since i get most of my books from the library and they all seem to come at once i dont have a pile so to say i have a bag, usually, not always i just stick my hand in and what i pull out is what i read. not to say that there are exceptions, a new robyn carr, julie garwood or any other number of favorite authors comes out with a long waited for new book i have been know to toss what i have been reading and and go for the one i have been waiting for, but i read very fast, usually a book in a day or day and half. lol so even if i do wait, its not that long.
the crazy thing is that when i was a kid, i hated to read. sometime after my first husband left, someone gave me a book, that was it! i started reading to escape my life. and to some extent i still do that.
i get alot of my books at the thrift store, so i guess covers catch my eye, anything with a cowboy, or an old house. or a title that looks interesting. of course if it is an author that i love, its an auto buy, i dont care what is on the cover, and once i am reading it, i dont give the cover much tought.
while 1/2 price is a good place to go. i have really good luck at the thrift stores. way cheaper than a ubs. as for authors, mariah stewart is a favorite of mine
i think you have to do one or the other, hollywood has a way of screwing up a great book, and if you see the movie first the faces you will see when you read the book will be that of the movie/