reading more than one book

[ally]

In last Friday's check in thread I mentioned stopping one book midway through to read another book. I chose to finally do that tonight. My "concern" is that I will never return to the book I am taking a break from. I don't dislike it, I just want a story and not a history lesson.  I am a one book at a time reader.

For those that regularly read more than one book - how do you keep them straight?  How do you choose which of the books to pick up and read each time?

[charlatti]

I don't do it regularly, but when I do, keeping them straight has never been an issue. Maybe if I were reading two cozy mysteries with similar characters or something like that, but books and characters are rarely blur together for me.

I often read fiction and nonfiction at the same time. I usually will read my NF book for daytime reading and fiction before bed or when I'm more tired. Or I'll read an adult book and a middle-grade book, and then I usually read the middle-grade book at work or other times when there are more distractions and save the adult book for when I have quiet and my own space.

[sassypants]

I usually have an audio book and a print book, and honestly I hear the narrator in my head for the audio books and that helps me keep them separated if they're in a similar vein.

[ufcasey]

Apr 12, 2017 22:04:18 GMT -5 sassypants said:

I usually have an audio book and a print book, and honestly I hear the narrator in my head for the audio books and that helps me keep them separated if they're in a similar vein.

Ditto. And usually I try to make sure that I'm reading/listening to completely different genres at the save time to help prevent confusion, and also unfair comparison perhaps.

[Nonny]

For those that regularly read more than one book - how do you keep them straight?

Well, usually I'm reading something in a different genre, like I'll be reading a non-fiction and a fiction.  But even when I'm reading two fiction books it's not really an issue.  I mean, I watch upwards of 30 different TV shows and don't have a problem keeping them straight, and books really aren't any different in my head in that regard. 

I probably wouldn't read two books by the same author at the same time; I could see reading two Stephen King novels that are already a little bit linked in his universe and there being the potential for actual overlapping of characters and that being confusing, but I can't actually think of a time when I've actually gotten confused about the plots or anything. 

How do you choose which of the books to pick up and read each time?

It depends on my mood, the time of day, and what I'm reading.  Right now I've set The Art of War and Mistress of the Vatican aside to read The Underground Railroad.  I can't read The Art of War before bed because I need more mental power to process it, so it has to wait for daytime reading when the TV is off.  I haven't actually picked Mistress of the Vatican back up in a couple of days because I've been drawn into The Underground Railroad, so I probably won't start MV again until I finish UR.

I very rarely abandon books, so I don't worry about going back to them.  Plus MV is for one of my book clubs, so I have motivation to go back to it quickly.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I only ever read 2 books at once when I'm in the middle of a book and have time to read but for some reason don't have access to my book but have access to a different book, or when I need to pause what I'm reading for fun to read a book club book in time for the meeting.
For the latter, I obviously prioritize the book club book, read to completion, then pick the other book back up. But if I happen to start a 2nd book just by access, I tend to keep reading by access, like I keep one book upstairs and read before bed/in the morning, and keep the other book downstairs and read while my kids are watching a cartoon or take it with me to their practices and whatnot and just keep reading them both simultaneously. I don't usually have a problem keeping them straight, but if they are at all similar it makes me constantly compare them while I'm reading both.

[aurora]

These days I'm usually reading 2 books at a time because I'm listening to an audiobook and reading a print one (paper or Kindle). So, the medium is different enough that it's not hard to keep them apart.

Occasionally I'll do what you describe (stop one, pick up another) but it's usually because I have a short number of pages to the end of the first one and am about to take a flight and don't want to carry two (because I know I'll finish the first). Similarly, I'll occasionally do it when my hold position on a library book comes up that I know I'll have trouble finishing if I don't start now. But, these cases happen only 5-10x/year (out of reading around 50 books/year). I don't really like it, but I don't have a better solution given the timing.

[susiebw]

I used to read multiple books at a time all the time. Less so now, but it still happens. I've never had trouble telling them apart at all. There stories and characters are always different enough that it's never been a concern.

Lately, I usually have one book and one audiobook, and in that case, the medium is different enough that it's not a concern.

If I have more than one regular book going, I usually pick based on my mood. Sometimes I want a page-turner or something steamy, sometimes I want history or intellect. This Romanov book has been driving me to other outlets lately - I think I'm getting bored with it.