I am almost always reading more than one book at a time. Generally it’s an ebook, a physical book for Shabbos and maybe another physical book when I can’t find or I’m too lazy to find the first one.

I have the ebook of Lethal White (Cormoran Strike #4) by Robert Galbraith (a pseudonym of J.K. Rowling!) checked out the library so there is a fire to get it finished. But it’s gritty, there is always the promise of violence considering the previous history of our detective pair. Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott have been through much together, in the previous book in the series, knifings in pursuit of a serial killer. Published in 2018, this is a contemporary story.

This darkness is great for daytime reading, not so much as I’m winding down for bed. For that I’ve pulled out Dalliances & Devotion (The Truitts #2) by Felicia Grossman published in 2019, set in 1871. Amalia is the headstrong daughter of our fiery couple from the first in the series. Amalia is a published columnist, twice divorced, and receiving death threats. She finds herself travelling with Pinkerton agents hired by her protective brother. The head agent has a smoldering past with the proper lady and both are carrying memories of those times. The heart quickening is equal parts danger and steam.

My third book is a physical copy of Soulmate (Night World #6) by L.J. Smith. Each book in the series follows a different branch of a varied paranormal family as they discover their soulmate, often taken by surprise and against their will. This book centers on Hannah an otherwise normal Montana girl who develops a Momento-like secret. She is finding notes written in her own hand warning her of danger, death, and a stalker, but she doesn’t remember writing them. Although published in 1997, this story holds up today, only the lack of cell phones on the teenagers betraying its age.

What doe these books have in common? An element of mystery and a place in a long series. Otherwise they are tonally, temporally, and genre distinct. Swapping between them definitely requires a few seconds of brain power to replace my mental CliffsNotes.

Do you read more than one book at a time? How do you keep them straight?