Pick-a-Shelf discussion

What a big challenge!

January:
A


Shelves:
1. modern-fiction - The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho - 20 Jan 2014
2. juvenile - Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak - 6 Feb 2014
3. random - An Abundance of Katherines - 18 Jul
4. 2006 - Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Lynne Truss - 15 Feb 2014
5. 2012-read - American Gods, Neil Gaiman - 5 Mar 2014
6. kids-books - The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - 13 Feb 2014
7. have-read - Guida galattica per gli autostoppisti, Douglas Adams - 10 Jun 2014
8. digital - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Douglas Adams - 27 Jun 2014
9. not-interested - The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom - 12 Feb 2014
10. lit - Fathers and Sons, Ivan Turgenev - 24 Mar 2014
11. culture - All Creatures Great and Small: The Classic Memoirs of a Yorkshire Country Vet - 29 May 2014
12. detective - The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle - 17 Feb 2014


Categories:

a. Number of Pages: 501-600 - skip
b. Published in: 1900 - 1919 - The Hound of the Baskervilles - 17 Feb 2014
c. Have at least 10,000 ratings - An Abundance of Katherines - 18 Jul
d. Published in: 1940 - 1959 - The Little Prince - 13 Feb 2014
e. Main Character (90% of book): Male - The Little Prince - 13 Feb 2014
f. Added to your to-read shelf in the first 12 months you joined GR* - skip
g. An average rating of more than 3.5 stars - The Five People You Meet in Heaven - 12 Feb 2014
h. Person on cover (partials acceptable) - All Creatures Great and Small: The Classic Memoirs of a Yorkshire Country Vet - 29 May 2014
i. Plant on cover (partials acceptable) - Where the Wild Things Are - 6 Feb 2014
j. Number of Pages: 600+ - American Gods - 5 Mar 2014
k. Inanimate Object on cover (partials acceptable) - Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation - 15 Feb 2014
l. Cover is primarily bright colours (white, yellow, pink etc) Think: Happy - The Alchemist - 20 Jan 2014

Feb
Letter: M

Shelves:

1. pre-2009 - The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera - 21 Mar 2014
2. romance-historical, The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan - 2 March 2013
3. mysteries-thrillers - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith - 13 Jun 2014
4. friends-to-lovers - skip
5. genre-fantasy - Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory Maguire - 25 Feb 2014
6. fantastic - The Silver Linings Playbook, Matthew Quick - 5 Mar 2014
7. multiple-reads - The House at Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne - 9 Mar 2014
8. reviewed-books - My Life Next Door, Huntley Fitzpatrick - 20 Feb 2014
9. sf-f - The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest - 10 Jun 2014
10. inspiration - Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf - 7 Feb 2014
11. paranormal-supernatural - The Time Keeper, Mitch Albom - 11 Feb 2014
12. books-to-movies - The Hours, Michael Cunningham - 11 Feb 2014

Categories:

a. Animal on cover (partials acceptable) - The House at Pooh Corner - 9 Mar 2014
b. Main Character (90% of book): Female - The Hours - 11 Feb 2014
c. Published in: 2000 - 2009 - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - 13 Jun 2014
d. Number of Pages: 201-300 - The Silver Linings Playbook - 5 Mar 2014
e. Published in: 1980 - 1999 - Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - 25 Feb 2014
f. Number of Pages: 100-200 - Mrs. Dalloway - 7 Feb 2014
g. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy - The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest - 10 Jun 2014
h. Female Authors - My Life Next Door - 20 Feb 2014
i. Added to your to-read shelf after 31 December 2012* - The Painted Girls - 2 March 2013
j. Has number of rating less than 500 - skip
k. Inanimate Object on cover (partials acceptable) - The Time Keeper - 11 Feb 2014
l. Number of Pages: 301-400 - The Unbearable Lightness of Being - 21 Mar 2014

hahaha you weren't kidding ;) We have a lot of similar ones on our lists!

Grace wrote: "January:
A


Shelves:
1. modern-fiction - The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
2. juvenile - Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak
3. random - [book:..."

Hello, Grace! Do you mind if I borrow a few titles from your list in order to add them at mine? It is already quite long, but I don't care. I don't want to leave this world without having a look at those pages.

Haha I don't think she'll mind since she came to my page to tell me she stole a ton from me ;) we are one big book-sharing family!

