What's in Your TBR Pile?

Disney Dog and One of My TBR Piles

My "To Be Read" (TBR) pile is huge. Actually, I have two - one in the den, and one on my nightstand. When I die, there will probably still be a stack of unread books. When we moved to this house, we didn't have a lot of furniture, but we had boxes and boxes of books. Just about every room as at least one bookshelf.

My grandparents and parents started my love for books and reading a long time ago. Someone asked me recently if I read differently as a writer. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a writer or whether it's because of a busy schedule. But I do notice differences in my reading habits lately.

I used to feel obligated to finish every book I started. Now I give myself permission to quit if the book doesn't grab me. If novels are riddled with typographical or grammatical errors, I usually put them down. Since I do a lot of writing and revising, typos and stylistic errors jump out at me and scream. I like plots that move. I get annoyed with mysteries that I can figure out in the first half of the book.

My free time is limited. I work full-time, do volunteer work, and write. I tend to be more selective in what I read. I read what I like, and I don't follow best-seller or popular book lists like I used to. My favorite genres are mysteries, histories, and biographies.

I read ebooks on my iPad. I love the convenience of downloading anywhere and taking a library with me. But I still like the feel of paper.

What's in your TBR pile? Have your reading habits changed?