The latest in a series of tips to help you read at least 50 books a year without feeling like you’re reading that much at all.
Tip #7: Read more than one book at a time. This tip may be an unpopular one. Many readers are devoted to a single book at a time, and would consider it is almost cheating to allow a second (or third) book into the relationship. I understand this view because I held it myself for many years. Yet, once I began the practice of reading several books at once, my completion rate started to climb.
I’m not alone in this reading productivity gain. For science, I analyzed the reading habits of my book pals on Goodreads, a fair sample of a book-loving population. The typical reader in this group read 58 books last year, with 80% of them reading more than one book at a time. These multi-book friends, who read an average of four books at a time, outpaced single-book friends by over 50% in total books read in 2019.
Goodreads multi-book friends read over 50% more books in 2019 than one-book-at-a-time friends.
Why would reading more than one book at a time allow you to finish more books? To me, there are three main factors at work here: (1) matching books to our varying levels of attention and energy; (2) making good use of available free time; and (3) pacing books that are meant to be savored, not devoured.
1. Keep Reading at All Attention and Energy Levels
Our energy level fluctuates throughout the day. Why shouldn’t our reading habits match that? I use early mornings when I’m the most alert as my study time, usually reading one or two chapters of a professional development or history book I want to retain. I read novels at night before bed when I’m mentally relaxed and ready to be entertained by a story. Let’s face it: there are times when we are not simply up for a difficult reading session. Having a “light” book at your side may mean the difference between reading and Netflix.
Sometimes I need a change of pace from the book I’m reading. Either I’m not in the mood, or I’m a little bored. By switching to a different book and coming back later, I’ll be more inclined to finish the book and keep reading in the meantime. Before I allowed myself this option, I abandoned a lot more books.
2. Make Use of Non-reading Time with Audiobooks
I have a separate audiobook underway at all times. For me, listening to a book and reading one are different enough experiences that I find it easy to keep them apart. And I’m able to use the time I would otherwise be listening to radio or podcasts to read books. Listening to audiobooks is a great way to read more books during the year.
3. Finish Challenging Books, Poetry and Anthologies
Some books demand mental stamina to digest properly, and pushing through without a book on the side would be a significant drag on my reading progress. My journey through the first two volumes of Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” definitely needed a side book (or three). Keeping the book near, and making nightly progress ultimately helped me finish these books.
Likewise, volumes of poetry deserve reflection time, poem by poem. You can’t rush through Robert Frost or e.e. cummings. Right now, I’m taking in “Sailing Alone Around the Room” by Billy Collins. It may take a few months to finish this way, but I’ll be the better for it with this slow, savoring pace.
And don’t forget the wonderful world of short story and essay collections. For years, I avoided the short stories of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, two of my favorite storytellers, because I didn’t like the discontinuity that a collection like this brings. This changed when I began reading a story every night alongside the other book I happened to be reading. Right now I am mesmerized by the freshness and vibrant characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s near-century old short stories. I read all his novels decades ago but overlooked these short gems. Robert Macfarlane’s “Old Ways” is arguably a travel narrative, but really ought to be read one segment at a time, like poetry, to absorb it fully. And Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrims at Tinker Creek.” You shouldn’t steam through books like these.
“But, I Would Get Too Confused …”
The arguments against this style of reading I hear most often are either getting the plot-lines confused between books or a lessening the overall pleasure of falling head over heels into a single enthralling read. For these reasons, I make sure that the books I read at the same time don’t overlap in style or content. I rarely read more than one novel at a time (unless one is an audiobook). And I stick to just one study book at a time. The practice of keeping simultaneous books in separate and distinct lanes helps me keep them straight, and importantly, keeps me reading a lot more books across the course of a year otherwise.
One easy way to begin the multi-book lifestyle is by adding an audiobook to your reading stream. And maybe tack on that short story collection you’ve had on your bookshelf but haven’t read. Just read one short story a night. With a little time, this reading diversity will begin to feel very natural.
So, consider reading more than one book at a time to help you read more books in 2020. Are you doing this now? Why, or why not? Let me know in the comments below.
Great advice. Thank you.