Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about a random book.
I’ve seen several bloggers mention reading multiple books this week. Do you frequently read more than one book at a time? Do you try to limit this to a certain number? Do you have different books for different purposes/topics?
I think most bibliophiles read multiple books at one time. It is in our DNA to always have something to read, and I do think that most bibliophiles will have different purposes behind those multiple books. I know that I typically am always reading at least two books at the same time – one for my online book club and the other for pleasure/review. My online book club typically breaks each selection into manageable chunks, which means that a book selection can take at least one month and frequently more than that to finish. After five years, we’ve found that by breaking books into manageable sections, we get more participation in discussions and participants are more inclined to stay on target and less inclined to dump a book. For example, right now our chosen selection is Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. At 800+ pages, it will take us at least nine weeks to finish the whole thing. While I myself am currently behind based on our reading schedule, knowing that I have at least four more weeks to catch up helps assuage any guilt and keeps me plugging away at it one page at a time.
However, because it does take us so long to finish one book, I have to read something else as well. Typically, I will finish the week’s milestone and then focus on whatever my chosen book is for the moment. It could be a book for review, for a blog tour, for a challenge or because I felt like reading it. Either way, I have to have an alternative book going on at the same time.
I try not to read much more than two at one time because anything more than that gets a little crazy for me. I would much prefer finishing one outright before starting another because I can better focus on the individual plots and not have to continually keep each story separate. I also feel that I am accomplishing something when I can finish a book. My angst right now is that I have two books going on at the same time, and it will be at least another week before I can finish one of them. I do not like to take this long to finish a relatively short book, but my personal life is preventing me from being able to focus on reading right now. Once things settle down, I plan to finish plenty of books next weekend, making sure I do one at a time!
Do you think I am right? Do most bibliophiles have multiple books going at the same time? How do you manage to balance them all?
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Hannah – Those times when I am reading a non-fiction and a fiction book at the same time, I find I speed through the non-fiction one so I can concentrate on the fiction book! LOL!
Yes, I definitely keep at least two books going at a time, and the only thing that makes it manageable for me is knowing that I usually have to get at least one of them back to the library in three weeks! I usually have a work of fiction (at least one) going at the same time as a parenting/homeschooling/other more instructive book — the fiction usually wins. 🙂
Ceri – For which two book review sites are you a reviewer? Do you ever read the same book for all the sites or do they give you a book to review?
I have multiple books on the go. And I think it's do with mood. If I'm reading something heavy, it's always good to have something light to turn to if you're not really in the headspace for it. I'm also a reviewer for two book review websites so find myself reading books for them too. 🙂
Thanks, Nise! I expect more book lovers do end up reading more than one book at a time, even if it isn't something they truly want to do.
Michelle, I am so sorry to read about your dog and certainly hope the best for him.
I have couple of books going at a time.
Thanks, Stacy! I can't stress how much your story has helped me this morning. I've been pretty low since the vet called yesterday. I am so relieved to know that animals can and do bounce back from this!
I just read your stories about Cullen and wanted to wish you the best. When we first got our cat she ate Christmas ribbon that got twisted up in her intestines and they had to do the same kind of surgery, although Cullen's sounds more involved. She also spiked a feaver and stayed at the vet 5 days. That was 11 years ago and she's still here to tell the tale.
The worst is the waiting and I feel for ya 🙂