There was a time when I could, on rare occasions, read two books at once. But, as I mentioned somewhere else around here, I think my brain has shrunk and I can only keep one set of characters in there at a time. Even then I really think those characters are pretty tightly packed in there and sometimes squeeze out other important information, like people's names, day of the week, you know, stuff like that.

I think the habit is totally dependent on the reader. There are sometime that I do just read one book because it has captivated me. But most of the time I have two or three in the house - usually one is non fiction - because my moods for books differ. Yes, there are times when one book wins over the others,but then they are put back on the TBR shelf and I'll often try again. But I totally understand folks who don't do that. Its no biggie.

If it's a good book, I will try to finish it before I go to bed. I can't imagine putting a good book down just to pick up another one. What's the point? If it's not well written or interesting enough to read straight through, it's not interesting enough to waste ANY time on. IMHO

I usually have an upstairs book and a downstairs book. The upstairs book is often a biography or short stories-I have enough trouble getting to sleep and a rip-snorting book is just going to make me keep the light on and force myself to stay awake. So something either peaceful, restful, funny or in short bursts for beside the bed. My downstairs book, to be read with breakfast, lunch and in the evening, is the bestseller or mystery or thriller. IF I can sleep in the next morning, I have been known to take the downstairs book upstairs. But I don't usually bring the upstairs book downstairs.

I often have several books going at once. But, they tend to be very different books that I'm reading for different reasons. I usually have one book in the car that has short, stand alone chapters for when I'm waiting around to pick up kids or at the pool (I have to remember to look up and see where my kids are). Barbara Holland's They Went Whistling was perfect for this.

Then there's usually some sort of heavier non-fiction that I'm reading for enlightenment as well as entertainment. I recently finished Omnivore's Dilemma and Organic, Inc. in that catagory and am now on to Marion Nestle's What to Eat. I'm usually a lot more eclectic in my reading, but recently I've been on a food kick.

Then I usually have a fiction book going. And I'm pretty eclectic in this catagory, too.

If it's a really great story, sometimes the fiction book totally takes over, but often my priorities follow the library due date.

I'm not a fast reader, so generally finishing a book in one night is not an option for me.

Oh, and I almost always have some sort of cookbook from the library to browse through, too, and whatever book I'm reading aloud to my children. Currently, that's Tom Sawyer.

I usually have two books going at the same time, one fiction and the other non-fiction. I can read multiple non-fiction books at the same time and keep them straight, but I can only do one novel at a time. If it's a good story, I tend to sink right into it to the point where my kids have to stand in front of me and practically shout to get my attention; I can read NF and still keep a few brain cells tuned into the real world *g*.

I almost always have 2 or 3 books going-one non-fiction and two fiction. One of my books is almost always a mystery and the other may be any other type of fiction. I rarely have more than 3 books going. If I do -I tend to lose track.(since I've been older)Ha!

The only time I had difficulty with two books at one time was when I was listening to an Ed McBain with a vietnam vet as a character who had issues with his mother, and an early scene by moonlight; and I was reading a non-Navaho Hillerman with a Vietnam vet named Moon as the main charcter who had issues with his mother. Talk about synchronicity! Haven't read an Ed McBain since.

I only read one book at a time but I always also have a book on tape going as well. Usually they are both novels since I've already heard all the non-fiction titles the library has that I am interested in. Sometimes I do get really hooked on the BOT, usually towards the end and don't want to read.

I don't get them confused, even if they are both mysteries, because listening is so different from reading! (But I can see how it would be hard in Chris's case!)

When I'm not reading my book I read the newspaper and magazines. In fact I try not to read my book for pick up times because then I don't want to see the movie or the dr., or go back to work, etc. I take the paper or a mag. and then I can accomplish my life.

Hmmmm........ I'm with most of the crowd here, I think. I read multiple books at a time. Of course, one of the books I might be reading may not get picked up for days if not weeks at a time! Right now, I'm reading two non-fiction books and another one, if not two, fiction books. I guess it depends on what mood I'm in.

There ARE times when I actually focus on a single book for an extended period of time. These tend to be fiction (mostly detective fiction) books.

