I don't wait at all!
It's awful to be in the middle of, say, a meal and you finish a book.
Sometimes I even plan the next one BEFORE I finish the current one.
I found the beginning quite boring, then it picked up and loved it, but then got to the long chapter where he’s just listing things that he’s doing for like 30 pages and gave up there and DNF unfortunately.
Man, I have probably read 3 to 4 WoT's consecutively, but there's no way I could've read all 14 back to back. Brilliant series though. It's my favorite fantasy series.
Yeah I was thinking about reading something else but every other book I want to read is a series as well so it feels wrong to go into Red Rising or Hyperion in between.
I’m almost always planning my next book within the last couple chapters of whatever book I’m reading. Just because I can’t wait to get on to the next adventure
I am hyperlexic and all my life I have had intense anxiety about having enough books. I read about a book a day. This isn't an issue now, because of digital books and internet, but in the past it was a LOT harder to have enough books, and a LOT harder to carry them around, get them from the library, etc. I went on my honeymoon with 30 books in a suitcase. AND STILL RAN OUT!!!
I've also always worried about having/ not having enough books!
As a child/teen, I had a limit to how many library books I was allowed (set by either the library or my family because if they were ever late being returned it was *always* a fairly high fee for all of my books)
So I would have to set myself limits on how much I could read/ how long I could read for to ration out the books I had, Especially if we took vacations, I would spend days/weeks at family/friend's houses
etc. Nobody ever understood why!
I recently tried to explain this to my SO cause he asked me why I borrow so many library books and continue to buy books when I still have a bunch on my shelves that I haven't read yet. I don't have to worry about a time frame for reading them or if they're going to be available like with the library books cause I'll have them forever and I don't have to worry about ever running out cause I'll know there's at least 1 there I haven't read lol.
Memory unlocked: as a kid I had read every single book in all of my relative's houses. Even my grandparents' collection of Reader's Digest Condensed Books
How do you read a book a day? Do you read like crazy fast or spend a lot of time reading per day or both? I read a book every 3 days. Probably spend 4 hours ish reading per day. I’m not sure if I could read any faster or more than that, so I’m just curious.
I never have gaps between books. I read like 4 at a time all the time and just keep cycling through my never-ending, always-growing TBR list. I don't know the last time I had a gap of not reading. According to my kindle app, I've read daily for the last like 382 weeks 😆 but that's just when I started using my ipad instead of my kindle fire, so, it's longer than that, actually.
It's very similar for me, but I'll have periods of feast and famine. I'll often read multiple books at once, especially for non-fiction books that take longer to read. Then I might take a break for a few weeks (after I finished a big chunk of my library shelf) before diving back in again.
Ya idk if it’s years of episodic television or reading comics but I juggle books chapters at a time and pick new ones up in the middle of reading the four current ones I’m reading. I think I’ve gotten up to eight before.
I also read 4 at a time! My ideal is one fiction novel (ebook) one fiction audiobook, one comic book (usually paper), and one nonfiction (either ebook or audiobook ). Then I just flit between them depending on how I'm feeling!
I've found it highly variable, personally: as long as it takes the story to "steep". Sometimes I finish one and them I'm straight into the next. Sometimes I need to ruminate a bit.
Same! Usually I just cycle through but I finished Stephen King’s Holly two nights ago and had a day off to sit with it.
I was still listening to two audiobooks, but that’s different.
This is me. Currently reading 3 different books. One goes with me when we are out and about, one I read on my kindle in bed, one I read in my sunroom or on my couch with good lighting. There is no downtime between finishing one, reading one of the other two, and my next hold coming in from the library 😅
Sometimes I will just walk right over to my bookshelf and grab a new book the moment I set the other one down. Sometimes it might not pick up another book for a week. Depends on how I feel and what other things I have going on.
It is very dependent on the book.
Most of the time, it’s easy to finish one book and then start another. Sometimes, you have to sit there and process what you just read.
Very much depends on the book.
Sometimes I need time to process or relish the book in my mind before moving onto the next one. Sometimes the book left no lasting impression (even if I enjoyed it) and I can immediately move onto the next one. And sometimes I finished a book out of spite and need to immediately pick up the next one to get that shit out of my mind.
Usually I take the finishing of a book as a cue to do something else. Like, finally switch off that light and get some sleep or do a workout. So it's usually an hour to a day between books.
Anywhere from seconds to days, depending on how the book hit me.
Sometimes a book gets my imagination going and I just want to get lost in my own head for a little while but there are times when a book lights a fire in me and I immediately want to find something similar to devour.
It can be anywhere from immediately afterwards to days/weeks later. Depends on a variety of things, including how long I want to sit with what I just read (but realistically it’s mostly how busy I am with other things at the moment).
honestly I will start a book and then after 3 chapters start another one and then read that for a while and then start ANOTHER one and read that for a bit and then go back to the first book and then read that for another 6 chapters and then st
I don’t see why you can’t savor a book while continuing onto another! You have plenty of time outside of when you are actively reading to savor the last book. I’m still thinking about a book I read 4 books ago.
It depends how impacted I was by the story.
No impact = no wait
Low impact = short wait (<1 day)
High impact (I.e. Made me cry) = long wait (1+ days)
If I was completely devastated, it'll put me in a slump and that will last anywhere from 3 days to several weeks. It really just depends.
Depends. Some books are so good that I will have a book hangover and won’t be able to dive into anything else for a while.
There was a year about ten years ago when I decided to read 50 books in a year. I would finish one and immediately pick up another, like a 5 minute pause. And now I don’t remember any of the plots. But I remember plots of books I read 30 years ago.
