Are you a monogamous reader?

[Dave Rosenthal]

On Read Street, we've been discussing this topic: Are you monogamous? Not that kind of monogamy — I mean reading habits. Do you read one book at a time? Or do you have two or more going at once — say, a novel, a nonfiction book and a collection of short stories?

Alison Morris, a Publishers Weekly blogger, has identified several species of polygamists. They include: the Whimsical, who dips in and out of multiple books at once; the Placebound, who reads several books simultaneously but each in its own locale -- at home, at work, on the subway; and the Noncompetitive, who reads one fiction book and one non-fiction book at the same time, or some similar combination.

I’m a one-book man. I like to focus, to get comfortable with the author’s pacing and language. And I want to keep track of the subtleties of a character, setting or plot. I may have a magazine article, comic piece or short story handy in case I only have a few minutes to read. But I prefer at least an hour of quiet — and one book.

Nancy, my blogging partner, flits among different books. As she says: "What if I’m not in the mood for the collection of political profiles I picked up a few days ago? Well, I just pick up the graphic novel about zombies. Or the Mexican crime novel. Or re-read Pride and Prejudice. Do I ever get confused or lose my place? Sure! But most of the time, it’s a system that works for me.

What are your reading habits — do you subscribe to Davidite monogamy or Nancyist polygamy? And can you think of any other species to add to Alison's list?

[Anastasia]

I always have at least three books going at one time, and at the moment I've got four. So, er, no! I never get confused about plot or characters, though, and I like to think that I can get as much out of my book-reading as someone who reads one book at a time. (I used to be a one-book reader, too!)

Oh, and I'm a Placebound. One book is in my bathroom, one's in my kitchen, one's in my bedroom, and one's on my iPod for when I'm on the bus/at work. Keeping books in their own places helps with the keeping-track-of-plotlines and things.

[Melissa]

I usually have one audiobook and one "real" book going at one. Sometimes I will have two "real" books, but I do find myself getting confused at times. If I do have two books going at once it is because I wasn't in the mood for the book I was reading.

[Kisane]

I used to read one book at a time, buying one other book only when I've finished the previous one. Now I'm a serial Placebound polygamist with a Noncompetitive streak. :-P

At the height of my infidelities I've juggled 8 books at a time - all in different genres. Now I've realised the error of my ways and have limited myself to the enjoyment of 2, maybe 3 books at a time. I can't stick to just one as there are too many really good books out there and I want to read them all. I'm currently reading Moers' City of Dreaming Books at home and cart around Gourmet's compilation of good eats in Paris.

[Dave Rosenthal]

One of the polygamists who commented on Read Street noted that he usually reads five books at a time -- and sometimes as many as 10. He also drops about one in five of his reads.
By contrast, I almost always finish the books that I start. (I also have never walked out on a movie.) With such a strong commitment to one book, there's little room for another. If I had several books going at once, I might not feel so bad about dropping one occasionally. That might keep me from committing too much time to a book I'm not enjoying.

[Debbie]

I am pretty monogamous if I'm reading fiction. I like to finish up a story before starting another one. I do have a few non-fiction books that I'll read a few chapters now and then before reading a fiction book. Non-fictions just don't hold my attention long enough to finish them before starting another book.

[TexasRed]

I am a Noncompetetive. I usually have several books going at once, but not of the same type -- usually a non-fiction, a general fiction, and some other genre (like sci fi) at the same time. As long as there's no way the subject / characters could cross over into each other's books, I don't have trouble juggling the different stories.

[Anna Balasi]

I'm usually a monogamous, but I've had times when I read 3 books at a time. I suppose you can say I'm Placebound. Depending on where I am, I read a different book.

There ought to be a species called: Functionalist, a reader who would take up a book according to necessity--so someone with no real need for a particular sort of material will read something for leisure, like a fiction novel, then a movie based on a book is about to come out, so he must now read the book upon which the movie was based, then he suddenly becomes single so he must read a book about dating, and so on and so forth. This is different from whimsical because it's not mood but need that drives the reading habit.

[Ms. Bookish]

I'm definitely a Whimsical - and I won't keep reading a book if it doesn't captivate me, so there's something to the commitment thing, definitely!

[Anne with an E]

I am a Placebound polygamist. I am usualluy reading a doorstopper of a book and a normal sized book. Right now I am reading La Morte D'Arthur which is too heavy to carry around. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf is my carry around book.

[Marcia]

Pure monogamy! I could never cheat on my books. I read 'em one at time. I make them patiently wait their turn and eventually I get around to each and every one of them. Once I do they don't have to share me with another. They have my undivided attention.

[Sue Jackson]

I almost always stick to one book at a time, but I do sometimes listen to an audiobook simultaneously. I'll listen in the car and when I'm in the kitchen cooking or eating - often a middle-grade or YA book for review.

Sue
www.bookbybook.blogspot.com

[Peter]

One at a time here for sure