For years, I read one book at a time. I didn’t start the next book until the current book was finished. Sometimes during that process, I’d forget where I left the book du jour and have to go on a search from room to room.

When I left the house, I’d toss the book in my purse. The purse had the ability to house not only the book, but also a bottle of water, cell phone, wallet, cosmetic bag, glasses, small notebook, snacks, Kleenex, pens, Macbook Air on occasion, a change of shoes if necessary.

But now I’ve changed my modus operandi to reading multiple books.  I leave a book in the car and books in favorite reading places around the house. I carry a small purse.

Why? Simple. I got tired of the book hunt and shlepping my worldly possessions with me everywhere I went.

First, the book in the car. It’s there to grab whenever I’m going to have to wait, say, at a doctor’s office. Or when I find a stolen piece of time after the drive around town to accomplish my “SLJ to-do list.” I can slip into a coffee bar,  enjoy a latte’, and read.  The book in the car at the moment is Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. It hangs out on the backseat of the SUV amid a few hats.

I keep a book in my office. It signals my brain we’re going to be doing some reading related to writing. Something inspirational about the “art” of writing or instructional about the “craft.” Story Engineering by Larry Brooks is the tome of the moment. Fantastic.

There’s a book or two in the great room, that combination family room and kitchen. Always nice to be near the food and a comfortable chair. Jerusalem by Simon Montefiore sits on the coffee table. Montefiore’s writing is very dense and laden with research. I can only read about 20 pages at a time. An interesting aside. He calls his book a biography of Jerusalem, not a history. The city is a “she,” sometimes wanton, sometimes heroic.

Because I’m not always in the mood for a heavy read like Jerusalem, I’ve added a fiction piece beside it. Thrity Umrigar’s The World We Found.

For escape, I keep a book on the night table by the bed. It’s often a current book by Michael Connelly featuring Harry Bosch or Bosch’s half-brother Mickey Haller.

This multiple book approach works with my idea of not always reading the same kind of book. (See previous post What book are you reading next?) Click on any book to learn more.

I don’t seem to have any trouble getting back into each book because there usually isn’t a huge lapse of time since the previous reading. My Kindle would be an easy fix to all these books lying around in different locations, but, try as I might, I just seem to like the feel of a physical book in my hands and … a small purse.

Big Purse to Little Purse