How big is your TBR pile and why is it there?

Only four books ATM. I read Song of Achillles recently and enjoyed it, so I'm now reading A Thousand Ships (both are to do with Troy). I also have Ariadne which again is Grreek myth based and then a non fiction about Lemons that I just can't get into, but I want to read, so it's there...giving me the side eye from it's shelf

Hundreds. I don’t feel stressed at all. It is a bad ha it buying more thought I think I see something I want to read and buy it so I don’t forget about it but I could as easily do this with a wish list.

My pile is over 100. It's mostly children's fiction (I'm a primary school teacher). Too many books and too little time!

There's a free bookshop in my local town, I go in there whenever I'm nearby, even though I have myriad unread books. The books make me do it, with their alluring covers and their promise of narrative escape.
I could stop any time I like don't make me stop

My mum always passes books onto me, and likes buying me a few from my TBR list for birthdays and Christmases.. I think I have about 20 to be read in physical form, and then a list of about 30 more.

It does stress me out, but I also like owning books. I've also said owning books and reading books are different hobbies!

I'm purposefully trying to make time this year to get through the books I've collected, and I've read 7 so far this year (which were all of the ones I got for Christmas) so I'm doing okay! Just need to stop myself from buying them now!

It doesn't help that my local charity shop does 6 for £1, and there's an absolute ton of them!

Absolutely enormous. Several stacks. I’ve always had a small TBR pile, and always buy books weekly, but it got out of hand when I fell ill.

I carried on buying physical books out of habit when my back got bad and it took me a while to realise that kindle/audible suit me better when I’m in pain and shifting around a lot.

So I’ve bought a small separate bookcase for the backlog and hope to get to them after more physio.

My tbr pile is about 8 books. More than usual because of receiving books for Xmas. But I will get through them unless I really hate the 1st few pages and can't get going on it.
The longest I've owned a book with reading it is about 10 years, The Constant Gardener. But once I clicked with le Carre's writing style I got into it.

I have a virtual TBR pile which I keep on my phone and pick whatever I fancy from it. Most of these books are ones which have been recommended by others, particularly from the 50 book thread chat. Some of them are physical books or on my kindle, majority of the rest I get from the library.

I went to some charity bookshops long ago and ended up buying about 25 books. I also got a fair few books for Christmas (as I do for Birthdays).

I also request books on borrowbox or hard copies from my library, and you tend not to be able to predict when they are ready for you.

I don't feel any stress. I see the books on my shelves as back ups for when the library books run out.

I have 117 TBR. I have a list in my hybrid diary/ bullet journal that I update each year with the new purchases and the books read. Seeing it as a list helps me choose what to read next, we have a very large collection of books and it is easier to see them all in one place.
I have slowed down due to having DD last June, and am not likely to pick up to my usual pace for a while, it does make me a bit sad.

Pre pandemic I would also pick up 5 or 6 library loans a month too, and keep the unread books at home at around 50 books.

Nah i like looking through my unread books, reading and browsing book shops are two different hobbies in my mind

Without reading everyone else's responses first, I don't feel stressed, on the contrary it brings me joy to look at them. I also created a spreadsheet with all my Kindle books that I would like to pick from this year so I sometimes just look at that too. I usually buy things that I know I will want to read at some point when I see them in charity shops or when they are under £2 on Kindle. I won't go into numbers but there are loads.

Ha, shumway, I have a bigger fear that the pile will topple over and kill me!

I have a fear of running out.

I am endlessly tantalized and frustrated by my own TBR pile.

I currently have 17 library books on loan plus 11 on request - these books are prioritized as I only have access for a limited amount of time.

I have over a hundred on kindle, mostly from deals - these get read when I'm away from home.

I have another shelf of physical books, mostly picked up second-hand. Unfortunately it's quite rare for me to get around to these.

My current book stock that I hope to get through this year. There's a few cookbooks in there that don't count, and 10ish books that I've already read.

When I'm done with these I can start on my kindle pile that might be in the hundreds now

I probably have at least 50 hard copy and 20+ Kindle at any given time. I buy as I see them in charity shops or if something I want to read comes up on 99p Daily Deals. I love effectively having a bookshop in my own home, love looking at them on the shelf waiting to be read, love the fact that they are there and when I want to read one I can, no waiting.

About 200 Kindle books are bought and waiting reading, 150 currently on my 'to buy' list. I buy books when they are on offer, and my Amazon wish list lets me add ones I am interested in and monitor for price changes so they will come up as 99p for the day. Currently I am studying for a post grad degree part time so that has an awful lot of reading of its own, but I still do a couple of novels a week but my backlog has a lot of non fiction accumulating

Between 20-30 physical books, a few more on my e-reader that I bought when on offer.

I usually download library books on my e-reader but the software went flaky and it took me months to get to the bottom of it - during which time I discovered a love of hardbacks and special editions so I've bought some signed first editions, clothbound classics and the like. They are the things of beauty in my life when I need calm.

I also bought some cheap book bundles of series that I'd been meaning to read as lighter comfort reading eg Invisible library / St Marys. Wanted actual books as I think DS might enjoy these when he's older. I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for him to be a reader as so many of his friends simply don't read (at all). He now asks me what I am reading and what's it about on a regular basis ...

Mine lives in two large baskets, probably 150 books atm. There is a mix of fiction and non fiction and highbrow to trashy. I love reading and buying books but have young children, academical studies and lots of voluntary work to eat into my reading time so I buy faster than I read. When I do have time, the ritual of selecting the next book is essentially literary foreplay and adds to the pleasure I get from reading.

I would find not having a physical TBR pile too stressful! I like having a decent number of books in my TBR pile so I have lots of choice for my next read. The idea of not having a new book to read is scary! Really, having a large TBR pile makes more sense than keeping all the read books (although I do that as well, they are such good friends).

My TBR pile is currently about 200 books, mixture of paper and kindle. Many bought in kindle deals, given as gifts or bought after recommendations (many from the 50 book threads here)

Like pp, I don't find it stressful, I'll get round to them all eventually and I like being able to choose my next book based on my frame of mind at the time. I'll often start a book and then feel I'm not in the right place for it so put it aside and try again a few months later

Having said that, I am trying to buy less books this year to give me a chance to get through some

I have MS and chronic migraines and can no longer physically read books unfortunately but I do use Audible. I get through 3 to 4 books a week and have a couple of thousand in total. I wish I could have my TBR books in a different place in the app as it gets so confusing!

Also I live abroad and books in English aren't easy to find or cheap so if I find one that is available/ cheap / unwanted I tend to take it home just in case!