08 October 2008

What Book Are You Reading? Do you enjoy it?

Nerdiest of all nerds, I was checking my Twitter feed and saw that Wil Wheaton has an interesting meme on his blog today.

(I used to have a little bit of a crush on Mr Wheaton in his Stand By Me days...I can't seem to let it go, regardless of that fact that he's like a nerd's super hero these days.)

So anyway, Mr Wheaton is wondering what book are you reading and do you enjoy it? Reading through his answers and some of the answers by his loyal nerd followers, I was reassured to realize that I don't have very much in common with anyone in that audience. In fact, I had only actually ever even heard of one of the books that one of them was reading "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawkins. The first comment to his post is reading "Javascript: The Missing Manual."

Yeah, it's hard core over in that corner of the web.

But what was also interesting was that he noted he reads more than one book at a time. I've tried this in the past but always feel like I am "cheating" on one of the books and not allowing myself to get as swept away by either of the authors as I could if I devoted all my time to really focusing on just one. I can't do two books at once.

This is probably why I can also only ever date one person at a time. I've tried 'dating" and found I lack focus when given too many options and end up liking no one in the end.

But I digress. This brings me to my two questions for all 4 of my readers today:
  1. What book are you reading and do you enjoy it?
  2. Do you read one book at a time or multiple books at one time?

9 comments:

Matt said...

I'm reading Technical Writing 101 and The Well Fed Writer. But I think reading more than one non-fiction book is different from reading two novels.

Is it still considered reading multiple books if you never finish one? 'Cause technically I'm still reading My Antonia from Junior year of high school.

ReckenRoll said...

I think there's a decade cut off point?

Anonymous said...

"Heat" by Bill Buford and I have about about 6 or 7 others (fiction) I am actively reading, 20 or more that I plan to finish this decade. Way too many non fiction books that I seem to be constantly reading for new ideas, techniques, information etc. but I don't know if that counts. Definitely a multiple book reader. How else would you ever get through them all.

Ian said...

Reading: Improvised self-rescue from the Mountaineers collection and 'The Book Thief' by...Zusczak(sp?).
I'm a multi-tasking reader because I have ADHD and get bored very quickly. By mixing it up, I constantly have something I want to read.

ReckenRoll said...

I guess I should jump in and say that I am STILL reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It's a good book but I am easily distracted from it although I desperately want to finish it.

Unknown said...

I'm reading the second Stephanie Meyer book New Moon. I read the first one (Twilight) and loved it so much I was up at 5am to squeeze more reading time into my day, and am loving this one just as much.

I can't read more than one book at one time - but at the same time if I'm just not getting into a book I've made the decision that I need to let it go and not soldier on. Life is too short to be stuck in a book you're just not loving.

I do read multiple magazines as a side note to whatever book I'm reading at the time - though the reading I do at night in bed before I go to sleep is only for books, not magazines.

Anonymous said...

... a case by case situation for me. Completely into a book, it'll be my singular focus; only somewhat interested or mixing it up with fiction and nonfiction - i'm a multi-tasker. BTW - a very timely post, as I'm looking for good book recommendations :)

-Kyrsa

Karin said...

I'm reading The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper and love it. It's a true story of a Liberian girl whose idillic 1970s childhood in a prominent and wealthy family becomes forever changed by the political upheaval she had assumed was reserved for other people's countries.

Also trying to read The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature by Daniel J. Levitin. The first part is a little slow. Plus, I keep picking up Warrior Marks: Female Genital Mutilation and the Sexual Blinding of Women by Alice Walker and Pratibha Parmar. Fascinating. Surprised to learn how common the practice still is even in my beloved Senegal.

On the bus and in spare moments I read from magazines like The Sun, The Economist, Yes! and Utne Reader.

I'd read so much more, but it interferes with my tv-watching habit. Dexter, Weeds, What Not to Wear, CSI:, or whatever other drivel sucks me in.

Anonymous said...

So happy the Kater admitted to Twilight - I seem to be getting a lot of flack from peeps for that. Right now I'm in class - so am reading Contemporary Linguistics (just as exciting as you'd think), so I always feel guilty reading non-fiction, like I should be doing homework. Although I have been cheating with the Charlaine Harris Vampire series. Apparently I'm all things vampire these days. CONGRATS on the house - have been meaning to add that forever!