Have you ever read two books at a time?

The Black Raven · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 1:22pm

I saw a kid at school do this once, I thought it's kinda weird because won't you confuse the characters and events somehow?

Kralizek · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 1:41pm

In fact, most of the time I am reading two books simultaneously. Just in case I get bored with one, I just switch to the other.

It is not difficult at all, you should try it. And if you start getting confused, it is even more fun trying to make sense out of them.

Harkle · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 2:29pm

Well, I used to read four or five different books at a time, but that was quite confusing and I read only about 5 pages in a day. Now I'm reading only one book, and that's much easier.

JSBB · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 2:31pm

If you are asking if we have ever had the two books sitting side by side and reading them both at the exact same time, the answer would be no except for when I have been comparing something in book A to something in book B. However, I wouldn't really count that as reading both at the same time.

If you mean have we ever been in the process of reading more then one book at a given time, (i.e. reading a couple chapters of the one book and then stopping and reading part of the other before returning to the first book again) then the answer is of course I have.

Edit: Corrected spelling error.

[ September 12, 2003, 17:19: Message edited by: JSBB ]

dmc · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 5:09pm

My normal state of existence is being in the middle of at least two books (more often three). I find that my mood changes and I am not always interested in reading one particular type of book (genre or complexity). Plus, I will always be in the middle of the second to last Wheel of Time book because I am halfway through and loathe it. Nonetheless, every now and again, I force myself to read a couple of pages.

As to the confusion question, how many people watch multiple serial TV shows? How do you keep track of the characters and what's happened? Why is that any different?

JSBB · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 5:18pm

@DMC -

Quote:

I will always be in the middle of the second to last Wheel of Time book because I am halfway through and loathe it

Hey, I am in the same boat. I received it for Christmas when it first came out and I promptly read the first 150 pages or so and before i put aside for when I have nothing better to read. It hasn't happened yet and my bookmark remains as a permanent legacy of how dull a book it really is.

Arabwel · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 5:24pm

I always have several books under read and re-read.... often, something in a book sparks the re-read of another book, and so forth and so forth...

Taluntain · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 7:19pm

I try not to read more than one book at the same time, but for purely practical reasons... Two or three open books lying around soon start to clutter, and you forget where you put one, or forget to bookmark, etc. 1 book just makes it easier. Not to mention that I don't see much point in reading more than one at the same time. I could, but why should I? I rather finish one off and switch to another genre if I got fed up with the one I was reading.

The Black Raven · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 10:42pm

Well thank you all for your replies. I saw a lot of replies "why should I?", well I'm still in school, and I have a huge The legacy of the drow collector's edition, that I won't bring to school for two reasons: 1.it's too heavy and clumsy to carry around 2.i don't want it to get damaged. And then I have a second, smaller, paperback one to read in class after I finish my assignment, test, etc. So, why not get done with two books in the time i could finish one?

Kralizek · Fri, 12th Sep '03, 10:55pm

Well, enjoy your reading then.

As long as it does not distract you too much at school, that is.

fade · Sat, 13th Sep '03, 1:32am

I do sometimes, but generally it only takes me a day or 2 to finish a book. So most of the time I will just finish it and read a new one.

Arahar · Sun, 14th Sep '03, 6:37am

I never get the opertunity to read more than one book at a time. I'll start a book and finish it in one sitting.

iLLusioN' · Sun, 14th Sep '03, 5:05pm

most of the time i read 3-4 at one time...i still dont understand why everyone needs bookmarks, i justlook at the page number before i put the book down and pick up where i left off

Spellbound · Mon, 15th Sep '03, 2:56pm

Normally, I read one book at a time. Recently though, I had trouble getting through one book and picked up another from my stack that I'd been eyeing for awhile, with the intention of reading just a paragraph or two. Finished that book in a couple of days and went back to the first book, making a little more progress. I know I'll finish it eventually.

LKD · Mon, 15th Sep '03, 8:54pm

I used to read 5 books or so at a time, but now I prefer to just gun my way through one and then read something else. For instance, I have about 10 books I'd like to read right now, so I plowed through 150 pages of my current novel.