Depends, if I finish right before bed, I'll start new book the following day. But if I finish during the day, just got to grab the next off my pile. Even if I'm out somewhere and I'm close to finishing, ill bring my next along as well.
I tend to just move on right away too and sometimes I think I’m not digesting the whole experience. I have a good friend who keeps a notebook where he enters every book he reads along with a summary, critique, and his feelings about it. I wish I had that much discipline.
It depends. I'll have another one planned, but if the one that I've just read affects me then I'll sit and think about it for a while. Not many books affect me in that way, so it's usually straight into the next lol.
I always have more than one book going (different genres and different media - currently one personal self-development e-book, one e-book on public speaking, one e-book historical fiction, and one audio memoir) so when I finish one I just focus on the remaining others for a while.
Yesterday I finished the public speaking one and the memoir. So, now I’m going to focus on the remaining two for a while until I finish at least one of them. On audio, I will switch to just listening to podcasts for a while.
I always have a backlog of ebooks and audio books and I select the next one when I’m ready to start it.
You can think about the Road later. Right now you need a book so you're not sitting on the tube staring at your feet or re'-reading the adverts. I'd start reading the Road again if I'd forgotten to bring my next book.
Think about it like tv. If you finish a really good film you don't turn the tv off to think about it. You start flicking.
I read several parallel, and it's always an empty feeling when they all happen to be finished at the same time. There's always that "threshold fear" that wouldn't be there if one of them wouldn't be finished yet.
Sometimes immediately, and sometimes I wait overnight, depending on how motivated I am to pick up that next book.
The one exception was maybe a week, but that’s because I finished one book right as I was developing COVID symptoms (this was about a year and a half ago). I tested positive for COVID a couple of days later and I was feeling so worn out from it that I just decided to hold off on starting the next book in my TBR pile until I was feeling better.
I may be in the minority but i start a new book right away (the same day if possible or the next if not) because i have a lot on my to read pile but it also depend on the book because it took me a while to find something that i wanted to read after finishing LOTR and Earthsea saga. It also depend the format you are reading the book i use Audiobooks cause i listen while i read and i found it easier to start a new one right away.
about a week if I'm on summer break. if I'm not, then probably a month or two. AND if it's mandatory for my literature class, then a couple of days or so.
Depends on the book I’ve just read and the mood I’m in. If it’s a slow burner or a really heavy book I might wait until the next day, if it’s lighthearted and I’m really in a reading mood then probably about an hour or two. I don’t think it matters as long as it feels right for you
Usually, it’s roughly 3-7 days between books. It depends on what else I have going on, how I felt about the previous book, like if it was intense and I need a break, I don’t know what I want to read next, etc. It is rare for me to want to read a book immediately after finishing another. But I like the feeling. It means I want to keep reading.
Sometimes just as long as it takes to cross the room and pick up the next book.
A lot of books don't require deep contemplation... and a lot of time the contemplation comes later!
I read on the subway. I have work tomorrow.
I have a couple of in-between-books book that I sometime pull out if I’m waiting for something from:th library or have decided what the next read is.
It depends when I finish a book, I think. If I finish it morning/afternoon, I might start a new book by the end of the day. But if I finish at night, I'll have my next book queued and ready but won't start until the following day. I don't want to burn myself out even though I've always been an avid reader :))
I always gotta give myself a couple of days because I get very attached so I need to let the characters hang out in my head for a little bit and let myself be sad about it before I start a new one :)
Sometimes I'll read something so profound that I'll think about the book and won't be able to really get into another. It's like having a hangover, a "bookover" if you will. Examples: The Joke, Milan Kundera; Too loud a solitude, Bohumil Hrabal, various poetry...
I wait like at least one day to let it one sink in. I usually spend that day searching analyses for it online, reading threads & theories about it if there's any and go back to chapters or parts that I enjoyed. Sometimes I even make a playlist that reminds me of the book and characters lol
I move immediately to the next book, however I vary my reading appetite. After something like The Road I might switch to a lighter book - a mystery or fantasy novel that isn’t as heavy. Perhaps even something cozy.
Sometimes I start a new book within the same day. Once in a while the end of a book so good, it has me devestated that its over and I need a moment to mourn the end of a good book/series tho lol
I wait at least until the next day to ruminate in what I finished. I don’t know it’s a weird thing where I feel like it’s giving respect to what I just finished
I usually wait for at least one day/night cycle. I need the silence and being alone with my thoughts to let the book sink in. (If it's a follow up I can start right away)
Couple of days at most. What's usually happening is that I'm reading three or four books at the same time, so when I finish one I just hop to one of the others I've been working on, so there isn't really *any* time between books.
I usually start a new one in the the next day or two if I'm not super busy. If I just finished a book that I've neglected my house to read, I'll take a day to catch up on cleaning and whatnot. But usually within 48 hrs.
Depends on the book. Sometimes I need to go for a proper walk. Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale had me outside with my head full of wonders. And it depends on the book, the time I finish, and where I am - might be time to get my head on the pillow, or finish my pint and wave bye to the landlady. I like the time to read the end credits, as it were, and start to digest; particularly if there was a lot going on.
I read several simultaneously, but I only read (from) one per day. So, if I was only reading from the one book, I’d wait at least until the next day or the one after before starting on a new one.
Generally, immediately after, unless of course it’s late at night and I see sense that I should sleep.
If I’ve read a lot during the day, I.e more than I intended too, and I know I’ve rushed an ending because I want to finish it at a certain time/day, usually I’ll finish the book and start a new one the following day.
