Morning all! I'm trying to be patient with myself and the fact that reading, reviewing, and blogging have had to take a little bit of a backseat as I started teaching school again last week, and am in the process of getting into a house. It's all very, very exciting, and yet adds this fun layer of stress that has kept me away from reading and reviewing the way I would like. I do see the light at the end of the tunnel though, and should be in a wonderful new home in a week or two. Yippee!Considering the busy schedule of starting back to work, and getting a new home, I've noticed that the way I read has adjusted to the way my own mind has been working as of late. Here I am, rotating books faster than the chocolate conveyor belt on "I Love Lucy!" Seriously, I find that I'm reading multiple books at once, switching them out every day. That doesn't exactly lead you to get through a book very quickly, but seems to help my wandering mind. This led me to an interesting thought this weekend, especially after attending a wonderful picnic that Natasha at Maw Books Blog put on for those of us who are local bloggers (and what a great time we had). I wanted to know if anyone else reads several books at once? I hope they don't mind me mentioning them, but I asked Emily, at Emily's Reading Room, and Britt, at Confessions of a Book Habitue, how many books they read at one time. Both of them said they like to stick to one at a time. I wish I would have thought to make the rounds and ask a few more people, as it left me wondering, why do I rotate my reading material so much?
As mentioned in previous posts, I have a couple of books I've been trying to read for over a period of weeks, but in the meantime, have started a couple more. In fact, just yesterday, I started reading Secrets of a Christmas Box
. Although I felt a bit like I needed snow or cold, rather than the 100+ degree weather we were experiencing, I still wanted to start something new to mix up my reading a bit.I think what it boils down to is that I can't always fall into a book to the point of blocking out the world. Of course I love to read, and usually read quite a bit, but I'm just not one of those people who you have to tap on the shoulder to get them to snap out of the book their reading. I never have been. I'm curious though to find out how other readers approach reading. Do you read more than one book at at time, and do you notice that there are reasons why you do that?
Well, I'm off to settle in for a couple of hours of reading!
I'm pretty much a one-book-at-a-time girl.
ReplyDeleteWell, first of all can I say how jealous I am that you got to go to a book bloggers picnic! I simply cannot imagine a better way to spend the weekend.
ReplyDeleteAs far as how many books I read at once --- I can truly only focus on one novel at a time (I am a horrible multi-tasker). However, when I get in moods like the one you are experiencing, I tend to skim several books at one time. I can then make note of those that I know I want to read at a later date, and perhaps remove a few from the mountainous TBR list.
The only exception is that I can simultaneously read one fiction book and one non-fiction. I think the subjects are so vastly different that my mind can easily keep track of both.
I too am starting a new school year tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck with school - and the new house.
Sometimes we just need to rotate like that. I do that when I get stressed.
ReplyDeleteI hope things calm down for you soon!
I will read more than one but usually have a primary one. I can't do the whole rotating thing. Plus I love the feeling of finishing a book and if I rotate too many then I don't finish for a while at a time. I do have one book on my iPhone app that I read when I'm out and about and then one at home. If I'm reading a long or "different" type of book like Harry Potter, then I'll have a more streamlined one to read as well.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the last time I finished a book before starting a new one, sadly. It usually means that the book I discarded gets forgotten about for a few weeks, at which point I see it and go, "Hey! I still haven't finished that. Oops!" and then get back into it. Every once in a while I'll abandon a book I'm not really into, but it's a rare occurrence and usually makes me feel guilty. :)
ReplyDeleteI can't do with more than one at a time. But when I'm teaching I read lots of things referring to different authors and different periods to prepare my classes. But that's studying , not reading! From Tuesday on, I too will have to
ReplyDeletesurrender to the fact that blogging and reviewing will become less regular.
I've always got more than one book going at a time. And I so wish we could have talked more yesterday! :)
ReplyDeleteI used to read a couple of books at one time but now I usually stick to one until it's done.
ReplyDeleteI always have 2 audio books going; 1 in the car, and 1 on my IPOD. I also have 1 print book going at the same time.
ReplyDeleteBTW, your get together with local bloggers sounded just great--how nice.
Booo! I wish we had bloggers in the area so we could meet for a fun picnic. Maybe next time I'm in town visiting relatives... :)
ReplyDeleteAs a general rule of thumb I only read one book at a time. I don't read often enough to justify having two go on at once. sometimes, though, if a book is taking me longer to read, I'll sneak in a shorter book, but it's not like I'm reading both on the same day (usually).
I usually have at least 2 books going at once. I have one I leave at work to read during my lunch, and another one I read at home.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I feel like I just need something different, so I start a third book! Then I pick up whichever book best suits my current mood. That may be why it takes me so long to finish my books, but it seems to work for me. I think I would probably get bored reading just one book at a time.
Whatever works for you, go with it and enjoy!
I usually have 4-6 books going at any one time. :D
ReplyDeleteI used to be a one book gal, but have turned into at least a two book gal (if not more). I actually prefer to focus on just one book at a time, but have found that I would rather have something to read wherever I may be . . . basically, my books are based on my location!
ReplyDeleteIf if makes you feel any better, I tend to read a lot of books at once. I start things, get 100 pages or so in and then get bored and move onto another more engaging book. I finish a lot that I've started, but I have at least 10 that I'm half-way through. It's nice to know that I can pick any of them up and just reading, my brain remembering mostly everything that's going on. I try not to do that though, but sometimes you just can't read that book at the moment and have to go back to finish them (sometimes years later - I'm still not done with David Copperfield that I started as an eighth grader).
ReplyDeleteI followed your link on Suey's blog. I wish I could have attended the picnic last weekend but I had family from Virginia in town. They only make it to Utah every 6-10 years so. Sounds like it was good fun.
ReplyDeleteI usually only read one novel at a time and listen to another. Sometimes I will read a nonfiction at the same time and occasionally start another novel if the subject matter and genre are different.
I try to stick with one book at a time..sometimes I'll lose interest in one book, start another then go back to the one I lost interest in.
ReplyDeleteOh no, you mentioned me on your blog! LOL
ReplyDeleteOccasionally I do read more than one book at a time, but generally that means I pause in the middle of a book to read ALL of another book!
Hi, Suey! I guess I really didn't move all evening to talk to anyone else, did I?? Darn it! We'll have to talk next time!
I read one book at a time. I have tried to read more than one--like when I was on vacation--but then I realized that I was only switching books around because I didn't really want to read ANY of them. But then I know that I can be sucked into a book any time, any place. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy papa reads several books at a time, though. He has a book in every room of his house in various stages of being read, so he doesn't have to carry books around with him.