Shrikant · Tue, 16th Sep '03, 3:12pm

I have read about 3 books at a time, here I mean novels and NOT the class books that Im supposed to be pouring over.
Sometimes Im reading a ebook and I happen to pick a novel. At such times it is very easy to alternate between the two. Also when caught between a long odessy and a nice novelette, it seems just impossible to finish the biggie before turning to the snack.

Aldazar · Wed, 24th Sep '03, 5:41am

Yeah, reading 3 at the same time right now.
Ramses: Son Of Light by Christian Jacq (love it!)
Prism Pentad Book 2 (just started it, can't recall the actual name) and
Wizard And Glass - Dark Tower book 4 (for about the 4th time)

Easy to keep track of the different stories and events except for maybe the first few lines each time I switch while I re-adjust.

chevalier · Wed, 24th Sep '03, 8:13am

Up to four.

Silverwolf86 · Thu, 25th Sep '03, 7:38pm

When I was in 3rd grade I'd be reading about 7 books at a time (one of the main reasons that I seemed to have read just about everything in 3rd grade)

See, I'd be going through a fantasy series (such as Xanth which was my favorite at the time) and then I might forget to bring it with me to school and since we had D.E.A.R. time (Drop Everything And Read) I'd pick up a babysitter's club book or whatever from my teacher's selection and then we'd go out to recess and I'd take the DEAR book with me and read/finish it outside. And then we'd go off to library class and they MADE you take a book out every lesson so I'd pick up something long because it looked interesting (countless Mark Twain and Shakeseare stories number this list) So then I'd read that on the bus-ride home and by the time I'd get home I'd be too involved in my book to stop so I'd continue reading it until I had to do homework. And of course once I started reading my homework list I'd remember that I had to do a book report so I'd go get that book to read and finish. And then if my Mom was trying to bribe me to come with her somewhere she'd promise that we could stop at the public library and of course I'd had to get a book from there too. . . And then back home I'd read THAT book after dinner and then sometime around 8 at night if my parents wanted me to read my brothers to sleep I'd go pick up one of my "children's" fantasy books (like the Search For Delicious if anyone's ever heard of that book) and since I'd then be in a fantasy mood I'd go pick up my original Xanth/type fantasy book and read that. Hrmmm I also read a lot of 3 Investigators, Nancy Drew, and Agatha Cristie mysteries. Maybe those were the books I picked up from the public library??

In case you're wonderously blind and couldn't tell by now, practically all I ever did in 3rd grade was read. It got weird in English classes later on because whenever we'd pick up a book I'd be like, "Oh I read that in 3rd grade." Though now that I think of it, half of the time I'd already the books we were going to read in the 3rd grade reading class anyways so my teacher would assign me a different book to read on my own so I guess that might add another book as well. . .

As for keeping track of them all, I had amazing memorization abilities when I was little. (I personally think it's because my parents are anti-tv and video games, and most computer games for that matter) Once when I was 4 I recited back every line to the Great Mouse Detective (It's Diseny movie a bit like the Sherlock Holmes stories) to my sister cuz she couldn't sleep and it had only come out on video that night (so we only saw it once ever) And since in 3rd grade I wasn't greatly challenged in school, I found it quite easy to keep place with 7 or 8 different books all at once. And I continued reading tons of books all at once (though in decreasing quantities halfway through 4th grade) up until 6th grade when I was a little bit more challenged in school and I took up writing seriously.

Nowadays I almost never read two books at the same time unless it's for school (in which case the numbers jump drastically) Oh, and like Los Drizzt I almost never use bookmarks because I can just look at the page number and even if I forget what page number it is, I remember what page I left off on and what was going on at the time. I did have a bookmark once because a calligrapher made it for me. Ironically it Also got left in my 8th Wheel of Time book. See, last year around this time I was re-reading them and got a bit stuck *cough bored* halfway through the 8th book. I think that's happened to me several times with WoT though. It's just a touch too drawn out. It was funny when I was in the hospital with it though because I had this gigantic book that I THOUGHT I would finish (I actually have finished it before) and I ended up using it to prop up this lamp... and you could always see the giant fuzzy ball sticking out from the middle of the book where I'd left off. My nurses thought it was hilarious...

