Pick-a-Shelf discussion

Rule Summary:

1. One book can be read for a maximum of 1 Shelf and 3 Categories of the month's card.

2. A Shelf may be skipped BUT only one Shelf per Card up to a maximum of 6 shelves for the whole game.

3. A Category maybe skipped BUT only 2 Categories per Card up to a maximum of 12 unique Categories for the whole game. Note: categories are repeated throughout the game so you can only skip a Category once (ie. you cannot skip the same Category more than once).

My plan for January (revised):

1. √American Gods - J
Read February 28, 2014 - 4*

2. √Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater - E&H
Read January 1, 2014 - 3*

3. √Flowers for Algernon - D&L
Read February 17, 2014 - 4*

4. √Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Read March 16, 2014 - 3*

5. √Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman - F
Read July 10, 2014 - 4*

6. √Where the Wild Things Are - I
Read January 1, 2014 - 4*

7. √Of Mice and Men - C&G
Read April 8, 2014 - 5*

8. √The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Read July 31, 2014 - 5*

9. √Article 5
Read May 1, 2014 - 4*

10. √Emma by Jane Austen - A
Read October 25, 2014 - 4*

11. √Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Read September 10, 2014 - 4*

12. √The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - B&K
Read March 27, 2014 - 3*

Great list. I'm reading American Gods and Things Fall Apart as well. I am also reading one of the Sherlock Holmes, but I haven't read any yet so I am reading the first one, A Study in Scarlet, for shelf #12. All the sherlock holmes books are also available as an audiobook on gutenburg.org, except the last one, so I grabbed both in case my eyes get tired trying to read 12 books in a month :-P

Good luck and happy reading!

Christina, I am reading Things Fall Apart this month so had to remove it from my scattered shelf. Not sure yet how I feel about it. As for American Gods, I have it on hold. I hope it becomes available soon.

Bea wrote: "I am reading Things Fall Apart this month so had to remove it from my scattered shelf. Not sure yet how I feel about it."

I'm about to pick up this trilogy, Bea! That'd be my classics read for Feb (trying to read 1 classic per month this year). Have you decided on what your feel for this book?

Oh no! I hope that the book gets better for you! As for American Gods, I had to take that one off. I realized I had selected too many large books for the month. Switched it out for another Sherlock Holmes read.

Tien wrote: "Bea wrote: "I am reading Things Fall Apart this month so had to remove it from my scattered shelf. Not sure yet how I feel about it."

I'm about to pick up this trilogy, Bea! That'd be my classic..."

Tien, I am glad that I read it. The author gave me a different perspective of evangelizing Africa. And, I do tend to agree with his point of view. However, as unused as I am to African names, it took me a while to tell the difference between the various characters.

Bea wrote: "Tien wrote: "However, as unused as I am to African names, it took me a while to tell the difference between the various characters."

I usually find it hard with non-English names too! I'll see how I go then :)

Tien wrote: "Bea wrote: "Tien wrote: "However, as unused as I am to African names, it took me a while to tell the difference between the various characters."

I usually find it hard with non-English names too! ..."

The Hobbit had me going with all of their similar names. I was so frustrated! :-P

Ha ha, I had a hard time telling the dwarfs apart too!

My February plan:

1. √Beloved by Toni Morrison- B&E
Read May 7,2014 - 2*

2. √Miss Tonks Turns to Crime - F&J
Read March 30, 2014 - 3*

3. √Promise Me - C&L
Read October 19, 2014 - 4*

4. √Brokeback Mountain
Read February 7, 2014 - 3*

5. √Dragonflight by Anne
McCaffrey- A&D
Read February 22, 2014 - 4*

6. √To Kill a Mockingbird - I
Read April 28, 2014 - 5*

7. √The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - K
Read May 14, 2014 - 4*

8. √On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Read March 28, 2014 - 4*

9. √A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Read October 14, 2014 - 5*

10. √Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller - G
Read May 9, 2014 - 4*

11. √Ninth Key by Meg Cabot - H
Read April 13, 2014 - 4*

12. √My Sister's Keeper
Read October 9, 2014 - 4*

My March reading plan:

1. √A House to Let - B&D
Read May 14,2014 - 3*

2. √The Handmaid's Tale - F
Read May 21. 2014 - 4*

3. √The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - A&H
Read September 29, 2014 - 4*