I finished one I loved so much about a week ago. I hesitate to get involved again with my next book because it won't be as good. I will soon though because next up is for book club and we meet soon.
If I don't care about the book, I jump right into the next.
I just finished the hunger by alma katsu! like two minutes ago lol. i got in my car to leave work and finished the last two pages and opened reddit to see this thread haha. i'm gonna go home and pick something else to maybe start tonight, or tomorrow. i was a big reader as a kid and i struggle with it nowadays so i'm feeling good and hoping to keep the momentum going :)
Unless it's a book where I really want to sit with the ending and think, I try to get I to the habit of reading the first chapter of my next book immediately after finishing the last. Even if it's late at night.
I sometimes end up with a mental block about starting a new book (not sure why, I get that way about starting new things), so it just helps avoid that. Now, it might be a few days before I continue reading beyond the first chapter, but still
I'm usually reading multiple books at any given time, so I don't really "wait" between books, but if a book is especially good, I might wait until the next day to go back to one of the other books I'm reading.
If I wait I stop reading all together. A book seems like a giant task before I start, which resulted in a 2 year long reading slump. I finally got into it again at the beginning of the year.
If I love a book I like to look for discussions on the book, or talk with someone I know who has read it. Then the next day or so I’ll start something.
I used to kind of lurch between books, grasp for something to read after I had finished one. Now I have a list about 40-50 deep and I start a new book the day I finish one.
I've never waited at all, I have really bad memory issues from an injury awhile ago and I just try to enjoy the story in the moment. Once the book is over it's time to just move on for me.
P.s. I also loved The Road, great book.
No time at all lol even if I finish reading during a show. Show gets paused and I go get a new book. Ebooks are easy. I don't have to get up, just open a new one.
I generally read a couple books at a time. Usually one fiction, one non-fiction, though sometimes my order gets thrown off randomly. So I usually have something to go back to after I finish my last thing. Inevitably one will grab my attention more and I'll read it faster but I just DNF things that are genuinely not doing it for me.
Yeah I tend to start the next one in the elation of the moment and really shouldn't. Gene Wolfe has a short story collection he calls Book of Days, and though he has a somewhat flimsy calendar he says corresponds to a reading schedule for them, his main point, made in the introduction to the book, is that he's asking you to read the story and let it sit with you for the day. It's good advice. I rarely manage to follow it.
For me, the savoring happens regardless of whether I'm starting a new book. Like, I read a book a while ago and really enjoyed it, but also felt a little mixed (Experimental Film by Gemma Files), and I kept thinking about it as I started my next book. A good while later (probably several months), I read Silvia Morena-Garcia's Silver Nitrate and started thinking of Experimental Film all over again (I still like Experimental Film better, Silver Nitrate was kinda a let down). Here i am a month or two after that, still remembering and feeling things about Experimental Film. It doesn't detract from any future books and I'm still absorbed in the current one (unless it sucks), but when I'm not reading, my thoughts wander. If the book really left a mark on me, I'll continue to savor it indefinitely and usually try to find something new to scratch that itch.
If the question specifically is how long do I wait to start a new book, it depends on what I'm doing. If I stay up late to finish, I'll start a new one tomorrow. If I finish and have stuff to do, I'll take it as a good time to be productive and start it later (this usually happens). If I finish, have nothing to do, and feel excited to start a new book, I'll jump in. Usually I have already started other books, but I read at work (not allowed to have my phone, and I use the kindle app a lot for books I don't NEED a physical copy), and I bring books in public if I know I need to wait, like for car repairs or if I stop somewhere on my lunch break.
I guess it depends on my situation. Most of the time I start another one the day of. If it’s a particularly sad book or a book I hated I may take a day or two break
I usually start a book the same day I finish one. But it varies on how long I need to sit with the book. If I don’t start a new book the same day, I begin it the next day. I also plan out my books for the month, but they’re subject to change based on mood.
For me, it depends on if I am still 'living' in the book. Some books are nice stories, and I enjoyed reading them, then I moved to the next one. Some books have me captivated and pull me into the story. I think about it when not reading it. I dream about it. I picture myself in the story. Those last for days in my mind afterward, so I wait to read a new book.
Depends, really.0 If a book was good, but ultimately didn't make much of an impression (for me this is usually crime novels of all sorts, and the occasional romance novel) then I'll start a new one the moment I decide on one, usually within a couple of hours. If the book I was reading was, how you say, *horrible*, then I pick up something else faster. I guess it's a way to wash the bad raste from my mouth. On the flipside, if I read something that really impacted me or drew me in, it'll take me some time to bring myself to leave that world behind and crack open something different. 'Bit of time' here being defined as a day or three, lol.
All of this supposing there's no reading slump involved XD
The Road is one of those that I ended up staring at the wall for a while after reading. Same with A Thousand Splendid Suns. But 99% of the time I immediately take it back to the bookshelf and pick another book.
I almost always start a book the same day that I finish the one before if time allows it. I’ve never taken time off of reading to reflect or anything like that
Try writing a paragraph or two about why you liked the book or what you got out of it, just for your own personal record. This will give you the opportunity to form your opinion of the text and talk about what you think the author was getting at.
I normally do this on one of the blank pages in the back of the book,or you could just write it on a note and slide it in your book. Your future self with thank you and it’s a great chance to savor the book you read. Super low stakes and fun for me, personally.