Sun, 14th Sep '03, 6:37am	#12
Arahar SPS Account Holder Distinguished Member Hmm, it's a dwarf. Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Big Timber, MT, USA Posts: 681 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 1,908 Level: 14 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 54.48% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	I never get the opertunity to read more than one book at a time. I'll start a book and finish it in one sitting.
	Last edited by Blackthorne TA; Fri, 15th Jun '12 at 11:45pm.

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Fri, 12th Sep '03, 1:22pm	#1
The Black Raven Gems: 5/31 Latest gem: Andar Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 110 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 792 Level: 9 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 87.09% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	I saw a kid at school do this once, I thought it's kinda weird because won't you confuse the characters and events somehow?

Fri, 12th Sep '03, 1:41pm	#2
Kralizek Gems: 7/31 Latest gem: Tchazar Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Stranded in Oulu, Finland Posts: 203 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 816 Level: 10 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 0.92% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	In fact, most of the time I am reading two books simultaneously. Just in case I get bored with one, I just switch to the other. It is not difficult at all, you should try it. And if you start getting confused, it is even more fun trying to make sense out of them.

Fri, 12th Sep '03, 2:29pm	#3
Harkle Gems: 16/31 Latest gem: Shandon Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Finland Posts: 824 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 2,103 Level: 15 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 18.36% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	Well, I used to read four or five different books at a time, but that was quite confusing and I read only about 5 pages in a day. Now I'm reading only one book, and that's much easier.

Fri, 12th Sep '03, 2:31pm	#4
JSBB Titan of the Tundra Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The Great White North Posts: 4,054 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 8,574 Level: 27 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 93.91% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	If you are asking if we have ever had the two books sitting side by side and reading them both at the exact same time, the answer would be no except for when I have been comparing something in book A to something in book B. However, I wouldn't really count that as reading both at the same time. If you mean have we ever been in the process of reading more then one book at a given time, (i.e. reading a couple chapters of the one book and then stopping and reading part of the other before returning to the first book again) then the answer is of course I have. Edit: Corrected spelling error. [ September 12, 2003, 17:19: Message edited by: JSBB ]

Fri, 12th Sep '03, 5:09pm	#5
dmc SPS Account Holder Distinguished Member Moderator Speak softly and carry a big briefcase 3 Card Poker Champion! Balloon Shoot Champion! Bumper Golf Champion! Falldown Champion! Plumber 2 Champion! Rotations Champion! Towerball Champion! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Los Angeles, California, USA Posts: 6,493 Like: 18 Liked 52 Times in 42 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 15,908 Level: 36 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 22.63% Daily Activity 47.84% Weekly Activity 47.56% Monthly Activity 38.1% Achievements Awards	My normal state of existence is being in the middle of at least two books (more often three). I find that my mood changes and I am not always interested in reading one particular type of book (genre or complexity). Plus, I will always be in the middle of the second to last Wheel of Time book because I am halfway through and loathe it. Nonetheless, every now and again, I force myself to read a couple of pages. As to the confusion question, how many people watch multiple serial TV shows? How do you keep track of the characters and what's happened? Why is that any different?

Fri, 12th Sep '03, 5:24pm	#7
Arabwel Gems: 31/31 Latest gem: Rogue Stone Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Land of Ire Posts: 7,944 Like: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post vBActivity - Stats XP: 16,950 Level: 37 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 18.91% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	I always have several books under read and re-read.... often, something in a book sparks the re-read of another book, and so forth and so forth...