4. √The Poor Mouth: A Bad Story About the Hard Life
Read May 26, 2014 - 3*

5. √The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Read September 15,2014 - 5*

6. √Among the Hidden - K&L
Read May 19, 2014 - 3^

7. √Broken Harbour - C
Read October 25, 2014 - 5*

8. √The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - G
Read April 12, 2014 - 4*

9. √I Am Half-Sick of Shadows - I
Read May 19, 2014 - 3*

10. √A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway - J
Read September 11, 2014 - 3*

11. √Calvin and Hobbes: Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons
Read May 15, 2014 - 3*

12. √Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris - E
Read April 5, 2014 - 4*

Bea, I don't see how Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day could have been published between 1900 and 1919 if Judith Viorst wasn't born until 1931.

I would have been guilty of that too! Someone put the wrong original publication date with that book. It was 1972, I'll update that now!

Coralie wrote: "Bea, I don't see how Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day could have been published between 1900 and 1919 if Judith Viorst wasn't born until 1931."

OK, back to the search. Thanks. Coralie.

My April reading plan:

1. √The Phantom Tollbooth - B
Read May 12, 2014 - 4*

2. √The Yiddish Policemen's Union - D
Read November 11, 2014 - 4*

3. √The Housekeeper and the Professor - C, H
Read October 13, 2014 - 5*

4. √Tinkers by Paul Harding - L
Read May 25, 2014 - 2*

5. √The Pilot's Wife - A & I
Read June 23, 2014 - 4*

6. √The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements - J
Read June 22, 2014 - 3*

7. √The Power of Six
Read September 29, 2014 - 4*

8. √Foucault's Pendulum - F
Read January 31, 2015 - 3*

9. √The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Read April 23, 2014 - 5*

10. √Now You See Her by James Patterson - G
Read May 14, 2014 - 4*

11. √The Witch of Blackbird Pond - E
Read May 11, 2014 - 4*

12. √The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Read December 26, 2014- 4*

I skipped category K.

My May reading plan:

1. √The Importance of Being Earnest (D, G, H)
Read May 25, 2014 - 3*

2. √Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (J)
Read June 2, 2014 - 2*

3. √Inherit the Wind (E)
Read May 15,2014 - 4*

4. √The House in the Night
Read May 2, 2014 - 5*

5. √Go Tell It on the Mountain (A, L)
Read June 1, 2014 - 2*

6. √Reading Lolita in Tehran (F)
Read October 30, 2015 - 2*

7. √If You Find Me (B)
Read December 31, 2016 - 5*

8. √The Iron King
Read November 7, 2016 - 4*

9. √The Girl in the Steel Corset
Read December 4, 2016 - 4*

10. √The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Read December 3, 2014 - 5*

11. √In the Woods (C)
Read May 12,2014 - 4*

12. √Lost in a Good Book (I, K)
Read November 11, 2014 - 4*

I had to change book #6 due to fact that the original planned book is not available in the regional library system in SC. I changed book #8 for something I was interested in reading now.

My June Reading Plan:

1. √The Remains of the Day - B, G
Read January 1, 2015 - 3*

2. √The Velveteen Rabbit - F, I
Read September 15, 2014 - 5*

3. √The Raven Boys - D
Read October 9, 2014 - 4*

4. √Thirteen Reasons Why - H
Read March 19, 2015 - 5*

5. √The House at Riverton
Read August 3, 2015 - 4*

6. √Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science - J
Read January 10, 2015 - 3*

7. √The Lottery Rose - E
Read November 14, 2014 - 5*

8. √The Lace Reader
Read September 19, 2014 - 5*

9. √Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory - L Read December 28, 2017 - 3*

10. √The Reader - K (3.08 when selected)
Read September 29, 2014 - 4*

11. √The Road
Read September 29, 2014 - 3*

12. √The Rowan - A
Read September 25, 2014 - 4*

Skipped category C

Current Status - Updated

Books to read

January - DONE
February - DONE
March - DONE
April - DONE
May - DONE
June - DONE

We are reading a lot of the same ones for June! I'm glad you found Thirteen Reasons Why on list 4. I guess I didn't go far enough, but I'm swithcing to it now. Thank you! So now we have 5 in common. I'm also reading The Velveteen Rabbit, The Lace Reader, The Reader, and The Road.

