I’m always reading three or more books at once. I like my reading list to be eclectic, so I pick different genres, a classic, a new release, and a recommendation from a friend. I always accept invitations to borrow and explore more books, just so I always have something to look forward to. I just can’t seem to choose one, so I juggle many. I mix a hopeful book with a morose one, or a behemoth like “The Brothers Karamazov” with a short story, “The Dead.” I’ll finish one of Dennis Lehane’s edgy scenes between Detective Patrick Kenzie and the killer in “Darkness, Take My Hand” and then be in the mood for Nick Adams’ therapeutic and placid sojourn in Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River” This is my literary routine.
Last week I started reading “Rendezvous with Rama” by Arthur C. Clarke after learning it might be adapted into a film starring Morgan Freeman and directed by the now topical and ever effective David Fincher (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). The film has been in development hell and probably will not be made, but either way, the novel is engaging and worthwhile. So that’s one book.
“Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life” was recommended to me by a professor weeks ago. I discussed my recent writing funk and she spoke of the book with deep admiration, a passion that lifted me off my feet and toward the bookstore, three bookstores actually (Penn Bookstore, Barnes and Noble, and The Last Word), none of which had a copy. So Amazon was the way to go and the book now sits on my black, glass desk. That’s two.
Today I completed the trinity after reading this article by Corban Addison on the sordid widespread nature of human trafficking, specifically the sex trade. His first novel, “A Walk Across the Sun,” details two sisters left orphaned and destitute after a tsunami ravages their coastal town and their subsequent abduction and enslavement into the sex trade. His article details the relevancy of slavery in modern society and includes a haunting account of his travels to India in order to research his topic. He took an undercover ‘brothel tour’ that left him repulsed and inspired to raise awareness of this incarnation of moral depravity and inhumanity. The piece was evocative and honest. I bought his novel. One-day shipping. That’s three.
I find that reading multiple books makes me happier. I’ll walk around Drexel University’s campus on my way to work but always have the mental image or rush of whichever scene I left off at. As I sit and write, I drift back to the disillusioned Franny, from Salinger’s “Franny and Zooey”, sitting in a restaurant with her boyfriend, Lane. She is questioning her worth and can’t seem to answer the waiter when he asks her if she’d like a refill. But concurrently, I cannot wait to turn the pages of “A Walk Across the Sun.” There’s just too much great literature to read one book at a time.
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I do the same thing. Right now, I actually even have a book in the car that I am only reading when waiting in the car. (It will be interesting to see how long it takes me to read that one! It is Wally Lamb’s “The Hour I First Believed” and it is BIG.)
People always ask me how I can read more than one book at a time and I really don’t know how NOT TO…
It’s a wonderful problem to have—too much to read…
I feel like reading multiple books at the same time is why I can get through a lot of books quickly. When I’m reading, naturally, I come to a point where I want to put the book down for a little while. Not all books are fast paced and keep you captivated. You pick them up and put them down. And if I’m reading multiple books at once often once I put one down, I pick one of the others up instead of taking a break from reading entirely. Sometimes I just want a switch of topics, not a break from reading.
I also read multiple books at a time. One is always in my bag, in case I’m ever stranded waiting for a train or a bus; a few are on the floor of my car, in case I’m ever stranded on the highway waiting for a train or a bus or a tow truck – in which case I might resort to the book in the bag, if the bag is handy; others are “at home” reads, stacked on the end table.
It seems a lot of us do the multiple books thing. At the moment, I’m in the middle of re-reading The Hobbit and A Game of Thrones, and I’m also working my way through Ivanhoe and David Gemmell’s Legend. Once Troy Denning’s Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse hits stores, I’ll be reading that one, too.
I think Anna’s right. Sometimes, you just don’t want to deal with a certain book anymore, but you do want to read (anyone familiar with A Song of Ice and Fire knows that Martin has a knack for making one hurl books across the room). Having a lot of books going keeps your options open.
The Hobbit! There’s another book I need to read. Like you said, I just love having my options open.
I always try not to read several books at once. I almost feel bad if I’m in the middle of one book and pick up another. It’s like I’m cheating on the first one. I like the feeling of being so engrossed in a book that I don’t want to read anything else until I’m finished. Still, I also find that there are some books I’m always reading and re-reading. I have certain books laying around or in my bag for times when I’m bored (Dr.’s office, train rides, etc) or when I just feel the need to read a certain passage or story.