Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

Original poster

Do you jump straight into another book or wait a bit??

61 replies

pleasejustgotosleep · 25/01/2023 16:37

Just that really.

I finished Becoming by Michelle Obama at around 1pm and I've picked up another book to start reading and I can't get into it.

I was thinking if I should take a break or keep searching my bookshelf for a different book (I have over 530 so I have a lot of choice lol)

Just got me wondering if other readers jump straight into another book or wait a few days lol

OP posts:
brainstories568 · 27/01/2023 19:42

pleasejustgotosleep · 26/01/2023 22:34

To the posters who read several books at once...how does that work? Do you read a few pages of each book per day or more attention to one than the others?

As someone else has said, I have different books for different "activities" - so I have a book on my kindle which I read on the commute, then I have a physical book at home which I read when I'm at home and then usually another physical book at work in my drawer so that I can read something at lunch time if I don't want to continue with the kindle book. Also, I find that I prefer different books on my commute (which involves a few tube changes/breaks where I may also have to be listening to announcements etc) to when I know I can dedicate my time solely to a book such as the odd occasion when I'm on my own at home without pre schoolers/husband.

Original poster
pleasejustgotosleep · 27/01/2023 19:58

@brainstories568 ohhh ok yes that all makes sense. I just stick to the one and that goes everywhere with me until it's finished lol

OP posts:
Buttalapasta · 27/01/2023 20:16

JoonT · 27/01/2023 19:21

Philip Larkin used to read three books at once: a toilet book, a downstairs book and bedroom book. I'm the same. I've always got at least two, sometimes four, on the go. Unfortunately, I've got a bad habit of not finishing them. So I never really have that experience. Right now I'm reading a biography of Charles Darwin (dry and too long), Peter Ackroyd's book on Blake (really good, though way too much detail on London), and Anthony Burgess' Enderby novels (masterpieces).

That said, I do think you should devote yourself when you read a classic. I mean read only that, and then spend a few days meditating on it after you finish. I planned to have that experience when I read Hawking's Brief History of Time. I imagined myself going for long walks and chewing over the nature of the universe. Then I found I could hardly understand a word!!

I did put away every other book last summer when I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time (better than I expected). I also focused just on Great Expectations, To the Lighthouse, Brave New World and Dorian Gray. Books like that deserve respect. But when I'm reading P G Wodehouse or Tolkien or Patrick Leigh Fermor, I feel less guilty about dipping in and out and not finishing.

I know what you mean but I don't think reading more than one book is a lack of respect. I've really enjoyed the experience of reading War and Peace over a year (thanks to MN!) as it helped me to ponder it for longer rather than rushing on.

Kanaloa · 27/01/2023 23:41

Buttalapasta · 27/01/2023 20:16

I know what you mean but I don't think reading more than one book is a lack of respect. I've really enjoyed the experience of reading War and Peace over a year (thanks to MN!) as it helped me to ponder it for longer rather than rushing on.

Show quote history

I would also wonder why Jane Austen ‘deserves respect’ but Tolkien doesn’t. I don’t really buy into ‘literature snobbery’ anyway. I wouldn’t bother reading a book I didn’t feel was worth respect. Although I’m also not keen on people bragging about/holding up high ‘a classic.’ Oh you must devote yourself when you read ‘a classic.’ Jane Austen is just romance/social writing. Old romance, but still just romance. I mean if you prefer ‘classics’ then crack on, but it seems daft to decide some books are worth respect, then half read others that aren’t worth respect.

Original poster
pleasejustgotosleep · 29/01/2023 19:00

Love all these answers. Thanks fellow readers

I normally jump straight into a new book but weirdly enough I haven't been able to get into another one since I finished Becoming on Tuesday. I've picked up several and not managed to get stuck in so it's been about 4 days of me not reading anything
Hope this passes. I'm getting jittery lol

OP posts:
DoNutSweatTheSmallStuff · 03/02/2023 14:47

When I finish a book, I like to digest it before moving onto the next so won't read more than one book in a day.
I also like to read reviews once I've finished a book.

largeprintagathachristie · 03/02/2023 14:53

Straight away. If I’m reading in bed and I know I’m nearing the end of my book, I have the next one lined up, ready. I’d feel twitchy, otherwise!

Ilovedthe70s · 03/02/2023 15:51

I usually have four books on the go, one on audible, one on my kindle which I read in bed, one on my phone which I read when I get to work early after dropping grandchildren at school and at break time and a real book in the car when I am waiting for school to come out.
I always have my next book ready to start as soon as I finish the current one.

Kanaloa · 03/02/2023 21:51

DoNutSweatTheSmallStuff · 03/02/2023 14:47

When I finish a book, I like to digest it before moving onto the next so won't read more than one book in a day.
I also like to read reviews once I've finished a book.

@DoNutSweatTheSmallStuff

I do this if I hate a book/it annoyed me in some way. I love seeing other people agreeing with me 😂 after I read A Little Life I think I spent longer reading 1 star reviews than I’d spent reading the book!

DoNutSweatTheSmallStuff · 03/02/2023 22:06

Kanaloa · 03/02/2023 21:51

@DoNutSweatTheSmallStuff

I do this if I hate a book/it annoyed me in some way. I love seeing other people agreeing with me 😂 after I read A Little Life I think I spent longer reading 1 star reviews than I’d spent reading the book!

Show quote history

Ha, yes this is me!!
Just done it after finishing Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty.
I didn't rate it- and neither did others!

PepsiMaxandPringleStacks · 04/02/2023 14:17

Since I wrote this I've been in am almight book slump 🤣😭

New posts on this thread. Refresh page