Here's my July plan, subject to local library availability:

1. √Between Mom and Jo - C
Read November 16, 2014 - 4*

2. √The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman - F
Read August 19, 2015 - 4*

3. √The Bell Jar - A
Read September 13, 2015 - 4*

4. √Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan - E
Read March 14, 2015 - 4*

5. √Bridget Jones's Diary - L
Read January 1, 2015 - 2*

6. √Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes - G
Read November 20, 2014 - 3*

7. √The Cider House Rules by John Irving - J
Read February 18, 2016 - 3*

8. √Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - K
Read January 14, 2016 - 3*

9. √The Golem and the Jinni - B
Read March 5, 2016 - 4*

10. √Defending Jacob - D, I
Read March 14, 2015 - 4*

11. √The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Read September 25, 2014 - 4*

12. √The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - H
Read December 16, 2015 - 4*

Had to change books for #1 and #2 due to inability to get them from the SC regional library system. I found a replacement for #2 but have not settled on one of #1, a genre I do not enjoy.

I also do not have a book for category = animal. I may end up skipping that one.

I rarely read anything glbt either, Bea, though that is the challenge, aye?

A few of us have listed Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green (loved tfios so hoping this will be a good one too).

If you want to coincide glbt & animals, I found a couple, if you can get your hands on them. Not sure what your listed book was



OOh, I found a picture book! ~glbt & animal (remember, no page count...)


by Justin Richardson & others

Maybe I can get my hands on this too, ha ha ha, Susan seems to like this book. :)

Thanks for the suggestions, Tien. I did try the Tango Makes Three and I Am Not Myself yesterday when checking the library listings. Neither were there. I did find a few books (did not try Will Grayson one yet), and found that the library has I am J and Between Mom and Jo. It's just that neither really excite me.

Although her books won't work for the current month (J), Nicola Griffith writes wonderful books of suspense and mystery; they are on this shelf. Her descriptions of scenery and way with words make her books a joy to read for me. And, she is the only GBLT writer that I have truly enjoyed and would highly recommend. Too bad her name is not Jiffith! LOL.

Aww that's a shame. What I was going to try to do is to go to the bookshop and just read Tango Makes Three. Though I was unsuccessful tonight lol.

Tien wrote: "Aww that's a shame. What I was going to try to do is to go to the bookshop and just read Tango Makes Three. Though I was unsuccessful tonight lol."

LOL! Now that is a GREAT idea!

Bea, have you read any Jeannette Winterson ? Oranges Are Not the Only Fruitis mostly biographically, and I was first introduced to it via the tv series with my mum, and we adored it. The there is ( what is essentially the sequel ) Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?. Or, at uni we read The Passion. None of those are very high on sexuality as a subject throughout. I've enjoyed most of her books, and the above are all relatively quick and easy reads.

Amanda wrote: "Bea, have you read any Jeannette Winterson ? Oranges Are Not the Only Fruitis mostly biographically, and I was first introduced to it via the tv series with my mum, and we adored it. T..."

The only one I have read of hers was Oranges, and it was tedious to me. Guess I won't be reading others of hers.

Letter = T

My August Plan is:

1. √The Things They Carried - H
Read September 26, 2014 - 5*

2. √The Serpent's Tale - E (7511), F
Read May 24, 2015 - 4*

3. √Paper Towns - G (4.09)
Read November 12, 2014 - 3*

4. √Throne of Jade - C
Read November 11, 2014 - 4*

5. √Third Grave Dead Ahead - A
Read November 19, 2014 - 4*

6. √And Then There Were None
Read August 16, 2016 - 4*

7. √The Third Circle
Read October 8, 2014 - 5*

8. √Tuck Everlasting - B, I
Read September 20, 2014 - 5*

9. √A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - H, K
Read January 6, 2016 - 3*

10. √Where Angels Fear to Tread - J
Read December 23, 2016 - 3*

11. √Dire Threads
Read August 3, 2016 - 4*

12. √The God of Small Things - L
Read December 19, 2016 - 2*

Letter = L

My September Plan is:

1. √The Little Prince - D, J
Read September 18, 2014 - 4*

2. √Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft - F
Read September 17, 2014 - 5*

3. √The Lost Hero - B
Read June 8, 2016 - 4*

4. √Love Letters to the Dead
Read December 6, 2015 - 3*

5. √Last Exit To Brooklyn
Read May 30, 2016 - 2*

6. √Lord of the Flies - A
Read October 8, 2014 - 5*

7. √This is Where I Leave You - K
Read October 31, 2016 - 3*

8. √The Call of the Wild by Jack London - I
Read September 30, 2014 - 5*

9. √The Well of Lost Plots - E
Read December 12, 2014 - 3*

10. √Never Let Me Go - G
Read June 23, 2015 - 3*

11. √The Portrait of a Lady - H, L
Read January 3, 2017

12. √Pushing the Limits - C
Read October 4, 2016 - 4*

Reviewed reading plans and have expectations of completing Jan-Mar - a total of 7 books. April and May are half completed so maybe... Beyond that, it will be hit or miss as I haven't started on any months starting June (move month).

