Not weird at all. I’m usually thinking ahead 3-4 books with 2 on the fiction list and 2 on the nonfiction list. But… I’m most curious about what’s on your “fun to read” list for the next couple of weeks?
Haha, well, since you asked, @Jill_Mercier, I have time for two from the following list:
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
A Drop of Corruption (second book in a sci-fi series by Robert Jackson Bennett I like)
On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle
Flesh by David Szalay
Flashlight by Susan Choi
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa
The Original by Nell Stevens
A Burning by Megha Majumdar
Shadowbahn by Steve Erickson
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Erasure by Percival Everett
These are the books I’ve purchased in the past six months that I haven’t gotten around to yet.
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How will you choose the two? I also noted another sci-fi author. 
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I started We Have Always Lived in the Castle last night. I think I’m leaning toward books I don’t have to think too much about. I’ll probably read the Bennett book next. BTW, I just saw that the first book in the series, The Tainted Cup, won the 2025 Hugo Award (so if you’re looking for good sci-fi…).
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Always appreciate these recommendations. I’ll add to the multiple pages of my to read list. I’m now starting one specifically for sci-fi.
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For the past 5 years, I have joined reading challenges where I have a series of prompts to complete. Because of that, I have spent way too much time obsessing over what book to read for each prompt. I have decided to free-read all year in 2026! Perhaps that will eliminate my focus on what is next and allow me to better immerse myself in the book I’m currently reading!
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I do that, but only if I do not like the book I’m reading. I hate to give up on a book, especially if it’s by an author I really like, but that’s just what I did this week. But before I did that, I kept thinking of all the books I could be reading!
So, similar but different, I guess.
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I do that too. Deciding what book to read next is almost as much fun as the reading of it.
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Right?!? I think I enjoy that sense of anticipation, the adventure of discovering something new.
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Thanks so much for sharing your list. I think you get the prize for most diverse list, for sure. I just finished checking out the books I wasn’t familiar with and one of the most intriguing on your list is On the Calculation of Volume. Hope you do have time to get 2 read over the holidays.
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No. This is perfectly normal. I sometimes agonize over to what to read next as though it’s the last book I get to read.
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That’s a really good point, @Lynn_A. I do wonder if age plays into it to some extent. Time is limited, so the number of books that I’ll be able to read is consequently limited as well. And it doesn’t help that every month more come out that I wanna read!
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Kim, thanks for responding. I’m 75 so yes, I also get frustrated knowing I won’t have enough time and new books keep coming out. I keep lists for myself and try to go with what I personally consider the best of the best first. Happy reading. Have fun with it, and happy new year! LYNN
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Lol sometimes, if I’m excited about the next book on my TBR pile. I usually have about 5 books lined up ready to go, based on book club picks, if I received ARCs with due dates, or just books I really want to read. So I never have a problem of picking what to read next, I have a problem of having enough time to read everything I want lol. It’s a good problem to have 
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I get you @Laura_K I’ve dropped out of book clubs for this reason. I’m actually joining a couple of reading challenges this year but they allow me to shop my home shelves so I consider that helpful.
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The book club literary environment can be challenging especially when new members join. I found some newbies disrupted the flow. New suggestions pushed me into new realms; however, some recommendations and insistence resulted in reading books that were lacking in quality. As one new member said, “I only like to read books with happy ever after endings.” Context? Content? Dynamic characters? I moved away as did another member. Some friends have suggested that the discussions aren’t the same; depth and insight lacking.
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Yes, different people can certainly change the dynamic. I really want a book club to provide me with some challenges and then work through them with me. The happily ever afters I can find and read on my own. . . or not. 
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I have read Flashlight. So, so interesting and not what I normally read. And I want to read Everything is Tuberculosis, because that is the best title ever! Interested to know if you’ve read either yet?
@Jacqueline_B, I haven’t! I did get to read three of the ones on the list above, but not those two (and On the Calculation of Volume was three books, so I actually did pretty well!). I’ve got another break in my schedule coming up the end of March and I’m hoping to squeeze in a couple there.