I can only read 2 books at a time if one is fiction and the other non-fiction. I tend to read magazines and newspapers in the morning and books late at night. I prefer to be so captivated that I can sink down into one work at a time, but it has to be a real page-turner for me, such as "the Historian" which I loved....

oh-and I always have a paperback in my bag for those lost moments-red lights, while my husband is pumping the gas, slow innings at the baseball game...it is usally either short stories or a reread, so that if there is a couple-day gap, I am not completely lost. It's just so I have something other than a map to look at! Although maps can be fascinating too...

It seems to me in college that one would have classes on different subjects, with different reading requirements, and if one had multiple literature classes in the same quarter or semester, one would be reading 2 authors at once. Maybe it was that training that allows one to divide concentration as it were.

Of course this is all speculation. Alas, like Jethro Bodine, I only done gradiated the sixth grade.

A.B. English 1978 University of California at Berkeley

you have a good point! My DD is preparing for the English Lit. GRE and is reading three books and listening to another in her car. Different eras, but it is still 4 at a time.

I'm with you, Karal. I only read one book at a time. I like to be immersed in what I'm reading.

I admire anyone who can read more than one book at a time but to read 3 or 4 it goes beyond admiration. Although to some extent I think it is a either a personal choice, or training as some have mentioned, or just how our individual minds work.
As far as lugging a book around...I ususally do but I always have purses that are big enough to accomodate any book. I keep my book upstairs or in my purse mostly, and downstairs time is for newspapers, mags, crossword puzzles, and TV/movies ( can't wait for Lost to start ).

I nearly always have more than one book going, more typically 4-5, of any stripe (fiction, non-fiction). I also read the New Yorker and morning newspapers.

For me, I think it may be related to the fact that I only get a precious few minutes to read at any particular time. The amount of time I have to read helps me decide which book I can delve into--some demand more concentration than others. I am a fast reader, and my undergrad and graduate degrees are in literature. So maybe I come by it honestly.

But interestingly, when I go on vacation, I read serially, one book after another, because I get a luxurious amount of time to devote to reading. Oh, the pleasure!

Deep roots: As an English major with a history minor, one semester I had 23 novels to read...and then all the other stuff! One course was an education methods class, and he asked us to try to read as much kids lit as possible during the semester, he started each class with a book discussion. Probably the beginning of my multiple book habit.

>One course was an education methods class,

Oh, my 'kiddie lit' class was a blast. We mustve read a hundred books, many which weren't around when I was a kid. While I know I read many required books in other classes, its those books that I remember (not counting non required reading)

And yeah, it makes sense that having the experience of reading several books at a time would make for the habit later. Never thought of that.

Oh Im another that has to have a book in the car - for times I need to wait in line or in a dr office or something. It has to be something that I can jump in and out of and that is pretty mindless. But its necessary for me to survive the world of waiting!

We're going to a baseball game tonight that is probably going to be rained out...nevertheless, loyal fans that we are, we will sit there waiting (under the overhang seats). Yes, a book will be going with me!

I think I started reading multiple books at the same time when I was in high school and it just got worse as I got older. I didn't have to read fiction when I was in university (engineers don't read, y'know? ;-) ) but I did anyway. So that, coupled with having to read (and unfortunately understand) a few texts on math, science, and computer related topics, probably gave me a good grounding in dividing my attention between different books.

Now that I think about it, I think my extracurricular reading in university probably saved my sanity. It DEFINITELY adversely affected my grades but I'd choose sanity over grades any day of the week. (Ahhhh.....Edgar Rice Burroughs and his John Carter of Mars series -- a great counterpoint to texts on minimax optimization problems.)

Uh, I still read the Barsoom & Tarzan novels. ERB was one great prolific writer.
My ERB library is impressive, but I still don't have them all. I prowl thrift stores....searching searching searching for these, among many others. The thrill of the hunt! (cue Tarzan yell)(anyone remember when Carol Burnett would get requests from the audience to do that yell on her TV show? She had it down!)

heeheehe, I know where there's a BIG collection of ERB stuff. He must have created quite a stir in the World of Books when he started writing. I didn't even know about John Carter until my sons started finding them in used book stores.