Fri, 12th Sep '03, 7:19pm	#8
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Resident Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Cori Celesti Posts: 20,796 Blog Entries: 13 Like: 149 Liked 120 Times in 78 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 53,133 Level: 58 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 48.61% Daily Activity 230.07% Weekly Activity 133.88% Monthly Activity 42.14% Achievements Awards	I try not to read more than one book at the same time, but for purely practical reasons... Two or three open books lying around soon start to clutter, and you forget where you put one, or forget to bookmark, etc. 1 book just makes it easier. Not to mention that I don't see much point in reading more than one at the same time. I could, but why should I? I rather finish one off and switch to another genre if I got fed up with the one I was reading.

Fri, 12th Sep '03, 10:42pm	#9
The Black Raven Gems: 5/31 Latest gem: Andar Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 110 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 792 Level: 9 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 87.09% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	Well thank you all for your replies. I saw a lot of replies "why should I?", well I'm still in school, and I have a huge The legacy of the drow collector's edition, that I won't bring to school for two reasons: 1.it's too heavy and clumsy to carry around 2.i don't want it to get damaged. And then I have a second, smaller, paperback one to read in class after I finish my assignment, test, etc. So, why not get done with two books in the time i could finish one?

Fri, 12th Sep '03, 10:55pm	#10
Kralizek Gems: 7/31 Latest gem: Tchazar Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Stranded in Oulu, Finland Posts: 203 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 816 Level: 10 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 0.92% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	Well, enjoy your reading then. As long as it does not distract you too much at school, that is.

Sat, 13th Sep '03, 1:32am	#11
fade Gems: 13/31 Latest gem: Ziose Join Date: May 2003 Location: The depths of your imagination Posts: 544 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 1,600 Level: 13 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 46.09% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	I do sometimes, but generally it only takes me a day or 2 to finish a book. So most of the time I will just finish it and read a new one.

Sun, 14th Sep '03, 5:05pm	#13
iLLusioN' Gems: 16/31 Latest gem: Shandon Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: USA Posts: 817 Like: 0 Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 2,195 Level: 15 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 46.88% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	most of the time i read 3-4 at one time...i still dont understand why everyone needs bookmarks, i justlook at the page number before i put the book down and pick up where i left off

Mon, 15th Sep '03, 2:56pm	#14
Spellbound SPS Account Holder Distinguished Member Mod Reviewer Fleur de Mystique Join Date: May 2002 Location: Tornado Alley Posts: 1,259 Like: 0 Liked 3 Times in 1 Post vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,607 Level: 19 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 22.57% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	Normally, I read one book at a time. Recently though, I had trouble getting through one book and picked up another from my stack that I'd been eyeing for awhile, with the intention of reading just a paragraph or two. Finished that book in a couple of days and went back to the first book, making a little more progress. I know I'll finish it eventually.

Mon, 15th Sep '03, 8:54pm	#15
LKD Gems: 31/31 Latest gem: Rogue Stone Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Winterfell Posts: 6,202 Like: 19 Liked 31 Times in 22 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 16,655 Level: 36 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 92.22% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 41.04% Monthly Activity 13.83% Achievements	I used to read 5 books or so at a time, but now I prefer to just gun my way through one and then read something else. For instance, I have about 10 books I'd like to read right now, so I plowed through 150 pages of my current novel.

Tue, 16th Sep '03, 3:12pm	#16
Shrikant Gems: 27/31 Latest gem: Emerald Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Bombay,India Posts: 2,615 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 5,875 Level: 23 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 75.58% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	I have read about 3 books at a time, here I mean novels and NOT the class books that Im supposed to be pouring over. Sometimes Im reading a ebook and I happen to pick a novel. At such times it is very easy to alternate between the two. Also when caught between a long odessy and a nice novelette, it seems just impossible to finish the biggie before turning to the snack.

Wed, 24th Sep '03, 5:41am	#17
Aldazar Gems: 24/31 Latest gem: Water Opal Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Behind the beer taps Posts: 1,895 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 4,384 Level: 20 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 93.11% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	Yeah, reading 3 at the same time right now. Ramses: Son Of Light by Christian Jacq (love it!) Prism Pentad Book 2 (just started it, can't recall the actual name) and Wizard And Glass - Dark Tower book 4 (for about the 4th time) Easy to keep track of the different stories and events except for maybe the first few lines each time I switch while I re-adjust.

