Is it normal to read multiple books at one time?

Question

I've always wondered if avid readers do this; and I'd love to do that, but it just doesn't seem "feasible".

Yeah I don't mean "reading two books side by side". I'm talking about reading a book and then seeing another book I might like and reading them both (at different times). Like somebody said, one during the day, and one during the night, but reading them "at the same time" instead of reading one to completion and then reading the other to completion.

Answer 1

Note my screen name: AVID READER
I am not only a reader I am also an author. There are times I read 3-4 books at a time. Some days I wake up wanting something different. If it is late at night I might want to curl up in a chair with a cup of tea and read a good thriller. Yes, I love to scare myself! I also write thrillers. The next day I might be in the mood to read history. Part of the reason I read several books at one time is because I am always researching time periods.
I also write 2-3 books at one time. There are times I have to put a story on the back burner and take a break. When I do I go back to another story I am writing. For the most part I write thrillers however, I also write children's stories....I know it sounds weird!
Anyway, back to your questioin....try reading two books at a time...you might enjoy it!

Answer 2

I've been reading Bill Clinton's "My Life" for about the past year, I'm about 3/4 way through. Also about 1/2 way through Hillary Clinton's Living History. At the same time right now I started reading a Dean Koonz book that will probably keep me up all night till I finish. Also reading Gracie, by George Burns and Guilty Pleasures by Lawrence Sanders. Eventually, they'll all get read. With some others in between. But then again, I think I have Adult Attention Deficit Disorder.

Answer 3

Is there any such thing as normal? No, just kidding. I know better than to answer a question with a question.

I truly can't say what is "normal" for any one else but I can tell you that I generally have 3-4 books that I'm reading at any given time. Right now it is three. One is fairly light reading, an inspirational autobiography. The second isn't such light Reading, a bit more profound I guess. The third is really a self help. Oh, wait! There is four because I am also reading a fantasy novel to my daughter at bed time. that counts too!
I don't think it makes you abby-normal if you are reading more than one book at any given time. We are a multi-tasking culture to be sure.

Answer 4

Yes. I did this a lot when I was in school. I'd read the 2-3 chapters in the novel I'd been assigned for English, then set it aside for the book I really wanted to read.

The more different the works are from each other, the easier it is. I have no problem keeping straight a non-fiction book and a novel, if I'm in the middle of both of them.

However, I like reading one book straight through much better. It makes me feel more focused.

Answer 5

I do it all the time. I read a lot of books, and when i go to the library or the store, I will read the backs of books, The most i have ever done is four, beyond that i will get mixed up, but I think it is just a matter of compartmentalizing each part of your life. I can also listen to a speech while reading a book or document, and tell you exactly what is being said in each anytime you stop me. But I cannot function in crowds, or small places, and i can't stand to have noise coming from more than one source, like if i am listening to my husband speak, I can't have a television or someone else talking in the background! Everyone is different and each has their own special abilities and gifts.be proud of the ones you have!

Answer 6

It is quite feasible to read several books similtaneously - if you have a system. Mine is as follows - arise an hour earlier each morning - read a first choice book. During lunch break read your second book - complete one chapter. Your third book can be tackled "here and there" during the day. Close the evening by reading from a fourth book (I usually reserve this for non-fiction) - and listen to a CD such as "Music to Read By" - believe me - follow this idea and you will enjoy the results. You will not, contrary to some opinions, mix up plots or information. It works for me!!

Answer 7

I seldom read two books at a time. For me, reading is a release of stress caused by having to put one foot in front of the other. Sometimes, all I want from a book is to be entertained. Other times, I want insight. Either way, I like to jump in with both feet. Since I often imagine myself as one of the characters, I stick with one book at a time.

The exception is when I come across a book that starts out so boring I want to scream. Gabriel Garcia Marquez books tend to have this effect on me.

Answer 8

I think so, I always have more than one book going, During school I would have the book for school im reading, then a book at home to read, and a book to carry in my pocket for free time to read. And now since its summer I have quite a few. I'm reading the The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, a mystery, a mystery/romance, and a history book called Flyboys. My mom and I both read more than one book at a time so yea I think its normal

Answer 9

I'll read one or two, maybe three if I can't find one of the others, but no more than three. Some avid readers can finish a book in a matter of hours so I'm not so sure for them.

Answer 10

Sure. I'm doing it right now. I'm reading the biography of John Singer Sargent, an Artemis Fowl novel, and a collection of Greek romances. Variety is the spice, I say.
If I get too many going, I cut back by either finishing up, or putting it aside, and coming back to it.
I don't always read more than one book at a time. It depends on my mood, and the 'weightiness' of the book.