We have talked about this before, but for me, I have tried reading more than one book at at a time, but it always ends up with one book winning out and so I may as well be reading one book at a time. I am trying at the moment, with a fiction and a non-fiction, but it's not working very well.

Even in grad school when I had to read five novels a week, I still read them one after the other. I'd get the stories mixed up otherwise.

Other people seem to handle it great though.

Always. I have a book upstairs for bedtime reading, usually something rather dull otherwise my dreams are filled with images from what I've just read, and another book (or two) downstairs for those odd free moments or when I can hide at the end of the garden during the rare summer's days we get in England.
I notice RP'ers are always writing about sitting down with a cup of tea, or something stronger and their latest book. I wonder how you manage. Don't you have to share your downstairs space with others in your family?
Here the TV might be turned on, or younger son 'watching' some loud US wrestling on the computer or even listening to hymns via youtube (a young man of extremes) . . . it is not easy to concentrate.

I usually have a book that I'm reading throughout the day and then a different one on my bedside table. The bedside one is usually short stories or essays or poetry or something that isn't likely to make me want to keep reading chapter after chapter, and one that I don't have to focus on too intensely. If I take my usual book to bed with me, I might not remember what I read as I dozed off and I'd just have to reread it anyway.

(I haven't posted here in YEARS; I think the last time I was here they changed it where you had to pay to join and I couldn't do that or something. Good to be back).

I did when I was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley.
These days, not so much.

I do not. If I read more than one at a time I know I would have a difficult time in discerning between them later on.
There are a few books that I like to read bits of in between others. If it is a heavy book, or hard to get into, I will set it aside and return to it later.
I do have a hard time concentrating when there is a lot of noise. If I can, I will read at the quietest parts of the day or find myself a isolated spot where I can read in peace.
CMK

I've tried it before, and I just can't do it. I end up setting one of the books aside. I'm even that way with magazines or newspapers.

I'm another that can't read if the TV is on, even if it's something I don't care to watch. Surprisingly though other background noise doesn't bother me; my kids can be playing loudly and I can still concentrate.

All the time. The only time I got them confused was when I ended up reading at the same time an Ed McBain about a Viet Nam Vet with mother issues and a Tony Hillerman about a Viet Nam Vet with mother issues. And I think the name Moon was associated with both.

I usually have something studious going on, just now it is Herodotus, that I just would not read straight through, as well as lighter ficion. I love the kind of novel, The Historian for example, that sends me off to other reading material throughout.

Always. One upstairs, one down, one in the car/teaching bag.
I can read anywhere-while the family is watching tv (if I choose to sit in the tv room with them) in a crowd, on a plane-but not in a moving car or on a moving bus. Train yes. I keep a book in the car for when it is not moving-used to be while I was waiting at school or sports pick-ups, traffic jams, etc.
Vee-I am lucky enough to have a study all my own, with a big enfolding wing chair and footstool. Or I just go to bed very early now that the children are grown and I no longer have bedtime duties.

Always. One is by my bed, the other in my backpack for the bus ride to and from work. And I usually have a non-fiction book that I read in between times as well.

Carol

I've been thinking a lot about this lately and was even going to start a thread. I was re-reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and started thinking - what if books were scarce? What if I had to beg, borrow, or steal my next book? What if I were reading a book and had no real expectation of obtaining another? How would that change my reading? Although I hope I never find myself in that situation, I think it would change my reading for the better. I'm going to savor books more thoroughly, not rush through because I have a huge stack beckoning to me, or another partly finished within arms reach.

Vee, I am one of those oddballs who does not operate well within a family environment and lives alone in great contentment. Although I own a television, radio, and various music players, I go for days without turning them on. Quiet time is an absolute necessity for me. I love my work, but I always struggle with the noise that others seem to crave - our break room is full of shouting, youtube videos, loud phone coversations. There are many readers at work, though they don't seem to need quiet as I do.

I used to do this a lot, but not so much now. I think it stopped when I returned to work and in a contradictory way, had more books to choose from and less time to read. I may still do it occasionally if I am reading something and another more interesting book comes along.

Yup. One for home, one that travels with me in the car, or an audio book for the car, or both. One that I take to work, one on my iPod to reward myself for walking (haven't listened to that one for a while!) and a book to study seriously. They all get switched around from time to time. Keeps things interesting : )

Vee -

You asked about the environment in which we read: I am quite fortunate in some ways, as my DH works from 4p-midnight so I have the evenings to myself and can spend them as l like. I rarely turn the tv on and frequently just light a lovely candle and ensconce myself on the sofa and read my little heart away.