Wed, 24th Sep '03, 8:13am	#18
chevalier SPS Account Holder Senior News Editor Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: I wish I were in the land of coffee... Posts: 16,686 Like: 2 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post vBActivity - Stats XP: 62,754 Level: 62 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 24.51% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	Up to four.

Thu, 25th Sep '03, 7:38pm	#19
Silverwolf86 Gems: 6/31 Latest gem: Jasper Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Alternating between Westbubble, Massachusetts in the U.S. and Ecruos. :) Posts: 185 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 751 Level: 9 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 63.55% Daily Activity 2.28% Weekly Activity 1.95% Monthly Activity 1.32% Achievements	When I was in 3rd grade I'd be reading about 7 books at a time (one of the main reasons that I seemed to have read just about everything in 3rd grade) See, I'd be going through a fantasy series (such as Xanth which was my favorite at the time) and then I might forget to bring it with me to school and since we had D.E.A.R. time (Drop Everything And Read) I'd pick up a babysitter's club book or whatever from my teacher's selection and then we'd go out to recess and I'd take the DEAR book with me and read/finish it outside. And then we'd go off to library class and they MADE you take a book out every lesson so I'd pick up something long because it looked interesting (countless Mark Twain and Shakeseare stories number this list) So then I'd read that on the bus-ride home and by the time I'd get home I'd be too involved in my book to stop so I'd continue reading it until I had to do homework. And of course once I started reading my homework list I'd remember that I had to do a book report so I'd go get that book to read and finish. And then if my Mom was trying to bribe me to come with her somewhere she'd promise that we could stop at the public library and of course I'd had to get a book from there too. . . And then back home I'd read THAT book after dinner and then sometime around 8 at night if my parents wanted me to read my brothers to sleep I'd go pick up one of my "children's" fantasy books (like the Search For Delicious if anyone's ever heard of that book) and since I'd then be in a fantasy mood I'd go pick up my original Xanth/type fantasy book and read that. Hrmmm I also read a lot of 3 Investigators, Nancy Drew, and Agatha Cristie mysteries. Maybe those were the books I picked up from the public library?? In case you're wonderously blind and couldn't tell by now, practically all I ever did in 3rd grade was read. It got weird in English classes later on because whenever we'd pick up a book I'd be like, "Oh I read that in 3rd grade." Though now that I think of it, half of the time I'd already the books we were going to read in the 3rd grade reading class anyways so my teacher would assign me a different book to read on my own so I guess that might add another book as well. . . As for keeping track of them all, I had amazing memorization abilities when I was little. (I personally think it's because my parents are anti-tv and video games, and most computer games for that matter) Once when I was 4 I recited back every line to the Great Mouse Detective (It's Diseny movie a bit like the Sherlock Holmes stories) to my sister cuz she couldn't sleep and it had only come out on video that night (so we only saw it once ever) And since in 3rd grade I wasn't greatly challenged in school, I found it quite easy to keep place with 7 or 8 different books all at once. And I continued reading tons of books all at once (though in decreasing quantities halfway through 4th grade) up until 6th grade when I was a little bit more challenged in school and I took up writing seriously. Nowadays I almost never read two books at the same time unless it's for school (in which case the numbers jump drastically) Oh, and like Los Drizzt I almost never use bookmarks because I can just look at the page number and even if I forget what page number it is, I remember what page I left off on and what was going on at the time. I did have a bookmark once because a calligrapher made it for me. Ironically it Also got left in my 8th Wheel of Time book. See, last year around this time I was re-reading them and got a bit stuck cough bored halfway through the 8th book. I think that's happened to me several times with WoT though. It's just a touch too drawn out. It was funny when I was in the hospital with it though because I had this gigantic book that I THOUGHT I would finish (I actually have finished it before) and I ended up using it to prop up this lamp... and you could always see the giant fuzzy ball sticking out from the middle of the book where I'd left off. My nurses thought it was hilarious...