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?
“Could you bring me my book?” I called out to my husband the other evening as I headed off for my nightly soak in the tub.
“Sure thing,” he answered genially.
I started the water running and drizzled in my favorite chamomile and lavender bubble bath.
“Hey there,” I heard my husband calling, “so which book do you want? There are three of them stacked up here on the table.”
“Oh, bring the one called In the Woods,” I answered. “I’m nearly finished with that, and I’d like to be able to return it to the library tomorrow.”
As you can see, I often do have more than one book on the go, although I’m finding it more and more difficult to keep track of multiple plot and story lines. Most recently I was reading Wolf Hall and Mrs. Dalloway at the same time…it wasn’t hard to keep track of the plot line, but it was a bit difficult to switch gears between writing styles.
When I do read multiple books, they are most often in multiple genres…a biography perhaps, or a collection of essays along with a novel. That way I can compartmentalize each one in my mind.
Really, the most problematic thing about reading more than one book is simply deciding which one to read at any given moment. A plethora of riches…
Bookstack 
I’ll often read two books at a time–one that’s more involved and “literary,” one that’s more escapism. Some of the best books are the hardest to read, so I find it’s nice to have a little fantasy or romance on the side to give my brain a rest.
That’s so sweet that you husband fetches your books for you.
Here is mine.
Sometimes I read a non-fiction book and a novel at the same time, but usually one wins out and I finish it before going back to the other.
Talk to me when you get to the end of In The Woods.
And, personally, I don’t do very well with more than one book at a time. I’m rather Short Attention Span Theater lately. 😉
I do tend to have several books on the go, but in different genres. I only like one novel at a time, really, unless one’s a comfort read and one’s very literary. I love variety, but don’t want books getting messed together in my head.
Now that’s hard! I can’t keep up with such reading!
I just want to get to one book! I’m hoping it will be Unfinished Desires. I’m just not sure WHEN that might be.
Guilty as charged. Yes I do read multiple books, but not always that quickly.
It’s usually one novel, one non-fiction, a book of short stories and maybe a diary/journal. I don’t often read more than one novel at a time because I do lose track, but sometimes, if a novel is quite literary and I’m finding it hard-going but don’t want to concede defeat just yet, I will take a break and read something a bit lighter – usually crime fiction.
I suppose it’s a bit like clearing my palate!