Bouncing this question around other writers I know, I’ve been entertained by the variety of behaviors and approaches.  Before I wrote so much, I RARELY failed to finish reading a book.  I’m a fast reader, and I felt it a karmic duty to struggle through (even when the going got rough) in consideration of the time and energy the author expended creating it.

However, now that I’m writing across various venues, and my reading time is compressed, I’m a lot more ruthless.  I’m usually juggling a few books actively at any time, and I also have a small shelf of “stalled” books which I intend to finish eventually at the request of a friend or in an attempt to backfill my literary education.  But if I’m not thus obliged, I’ll drop a stinker like that *decisive fingersnap*.  There’s too much great stuff that I miss to pity the garbage anymore. 

If I’m not feeling social, I don’t read graphic novels in public.  They invariably draw attention, especially since I’m a woman past college age.  For like reasons, I remove especially lurid book jackets with provocative titles.  I’m a bit of an urban hermit in Manhattan where people volunteer commentary on everything all the time.  Sometimes I just want to read over lunch, not incite an impromptu book club which invariably leads to someone shouting how great James Patterson is- yeesh.  Yet and still, when something grabs me, I’ll drag it with me everywhere, cramming paragraphs and pages into every spare minute until I’ve consumed it whole.

So, do you save certain books for the train and others for the bath?  Do you feel guilty about putting one down?  How many are you reading today?

I used to have a bunch of books going at once, but now I just can’t do it anymore. I only read one thing at a time, but I’m a fast reader and if I really hate something, I drop it right away - within the first fifty pages.

That said, I have about 35 unread books for my current project (reading the Modern Library 1930-1960) and I keep getting lured into the fiction section at the library. My resolution this year was to focus on the MLs, but already (by January 10th, how sad) I’ve taken a break to read a Patrick Fermor novel. There is temptation everywhere!

Since x-mas I’ve been reading one book at a time and it’s refreshing. I typically read only one novel at a time, but lots of other stuff around it, bits of 3-5 nonfiction books, essays, lots of poetry and a short story or two; some of those I never finish.

I’m a very slow reader (as in I usually catch at least a few typos in every book I read, and I take notes). Oh, and did I mention I have a toddler? Reading time?

Ah, but to answer your question, I have books stuffed in pockets of jackets, books for the subway, books for the bedside, etc. If I’m going anywhere for a period of time I like to take a selection for of 3-5 books for whatever mood I’m in. It’s a sickness really - I think it’s my constant awareness of the infinite number of books (it is infinite, isn’t it) in the world and my finite time for reading them. It’s like an OCD complex, yet, I’m not really uptight about it. Really.

I started my blog in part because I found myself reading far too few books. I’ve finished nine (children’s and YA, mostly) this year, so I think that’s a pretty good start.

I finish about half the books I start. It’s not a deliberate choice; I just...keep meaning to get back to them, and then I don’t. In general, if I make it past the halfway point, I’ll finish the book within the next week or so; if not, it’s bound to languish indefinitely. Not a habit I’m proud of, but it’s the truth.

The only purposive dividing of books for one purpose or another that I do is leaving my hardcovers at home; if I’m going to school, to work, or on a plane, I’ll take along a paperback, because they’re lighter.

My sworn resolution was to read (or do, as in narrative video games) five books at a time:  a novel, a game, a short story collection, a learning to write/computer software/etc, and a nonfiction on philosophy/society/classic lit.  I can usually manage three out of five.  But what’s interesting about some of the comments that may save me is the location allocation--one on the couch in the living room, one in the shop, one in the bedroom, etc. that may see them picked up and read more regularly.  Otherwise, I usually tend to stick to one or two that interest me the most if I carry them all around with me.

I’ve just gone through much guilt and angst over not finishing a book.  Have carried a burden for decades over The Brothers Karamazov.  But I’m more willing now to drop something if it’s not moving me, especially in the face of a 50-book backlog.

I’m glad everyone else seems overburdened, too.  I definitely feel worse if it’s a classic that isn’t engaging me.  I try to discover a few “great works” every year that I haven’t yet, and I feel like a lowbrow slug when I don’t get through them.  I know complex works sometimes require a basic familiarity before they start unfurling their petals for you, but some days...I can’t face anything so educational.

If I have lots of time on my hands, I am willing to persevere through a boring book. Otherwise no. We only get to read so many books in life so we should read the ones we like. Gift books are another matter, those I try to finish. Still, I have books that were given to me two or three Christmases ago. One of my new year’s resolutions is to read every gift book I received the prior year by the end of the year. I keep getting distracted by the new releases at our excellent library.

I am a slow reader so I always have a large pile of books waiting to be read.  Sometimes I think of it as my wine cellar, as if I’m laying them down for that time (which maybe will never come) when I have the chance to read undisturbed.  I do find it very difficult to fit in writing and reading - and I can never get over this feeling that reading is an indulgence.  I am tryng to read more though.

If I’m hating a book I usually have several goes at it before I finally throw it down for good.  This is because some books I have found hard to get into have turned out to be the ones I’ve loved the most.  The only books I don’t feel guilty about not finishing are those books I consider to be badly written - since I have become ‘a writer’ I’m wary of picking up bad habits.

This year I vowed to finish 100 books in 2006. I give a full review of the book, but I don’t hesitate to drop the ones that do not engage me. “Life is too short” and all that.

I’ve never set a goal before (let alone tracked it), but I am a very fast reader and am rarely without reading material, whether cooking or carpooling.

I try to read only one book at a time, but usually end up with a few going. And though it took me a long while to get used to not finishing a book, I’ve become a firm believer that if you don’t like a book, you don’t have to read it. No one’s going to slap my wrist if I don’t finish The Portrait of a Lady. It still hurts to discard a book, especially one that I wanted to like, but I’d rather spend my time with a book of quality.

I agree with Nabokov, who said that you should keep a few on the boil at any one time and ‘dip’ into them at pleasure. Reading should be pleasurable so I don’t think finishing a book you dislike is good policy. Since starting to post reviews on my blog, however, I’ve tended to go straight through one book, taking notes for the post, and finishing it before starting on the next one. But right now I’m reading ‘Somersault’ by Kenzaburo Oe as well as ‘Theft: A Love Story’ by Peter Carey. The problem with not finishing books is the guilt. In Australia the entry cost is high: around A$40 for a hardback and A$25 for a paperback. This high entry cost also discourages experimentation—you tend to stick to the tried and tested. Going against my own policy, however, I recently finished ‘On the Road’ by Kerouac, even though I really didn’t enjoy it at all—or I should say it irritated me beyond knowing, although the last parts, set in Mexico, were good.

Pleasure should be the first principle. I can’t really recall the last time I put down a book in disgust. That’s probably more to do with the fact that, at my age, I’ve come to recognise the type of book that will give me pleasure. I recently very much enjoyed reading ‘Cloud Atlas’ by David Mitchell and ‘Dead Europe’ by Christos Tsiolkas, who is probably not very well-known in the U.S. but is quite the up-and-coming guy to watch Down Under. Most of the visitors to my blog who have clicked on my reviews of his three books have been from Victoria, the state of Australia where he lives. But because of the popularity of the film based on his book ‘Loaded’ I’ve had visitors from all over the world. I strongly recommend him to anyone looking for high-quality literature with a hard edge.

The pleasure principle should rule one’s reading habits, is my final comment on this thread.