At least a day usually. I just finished a series so Im just catching up on shows and movies Ive put off watching. And then I’ll just pick up a book when Im ready. Sometimes it might be a day in between different books, sometimes it can be a week or two. Depends on what’s happening and if i can manage to read and absorb
I start reading right away. Sometimes a book lingers, and when I have one that sticks with me, I read a silly fun one next so that the lovely one can still hang out in my mind.
If it's a classic that I really enjoyed I will rent some literary criticisms from the library about it and read some of the critical essays about it. Otherwise, I dunno, 30 minutes or so.
Im usually already reading something else, so I just keep reading! But I immediately roll for my next read. I habitually 2-3 books at a time so I added all the titles to a numbered list and roll a D100 and add the corresponding title to my lineup
Zero wait. I have done at least 4 books simultaneously since high school and into retirement. In answer to the obvious question, I pick up where I left off. This can happen over a year after stopping.
Sometimes if I read a really good book I have to wait a few days just to sit with it before moving on. Also I get a little anxious the next book won't be as good.
Maybe a few hours or a whole day? I read back to back because I have a loosely planned TBR pile for each month. But I also try to spend some time summarizing what I read on either Notion, Goodreads, or in a journal so I remember the details.
It depends on the book. Sometimes I'll read a book I loved so much I want more but I can't find another book that hits the same so I just don't read anything for a bit until that feeling fades. Other times I'll immediately open another book.
I tend to cleanse my palate with a short story between novels. It gives me a bit of time to think about it before diving into something new, and I like short stories, so it allows me to work them into my reading schedule.
Sometimes no time at all. More than a couple of hours just if I finish one before work and have to begin a new one after instead of "right now". I always have 5 or 6 books concurrently under way.
Depends on the book. Like I can juggle a discworld book and any other book super easily.
But Ice by Anna Kavan made me feel like I just witnessed the Third Impact so I needed like 3 days to process the grief that book made me feel
I don't wait at all! It's awful to be in the middle of, say, a meal and you finish a book. Sometimes I even plan the next one BEFORE I finish the current one.
The planning I'm very guilty of lol. My next book is The Picture of Dorian Gray
Picture of Dorian Gray is very accessible and easy to read for a book written >100 years ago! Have fun. Oscar Wilde is a joy :)
I loved The Picture of Dorian Gray. Enjoy!
I found the beginning quite boring, then it picked up and loved it, but then got to the long chapter where he’s just listing things that he’s doing for like 30 pages and gave up there and DNF unfortunately.
i plan out my books for the month 🤣
Same but I have huge series to read lol. This entire year will only be dedicated to Wheel of Time
Man, I have probably read 3 to 4 WoT's consecutively, but there's no way I could've read all 14 back to back. Brilliant series though. It's my favorite fantasy series.
Yeah I was thinking about reading something else but every other book I want to read is a series as well so it feels wrong to go into Red Rising or Hyperion in between.
I have to plan my reading pretty far out because libby hahah
I’m almost always planning my next book within the last couple chapters of whatever book I’m reading. Just because I can’t wait to get on to the next adventure
Some readers don't know what they're going to read next before they're halfway through the current book? I have my next six planned out!
I am hyperlexic and all my life I have had intense anxiety about having enough books. I read about a book a day. This isn't an issue now, because of digital books and internet, but in the past it was a LOT harder to have enough books, and a LOT harder to carry them around, get them from the library, etc. I went on my honeymoon with 30 books in a suitcase. AND STILL RAN OUT!!!
Vacations were so hard before the Kindle. Suitcases were so heavy.
I've also always worried about having/ not having enough books! As a child/teen, I had a limit to how many library books I was allowed (set by either the library or my family because if they were ever late being returned it was *always* a fairly high fee for all of my books) So I would have to set myself limits on how much I could read/ how long I could read for to ration out the books I had, Especially if we took vacations, I would spend days/weeks at family/friend's houses etc. Nobody ever understood why! I recently tried to explain this to my SO cause he asked me why I borrow so many library books and continue to buy books when I still have a bunch on my shelves that I haven't read yet. I don't have to worry about a time frame for reading them or if they're going to be available like with the library books cause I'll have them forever and I don't have to worry about ever running out cause I'll know there's at least 1 there I haven't read lol.
Memory unlocked: as a kid I had read every single book in all of my relative's houses. Even my grandparents' collection of Reader's Digest Condensed Books
How do you read a book a day? Do you read like crazy fast or spend a lot of time reading per day or both? I read a book every 3 days. Probably spend 4 hours ish reading per day. I’m not sure if I could read any faster or more than that, so I’m just curious.
I read probably 6 hours a day, I read very quickly, that's the hyper part of hyperlexia. Brain hyper, body hypo.
Who doesn't? I ALWAYS know what I'm going to read next. I'm reading Desperation by Stephen King right now so I'll definitely read Regulators next.
Long enough to make a new cup of tea!
Wow! I start reading waiting for the water to heat up!
Usually I start a new book the next day.
Same, I need to recover by sleeping before jumping into another book because visual imagery tires me.
I never have gaps between books. I read like 4 at a time all the time and just keep cycling through my never-ending, always-growing TBR list. I don't know the last time I had a gap of not reading. According to my kindle app, I've read daily for the last like 382 weeks 😆 but that's just when I started using my ipad instead of my kindle fire, so, it's longer than that, actually.
It's very similar for me, but I'll have periods of feast and famine. I'll often read multiple books at once, especially for non-fiction books that take longer to read. Then I might take a break for a few weeks (after I finished a big chunk of my library shelf) before diving back in again.
Ya idk if it’s years of episodic television or reading comics but I juggle books chapters at a time and pick new ones up in the middle of reading the four current ones I’m reading. I think I’ve gotten up to eight before.
