The "To-Be-Read" Pile

I went to the library yesterday, and now I have six books stacked on my bedside table. Also in the stack are two additional books that I'm in the process of reading, A Feast for Crows, by George R.R. Martin, and Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri. I love it when I've got a big pile like this. It makes me feel rich, and also safe.

My real TBR pile, however, is a virtual one, on the public library's web site, which lets you save lists of books. When I start to run low on books at home, I scan my list, and request whatever I'm in the mood for. In a few days the books come in. It's a much better system than my old one, which consisted of scraps of paper torn from the edges of the New York Times Book Review, and the back of receipts from my purse.