On weekends and when DH is home (day off or schedule change), then he usually goes off to play his computer games which means lots of bombs, screaming and engines revving (for his room) and for me, just the far-off sounds of these things. It works out pretty well most of the time. If it gets too noisy, I just close doors.

I normally have one book which I read on the tube to and from work; this tends to be, but isn't always, fiction. I also have a small pile of books beside the bed for dipping into. These tend to be, but aren't always, non-fiction.

I always have a couple of books going. If I'm lucky, one of them is very engrossing, the other I can pick up and put down more easily.

I don't usually get them confused because they're usually pretty different. For example, I don't usually read two mysteries at the same time.

Oh my gosh, reading about the bombs and screaming on the computer game made me chuckle. Solution, in a word, is earphones! My son for a long time was involved in a role playing game online and I grew to hate not only the big noises, but the endless weird repetive sounds that came from the room. For some time he also had a microphone and talked (screamed, yelled) out loud to other players, but that was not frequent. Most of the time there was just furious typing of messages to each other. Then suddenly one day earphones appeared! (I hadn't even thought of that even though I use earphones in my work and my computer sounds are never audible.)

I chuckled because I remember the first time I agreed to let my son host a 'LAN party' here. This is when a group gets together in one physical location to meet and play, people who have been associated in the game field together for some time. I kind of cringed about it, but agreed to try it out. We set up several big tables all over the downstairs and I brought in drinks and refreshments, which were eaten in huge quanity. When the players (from pretty far-flung areas of our region, as far as 200 miles away) arrived, they unloaded tons of stuff and cords were everywhere -- but here was the miracle. They all had earphones! I couldn't believe it. From upstairs I usually couldn't hear anything down there except for an occasional outburst of animated shouting or talking about something that had happened, or at break time.

They were a great group. We did this several times and there was usually at least a a dozen guys here at a time of various ages. They were polite and respectful of me always and put money into a pool on arrival for the refreshments and pizza. These events ran all night, and as I say, most of the time I could hardly tell anyone was here. On the rare occasion I went downstairs, it would dark with various eerie glowings and almost complete silence except for clicking of keyboards. In the morning there would be guys sleeping all over the place. Eventually they would wake up, eat more, pack up all their stuff and clean up, and say their thanks and goodbyes!

Anyway, sorry to be so long. Just remembering something that unexpectedly turned out to be a great experience and quite memorable -- and recommending the simple solution of earphones for gamers who live with other people!

I was wondering when someone would bring up the topic of earphones. Thank you!

Siobhan, I am your twin, in that I love silence and enjoy solitude. I can go for days without listening to music (although I have a vast collection) or turning on the TV. My late husband was like me, and a reader, as well, so we were perfectly matched in that respect.

I will often have a magazine going in one part of the house, but the serious reading of books gets done in the wee hours of this insomniac's morning! (Several piles of tomes in the bedroom).

Always have more than one book....I do my serious reading in bed, but have a couple of books going on the sofa or on the table when I eat, etc. The latter are usually ones that I can read a chapter or two and be satisfied with that, such as Dewey which I am just finishing now. I'm also reading an ancient Lewis Grizzard that are obviously his newspaper columns. Very dated, but fun.

I always have one book on my iPod for listening and another book to read and I never get them confused. When I do try to read more than one printed book at a time, one always wins out and I may never go back to the other so I try to avoid doing that. However, I do read short stories and essays and parts of books on other subjects, like gardening, at any time regardless of what other books I'm enjoying. I also read magazines and newspapers on a regular basis.

Glad to find I have plenty of company in reading several books at once. I do agree with those who say they can only do it if the books are quite different from each other.

As for noise, with a husband and two sons watching sports non-stop, I got used to reading newspapers and magazines with the roar of the crowd going constantly, both on TV and in the family room. But I could never read a book with such a din going on.

I am another who can have several books going at one time. I have one on my mp3 player for when I'm doing something that doesn't involve my full attention, like walking, folding laundry, light housework/yardwork etc. I also have an audiobook in my car for listening to while driving. I usually have a book for bedtime reading and one or two by my chair in the family room. Sometimes I find that I'm just not in the mood for one that I've started but do want to finish it at some point, so I will put it down to read another for a while and return to it later.