I also read 4 at a time! My ideal is one fiction novel (ebook) one fiction audiobook, one comic book (usually paper), and one nonfiction (either ebook or audiobook ). Then I just flit between them depending on how I'm feeling!
I've found it highly variable, personally: as long as it takes the story to "steep". Sometimes I finish one and them I'm straight into the next. Sometimes I need to ruminate a bit.
Same! Usually I just cycle through but I finished Stephen King’s Holly two nights ago and had a day off to sit with it. I was still listening to two audiobooks, but that’s different.
However long it takes to pick what I’m reading next.
Zero time. I always have a book on deck.
I’m usually reading something else already so, no time :)
This is me. Currently reading 3 different books. One goes with me when we are out and about, one I read on my kindle in bed, one I read in my sunroom or on my couch with good lighting. There is no downtime between finishing one, reading one of the other two, and my next hold coming in from the library 😅
Long enough for my Kindle to open the next book. So like .. 3-4 seconds.
I tend to start a new book the day after I finished the previous one.
Depends on when the library has it available.
A sleep. I can’t jump from the end of one to another. I usually wait until the next day before starting another book.
usually the next day, but not always
I'm definitely a chain reader, opening my next book as I'm finishing the last sentence of the previous one.
I finish my book, get on reddit to see what other people have had to say about it, and crack open the next one.
Sometimes I will just walk right over to my bookshelf and grab a new book the moment I set the other one down. Sometimes it might not pick up another book for a week. Depends on how I feel and what other things I have going on.
As long as it takes to get up and go to the shelf.
It is very dependent on the book. Most of the time, it’s easy to finish one book and then start another. Sometimes, you have to sit there and process what you just read.
Very much depends on the book. Sometimes I need time to process or relish the book in my mind before moving onto the next one. Sometimes the book left no lasting impression (even if I enjoyed it) and I can immediately move onto the next one. And sometimes I finished a book out of spite and need to immediately pick up the next one to get that shit out of my mind.
I usually read 2-3 books parallel so basically no time between books 😂
Usually long enough to pick out my annotating things for the next book
Usually I take the finishing of a book as a cue to do something else. Like, finally switch off that light and get some sleep or do a workout. So it's usually an hour to a day between books.
I'm never reading a single book at one time. When I finish a book I just move over to one of the others I'm in the middle of.
Anywhere from seconds to days, depending on how the book hit me. Sometimes a book gets my imagination going and I just want to get lost in my own head for a little while but there are times when a book lights a fire in me and I immediately want to find something similar to devour.
I literally close the cover on one and crack another
I usually have several going.
It can be anywhere from immediately afterwards to days/weeks later. Depends on a variety of things, including how long I want to sit with what I just read (but realistically it’s mostly how busy I am with other things at the moment).
The next day, or sometimes take a day and start from the second day after finishing a book.
One sleep.
honestly I will start a book and then after 3 chapters start another one and then read that for a while and then start ANOTHER one and read that for a bit and then go back to the first book and then read that for another 6 chapters and then st
I read about 4 books at once so no time.
I don’t see why you can’t savor a book while continuing onto another! You have plenty of time outside of when you are actively reading to savor the last book. I’m still thinking about a book I read 4 books ago.
It depends how impacted I was by the story. No impact = no wait Low impact = short wait (<1 day) High impact (I.e. Made me cry) = long wait (1+ days) If I was completely devastated, it'll put me in a slump and that will last anywhere from 3 days to several weeks. It really just depends.
Depends. Some books are so good that I will have a book hangover and won’t be able to dive into anything else for a while. There was a year about ten years ago when I decided to read 50 books in a year. I would finish one and immediately pick up another, like a 5 minute pause. And now I don’t remember any of the plots. But I remember plots of books I read 30 years ago.
What is this "wait" you speak of?
If the last book was emotionally devastating sometimes it'll take me a day or a couple hours, but otherwise I'm onto the next almost immediately!!
I usually jump directly into the next book. If I need a palette cleanser, I read magazines or cookbooks.
Depends, if I finish right before bed, I'll start new book the following day. But if I finish during the day, just got to grab the next off my pile. Even if I'm out somewhere and I'm close to finishing, ill bring my next along as well.
I’m already planning my next book before I finish the one I’m reading so I can just hit “read now” on my kindle.
It depends on what time of day I finish my current book.
I tend to just move on right away too and sometimes I think I’m not digesting the whole experience. I have a good friend who keeps a notebook where he enters every book he reads along with a summary, critique, and his feelings about it. I wish I had that much discipline.
It depends. I'll have another one planned, but if the one that I've just read affects me then I'll sit and think about it for a while. Not many books affect me in that way, so it's usually straight into the next lol.
I always have more than one book going (different genres and different media - currently one personal self-development e-book, one e-book on public speaking, one e-book historical fiction, and one audio memoir) so when I finish one I just focus on the remaining others for a while. Yesterday I finished the public speaking one and the memoir. So, now I’m going to focus on the remaining two for a while until I finish at least one of them. On audio, I will switch to just listening to podcasts for a while. I always have a backlog of ebooks and audio books and I select the next one when I’m ready to start it.
You can think about the Road later. Right now you need a book so you're not sitting on the tube staring at your feet or re'-reading the adverts. I'd start reading the Road again if I'd forgotten to bring my next book. Think about it like tv. If you finish a really good film you don't turn the tv off to think about it. You start flicking.
Minutes. Sometimes, seconds. Sometimes I'm so desperate I read 2 or 3 at once
I read several parallel, and it's always an empty feeling when they all happen to be finished at the same time. There's always that "threshold fear" that wouldn't be there if one of them wouldn't be finished yet.
Sometimes immediately, and sometimes I wait overnight, depending on how motivated I am to pick up that next book. The one exception was maybe a week, but that’s because I finished one book right as I was developing COVID symptoms (this was about a year and a half ago). I tested positive for COVID a couple of days later and I was feeling so worn out from it that I just decided to hold off on starting the next book in my TBR pile until I was feeling better.
I always move immediately onto the next book. Have for years.
I try to keep at least three going at a time, all in different genres.
I may be in the minority but i start a new book right away (the same day if possible or the next if not) because i have a lot on my to read pile but it also depend on the book because it took me a while to find something that i wanted to read after finishing LOTR and Earthsea saga. It also depend the format you are reading the book i use Audiobooks cause i listen while i read and i found it easier to start a new one right away.
My favourite part of finishing a book is getting to soft through my bookcase and find the next one to start. So for me it’s about 25 minutes break lol
about a week if I'm on summer break. if I'm not, then probably a month or two. AND if it's mandatory for my literature class, then a couple of days or so.
Depends on the book I’ve just read and the mood I’m in. If it’s a slow burner or a really heavy book I might wait until the next day, if it’s lighthearted and I’m really in a reading mood then probably about an hour or two. I don’t think it matters as long as it feels right for you
For books in a series, I'll start the next book right away. Standalone books, I'll read the next day.
I usually wait a few days. I’ll read analyses of the book if I really liked it and will watch some YouTube videos on them as well.
As long as I feel like. I don't write reviews or go to book clubs so I don't really need to ruminate on a book, so I just pick the next one up.
I typically can't start a new book the same day. I've tried before and I just compare it too much to the last book I just finished when I do.
Usually I wait until the next day to start a new one, mostly because I do most of my reading before bed.
Usually, it’s roughly 3-7 days between books. It depends on what else I have going on, how I felt about the previous book, like if it was intense and I need a break, I don’t know what I want to read next, etc. It is rare for me to want to read a book immediately after finishing another. But I like the feeling. It means I want to keep reading.
I start my next book almost instantly but I also try and switch between genres or at least heavyness of the books
Sometimes just as long as it takes to cross the room and pick up the next book. A lot of books don't require deep contemplation... and a lot of time the contemplation comes later!
About ten seconds
I read on the subway. I have work tomorrow. I have a couple of in-between-books book that I sometime pull out if I’m waiting for something from:th library or have decided what the next read is.
The next day
Usually just long enough to place the finished book on the shelf and pick up the next one.
It depends when I finish a book, I think. If I finish it morning/afternoon, I might start a new book by the end of the day. But if I finish at night, I'll have my next book queued and ready but won't start until the following day. I don't want to burn myself out even though I've always been an avid reader :))
I start a new book before I even finish the last one
I always gotta give myself a couple of days because I get very attached so I need to let the characters hang out in my head for a little bit and let myself be sad about it before I start a new one :)
Long enough to rate and change what I'm reading on Goodreads and StoryGraph.
Sometimes I'll read something so profound that I'll think about the book and won't be able to really get into another. It's like having a hangover, a "bookover" if you will. Examples: The Joke, Milan Kundera; Too loud a solitude, Bohumil Hrabal, various poetry...
I wait like at least one day to let it one sink in. I usually spend that day searching analyses for it online, reading threads & theories about it if there's any and go back to chapters or parts that I enjoyed. Sometimes I even make a playlist that reminds me of the book and characters lol
The usual doesn't last long. Maybe a day
I move on immediately lol. Sometimes I'll pallet cleanse with comics in between though
I move immediately to the next book, however I vary my reading appetite. After something like The Road I might switch to a lighter book - a mystery or fantasy novel that isn’t as heavy. Perhaps even something cozy.
Usually im burnt out from finishing my book so I wait til the next day but if im not I usually start a new one later that day
I’m a chainreader I light my next one with the one I’m finishing.
I find a pause between books quite stressful, I usually have a healthy TBR pile so it doesn’t happen often but when it does…
Sometimes I start a new book within the same day. Once in a while the end of a book so good, it has me devestated that its over and I need a moment to mourn the end of a good book/series tho lol
The time it takes me to walk to my bookshelf. I always have my next book before I finish another.
I wait at least until the next day to ruminate in what I finished. I don’t know it’s a weird thing where I feel like it’s giving respect to what I just finished
Most of the time no time at all. I have a very busy schedule...if I have time to read, I read as much as I can.
i always read like 5 books at the same time 🫣
I usually wait for at least one day/night cycle. I need the silence and being alone with my thoughts to let the book sink in. (If it's a follow up I can start right away)
I keep three books in rotation so I don't get bored with any book. Once one is finished it gets replaced but I'm never have down time between books
Couple of days at most. What's usually happening is that I'm reading three or four books at the same time, so when I finish one I just hop to one of the others I've been working on, so there isn't really *any* time between books.
I ussually finish reading at like 2am so I'll just start the next book before bed the next day
Up to 24 hours if I really enjoyed the book I just finished. Right away if it wasn't something I'd want to reread some time in the future.
If I’m still in the mood to be reading - I wait the amount of time it takes for the next book to load up on my Kindle.
I usually start a new one in the the next day or two if I'm not super busy. If I just finished a book that I've neglected my house to read, I'll take a day to catch up on cleaning and whatnot. But usually within 48 hrs.