Birthday Month - October

P: √Faithful Place - G, K
Read October 20, 2014 - 4*

I: √The Fault in Our Stars - A
Read March 5, 2015 - 4*

C: √The Crystal Cave - B
Read September 15, 2016 - 4*

K: √An Abundance of Katherines - D
Read October 7, 2014 - 3*

A: √Anne of Green Gables - F
Read April 1, 2015 - 3*

S: √A Thousand Splendid Suns - C
Read November 22, 2015 - 4*

H: √Wolf Hall - I
Read May 19, 2015 - 4*

E: √For Your Eyes Only
Read June 30, 2016 - 3*

L: √Paddington at Large - E
Read October 22, 2014 - 3*

F: √Storm Front - J
Read December 7, 2015 - 4*

*: √Cheaper by the Dozen - L
Read October 15, 2014 - 3*

*: √Morrigan's Cross
Read October 31, 2015 - 4*

I skipped category for the multiple authors (H) at this time.

November

Letter S

Shelves:
1. action - √Shadow and Bone - A
Read April 26, 2015 - 4*

2. psychology - √Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen - D
Read March 25, 2015 - 3*

3. need-to-get - √Stardust - H
Read December 8, 2014 - 4*

4. college - √The Scarlet Letter - F, L
Read February 12, 2015 - 3*

5. 3-stars - √The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks - J
Read February 5, 2015 - 5*

6. literary-fiction - √The Shadow of the Wind - C, E, G
Read February 18, 2015 - 4*

7. 20th-century - √The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - K, I
Read February 1, 2015 - 3*

8. war - √The Rainbow and the Rose by Nevil Shute - B
Read 7/18/16 - 4*

9. summer-reading - √Sarah's Key
Read September 28, 2015 - 5*

10. mythology - √The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
Read December 22, 2014 - 4*

11. animals - √A Street Cat Named Bob: How One Man and His Cat Found Hope on the Streets
Read May 5, 2015 - 4*

12. religion - √The Screwtape Letters
Read June 14, 2016 - 3*

December

Letter E

Shelves:
1. 4-stars - √Eleanor & Park - G, L(4.18)
Read April 26, 2015 - 3*

2. 2012 - √The Sense of an Ending - C
Read February 13, 2015 - 3*

3. e-books - √Great Expectations - K
Read December 10, 2015 - 4*

4. non-fiction - √Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Read July 30, 2015 - 4*

5. classics -√ East of Eden - D
Read December 22, 2016 - 5*

6. contemporary - √The Elephant Tree - J
Read October 20, 2016 - 3*

7. adult - √And the Mountains Echoed - A
Read May 5, 2016 - 4*

8. adventure - √Excavation - I
Read August 22, 2016 - 4*

9. urban-fantasy - √On the Edge - E, H
Read September 21, 2015 - 4*

10. short-stories - √Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories
Read August 28, 2016 - 4*

11. abandoned - √The Elegance of the Hedgehog - B
Read May 15, 2015 - 3*

12. poetry - √Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot - F
Read

Skipped category B

Current status:

January - Done
February - Done
March - Done
April - Done
May - Done
June - Done
July - Done
August - Done
September - Done
October - Done
November - Done
December - Done

Updated 12/12/16

FINISHED - 3 years later. I found that, contrary to the rules, I skipped the same category twice, which I remedied by substituting a book I read last year for Mystery-Suspense-Thriller shelf (August #6).

My last book was for June. Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory was written by Newt Gingrich and WIlliam R. Forstchen. I did not like Newt Gingrich as a politician. And, although I am giving this book a 3* rating, the writing was very well done. The rating reflects my interest in details of battles, which makes up the majority of the book. I doubt that I will read the first two books unless they work for a challenge.