How to Read Multiple Books at a Time

March is National Reading Month. Here’s to a celebration of reading.

I suppose one benefit of self-isolation during this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is being able to catch up on your reading — that is if you don’t have a gig to go to.

With more time on your hands, and perhaps more books awaiting your attention on your bookshelf, it may be an opportune time to “divide and conquer.” One quick and easy way to do that is by reading more than one book at a time.

Whether or not you want to tackle this challenge depends on several factors: how many books are already on your TBR list, how soon you want to get through them, and whether you have the time to indulge in this activity.

Experts says reading multiple books shows a reader’s virtuosity and their multitude of literary interests. It also shows their wealth of knowledge and curiosity about the world.

For most of the rest of us, reading multiple books is a circus act, like stepping along a high wire, trying to maintain your balance while clutching a book in each hand and perhaps one on top of your head. Or like a clown who starts out juggling two or three items and keeps adding another item to juggle until he can no longer keep them all in the air.

Are you a multiple book reader? Or do you prefer reading them one at a time, with occasional breaks to read something else when you get bored with the first title?

But aside from the circus analogy above, there are several tips and tricks for reading multiple books without losing your sanity — or your balance.

1. Read different genres. This makes the most practical sense. Reading multiple books is easy to accomplish when one book is fiction and another is non-fiction.

2. Read different books in different places. According to Bookriot, setting aside different spaces for different reading materials can help you make progress through your personal library. For example, you might read something light and breezy on your commute to and from work and save the heavier, more serious topics for evening reading.

3. Read different mediums. For example, you might read a lengthy 800-page novel on your Kindle while a novel of 250 pages might be lighter to carry around.

4. Take frequent breaks. Switching between two or three titles allows you to take a break from reading a heavier-themed book so you can come back to it later with fresh eyes.

5. Think big and small. If you’re reading multiple books, vary the length of the books you’re reading, suggests Genie in a Novel blog. So you want to tackle the 1037-page Gone with the Wind? It may take a while to get through it, so supplement your reading with other titles with fewer pages and lighter topics.

6. Explore the benefits of reading. Reading multiple books enables you to enjoy the multiple benefits of reading, writes The Fussy Librarian. You can further your education with nonfiction or historical textbooks, explore the world with a travel book and feel inspired with a self-help book or a book of poetry. 

7. Have a reading buddy or join a book club. Either option can help you access different genres and authors that you might not have considered. While you’re reading with the group, you can only supplement with one or two of your personal choice on the side.

Want to read more about how people read multiple books? Check out this NPR program.

What about you? Do you read one book title at a time, or do you read multiple books? How do you manage them all?