What to read next? Do you have a "system" so to speak? Read all of one author, or series, or do you hurry and read stuff you want to swap out?

 My TBR pile is huge, but I go to the shelf and look and I cannot decide what to read next. I'm such a dork, some of them, I'm pretty sure I'll LOVE so I tend to sort of "save" them.   And there are even a few in there that I'm not even sure I want to read, so they end up at the bottom of the pile....

Well let me try this again, I am a dumb a$$ and my post disappeared LOL

I tend to "save" or maybe hoard is a better word, books that I have been drooling to get. I've never had a system, just grabbed whatever I felt like. But this month I tried something different. I made a list of books to be read, pulled them all and made a stack on a little dresser in my room (well, like, 4 stacks) and have read some of them, and also read some not on the list. I probably picked too many, especially as this is a short month! But near the end of the month I may pack some of them away and get some new ones into the stacks. I have so many books, and a series may be scattered throughout my storage boxes, so this way I pull them all and group them together. I've completed 15 books so far this month and in the middle of 4. It is hard to decide though, I've got 6 or 7 Sookie Stackhouse books, Kiss of a Demon King, and Coyote's Mate sitting in my stacks!  Maybe I should draw straws!!!!

Of course, less time on the computer, more time reading, would be a good plan too <g>

Anne

i do have kind of a system.  i like to group authors by month, mainly so the index in my book journal isn't totally out of control.  so at the beginning of each month, i make a mini-TBR pile with books from the authors i feel like reading next, split roughly half-and-half sf&f and romance, and fill in a bit so i have about 20 (which usually leaves room for library books, or new releases, or just something that catches my eye where i've only got one book from that author).  sometimes i let an anthology i want to read drive who some of those authors are.  i try not to pick more than 4 books from a particular author.  i'm also making a point lately of making sure i have some traditional fantasy and/or sf&f in the sf&f half, rather than all urban fantasy, and also making sure i have at least one of the many paranormal romance series from authors i haven't read in the pile.  when actually picking a book to read, rather than making the pile, i usually alternate romance and not, and space books by the same author out a bit - maybe one a week.

i was probably a little too ambitious with February's pile, and i'm not sure i'm going to get through all of them.

i have some new releases arriving soon that are going to the top of March's pile.  :)

I don't have much of a system, just that I tend to juggle genres. Otherwise I just kinda look around, see what catches my eye. The problem with that is I have so many books, most of them aren't visible. :-\

well, I def. need some sort of system or something. MY TBR needs some organization.  I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that hoards my "good stuff", I'm like, if I read it, it'll be over, so I'm saving it......for IDK what, maybe I should stop buying books, and invest in therapy, lol!,

I have all my books in the bottom part of my hutch, from the ones I've had the longest to the newest ones. I just grab the top one on the stack and read it, I know if I do it any other way there will be some I never read that are really good books.

It seems to work well for me, cept I'm running out of room lol!!

I kinda browse the TBR stack and pick up something that sounds good.  I never know what I'm in the mood to read next.

 I'm such a dork, some of them, I'm pretty sure I'll LOVE so I tend to sort of "save" them.   And there are even a few in there that I'm not even sure I want to read, so they end up at the bottom of the pile....

LOL  I thought I was the only crazy one who did this.  I loved Lara Adrian's first two Midnight books, and I have #3 and #4 just sitting there... as well as Kresley Cole's first 4 Immortals.... untouched by me yet.  WHY!?!?!?  lol  

As for how I choose.... it all depends on what I'm in the mood for.  If I've read a few historicals in a row, I tend to grab a contemporary or paranormal for a change of pace.  If I read one & really like it and it's part of a series, then I'll usually go for the rest right away.  Or if I read one by a new author (to me) and LOVED it, then I tend to glom everything else by them and make my way through it (Lynn Kurland for me right now).  lol 

Or - if I need PBS credits, I'll read a book I doubt I'll keep that has a wish list so I can go ahead and post it.  :)

Michelle

I think a huge TBR mountain is all about the inability to decide, so in answer to the question, how do I decide what to read next?  I'm still working on that one:P

I'm bad about saving books that I think I'll love too. I've had Winter Garden by Adele Ashworth in my TBR for months. I've also been putting off reading through my Linnea Sinclair books because I love her stuff but there's only so much of it. I just don't want to run out of the really good stuff too soon!

I usually try to switch between time periods/genres unless I am really enjoying a series and just have to read the next one. I also use goodreads.com to catalog and organize my TBR, and use that to browse what I have and keep short-lists of books I want to read in the next few weeks. I've got over 500 books in my TBR (compared to the 10-20 I had before I joined PBS lol).

ETA: yeah, I think "hoard" is a better word than save too :P

I have way too many to be organized but I usually pull out a bunch of stuff and put them into piles/totebags/nightstand and try to get some different stuff in case something isn't appealing. I keep saying I'll organize everything but still haven't done so ..sigh..but like right now I have Sarah McCarty's Sam's Creed, What Happens in Vegas, say no to joe(lori foster) and texas princess on the nightstand..so 2 hotties, a contemporary probably hot, and a historical western I dont' think will be hot. I also have nora roberts' tribute, robyn carr's temptation ridge, had strike zone by kate angell (just finished it) in another tote bag I carried to work and bed. in the car I have another tote bag with other stuff including some paranormal and I think a love inspired christian romance and some contemporary romance...

I just like to keep a lot of variety pulled out and handy! then I p ick what suits me..

I put all of them into a drawer which keeps them all in one place, until I open it and pull out what I think sounds interesting,

read the first chapter, get bored and leave it lying around somewhere around the house.   I go back and pull out a couple of

more thinking it would be interesting but I have done the same thing leaving it by the bed, or on the kitchen table.  I have books

all over the place.  The question should be do I bother reading it or give up if I haven't read it in a year?

If I have books to read for a game then I usually read those first. Otherwise I just read whatever I'm in the mood for from the pile. I used to try and read only WL books to get them posted. But that was too much pressure. So now I just read whatever catches my fancy at the time. If I'm not in the mood for any particular genre, author or type of book-then I'll look through my TBR list on PBS and see if there's something with only 1 person on WL. Then I'll try and read that before it's no longer WL.

It depends.  If I have a WL book that only has a couple wishers left, I may read that right quick and get the credit back.  Sometimes I'll just take whatever is on top, which is usually the last book that arrived in the mail.  But occasionally I'll dig out 3 or 4 and say to hubby..."Honey?  Pick one for me!"  and that's what I read.  lol

I used to read according to what interested me the most at that moment, but lately I've been checking my buddies' WL's first for multiple books that I'd like to read (especially if it's a series or related couple of books). That way it's a win-win.  My buddy gets several WL books and I save on shipping with multiple book orders - not to mention the fact that I wanted to read those books anyway!

Like New Year's resolutions, any systems I've tried for selecting the "next read" have fallen apart after a couple of books. Right now there's no system going at all. The hardest choice to make is after a really great read: seems like nothing I choose would come up to expectation, so that's sometimes the right time for a comfort re-read, or something really quick and easy. I'm sure everyone's gone through the "staring at the bookcase/bookshelf and nothing looks good" thing. Can pick up and put down a dozen paperbacks before something even remotely looks interesting. I hate when that happens. 

I usually have something that has gotten rave reviews or a lot of recommendations held in reserve, but a lot of times, it's because it's something that's not my usual thing, but I went ahead & got it because it came so highly recommended.  I think I have several like that now.  It's like Beau Crusoe (which I did finally read & loved) and some others I can't think of atm.  They come with high recommendations & I want them, so I get them, and then end up putting them away for a rainy day:P