Speaking of earphones, my DH and I both use them when we're on the computer, so we don't disturb the other.

I think I'm too tidy minded to read more than one book at a time--newspaper and magazines, yes, but they are not serious reading.

I read in my wonderful chaise longue in the bedroom while my TV-addicted husband watches the tube in the den. I used to try to read in the room with him, lying on the couch with my head turned away from the TV; but he was forever saying, "Look at that!" and I couldn't keep from looking. So, I moved.

I read more than one book at a time all the time. I keep a book with short chapters by my bedside (right now there are 2: The Faber Book of Diaries and The Physiology of Taste), and one that goes with me between the kitchen and the living room. I also carry one in my purse to read at work. That's just right now. I have sometimes been juggling as many as five at a time, one in each room of the apartment and one at work. It's easy if you take care not to choose books from the same genres or by the same author.

I usually read one book at a time but will dip into a favourite chapter of another book at bedtime. I don't include magazines as I dip into these rather than read cover to cover.
Also I don't like starting a book at bedtime, this requires too much concentration.
My late husband and I had a book etiquette regarding interruptions on the last few pages. A murmur of "Final Chapter" silenced anything but the direst emergency. Also the first one to get the "Reader's Digest" was only allowed to read out one joke.
These little courtesies assist in a happy marriage!

carolyn, I liked your word, "tidy-minded". It doesn't really apply to me as far as my reading, but I liked the word.

Read more than one? Always. Always an upstairs book, at least one downstairs book. At least two in the car, one in my purse, one paperback mystery shoved under the seat of DH's SUV (just in case... shhhh... he doesn't know it's there.) and quite often, an audio tape in my car as well... the current audio tape is a Hamish McBeth mystery, Death of a Perfect Wife. And I usually have one textbook-type non-fiction book that I read in bits and pieces, too. Right now, that book is William J. Bennett's AMERICA: The Last Best Hope, volume 1. I cannot seem to hold myself to just one book. We are going on vacation in a month or two and with the new weight restrictions on luggage, I am seriously considering paring down the clothes so I can take the same number of books.

PAM

Thanks, Pam. I, too, am going on a long trip, am saving my new Morland Dynasty book for it, and am going to a used-book store to look for some other lengthy paperbacks. I no longer take library books since I left one on a plane and had to pay a more than adequate replacement fee.

Have I told you all about the time I had so many books in my checked luggage that the airline checker opened the suitcase to see what the "black rectangle" consisted of?

Carolyn-that happened to me too-but in my carry-on! And did I receive a strange look when I said "it's just my books." Books? was the response, as though more than one was excessive! But checked luggage goes astray.

This was also the trip where DD was in an inflatable boot and on crutches due to an ankle fracture. They made her send the drutches through and take the boot off, and the scanner sent it back and forth three times, then called over a supervisor. I was standing there holding up DD, who could not put down her bare foot....
scanner "Do you think this looks like a fuse or an ignition switch or something?"
supervisor, after looking at DD "It's how you inflate the thing-give it back to the girl!"

Yes,
As most I have one book-my "alpha" book by my bed, one on the coffee table in case whatever I'm watching gets too boring (happens often!) one in the car for taking in doctor's offices, etc. I finally brought several old favorites to my brother's home for overnight stays so I don't have to lug books over. He's a reader but our tastes differ greatly so now I have a half a shelf on one of his bookcases with a couple of Stephen Kings, a Michener or two, The Hobbit, A Little House book & To Kill a Mockingbird. I still get there & think "I wish I had..." but it's better than having no choice at all. I pick up extras at our library sale or occasionally at the used bookstore.
Susan

The books in the luggage stories sound familiar - ah, yes, that's because I do this all the time myself.

When I visit the USA, I bring with me just 2 books to while away the flight and the first couple of days, but I might bring back 20 or more. When my travel companions are in Target or Macy's or wherever, shopping for clothes, I can be found in the nearest second hand bookstore (or Barnes & Noble if I can't find second hand).

If I'm going to a non-English speaking country, I bring more books. I try to make it books I can leave behind, just in case I come across an English-language book shop. I may get myself a Kindle just to lighten my luggage.

I have been trying the "read more than one book at a time" experience, but have realized that I must admit defeat at this. It adds too much pressure to my life, so I am going back to one book at a time.

I am a stress monkey so try to keep life as stress-free as possible. But interesting experiment to try though.