@ Alex - Yes! Steal away - I'll probably use some of your ideas next time! I joined this group in the first place to get some good book ideas. :)

@ Christina - most were coincidental actually. I just ended up borrowing The Time Keeper in the end. I was going to read The Note as well, after seeing it on your list, but I couldn't find a copy of it in any of the libraries near me. :)

That's why I joined too. I like being pushed to read outside of what I might have chose for myself. The variety Is nice. I'm just picking on you anyway. It seems that most of us find similar books each month. I like it! I'm also trying to read the 1001 books you must read before you die so I choose as many as I can from that list for this challenge too.

Grace wrote: "@ Alex - Yes! Steal away - I'll probably use some of your ideas next time! I joined this group in the first place to get some good book ideas. :)

@ Christina - most were coincidental actually. I ..."

Great! Thank you, Grace!
Actually, I've just finished reading:
1)The Book Thief by Maarkus Zusak. I loved it.
I am Mexican, so there are a few titles that might not be in your native language, still I share those titles in case the translation is available.
For example:
2)Leer o morir (To read or die) by Guadalupe Loaeza. Excellent essay about the books that inspired this Mexican writer.
3)The Seventh Son by Glenn Cooper. I really enjoyed it.
Currently reading:
4)Das Erbe der Pilgerin (The Pilgrim's Heritage) by Ricarda Jordan.
5)Notre Dame de Paris (Notre Dame of Paris) by Victor Hugo.
6)At the Edge of the Apocalypse by Craig Haye. Really interesting.
7)The works and some short stories by Oscar Wilde.
8)The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.
9)Letters to a Young Poet and short stories by Rainer Maria Rilke
10)The true Story of the Bilderberg Club by Daniel Stulin
and some more on the way

March:

Letter: H

Shelves:

1. 19th-century - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - 9 May 2014
2. 2004 - A Short History of Nearly Everything - 21 Mar 2014
3. e-reader - The Help - 19 Apr 2014
4. it-wikipedia - A Briefer History of Time - 19 May 2014
5. book-series - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 16 Feb 2014
6. middle-school - Little House in the Big Woods - 13 Mar 2014
7. mystery-crime - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon - 24 Feb 2014
8. childhood-favorites - Green Eggs and Ham - 24 Feb 2014
9. murder - Hercule Poirot's Christmas - 19 Jun 2014
10. America - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 6 Apr 2014
11. comic - Calvin and Hobbes - 7 Jun 2014
12. fluff - The Edge of Reason, Helen Fielding - 20 Apr 2014

Categories:

a. Main Character (90% of book): Male - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 6 Apr 2014
b. Male Authors - A Short History of Nearly Everything - 21 Mar 2014
c. Inanimate Object on cover (partials acceptable) - Green Eggs and Ham - 24 Feb 2014
d. Number of Pages: 100-200 - Calvin and Hobbes - 7 Jun 2014
e. Cover is primarily bright colours (white, yellow, pink etc) Think: Happy - Little House in the Big Woods - 13 Mar 2014
f. Main Character (90% of book): Female - The Help - 19 Apr 2014
g. Published in: 1900 - 1919 - skip
h. Multiple POVs(more than 2) - The Help - 19 Apr 2014
i. Number of Pages: 201-300 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - 24 Feb 2014
j. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - 9 May 2014
k. Published in: 1980 - 1999 - James Herriot's Cat Stories - 18 Jun 2014
l. Alternating POVs (2 only) - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - 9 May 2014

great!

Grace, I do not see an H word in your pick for "murder".

Bea wrote: "Grace, I do not see an H word in your pick for "murder"."

True! I was thinking of Sherlock Holmes but that's not in the title. I'll have to think of another one. It's a pity I've already read Hamlet and The Hound of the Baskervilles this year!

I've updated my murder book (because it didn't have an H in it) and my fluff book because I can't find it locally and don't want to buy it.

April

Letter: P

Shelves:

1.in-the-libray - The Phantom Tollbooth - 17 Mar 2014
2.modern-lit - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
3.asia - Eat, Pray, Love - 20 Mar 2014
4.started-but-didn’t-finish - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values, Robert M. Pirsig - 23 May 2014
5.pleasure-reading - Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, Michael Pollan
6.non-fic - Bad Pharma
7.five-star-books - The Perks of Being a Wallflower - 2 Apr 2014
8.top-100 - Winnie The Pooh - 31 May 2014
9. non-series - Eleanor & Park - 22 Apr 2014
10.fiction-other - The Princess Bride - 5 Jul
11.school-reads - Faust, Part One - 14 Apr 2014
12.finished-series - Northern Lights, Philip Pullman - 12 Jun 2014