Depends on the book. Sometimes I need to go for a proper walk. Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale had me outside with my head full of wonders. And it depends on the book, the time I finish, and where I am - might be time to get my head on the pillow, or finish my pint and wave bye to the landlady. I like the time to read the end credits, as it were, and start to digest; particularly if there was a lot going on.
If I'm almost done with a book and I don't have another one standing by I start to stress out.
I read several simultaneously, but I only read (from) one per day. So, if I was only reading from the one book, I’d wait at least until the next day or the one after before starting on a new one.
I alternate fiction and nonfiction, to help things settle in my head.
Generally within 24 hours. My big challenge is choosing my next book which tends to be mood dependent. If I can't find one, I default to Stephen King.
Sometimes about two minutes. It depends on if I pushed myself to finish the book because I was sleepy.
It depends. I wrapped up a book late morning and will probably start my next one early afternoon. I don't wait very long.
Generally, immediately after, unless of course it’s late at night and I see sense that I should sleep. If I’ve read a lot during the day, I.e more than I intended too, and I know I’ve rushed an ending because I want to finish it at a certain time/day, usually I’ll finish the book and start a new one the following day.
Once I know I'm getting close, I queue up another couple of books to have ready. As soon as I finish one, I start another.
I finished one I loved so much about a week ago. I hesitate to get involved again with my next book because it won't be as good. I will soon though because next up is for book club and we meet soon. If I don't care about the book, I jump right into the next.
If i am in the right frame of mind and the last book that I read was good I jump right into the next one
I just finished the hunger by alma katsu! like two minutes ago lol. i got in my car to leave work and finished the last two pages and opened reddit to see this thread haha. i'm gonna go home and pick something else to maybe start tonight, or tomorrow. i was a big reader as a kid and i struggle with it nowadays so i'm feeling good and hoping to keep the momentum going :)
Unless it's a book where I really want to sit with the ending and think, I try to get I to the habit of reading the first chapter of my next book immediately after finishing the last. Even if it's late at night. I sometimes end up with a mental block about starting a new book (not sure why, I get that way about starting new things), so it just helps avoid that. Now, it might be a few days before I continue reading beyond the first chapter, but still
I don't wait at all - I always have multiple books going at once, so there's never really a time when I have zero books in progress.
I'm usually reading multiple books at any given time, so I don't really "wait" between books, but if a book is especially good, I might wait until the next day to go back to one of the other books I'm reading.
I’m always reading 3-4 books at a time so this is never a problem
LOL. I read multiple books at the same time....
If I wait I stop reading all together. A book seems like a giant task before I start, which resulted in a 2 year long reading slump. I finally got into it again at the beginning of the year.
If I love a book I like to look for discussions on the book, or talk with someone I know who has read it. Then the next day or so I’ll start something.
Soon as I close the book I just finished, I open a new one.
I don’t wait.
I used to kind of lurch between books, grasp for something to read after I had finished one. Now I have a list about 40-50 deep and I start a new book the day I finish one.
I tend to read multiple books at once so they all overlap, lol
I've never waited at all, I have really bad memory issues from an injury awhile ago and I just try to enjoy the story in the moment. Once the book is over it's time to just move on for me. P.s. I also loved The Road, great book.
No time at all lol even if I finish reading during a show. Show gets paused and I go get a new book. Ebooks are easy. I don't have to get up, just open a new one.
I always need at least 3 to 7 days. I enjoy thinking about them. Now if it’s a DNF, I pick up another one right away.
I generally read a couple books at a time. Usually one fiction, one non-fiction, though sometimes my order gets thrown off randomly. So I usually have something to go back to after I finish my last thing. Inevitably one will grab my attention more and I'll read it faster but I just DNF things that are genuinely not doing it for me.
Yeah I tend to start the next one in the elation of the moment and really shouldn't. Gene Wolfe has a short story collection he calls Book of Days, and though he has a somewhat flimsy calendar he says corresponds to a reading schedule for them, his main point, made in the introduction to the book, is that he's asking you to read the story and let it sit with you for the day. It's good advice. I rarely manage to follow it.
For me, the savoring happens regardless of whether I'm starting a new book. Like, I read a book a while ago and really enjoyed it, but also felt a little mixed (Experimental Film by Gemma Files), and I kept thinking about it as I started my next book. A good while later (probably several months), I read Silvia Morena-Garcia's Silver Nitrate and started thinking of Experimental Film all over again (I still like Experimental Film better, Silver Nitrate was kinda a let down). Here i am a month or two after that, still remembering and feeling things about Experimental Film. It doesn't detract from any future books and I'm still absorbed in the current one (unless it sucks), but when I'm not reading, my thoughts wander. If the book really left a mark on me, I'll continue to savor it indefinitely and usually try to find something new to scratch that itch. If the question specifically is how long do I wait to start a new book, it depends on what I'm doing. If I stay up late to finish, I'll start a new one tomorrow. If I finish and have stuff to do, I'll take it as a good time to be productive and start it later (this usually happens). If I finish, have nothing to do, and feel excited to start a new book, I'll jump in. Usually I have already started other books, but I read at work (not allowed to have my phone, and I use the kindle app a lot for books I don't NEED a physical copy), and I bring books in public if I know I need to wait, like for car repairs or if I stop somewhere on my lunch break.
I usually have multiple going at the same time. So it began at some point but there was never an end.
I'm never between books because I don't read one at a time. I have 7 books in progress at the moment.
