one book...or two?!

[onelife]

do you ever read two or more novels, simultaneously? i have a friend who does so, often, but i like to concentrate on one storyline at a time. perhaps im not bright enough to multi-task with books...lol

[DaftGretel]

When I was in school I'd read 2 - 4 books simultaneously, not because I wanted to, but I'd have different classes with required reading, and then I'd also be reading something I actually wanted to read. I had no problems keeping the story lines separate in my mind, or remembering which book said which thing.

Since becoming a mother, it can take me months to get through one book, so I haven't even tried reading more than one at a time in years.

[Tunesmith]

I read on the installment plan, so I have no less than sixteen books next to my bed. When I was younger, I was even worse, so there would literally be a literary carpet across my room.

[Avalon]

I don't think I could work my way through just one book at a time; they are stationed all over the place so that I may grab a few pages when ever the occasion arises. Like Tunes, it is something I have always done..makes everyone else I know crazy..like my habit of leaving the TV on with the sound down while listening to the stereo while reading.....

[Frieda]

in high school i got the flu, a severe one that kept me sick for 3 weeks.. then i had to read 20 books for dutch class and 15 for english in 3 weeks for my high school graduation.. whoa! fortunately i already finished the 15 ones for french... i completely mixed up all the story lines and failed my dutch exam.. shame.. i did graduate though so no, i try to stick to one book at a time..

[daverbee]

Lsst time I was in the Smokies some firneds of mine and I visited the Carl Sandburg Nat'l Memorial in Flat Rock.
The have tours of the farmhouse he and his wife lived in there. Avvy, you would have loved it! He had at least one bookcase in every room in that house. Only house I've ever been in with bookcases in the hallways, kitchen, and bathrooms.
No book in any of the bookcases seemed related to any other book in the same bookcase. I got the feeling he just walked over to one of them when he was in the mood to read and grabbed whatever looked interesting at the time.
Not sure whether he left the TV on with the volume down and the stereo on while he read.


As for me, I used to enjoy reading more than one book at a time but don't have much time to read right now. I'm still waiting for Hannibal Rising to be available through the library.

[onelife]

hey...thx for all the great responses. when i was in school, yes, i read more than one book at a time (journalism major/lit minor). but my preference, as far as reading for enjoyment, is to read just one book, and be able to give it my undivided attention.

now, about the stash in the spare room. well...uhhh...i'd say ive got somewhere in the neigborhood of 50 novels (mostly bought second-hand, and some borrowed). when i finish a book, one of my greatest joys is selecting my next read. okay, TMI, im sure. get a freakin' life, i know. my husband says "youre probably the only woman who prefers book shopping to clothes shopping"...lol

[DaftGretel]

Originally Posted by onelife

my husband says "youre probably the only woman who prefers book shopping to clothes shopping"...lol

That's the way I am too. I could spend all day in a book store, but I can rarely be bothered to spend more than about 20 minutes shopping for clothes.

[Avalon]

Lsst time I was in the Smokies some firneds of mine and I visited the Carl Sandburg Nat'l Memorial in Flat Rock.
The have tours of the farmhouse he and his wife lived in there. Avvy, you would have loved it! He had at least one bookcase in every room in that house. Only house I've ever been in with bookcases in the hallways, kitchen, and bathrooms.
No book in any of the bookcases seemed related to any other book in the same bookcase. I got the feeling he just walked over to one of them when he was in the mood to read and grabbed whatever looked interesting at the time.

How I would love to have that set up! I could ( and do ) live with the organized chaos of no particular order. Alas, mine just accumulate on tables and the floor; handy for me..for others, not so much. I love owning books; having them there for me to go back to, reread, or just have. It is an addiction.

[daverbee]

In this day and age, it's good to have folks like you still with us, Avvy.

[Tunesmith]

When I retire (or when I have the money!), I plan to do this

I've always loved browsing in used bookstores, and when I visit NYC on Saturdays, I always return to a certain store and get something new for the week. So far I am...around 1/500 of the way to a complete Penguin Collection

Originally Posted by Avalon

[font=Comic Sans MS]I love owning books; having them there for me to go back to, reread, or just have. It is an addiction.

I totally agree! Glad to find a fellow bibliophile, Avalon!
Or is it bookworm? I always forget...

One of my best memories is being in my grandparent's old house a couple of years ago and hearing my grandfather say "You can take any books from the house that you want, now that we're leaving". I remember spending the day in the attic, dragging out cardboard boxes and peering into them.

In addition to a set of Japanese sword hilts from the 17th century, a bunch of old fossilized teeth, a WWII army helmet, an ancient camera with intact flashbulbs, a picture of my greatgrandmother on an ostrich, a cast iron bootscraper in the shape of a duck, assorted wedding invitations, countless back issues of science journals (yes, trust me, there's a book in here somewhere! ), I found a battered old book which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be an early edition copy of one of the chemist Robert Boyle's treatises of electricity.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep it.
My grandfather sold if for a hefty amount of money...

[onelife]

cool story, tunesmith. thx for sharing.

addicted to books? addicted to reading? guilty, as charged! i watch very little TV, and much prefer reading. in fact, the only show i tune into on a regular basis is the office, every thursday night.

[Jack Flanders]

Originally Posted by Avalon

I love owning books; having them there for me to go back to, reread, or just have. It is an addiction.

I totally agree!! I have bookcases in every room and in some rooms more than one. In my familyroom we built two floor to ceiling bookcases soon after we moved in. Fortunately/unfortunately I'm married to another book addict.

[grumio]

I live in a pretty small apartment, & some while ago as my bookcases were getting totally jammed I despaired - where will I put my books? - until I came to view the great LA Public Library simply as remote storage for my vast collection. Now I only buy books you have to have around to be useful, like cookbooks, & rarely, novels so good I know I'll reread them many times.

On the original topic, I sometimes have a novel & a non-fiction going at the same time. Whenever I get two novels going at the same time, one of them inevitably wins out.

[MissJecka]

I don't think my brain would let me read multiple books simultaneously.

I love getting into the book I'm ready, very deeply. I think reading more than one book at a time would inhibit that...