Categories:

a.Published in: 1980 – 1999 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower - 2 Apr 2014
b.Published in: 1960 - 1979 - The Phantom Tollbooth - 17 Mar 2014
c.Number of Pages: 100-200 - Faust, Part One - 14 Apr 2014
d.Number of Pages: 401-500 - Northern Lights, Philip Pullman - 12 Jun 2014
e.Published in: 1940 - 1959 - skip
f.Number of Pages: 501-600 - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values - 23 May 2014
g.Male Authors - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
h.Cover is primarily bright colours (white, yellow, pink etc) Think: Happy - Winnie The Pooh - 31 May 2014
i.Female Authors - Eat, Pray, Love - 20 Mar 2014
j.Published after 2009 - Bad Pharma
k.Alternating POVs (2 only) - Eleanor & Park - 22 Apr 2014
l.Main Character (90% of book): Male - Faust, Part One

I've read 17 books since the 6th of Feb, when I started this challenge. It feels like a lot but it's not enough!

I've also read 17 - its a good number!

Wow! That must be the magic number. I feel so behind but I'm at 17 too!

May

Letter: I

Shelves:

1. all-time-favourites - As You Like It - 21 Apr 2014
2. keepers - A Wrinkle in Time - 30 May 2014
3. plays - Richard II
4. picture-book - There's a Nightmare in My Closet - 1 May 2014
5. american-literature - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - 26 Apr 2014
6. biographies - My Life in France - 15 May 2014
7. made-me-cry - The Fault in Our Stars - 15 May 2014
8. epic - The Iliad
9. steampunk - The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature - 22 May 2014
10. sociology - Driving over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia - 22 Apr 2014
11. crime-fiction - A Study in Scarlet - 3 May 2014
12. humorous - The Importance of Being Earnest - 8 May 2014

Categories:

a. Number of Pages: 201-300 - A Wrinkle in Time - 30 May 2014
b. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy - The Iliad
c. Added to your to-read shelf after 31 December 2012* - The Fault in Our Stars - 15 May 2014
d. Multiple POVs(more than 2) - The Importance of Being Earnest - 8 May 2014
e. Multiple Authors (can be 2 -co-authors, OR many -for anthologies, etc) - My Life in France - 15 May 2014
f. Main Character (90% of book): Female - My Life in France - 15 May 2014
g. An average rating of more than 3.5 stars - There's a Nightmare in My Closet - 1 May 2014
h. Number of Pages: 100-200 - As You Like It - 21 Apr 2014
i. Number of Pages: 301-400 - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - 26 Apr 2014
j. Alternating POVs (2 only) - Driving over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia - 22 Apr 2014
k. Published in: 2000 - 2009 - The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature - 22 May 2014
l. Male Authors - A Study in Scarlet 3 May 2014

June:

Letter: R

Shelves:

1. wwii - Coming Home, Rosamunde Pilcher - 21 Jun 2014
2. childrens-literature - Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm - 25 May 2014
3. creepy - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
4. life-changing - The Catcher in the Rye - 21 Jul
5. historical-mystery - The Name of the Rose
6. Anthropology - The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins - 24 Jun 2013
7. battle-of-the-books - Journey to the River Sea - 8 Jul
8. womens-fiction - After Forever Ends, Melodie Ramone - 16 May 2014
9. alternate-history - The Rithmatist
10.1001-books-to-read-before-i-die - Robinson Crusoe - 30 Jun
11.apocalyptic - skip
12.futuristic - Ristorante al termine dell'Universo, Douglas Adams 5 Jun 2014

Categories:

a.Main Character (90% of book): Female - Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm - 25 May 2014
b.Published in: 1980 - 1999 - Ristorante al termine dell'Universo - 5 Jun 2014
c.Number of Pages: 600+ - Coming Home, Rosamunde Pilcher - 21 Jun 2014
d.Average rating of 4 or higher - The Selfish Gene - 23 Jun 2014
e.Plant on cover (partials acceptable) - Journey to the River Sea - 8 Jul
f.Published in: 1920 - 1949 - Lark Rise to Candleford - 23 Jun 2014
g.Number of Pages: 201-300 - The Catcher in the Rye - 21 Jul
h.Male Authors - The Name of the Rose
i.Number of ratings more than 5,000 - Robinson Crusoe - 30 Jun
j.Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy - The Rithmatist
k.Average rating of 3.5 or less - skip
l.Multiple Authors (can be 2 -co-authors, OR many -for anthologies, etc) - skip

I found this such a hard month! Between difficult shelves, R books and what's available in my library, it took me days to find my books. I'm not as keen on these finds as I have been other months but I suppose that's all part of stretching oneself.

