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Apr
09
BTT: I'm a one-book woman.
2009 at 8am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
This week, BTT is doing a blast from the past and using one of the very first questions ever at Booking Through Thursday. Back from 2005 when Laura owned the blog but, because it was so new, it didn’t get as many responses as it does now … so, why not revisit?
Here’s the question:
Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to…
- Are you currently reading more than one book?
- If so, how many books are you currently reading?
- Is this normal for you?
- Where do you keep your current reads?
Are you currently reading more than one book? Nope. In my reading life, as in my personal life, I’ve always been a serial monogamist. Well, except for that whole “we can see other people while we’re separated by several states” thing, but that’s a different story. (And no, that’s not the one I married.)
Once I get absorbed into a story and setting and I get to know the characters, I like to be able to keep my with them there rather than having to juggle several different “vibes,” if you know what I mean. I’ve tried reading one fiction and one non-fiction book at a time, and it just didn’t work. I don’t like to divide my attention that way. If I’m reading a book that isn’t keeping me interested, to the point that I want to put it down and pick up something else, that usually means that the book isn’t going to pass the Rule of 50. So I’ll put it down, and I probably won’t pick it back up again. If I need a short break from what I’m reading, I take a day off and do crossword puzzles or read a magazine instead.
If so, how many books are you currently reading? One. It’s pretty much always just one.
Is this normal for you? Yes, but people are often surprised by it. I think many people assume that anyone who reads a lot must read more than one book at a time. In fact, this came up at work just yesterday, when one of my coworkers joked that he wanted me to screen a book for him and tell him if it was any good. “You read so much, why don’t you just add it to the mix?” When I said I was a book monogamist, always just one book at a time, my boss turned and said, “Now, that’s kind of surprising.” I get it that for many people, reading more than one book at a time is more efficient and helps them stay interested, but for me, it would just be distracting.
Where do you keep your current reads? I tote my current read around with me at all times. When I head off to work in the morning, I toss it in my purse so I can read over lunch, and when I get home in the afternoon, one of the first things I do is take my book (and my reading glasses) out of my purse and sit it on the coffee table in the living room. I’ll read there throughout the evening, then I take the book to bed with me and read there for a while. If I’m waiting in line somewhere, I’m usually reading (except at the post office, which makes me too frustrated to read), and if I’m sitting in a waiting room, I’m definitely reading.
The only really inconvenient thing about being a book monogamist is that if I accidentally leave my book somewhere, I have to go back and get it immediately because I don’t want to start reading something else until I can get it again. This means I frequently get halfway home from work and have to turn around to go back and retrieve my book, and my books usually show some wear and tear after all the traveling they do (and because I write in them), but I’m OK with that. It gives them character.
Are you a one-book person like me, or do you have several current reads? How many? Do you have different books designated for different locations or times of day?
No related posts.
I can only read 2 at the most and one is usually a book on CD I listen to. I’m like you, I have to have a book with me when I am waiting somewhere.
My Post is HERE.
I’m a multi-book at the same time, but not the same type.
I read a lot of nerdy finance/economic books, so with them I will usually also be reading some fiction or graphic novel. I can’t really read about how Ebenezer Scrooge actually is good for society because of his miserly ways due to economic principles before bed.
I’m the same way – I can only handle one book at a time.
I am the complete opposite. I need to read more than one book at a time, I get bored after a few chapters and need something different.
I usually have more than one going, but I prefer just one…Sometimes I just need a change of pace.
I try to read two, but one usually ‘wins’ out. There’s also an audio book in my car.
I’ve changed from a multiple reader to a one-at-a-time because I can focus and get them done faster. I can see how people would be surprised that you are a one-book-at-a-time reader. Kinda funny!
Happy BTT!
I tried to do the “more than one book” thing and it didn’t work for me. I felt scattered and a little guilty over not giving one book my undivided attention so just this month, I have gone back to reading one book at a time.
I take the current book with me wherever I go. I hate to be without a book when, say, I’m waiting in line at the bank or car wash.
The Rule of 50 is a very reasonable approach to “sound out” a book. If you’re not into it, why bother? You’re also spot on the deception that prolific reader is usually reading multiple books all at once. At least it’s not true for me, or I’m not very prolific.
Can I just link to your response? I haven’t written mine yet, but it will say almost the same things as yours
. I’ve even referred to myself as a “serial monogamist” when it comes to reading. Sometimes I’d like to be able to two-time my books, but it can be a challenge just keeping up with one!
I stick to one at a time too, but I will start a new one if I forget my current read somewhere and can’t get it easily. I generally carry it everywhere, though, so it’s not often I’m without it!
I never have more than one book going at a time. I never have more than one video game going at a time, either. I do enough multitasking at work!
I often have 4 – 5 books going at once, although rarely more than one in the same genre. I usually have a non-fiction, general fiction and YA on the go as well as something light and fluffy and something deeper.
If a book really grabs my attention, I will often focus on it exclusively, but otherwise I pick up whatever I feel like reading at any particular time given my mood, energy level, ability to concentrate etc.
I often read two or three at a time, but they have to be very different genres! And I do carry a book everywhere I go