From Sara, Grace’s reading teacher who is tutoring her over the summer:
Read one book at a time.
From Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet, who published a fascinating and enjoyable article, “The Writing Community: A New Model for the Creative Writing Classroom,” in the Spring 2008 issue of Pedagogy:
… To write like a professional, the writer will craft two works simultaneously (319).
These practices are an inversion of what I normally do: read two or three books at a time, and write one piece at a time.
Interestingly, I am having an easier time sticking to Blythe and Sweet’s advice than I am to Sara’s. I agree with Grace: it’s hard to finish one book when you’re dying to read another.
leaf stitch word 
Blythe and Sweet’s advice makes sense to me. I could probably work on any two projects at once and I’d find it energizing. The right combination of three projects might work well, too.
I agree with Grace, too. I can’t imagine reading only one book at a time. I’m sure I juggle too many books at once, not finishing many of them, but I probably wouldn’t finish some of those books anyway. Some books I just don’t enjoy, and I read too slowly to devote all of my attention to them.
Hmmm… I can’t write two things OR read two books at the same time!