Total so far: 46 read, 27 to go :(

No, Grace, that should be
46 read!!!!!! Yay!!!!!

Letter: J

Shelves:

1. glbt - Will Grayson, Will Grayson, John Green - 28 Jun 2014
2. time-travel - The Emerald Atlas, John Stephens - 9 Jul
3. feminism - Jane Eyre
4. light-reading - My Man Jeeves
5. popular-fiction - All Things Bright and Beautiful, James Herriot - 18 Jun 2014
6. contemporary-literature - All Things Wise and Wonderful, James Herriot - 26 Jun 2014
7. 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die - The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
8. classic-fiction - Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
9. magical-realism - Chocolat, Joanne Harris - 20 Jul
10. book-club-reads - Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog, John Grogan - 7 Jul
11. ghosts - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling
12. high-fantasy - Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones - 17 Jun 2014

Categories:

a. Published in: 1960 - 1979 - All Things Bright and Beautiful, James Herriot - 18 Jun 2014
b. Number of Pages: 401-500 - The Emerald Atlas, John Stephens - 9 Jul
c. Female Authors - Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones - 17 Jun 2014
d. Published after 2009 - Will Grayson, Will Grayson, John Green - 28 Jun 2014
e. Animal on cover (partials acceptable) - Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog, John Grogan - 7 Jul
f. An average rating of more than 3.5 stars - Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
g. Male Authors - The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
h. Has more than 150,000 ratings - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling
i. Main Character (90% of book): Male - My Man Jeeves
j. An average rating of 4 or more stars - All Things Wise and Wonderful, James Herriot - 26 Jun 2014
k. Published in: 19th Century - Jane Eyre
l. Main Character (90% of book): Female - Jane Eyre

August

Letter: T

Shelves:

1.american-history - A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World, Tony Horwitz
2.medieval - The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century - 5 Aug
3.real-life - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - 11 Aug
4.dragons - How to Train Your Dragon
5.bad-boys - Welcome to Sugartown
6.mystery-suspense-thriller - skip
7.regency - Bath Tangle - 16 Aug
8.tragedy - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard
9.classic-lit - Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
10.european - The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier, Thad Carhart - 17 Aug
11.cozy-mystery - Curiosity Thrilled the Cat 6 Aug
12.foreign - Under the Tuscan Sun - 14 Aug

Categories:

a.Female Authors - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - 11 Aug
b.Number of Pages: 100-200 - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard
c.Cover is primarily bright colours (white, yellow, pink etc) Think: Happy - Curiosity Thrilled the Cat - 6 Aug
d.Multiple POVs (more than 2) - A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World, Tony Horwitz
e.Has more than 500 but less than 10,000 ratings - The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier, Thad Carhart - 17 Aug
f.Number of Pages: 401-500) - A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World, Tony Horwitz
g.An average rating of more than 3.5 stars - How to Train Your Dragon
h.Added to your to-read shelf after your first year of joininig GR but before 1 January 2013* - Under the Tuscan Sun - 14 Aug
i.Plant on cover (partials acceptable) - The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century - 5 Aug
j.Person on cover (partials acceptable) - Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
k.Published in: 1940 - 1959 - Bath Tangle - 16 Aug

September

Letter: L

Shelves:

1.children-young-adult - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
2.comics-graphic-novels - American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
3.young-adult-books - A Little Princess
4.beautiful-covers - Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
5.misc-fiction - Emily of New Moon, L.M. Montgomery
6.social-commentary - The Lorax
7.family-drama - Like Water for Chocolate
8.nature - The Moor: Lives, Landscape, Literature
9.speculative - Life, the Universe and Everything
10.modern-literature - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
11.Victorian - Little Dorrit
12.sweet - Flat-Out Love

Categories:

a.Published in: 1940 - 1959 - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
b.Number of Pages: 501-600 - Every Living Thing
c.Alternating POVs (2 only) - Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
d.Main Character (90% of book): Male - Life, the Universe and Everything
e.Male Authors - The Moor: Lives, Landscape, Literature
f.Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy - Like Water for Chocolate
g.Number of Pages: 201-300 - American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
h.Number of Pages: 600+ - Little Dorrit
i.Published in: 1900 - 1919 - A Little Princess
j.Published in: 1920 - 1949 - Emily of New Moon, L.M. Montgomery
k.Has more than 25,000 ratings - The Lorax
l.Published in: 19th Century - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll