I guess the normal thing is one, my ex used to get offended by multiple readers, but I cant help going through many at a time, right now im involved with 4 (the first harry potter that I just found in a thrift store a few days ago, 50 shades of grey which is pretty interesting as a study of what women respond to, and another romance novel, also lolita but that one is falling behind in the race. I guess I like to make books compete for my attention)
I'm currently reading Noragami (a manga I grant you), Railhead (Philip Reeve), Doombringer (Paul Stewart, Chris Riddell) and Reaper Man (Terry Pratchett). I have hit ten before!
I`m also reading Railhead, very good indeed. Plus I do read multiple books (at most three I think), I don`t have a short attention span (I can happily sit enthralled with the longer versions of Lord of the Rings movies) it`s just sometimes I need a change of pace.
generally two at home, may be another one in the car or at work or whatever ... currently mortal prey by John sandford is on my bedside table and City of Lies by Alafair Burke is on the arm of the sofa down stairs.... iirc theres a copy of eagle in the sky by wilbur smith sat in my car glovebox
I only read one book at a time. I stay away from modern books unless it has a very complicated dialect but I can write several things at once though. Right now I'm working on a short story, poetry pieces and the 2nd draft of my novel. The book I'm reading is Pilgrim's Progress and it is very good.
I'm also one of those people that can only handle one at a time. I do this with videogames too, if I'm trying to pay attention to a story, I can't take another running alongside. Even if the books were extremely different, I know my focus would be all over the place and I'd get all kinds of lost.
I generally read two at a time, although days and weeks can go by between picking them up. Usually something that is pretty heavy-going (right now it's Plato's 'The Republic') alongside something a bit easier to smash through (right now it's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' but it is usually something by Stephen King so I don't need to think too much about it.) The latter gets taken to work or on train journeys when I want to relax, whereas the former is usually for studious means and I have to intentionally put time aside for it. Also, I can't imagine 50 shades being of use to anyone for anything except maybe to read it so you can be more brutally offensive about the text. But hey, that's just me.
I find my copy of 50 shades is indefensible in the bedroom ... one bed leg is shorter than the other three
lol, I hope you're not reading 50 Shades of Grey to learn what ALL women "respond to." Because you might be disappointed by the reactions you get if you use that research to target anyone who is not a straight, white, middle aged, upper middle class woman from the Northeast. XD I'm always reading more than one book at a time, but I'll admit, it's hard for me to say with any certainty how many books I'm reading at any given time. Sometimes I wander away from a book and never return, but I don't usually plan it that way. I figure the world is full of more books than I could read in a lifetime, anyway. If they can't manage to capture my imagination well enough to bring me back once I put it down, there are probably better books I could be reading anyway.
I read a lot of nonfiction research-type books for fun, so I usually have several books on the go. However, I usually stick with only one fiction book at a time. I read it to the point where I lose interest, or it ends. Preferably the latter. I have a one-track mind when it comes to stories.