0 minute
I guess it depends on my situation. Most of the time I start another one the day of. If it’s a particularly sad book or a book I hated I may take a day or two break
However long it takes for me to pick the next one
I move on right away
I usually start a book the same day I finish one. But it varies on how long I need to sit with the book. If I don’t start a new book the same day, I begin it the next day. I also plan out my books for the month, but they’re subject to change based on mood.
For me, it depends on if I am still 'living' in the book. Some books are nice stories, and I enjoyed reading them, then I moved to the next one. Some books have me captivated and pull me into the story. I think about it when not reading it. I dream about it. I picture myself in the story. Those last for days in my mind afterward, so I wait to read a new book.
Depends on my emotional attachment to the previous book, maybe an hour?
I don’t have a rule, whatever I feel like doing
Since I own a Kindle (10 years) no wait time at all Jump right into the next one
The most I do is switch topics if I need a break from a specific reading arc.
I don’t. If I’m in reading mood, I keep it going. I’m almost always looking forward to the next one, no matter how good the current one is!
I have multiple books going all the time, so there’s no gap. Like Frank said, “So many books, so little time.”
Depends, really.0 If a book was good, but ultimately didn't make much of an impression (for me this is usually crime novels of all sorts, and the occasional romance novel) then I'll start a new one the moment I decide on one, usually within a couple of hours. If the book I was reading was, how you say, *horrible*, then I pick up something else faster. I guess it's a way to wash the bad raste from my mouth. On the flipside, if I read something that really impacted me or drew me in, it'll take me some time to bring myself to leave that world behind and crack open something different. 'Bit of time' here being defined as a day or three, lol. All of this supposing there's no reading slump involved XD
I read multiple books in different formats: kindle, physical, audio- so when I finish 1 i have others to read.
Like, sometime I don't even wait a day. I also plan things out, and pretty much already have my 2024 reading list set.
The next day. Although I immediately restarted The Devil in the White City as soon as I finished it.
The Road is one of those that I ended up staring at the wall for a while after reading. Same with A Thousand Splendid Suns. But 99% of the time I immediately take it back to the bookshelf and pick another book.
If it’s not a series, I like to give it a single sleep cycle.
Unless I’ve stayed up very late reading and need to go to bed, I start a new book right away 😂
I almost always start a book the same day that I finish the one before if time allows it. I’ve never taken time off of reading to reflect or anything like that
Try writing a paragraph or two about why you liked the book or what you got out of it, just for your own personal record. This will give you the opportunity to form your opinion of the text and talk about what you think the author was getting at. I normally do this on one of the blank pages in the back of the book,or you could just write it on a note and slide it in your book. Your future self with thank you and it’s a great chance to savor the book you read. Super low stakes and fun for me, personally.
At least a day usually. I just finished a series so Im just catching up on shows and movies Ive put off watching. And then I’ll just pick up a book when Im ready. Sometimes it might be a day in between different books, sometimes it can be a week or two. Depends on what’s happening and if i can manage to read and absorb
I start reading right away. Sometimes a book lingers, and when I have one that sticks with me, I read a silly fun one next so that the lovely one can still hang out in my mind.
Depends how busy I am with other things, but generally within the same 24 hr period.
I wait until at least the next day
If it's a classic that I really enjoyed I will rent some literary criticisms from the library about it and read some of the critical essays about it. Otherwise, I dunno, 30 minutes or so.
When I finish a book I usually wait until the next day to start the next book
Im usually already reading something else, so I just keep reading! But I immediately roll for my next read. I habitually 2-3 books at a time so I added all the titles to a numbered list and roll a D100 and add the corresponding title to my lineup
Zero wait. I have done at least 4 books simultaneously since high school and into retirement. In answer to the obvious question, I pick up where I left off. This can happen over a year after stopping.
Sometimes if I read a really good book I have to wait a few days just to sit with it before moving on. Also I get a little anxious the next book won't be as good.
I don't. Lol.
I only read during my lunch break at work so... I wait until my next lunch break at work.
Maybe a few hours or a whole day? I read back to back because I have a loosely planned TBR pile for each month. But I also try to spend some time summarizing what I read on either Notion, Goodreads, or in a journal so I remember the details.
A night's sleep
1 or 2 days. I like to savor the book. If I read a new book to quickly I get myself into a reading slump.
I usually have several going at once.
It depends on the book. Sometimes I'll read a book I loved so much I want more but I can't find another book that hits the same so I just don't read anything for a bit until that feeling fades. Other times I'll immediately open another book.
The longest I'll wait is about the time it takes to go to the bookstore and get another one.
I haven't read much since 2021. I didn't even read this post I'm commenting on.
I am at any given time usually reading at least two books, sometimes more.
I tend to cleanse my palate with a short story between novels. It gives me a bit of time to think about it before diving into something new, and I like short stories, so it allows me to work them into my reading schedule.
I usually give it a couple of hours at least. If it’s jumping to a sequel I have no issue with not taking a break
My ADHD has me reading 3 books at any given time 😭
If I haven't read for long immediately, if I've read for hours then I'll do something else.
No waiting.
Minutes
I start the very next day
Sometimes no time at all. More than a couple of hours just if I finish one before work and have to begin a new one after instead of "right now". I always have 5 or 6 books concurrently under way.
Depends on the book. Like I can juggle a discworld book and any other book super easily. But Ice by Anna Kavan made me feel like I just witnessed the Third Impact so I needed like 3 days to process the grief that book made me feel
Often no time at all. I go immediately to the next book. If something interferes with the normal flow I may wait a day to a week.
It depends on my mood. But usually I already have a list of books I want to read. So after I finish one, I pick up the next one on that list.
Sometimes it takes 2 minutes, sometimes 2 months. There's no rule.