I have always been envious of those people who can read four or five books at once, keeping up a good pace in all of them, never getting distracted and leaving one to languish bedside until even the main characters have been pretty well forgotten. I mean, I have a hard time with two books at once. Yes, despite the fact that I am reading ALL THE TIME, I try, at least, to stick to one book at a time, because when I get overzealous, things get neglected, and I end up distracted, with the constant nagging feeling that I left the stove on or the door unlocked.
That’s not to say I don’t make the mistake and attempt it every now and then. Right now, I have bookmarks holding places scattered all over my room: I’ve been in the middle of The Intuitionist for weeks, and while it’s very good, I suspect I will have to start all over with this one next year, because I’m just not getting into it. I started A Short History of Nearly Everything awhile ago, but much like Richard Dawkins’s The Ancestor’s Tale, I’m having a hard time paying attention. I recently got back into research about children and commerce, and I’m reading Born to Buy, but finding it not nearly as interesting as Raising Consumers, so I’m thinking of returning it and looking for something more useful.
Then, of course, I’m reading something related to information science, so my brain doesn’t get all mushy over summer break: Ambient Findability is right up my alley and I’m sure very useful for my studies, but what with all the other stuff, it’s languishing in a pile next to my desk. And there always has to be some fiction in there, right? That would be Mysteries of Pittsburgh (read almost the whole thing in a weekend, but put it aside to finish the children and commerce research), and I read I Am America (And So Can You) over the weekend (that’s fiction, right?).
Even just reiterating this list here is making my head spin. I need a new mantra (well, if I ever had an old one): “Repeat after me, Laura, one at a time.”
Are you a juggling reader, or do you like to focus on one thing at a time? Any hints for making that juggling a little easier?
Comments
One response to “I have too many books checked out from the library”
I keep a book at the kitchen table to read at breakfast, one at work to read at lunch, and another on the bedside table to read in the evenings. By associating a story with a time, it’s easier for me to keep them straight.