I’m on the book subreddits a lot, and you often see people who say they are 2, 3, 4, even 5 books at one time so they “don’t get bored” or some other such reason. I am absolutely convinced that within a week of “finishing” any one of these books they would struggle to tell me the details of the characters, plot, themes, etc. There’s just no way. It’s entirely performative. You can’t juggle that much information at once and really engage with the material, in my opinion. 2 is probably possible, like one fiction and one non fiction, or one audiobook and one real book, but beyond that I can’t take these people seriously. There is no way you are reading Anna Katerina, A Hat Full of Sky, The Girl with all The Gifts and Dune all at the same time. You’re getting close to nothing out of that. I definitely feel they just want to be able to tell people they’ve read all this. It’s like a competition.
Comments
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
cmon bro in school we juggle 5 subjects at a time😭
You’ve never watched 2 or 3 shows at the same time?
If you can keep track of what’s going on in weekly episodes on a series, you can keep track of multiple books. It’s not that hard.
People who judge other people’s reading choices aren’t serious readers.
You mean like people in school learning 5-7 subjects every day? There is no way for a person to keep that many different things in their head at the same time…
Skill issue
Maybe reading isn’t “serious” for them? It’s a past time. For fun. They don’t have to tell you or anyone else anything about the book they finished.
>serious readers
are you seriously gatekeeping reading? why do i need to be “serious” about reading? can’t i just enjoy a few different books and read which ever one i want to depending on my mood?
reading should be fun, not a fucking chore or anything to be serious about (unless it is for your job).
Are we gatekeeping *reading* now?
Like…
GTFO bro.
Wtf does a serious reader mean? You either read or you don’t. The amount and consistency also matters.
I can’t speak for the majority of people, but I can say for certain that my father is usually reading several books at a time. One will be fiction and the others will be histories, biographies, science books or essay collections (usually related to his work). He’ll tear through the fiction in under a day but take notes while reading the others (also at a very fast clip).
I don’t think this is actually an unpopular opinion, but it’s also wrong.
I have three going at a time right now, one non-fiction, and two fiction. Usually i have a non-fiction and fiction going at a time but one of the books i had on hold with libby became available so here we are.
If I don’t sit with the material, take some notes, and reflect, then regardless of how few I’m reading, I won’t retain much in two or three weeks (non-fiction). I might have the gist, but not enough of what I want. Fiction is easier if it’s enjoyable and engaging, otherwise I probably won’t finish the book anyway.
Deep reading takes time.
I can probably deep read about 3 books “at once.”
Usually I’ll have a main non-fiction that I’m trying to digest and a main fiction that I’m trying to stew in. Then I might have one or two other books I’m rereading and trying to stay on top of / expand my notes / compare to my current main focus.
Right now I’m rereading The Shallows, and I’m hopping back to Amusing Ourselves to Death to synthesize. In the evening I’m reading Not a Speck of Light. While I cook and clean, I’m listening to the audiobooks for Return of the King atm, though I don’t consider this deep – just enjoyable.
Very slow going, I’m not a very fast reader.
Upvote for unpopular. Some people enjoy variety. Let’s not gatekeep reading, please.
I used to have a serious book and then a lighthearted easy to follow along or a funny book to keep the edge off. But these days im a one book man only.
So now reading’s not about pleasure or learning, it’s about being serious….
I am currently reading 2 books at once. The Mark of Athena which I absolutely love and read willingly in my free time and Frankenstein which I cannot stand and if it was up to me would have never been picked up off the bookshelf but my English teacher has forced upon me
I’m usually reading around 4 books at the same time, or even more. Why? Sometimes I’m in the mood to read fantasy, sometimes history, sometimes about ideas or philosophies, sometimes about whatever random subject I’m currently interested in. It really is that straightforward. Just because you can’t keep track of multiple subjects at the same time doesn’t mean no one can… I mean shit back in high school and college we all balanced 5 or 6 subjects simultaneously and continuously bounced back and forth from one to the other… why was that possible in school but not possible now that we’re adults?
And what do you mean by “performative”? Who am I “performing” for? What does that even mean?
This isn’t an “unpopular” opinion, it’s just wildly ignorant and frankly kinda dumb.
I didn’t even know that people do that. It seems crazy to me. The only time I’ve read two books simultaneously is when the first book was extremely slow or long and I needed a break from it (e.g., Gone with the Wind)
This is funny cause if youre in a book club or school you do this regularly
Why do people need to be “serious” readers? Why can’t people just engage in hobbies they enjoy without it being profound? This is the same stupid pressure as telling people their hobbies are stupid unless they are so good at it that they could make it a side hustle.