I always wondered about Carol and that Tarzan yell....was it really her or just sound effects in the back ground? Whatever. She did it up grand!

Carol got some pipes. Believe it.

And uh, what's that address agnespuffin?

smooth, D.R., very smooth-

hehehe.....the Mystery of the Missing ERBs....

I spend about an hour a day in my car so I read books on CD that I get from the library while I am driving and read print books when I have time at home. I really don't read to absorb the material to often. I can tell you whether I enjoyed a book or not, but can't tell you much about the plot a week after I've read it.

dynomutt, my son was also an engineering student. But had to take some Liberal arts classes to meet humanities requirements. Now, this son has always read widely and well, and has a great vocabulary, and could always write wonderful papers. One of his professors failed him on a written paper, because it was "too well written for an engineering student and must have been plagiarized". My son had to fight for his grade...and even for his place in the university. The school had a very strict honor code and he could have been at the very least placed on probation.

Veronicae --

I know the feeling. Engineering was quite difficult for me, especially as I enjoy reading everything I can get my hands on. Problem was, engineering was taking up TOO much of my time -- I wasn't able to read what I wanted to read!

Suffice it to say that, uh, I was on the "extended" engineering program. ;-) Law school was a lot easier -- it was easier to deal with concepts that were open to interpretation. In engineering, 1+1 = 2 ALL the time. In law, it wasn't as cut and dried -- it depended on which line of cases you wanted to follow! :-)

And yes, I still read the Barsoom novels when I can.

My DD, as an English and Psych major, had tons of required reading-and now, as I said, is studying for the English GRE, which has a gazillion required books on the list, and she is trying to hit the ones she didn't read in class-and is bemoaning the fact that she hasn't been able to do any recreational reading for YEARS-"I haven't even read the DaVinci Code!" Told her it was fun, but not to stress over THAT one!

My daughter's birthday is the end of April, and school (university) finished up about the same time. I used to buy her a book for her birthday...which she would put on top of her computer as a goal for getting all her papers finished at the end of the semester, so she could finally read it. She was a double major...history and government...lots of reading there as well.

i always have several books going. drives my wife crazy.
i have a porch book, car book, livingroom book, kitchen book and bedroom book, plus one in my gymbag, beachbag, suitcase and backpack. Never can tell what i'm going to be in the mood to read. always have to have a book nearby. Usually have several next to the bed. and the range of topics is huge. I hit the library for 6-10 books at a time.
i'll spend a day at the library each month reading magazines that we don't get at home (we've cut back from
42 subscriptions to 28-- the mail man is happier). my TBR
list is usually very short.

i read about 300-400 pages a day.

but each book serves its purpose and i've always read like this. insommnia helps.

diggerb

I have to confess I lied.
I do read two books at once. I keep a book in well,hmmm, you know, the uh, ummm (whispering) bathroom.
The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen is currently ensconced there. That's the usual type of book for that, um, area.

gbg, who promises to not lie again

oh-THOSE books go without saying-I keep Agatha Christie short stories in there.

I'm like DiggerB, with the exception that if a magazine doesn't come in the mail or sit in a doctor's waiting room, I don't read it.
Reading multiple books is a matter of matching my mood or how much time I have for a particular reading session. Alexander McCall Smith's Botswana books were great for reading in bed just before lights out, but unfortunately I got through all of them. I don't like to read anything too exciting or scary or that requires too much thought at that time.
I generally have some non-fiction going, and more than one fiction book. There will be one or two beside the bed, another one in the car in case I am kept waiting somewhere or decide to eat at Einstein Bros. Bagels or some other place all alone. Another book at the kitchen table, and one in the bathroom. I also find it hard to go to the library and not come home with 5 or 6 books, or even more.
Some books do fall through the cracks and get forgotten, but usually not permanently. Shantaram is one, though I was finding it interesting. It is just too big to carry around and didn't make good bedtime reading. Lonesome Dove is waiting in the wings, too. I'm sure I will get back to these two.
Being a member of Paperbackswap.com also tends to make me want to read and finish the shorter books in my bookcase so I can post them and earn credits faster. Normally, if I like a book, I would prefer it to be long. But I guess it is too much to expect that all the books I like be long ones! lol