Before I started blogging I only ever used to read one book at a time. Now I’ve somehow found myself in the middle of six!
Here are the books I’m currently reading:
A Small Circus by Hans Fallada
Alone in Berlin was one of the best books I read last year, so I was excited about reading another of Hans Fallada’s novels. So far though, this one is not as good and I’m finding the plot quite confusing. I’m trying to decide whether or not I want to continue with it but will give it at least a few more chapters.
The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
This is the first of the Lymond Chronicles and the first Dorothy Dunnett book I’ve read. Dunnett fans will be pleased to know that I’m absolutely loving this book and have already ordered the next one in the series!
Mariana by Susanna Kearsley
After reading The Rose Garden a few months ago I wanted to read another Susanna Kearsley book and was delighted to receive this one through Netgalley. I’m still near the beginning but I can already tell it’s going to be as good, or maybe even better, than The Rose Garden.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
With February marking the 200th anniversary of Dickens’ birth, I wanted to read one of his novels this month. I’m enjoying Great Expectations so far and finding it surprisingly easy to read compared to some of the other Dickens novels I’ve read. I’m reading a few chapters a day on my Kindle which I’ve found is a good way to get through some of these long classics.
Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin
I started this Dickens biography in January. Not being a big non fiction fan, it’s taking me a long time to read this one as I’m only picking it up when I’m in the right mood for it.
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson
As I mentioned in a previous post I’m reading Clarissa as part of a year-long group read so I’m not expecting to finish it before December. This is another one I decided to read as an ebook as the paperback is just too big!
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The six books that I’m reading at the moment are all different enough that I’m not having any trouble keeping them separate in my mind, but I do feel as if it’s been a long time since I actually finished a book!
How many books do you usually have on the go at the same time? Do you always finish one book before you start another or do you like to have a variety to choose from?
She Reads Novels 
I didn’t know if Game of Kings would be your first Dunnett book, and I’ve been waiting to hear your reaction! I am usually a one-book person, I find it too hard to concentrate if I switch back & forth. I’m always impressed with people who can – especially between such a variety as you’ve got going.
It’s one of the best books I’ve read for a long time, Lisa. I’m almost finished and already looking forward to Queen’s Play!
The six weeks or so when I was first reading through the Lymond Chronicles are still a bit of a blur to me. I know I went to work, because I know I sneaked in a few small Lymond breaks during the day, just completely unable to resist finding out what happened next.
I only have 2 books on the go at any one time – I don’t think I could cope with more. One fiction and one non-fiction. At the moment it’s the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Issacson, and The Secret at Chimneys by Agatha Christie.
I think two is my ideal number and I’ll try to get back to that after I finish some of the books I’m in the middle of at the moment.
I used to be like you then I started blogging and it all went askew. I have four at the moment on the go, but I decided this week, I needed to concentrate and start finishing them I think.
Sometimes it works reading more than one if they are vastly different. Sometimes it does not and I feel that I am just struggling. I hope for some finishes soon.
I try to avoid reading too many similar books at the same time. The ones I’m reading at the moment are all quite different so it’s not too confusing!
Until recently I only read one at a time unless I had a non-fiction going as well. Right now I have four in progress and I agree, if they’re all different there’s no problem .
I’m not really a lover of non-fiction books so I’ve found that the perfect way for me to read them is to have at least one novel going at the same time. I would struggle to read a non-fiction book straight through from beginning to end as my only read.
There is no way I could read 6 books at once! I am still a strictly monogamous reader as I don’t like how long it takes to get through a book when I read more than one at once.
I really should try a Susanna Kearsley book…..
I’m so pleased to have discovered Susanna Kearsley! I would definitely recommend both Mariana and The Rose Garden.
I have more than six in progress, but I don’t dare count. Long term readalongs, short term readalongs, library books, my own books. It was never like this before I started blogging.
I’m pleased to read that you’re enjoying Dorothy Dunnett because I’ve been accumulating her books to read sometime in the future, when life is less complicated so I can deal with more complex books.
They certainly are complex (at least the one I’m reading at the moment is) but well worth the effort!
I have always been a multiple book person. I think I have 5 or 6 on the go right now. Since I’ve always been this way I am used to it and don’t think I could stick to just 1 book at a time.
Great Expectations is fantastic! I finally finished it this week and loved it.
It’s good to know so many of us are multiple-book readers, but I do miss the less complicated days of reading one book at a time.
I’m noticing a trend here! I too was a one-book-at-a-time girl until readalongs and review copies and library books and blogging became part of my life.
Yes, it’s interesting how blogging changes our reading habits, isn’t it!
Personally I still find it hard to be reading more than one novel at a time. I can read several books at once but they must be a mixture of types i.e. I am known to have a novel and a book of poetry going at the same time or perhaps a novel and a non-fiction. But more than one novel tends to just confuse me or worse just take away the pleasure, I enjoy reading a novel from start to finish then moving on to something else.
I’m not sure exactly when I started reading more than one book at a time, but I do know that blogging is definitely to blame! I would agree that it’s usually more enjoyable to concentrate on one book from start to finish, but I just don’t seem able to do that anymore.
So glad you’re liking Great Expectations! It’s one of my favourites from Dickens but sadly a lot of people don’t seem to like it very much.
I usually read one book at a time but these days I often find myself reading two. I guess, blogging does pressurize you into reading more.
My favourite Dickens novel so far is Our Mutual Friend, but I am really enjoying Great Expectations!
I wonder if anyone has ever done a numerical study of how much one’s reading increases, proportionately, based on how much time they spend as part of a literary community, online or otherwise; it only makes sense that one must adopt the habit of reading many books at once, when one is constantly hearing of six books at a time that simply MUST be read! Heh.
It would be interesting, wouldn’t it? Before I started blogging I used to read a lot but definitely not as much as I do now, and never more than one book at a time!