The current state of my TBR pile, when we got to the new year I decided I try and read multiple books I have read two books when I have a very long book to read over the years .but mostly read one book at a time if under 500 pages I can read 200 to 300 pages a day when I’m not working.I have a job that means I have four days off a week and when it isn’t very stressful which it has been these last few months I am actually off work at the moment. I had tried after watching a number of youtube videos on how to read more I think as readers we all like to try and read a bit more but for me, it isn’t a new system like multiple books reading the problem is I have read 21 books this year I have had a number of books on the go and yes I read 21 books but most of them I read in a single or couple of sittings I started one then put it to side then I start another and I’m not getting back to the first books I was listening to the feeling bookish podcast(a new discovery that I am loving ) and they were talking about falling into reading rabbit holes and I am as a reader like this although I jump from place to place in my reading I often have a thin thread between books in my head anyway and can as I said in my recent library loot post easily get sidetracked by sparkly new books and new plans. so after 46 days I am going back to normal and just reading one book at a time as I have indicated I am in pursuit of being more efficient not just on here but outside blogging I am now weekly planning and working on the shopping lists and menus all this for many is a given but for me a very disorganised person a side effect of Dyspraxia as my ability at times to get my thoughts across in a coherent manner even when I talk this happens some times. but over the years I have found this so much easier as I have blogged the words come much easier than they used to be something I feel much easier doing and hence the word count on my post is climbing year after year. One advantage I have is a wonderful photograph memory for places and events I can recall small details from family events and places we have been. Anyway, there I go on a sidetrack again the problem wasn’t helped by reading multiple books no actually better time planning I started to use an app called Forest which means I avoid using the phone and just read the screen can be a real distraction at times so this means you set a time and don’t touch you phone for that time. The next move on the do list is planning more time to blog which I struggle to keep to I need to find a system to be more organized with posting but it will come I have books to review and now I am back to just one book at a time except reading the books of Jacob along side what I am read for next week or two. I will be back tomorrow and later in the week with two books for Thomas Bernhard week I have read Extinction and the voice imitator. Which of course I enjoyed it reminds me how much I loved Bernhard. what is your reading regime and what is your blogging regime? I’m always interested in other readers tips and other bloggers ideas I love finding youtube videos about productivity and other book bloggers something I am just getting into vlogs I’m sure I have said this before but the productivity ones I have watched although mainly around studying I have learnt about better reading time management anyway I’ll go now
Interesting post, Stu.
I can read multiple books at the same time and I am a fast reader too so I crash through a vast number of books each year. I try and plan my reading ahead so I have a broad mix of genres, but my advice would be to read in the way that suits you but if you want to change things then try it in small doses. If it doesn’t work go back to the way that does before trying something else.
Thanks Paul two is manageable i my try that to try and work through the pile of long books I have which seems to constantly grow
My system (if you can call it that) is to have a novel to read at bedtime, I can’t read NF at night, so I read that during the day when I’m having breakfast or lunch, and sometimes if I’m having a quiet day, in the afternoon.
Now, as you know, some fiction books are more challenging than others, and I don’t read those ones at bedtime because I want to nod off to sleep not tangle my brain in knots working out what the author is up to. So I find some time during the day when I can sit and read and take notes.
So that makes three books at a time, but all very different from each other.
As for blogging, well, I’m retired now, so I usually do it in the morning after Amber has had her walk, but when I was working I would do it after dinner.
Your situation is different, though, because you do shift work and it’s less easy to have a routine. I would say that whatever your frustrations are at the moment, whatever you have been doing — whether to a plan or not — has been working. You get through hundreds of books and you write hundreds of reviews.
I usually blog in evening but have recently tried the mornings it’s a balancing between reading and reviews I think I will always read more thank rev or
Maybe it is just my version of natural selection as the books I don’t review are the ones that don’t grab me
I do read multiple books at a time, depending on my mood, but that does mean in practice one book might be favoured over others. But you have to find what works best for you, especially when work gets stressful. I’m so glad to hear blogging has helped words come more easily. I am dyspraxic too, although in my case it manifests itself more as extreme clumsiness, but also I often forget a book or a film completely a short while after, or they start to blur. Others I retain almost photographically, as you say.
I worked with people with dyspraxia for over 35 yrs and I think you do a remarkable job. I have a seasonal book (one that is a chunkster maybe or needs slower read). I have my book club book on the go each month. I usually read that in bits over the month or in afternoons or when I’m not tired. I have an audio book I listen to at night or in the car. I read what I’m in the mood for when I want but seldom more than 2 or 3 books at a time. As I don’t do indepth book reviews, my blog is more like a journal for myself of what I do during a week or a fortnight. I don’t publish it nearly as much as the blogs I follow. I would get burned out. I just write when I am in the mood or have several things to say. I like that format. It is as though I’m having coffee with a friend and just chatting. I think what ever you feel works best for you then that is what you do. Don’t ever compare yourself to what other bloggers do. Just not necessary and we all have our own paths to follow.
So true we all follow our own paths thanks i so pleased with how much easier I find it to write these days goes show that the 10000 hour Gladwell idea is probably right
I keep trying to read multiple books at once but it doesn’t really work for me as a rule. I can juggle e.g. short stories and a poetry collection, but if it’s non-fiction or a novel I just get pulled in and want to read and finish only that. So mostly I’ll stick to what suits me and that’s what I think works best for most people!
Sounds much same as me Karen I just tend want started so I’ll finish
I used to do the multiple books at one time thing, but now it doesn’t work well for me. Instead my reading is split into one main book and a couple of others for slow reading – typically art or nonfiction books and poetry. But The Books of Jacob will be a slow read for me too.
I find it hard to read more than one book at a time unless they are vastly different ( like a non fiction and a novel) A novel and an audio book seems to be the right combination – I wonder if they use different parts of the brain?
As for blogging routines, well that would be nice to have but I’ve been trying to do this now for years and it hasn’t happened. Mostly I blog on alternate days – there is no way I have the time to do anything more – but occasionally I miss a day. I know some bloggers have a fixed schedule where each day is allocated to a specific piece of content but I’m not disciplined enough for that.