgemental with each other about some things (okay, I still have a problem understanding why people would skip parts of books like descriptions completely).
As long as you don't make me read just one book or eight or I make you read exactly three, there's no need for anyone to feel guilty or crazy, isn't it?
Dear friend, your cat photo is so adorable!!! As you know from my blog, I absolutely love cats! I have had cats most of my life (69 years). I took good care of them, fed them, made sure they had plenty of fresh water, snuggled with them, clipped their claws every three weeks, they were all spayed or neutered and strictly indoor cats.
ReplyDeleteThey bring such joy into life, and their presence and purr is very calming.
Getting back to books, now! LOL! I prefer to read one book at a time. The only way I do otherwise is if a book I am reading is not interesting to me...so then I just stop reading it altogether and don't go back to it.
I only read non fiction, so I have a very broad range of books I read....science, psychology, self help, pets, wildlife, true crime, biographies of people I like such as Betty White, Jane Goodall, David Attenborough, etc.
Thank you so much for all you share!
Miss Adorable just clawed my hand for no reason and now she's back being cute and purry. I wonder if she's becoming a grumpy old lady.
DeleteI used to read more non-fiction and am only now coming back to it slowly, but so far it's mostly biographies.
I used to read several books at one time. There would be one in the bathroom for...well, you know but also for while I was curling my hair, another at the dinner table (bad habit, I know), one in the bedroom, one in the living room, and then all the books I was reading with and for the kids at school. And, I was always able to keep them separate. Now, I read so much more slowly. I did just plow right through a book the other day so maybe I'm just not finding the right books! I don't think there's any magic formula though many seem to think there is. I just read what I like unless it's something I have to read for the museum or such. Other than that, reading should be for entertainment (unless it's for work)! And, now I'm just blathering on...are you still reading? Hahaha!
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
Blather away! I wonder why people think there's just one way to do something.
DeleteI love to read but I almost only read in summer and spring, when it is warm enough to read outside. And then one book at the time, it takes me long enough to resd just one, lol.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, Nancy! From the pictures I've seen I bet it's very cozy to sit out there and read.
DeleteYeah, reading multiple books at a time does not help me get through my TBR list any faster. (And it doesn't help that I keep adding to it!) I usually have going 2-3 fiction books of different genres, one nonfiction, and one audiobook that may be fiction or nonfiction. But I would never presume to tell anyone else how they should do it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the confirmation and for sharing how you do it!
DeleteI thought I could do four, but somehow I always end up with three.
For pleasure reading, I am almost exclusively a novel reader who reads one book at a time, though I will sometimes have a non-fiction book that I intersperse with fiction (it is VERY rare for me to read a non-fiction book straight through). If the book is good, I want to stick with the story until the end; if I'm not feeling it, I just move on to a different book. When you first mentioned multiple books, I first thought of a situation like my dad when he is still new to reading a new language - he will have a copy of the same book in English as well as the other language. It took me a moment to realize you meant following multiple stories at the same time. It's funny, I used to be able to keep track of different storylines on TV when we were on the one episode a week cycle, but with streaming, I am much more of a watch it until it's done type there too.
ReplyDeleteBut even though I have a system that works for me that I don't really deviate from, it's baffling that people have such strong opinions about how *other people* should be reading! I mean, I can have all kinds of strong opinions, but that's not even something I've thought about. Who knew there was such controversy about it? But I guess it's not unusual for people who are very into their hobbies to start having strong thoughts on the matter, and online is such a performative space that it can lead people to all kinds of weird flex.
I agree that it's confusing how reading multiple books would speed a person through their TBR. Maybe the idea is that if you need a break from the book you're reading, you can switch to another book instead of a different activity? If you use switching among different books as a way to spend more time reading, then that could work. It's not how my brain works though!
