My To-Read list…

So many books. So very many. Not too many, mind you, but many.

There are the ones that have been on the To-Read list for ages (looking at you, Ulysses), then others that are brand new, all shiny and glossy and tempting. There are ones that were once shiny and glossy and tempting and then disappeared under newer, shinier, glossier tomes. There are the ones that have been started and then put aside in favour of lighter, funnier books, the ones that I intend to finish someday.

How do you decide what to read next? It's not a science – not a matter of examining which has been waiting the longest or calculating which most deserves moving from the To-Read list into the Travelling-in-the-Handbag selection. It's a complicated art, asssessing not just what you're in the mood for but what you're likely to stay in the mood for. What excites you most? What do you want to be reading right now? But also, what'll you be doing as you read? Eating or travelling or waiting for people? Or will you have a quiet space and a stretch of time and room for reflection? Hardback or paperback, novel or short story collection or poetry, fiction or non-fiction, contemporary or classic?

And then there's the inevitable craving of the new release from a favourite author, even though you know you've loads to read already. The discovery of something unexpected and gorgeous in a bookshop. The recommendation from a trusted friend. So much on the To-read list, so little time.

How do you decide?