Trying to figure out what I should read next is never a problem for me; as you already know I have a massive tbr pile. If I don’t have a bookclub book I need to get to, I generally just peruse my shelves until I find something that strikes my fancy. What am I in the mood for? I am trying not to buy anymore books these days – but then this weekend I went ahead and purchased 40 Things I Want To Tell You by Alice Kuipers (review coming up), Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livsey. These are all young adult titles, a genre I am trying to read a lot more of so I can recommend books to my students.
I’ve been stockpiling books for so long (library book sales, second-hand book stores, Bookcloseouts, Scholastic flyer, Indigo) that I can’t really remember what it’s like to finish a book and have to make a trek to the bookstore to purchase a new one. When I hear about new titles that appeal to me, I just add them to my tbr list – which I keep in a little notebook and try to remember to take with me when I know I am going to be somewhere with books.
What should I read next is a site that claims to be able to help you choose, well, what you should read next. I haven’t tried it out myself, obviously.
I’d love to hear how you decide what book you should read next after you close the cover (or turn off your eReader) of your current read.
The Ludic Reader 
I go by mood. After a heavy book (like, say, MOBY DICK), I move to YA. After too much YA, I need something else — a teacher PD book, pop science book (like IMAGINE, which is now on my radar), or a biography (like the rather expansive HEMINGWAY’S BOAT, which I just finished). I hardly ever read the same type or length book back to back. Variety is the red dye #23 of life, after all!
Yes, mood plays a part in how I choose, too. And, like you, I tend to shake things up a little bit. Sometimes after something heavy I need a palate cleanser – a mystery or something scary. (Or -ahem -chick lit.) I am readling a lot more YA fiction too – sometimes I need a break from that. 🙂