How to Read Several Books at One Time

November 9, 2026

Read all these books at once? I’m going to need more hands!

When I say that I read more than one book at a time. I don’t mean that I read a bunch of books at the exact same moment. I really hope that nobody thinks that’s what I mean because that would be kind of silly . I mean… and I’ll try to be more precise with my words… that within a limited time frame… like within a two-week period… I might have four or five different books… there’s no set number… that I go back and forth with. Some readers think that they should ONLY read one book at a time, and they act like the concept of reading multiple books at the same time is outrageous, even to the point where one person has asked, “Why would you read more than one book at the same time?”

For me, the key is to have a variety of genres at one time, not just a variety of books, so that I have something for every mood (if possible). I think some people who only read one book at a time feel like they’re stuck if they’re not feeling that one book, if they’re not enjoying that one book, at any given moment. When I have several books from several genres (they don’t even have to be from different genres), I can go from nonfiction to fiction, humor to drama, adventure, or whatever combination happens to be in my weekly stack.

Oh yeah, just so you know, I don’t finish many books that I start reading, so it’s easy for me to let a book go when I know there are several others to replace it. I think not feeling any pressure to finish books helps me to keep up with three or four (or five) books at a time. If I lose interest, THAT BOOK IS OUT OF HERE!!!!! If you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of merciless with the books I read.

So without getting too longwinded, here’s my variety of books for the past week. Remember, I might not finish all of them.

*****

Silverlock by John Myers Myers Myers (my own copy)

If authors like Poul Anderson, Larry Niven, and Jerry Pournelle agree that a book is good, then the book has to be good… unless they were paid to say it was good.

Silverlock by John Myers Myers (not a typo) was recommended to me by a guy who reads this blog because the novel has a bunch of literary, mythological, and historical references that he thought that I’d enjoy, and so far he’s right. At first, I thought that I might be baffled by most of such references, but one of the early scenes portrays the Battle of Clontarf, which I was already familiar with because of the Robert E. Howard short story “The Grey God Passes” and the novel The Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llwelyn.

I had one minor issue early in the novel, though. I’m not sure that a guy (the protagonist/narrator of Silverlock) who grew up in Chicago would survive his first shield wall experience in his first pitched battle with no training, but considering the other weird stuff that happens in this book, surviving the battle in the shield wall is one of the least of the unlikely circumstances/consequences/results in this book.

This was not the most compellingly written battle scene, but at least I already understood the historical context. Thank you Robert E. Howard and Morgan LLwelyn!!

*****

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (my own beat up copy with notes that a previous owner wrote)

Here’s my beat up old copy with a bunch of cover stains. Don’t ask what the stains are.

No, I’m kidding. I’m not really reading The Brothers Karamazov this week, but I’m kind of reading it. I’ve tried for 40 years to read it (the same copy), but I haven’t been successful. You know how it is with long Russian names and long sentences that might be difficult to follow. I can, however, flip to almost any random page and find it interesting. So whenever I’m unsure what novel I want to read next, I flip randomly through The Brothers Karamazov. Please allow me to demonstrate.

Random, page. See? This is kind of interesting advice.

I’m not a fan of two-page long block paragraphs, but at least the anecdote is interesting.

Maybe if I read a random page every day for several years, I will have eventually read every page in the novel and therefore can claim to have read The Brothers Karamazov. Or is that cheating?

I think I’ll read Misery by Stephen King instead if I can find a decent beat up paperback copy. I’ve often wanted to read Misery but have never gotten around to it.

*****

Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World by Eric Metaxas (brand new library copy)

Hmmm…. What nation is this author referring to? Read the next paragraph for the SHOCKING answer.

At least the book Revolution tells you up front what the author’s approach is going to be. I’ve recently read several books that were highly critical of the United States and its history, and there’s a time for that, but there’s also a time for… U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

Revolution does a good job laying out the root causes of the American Revolution and introduces some key events and figures I had never heard of or had forgotten about (I don’t want to get specific about my ignorance). This book is kind of long, so if I read the whole thing (I might skip to the end to see who wins the war), it might take me a couple/few weeks.

