When I'm sniffing around new territory, I often choose, rather randomly, one general book and then follow its bibliography and notes to other, more specialized works and to the primary source material.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
If I like a book, I tend to read the author's entire collection. But I choose mainly through personal recommendations, general word of mouth and book reviews.
I keep an ongoing list of my fifty favorite books, which I recalibrate whenever I discover a new one that seems to demand a spot there.
When I'm working on historical books, I'm much more organized. I usually read about 100 books to get the depth of knowledge I need.
I really strive to bring something new to each book. I don't want to write the same book over and over again.
I enjoy adapting my own work, or anybody's work. I like to adapt books.
When I do research, I cast my net very widely and then snatch what feels right out of that. Occasionally I'll read a specific book for a specific book, but usually I'm trying to increase my general understanding.
One book at a time... though I'm usually doing the research for others while I'm writing, but that sort of research is fairly desultory and I like to stick to the book being written - and writing a book concentrates the mind so the research is more productive.
Usually I decide on what it is I'm writing next by the books I'm reading.
Since I spend such a long time making each book, I only choose books that I'm really interested in and that I really love.
I tend to follow a scattershot approach to reading a lot of very diverse subjects interest me, and I'm quite happy to read stuff on any of them.