It reminds me of a popular idea about capsule wardrobes/small wardrobes: that if you have fewer clothes, you will do less laundry. I mean, what? Is the idea that you wear things more often between washings if you have a small wardrobe?? Unlike with reading, where I may read 1 hour a day or 8 hours a day or whatever, the number of outfits I wear per day (typically one!) doesn't change based on my wardrobe size! Maybe what they really mean is that if you don't have as many clothes, you can't PUT OFF doing laundry as much because you run out of things to wear quickly. But that's actually quite different from doing less laundry! With a small wardrobe, I would probably be doing laundry more often (probably smaller loads) because I couldn't wait to have a full load ready to wash because all 8 of my shirts are dirty.
It seems people have strong opinions about everything these days ... well, or they just have more chances to spread them worldwide.
DeleteMy brain doesn't work like that, either. Also I think you shouldn't force yourself to speed through a reading list. You will never get to read all available books, anyway!
That's an interesting question. I usually read no more than 2 books at a time: one fiction and one non-fiction.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, Nicole!
DeleteThat wouldn't work for me simply because I don't always have a non-fiction book to read (like at the moment).
Hm, I suppose it takes two books off the TBR at a time, thus giving the illusion you are getting through the TBR because it has two spaces rather than one ... I like to have two main ones on the go, and that's usually one fiction and one nonfiction, just because I read both about equally. Then I have my Reading With Emma book which I only read once a week, usually on a Thursday, and then I have had two large ongoing books but I've almost finished the Penguin Modern Classics book so that won't be the case soon!! I got in a pickle when I kept picking up review books and books for various projects last month and then got overwhelmed and had to read through them one by one, so my "two plus" scheme works well for me. Oh - this is all a lie: I like to take a book to the Community Centre to read during quiet bits of my shifts, but often what I'm reading at home won't work (too contentious a title or subject if a nice lady having a party for her small child asks what I'm reading) so then I do have another on the go, too!
ReplyDeleteOkay, an illusion I get, just not that it actually gets you through the list faster.
DeleteI really like reading how everyone else does it, it looks like we all have our own routine more or less!
"This is all a lie" made me laugh. I do have a fourth book in my tote for when I go somewhere which I don't do much, so you could call that my very slow read and I didn't count that.
I tend to read 1-3 books at a time. What happens with me is that I read one physical copy, but when I climb into bed I have my kindle, which usually has a different book on it. Then, sometimes, I am reading a book with Little Miss. This year I am also reading slowly through a book that is a month for each chapter so I am reading each month in the month the chapter takes place. It is a nonfiction book, though. I couldn't do that for a fiction book. I would need to know what happens right away. My husband reads one book at a time and thinks I am crazy but I have explained the whole physical book and Kindle thing more than once. I also explain that because I am a mood reader, I sometimes will stop reading one of the books for a bit to concentrate on the other. Or maybe one book is more interesting to me than the other so I will eventually start to focus on only one of the books and read that one.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that reading from the same genre or author really doesn't work for me. It's way too confusing.
Sounds like a very good routine to me, Lisa. I can't remember ever having read a book the way you do right now, once a month. Maybe I'll have to try that with the silent movie book I have waiting. If I do it once a month, though, I may be gone before I can finish it, it's so fat!
DeleteI'm a mood reader as well and I wonder if I would DNF more books if I just read one at a time and can't get into one. It seems easier to me "to cleanse my palate" with a bit of a second book and see if I can then tackle the first one again. If I read a whole other book instead, I'm not sure I'd go back.
I used to read three books at a time. Much like your commuter schedule, I had a morning book, a work lunch book, and an evening book. And they had to be different genres. Now I read one book at a time, and sometimes I listen to another one but not often, but I do still usually mix up the genres between books. I am also a very seasonal mood reader. :)
ReplyDeleteI think a separation by location or time of day can really make a difference. I can wildly jump between books now. For example, I'll read to Gundel and if she leaves, I just change to another book.
DeleteI read someone commenting on a thread saying they had a day book and a night book. And I bet there are others who have summer or winter books like you do.
Thanks for sharing your routine!