Hey! A reference to the Serial/Oxford comma! That by itself gives me a warm feeling.

Serial comma. Oxford comma. I don’t care what it’s called as long as it’s used… and it should have been used here. Revolutionaries. Pffft!

*****

Push the Wall: My Life, Writing, Drawing, and the Art of Storytelling by Frank Miller (brand new library copy)

Of course I’ll read a book by Frank Miller for free. He’s written and drawn some of my favorite comics of all time. He wrote Batman: Year One (one of my favorite Batman stories) and Daredevil: Born Again (one of my favorite Daredevil stories). His run on Daredevil (the comic book) in the late 1970s and early 1980s changed the direction of the character. I’m not the biggest fan of his drawing style, but it was borderline revolutionary in the 1970s, and it was great back then, and I get nostalgic feelings when I see his old stuff.

His book Push the Wall is kind of rambly, but he’s probably a crazy old man now, even by my standards. At times I’ve picked pages at random (like I do with The Brothers Karamazov), but I’ve still gone back to read the book from beginning to end.

You know Miller’s ramblings are worth reading when I post his words instead of his artwork.

*****

Essential Nova by Marv Wolfman and a bunch of Marvel artists, inkers, letterers, editors, etc… (yes, my own copy. I admit it.)

For about one year in the late 1970s, Nova was my favorite comic book. Despite my love for that comic book back then, I don’t think I’ve ever reread them since that decade. Since I was pretty sure these comic books were going to be cheesy, I wanted a cheap way to reread them(plus, I’m a cheapskate in general), and that’s where this Essential Nova comes in, reprinting the first 25 issues in black & white on cheap paper, just as comic books were meant to read (I mean with cheap paper, not black & white).

Nova and Spiderman team up part one reprinted from Nova #12!

When I binge read a book like this, though, I only read one issue each day. First of all, back in the 1970s I had to wait a month between each issue, so reading only one story a day kind of recreates that feeling. Also, I can get get tired of a comic book if I read too many of them all at once. It’s too easy then to notice the patterns that might make me enjoy the comic book less.

Nova and Spiderman team up part two reprinted from Amazing Spiderman #171!

Yeah, the Nova comics reprinted in this book are as cheesy as I expected them to be, but I’m also enjoying this book more than I expected to. I’ve even laughed at the intentional humor a few times. As a (former) comic collector, there is nothing essential about Nova, but I like reading this book, and I’ll probably be done with it next week.

LAST MINUTE EDIT!!!

I just checked this book out from the library as a replacement to The Brothers Karamazov. Misery will again have to wait.

This is a relatively SHORT novel of Ancient Rome (at least the first 20 pages of it) is pretty good so far.

*****

I’m not the type of person who tells others how they should live their lives or how they should read their books. I’m not going to tell you what books you need to read before you die or anything presumptuous like that. I’m just telling you what works for me, so here’s a quick recap:

I don’t finish every book that I start reading.

I don’t have a favorite genre. I like to read the best books of every genre.

I read more than one book at a time.

I always go back to The Brothers Karamazov. I might never finish it, but I always go back to it.

*****

But enough about me and my opinions! What do you think? How many books do you normally read at once? Do you stick with one kind of book, or do you go with multiple genres? Does a book filled with comic book reprints count as a real book? What are the advantages or disadvantages of reading several books at once? Is John Myers Myers a real name or a fake? Is there a book that you can’t finish but you always go back to? If you think of yourself as a real book reader, leave a comment below!

*****

This can be one of the several books you read this week, depending on how quickly Amazon ships it to you.

It’s the oldest story in the world, 1990s style!

Man meets woman; man falls in “luuuvvv” with woman; man gets blindsided by reality!