Pick-a-Shelf discussion

This is the thread for November. Some of the instructions are posted below as well for your ease of reference.

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from September 2025 reads.

C. Like for Like (L4L)
For each of Your Books, pick one shelf from their top 3-5 shelves (aside from "to-read", "currently-reading"). (they may end up being duplicated if you are a genre reader).

You will read a book from each of these shelves (preferably those already on your TBR).

D. Your Options

For this section, you may choose to either read purely from your TBR or new books* or BOTH! There are separate tasks as per below options:

*the definition of new books here is quite liberal; it could literally be a new book you've brought home or newly published book which you've put on your TBR last year or new-to-you... whichever works for you

Each of the books you read for L4L are to be used as starting point for each of below prompts (ie. 1 book cannot be used for more than 1 prompt per option).

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added (could be the month and even if it was a new book you read/added in January 2025, read another book you added in January 2025)

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or (for stand alone book) read another book by the same author

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
^we're not going to be super strict here, it could be exactly identical, found intact or just of similar nature (eg. monster - monstrous is acceptable)

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.


D.2. new books
1. Date: Using one of your books, read a book published in the same year.

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read a book from a series by a new-to-you author OR (for stand alone book) read another book by a new-to-you author

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in a flipped position)

4. Title: Using one of your book titles, read from a shelf with a word* in title
www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/[INSERT WORD IN TITLE HERE]
*word cannot be articles, preposition, or connective

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book where the first number of pages is that of your book's last number of pages

res

This is the thread for November.

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 top reads from September 2025 reads.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi - Historical FictionIndia, Cultural
The Anatomist's Wife by Anna Lee Huber - Historical Mystery, Romance, Scotland
Neverhome by Laird Hunt - Civil War, Adult, Literary Fiction

C. Like for Like (L4L)
For each of Your Books, pick one shelf from their top 3-5 shelves.

Historical Fiction - The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa
Scotland - Clear by Carys Davies
Literary Fiction - The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai

D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added (could be the month and even if it was a new book you read/added in January 2025, read another book you added in January 2025)

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or (for stand alone book) read another book by the same author

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)

Clear by Carys Davies {CD}
Mistletoe, Moonlight, & Murder by Carolyn L. Dean

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title

The Blue Between Sky and Water - "blue"
The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.

The Ardent Swarm = 192 pages
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel = 259 pages

TBR Bender- 11 - November
completed 14 Nov 2025

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from September 2025 reads.

1. For Duck's Sake: A Meg Langslow Mystery, Donna Andrews,
mystery, cozy mystery, humor


2. The Woman With the Cure, Lynn Cullen,
historical fiction, book club, medical


3. The Last Assignment: A Novel of Dickey Chapelle, Erika Robuck,
historical fiction, war, photography


C. Like for Like (L4L)

1. Run for the Hills, Kevin Wilson, 1 Nov 2025
(For Duck's Sake, humor)


2. The Blackout Book Club, Amy Lynn Green, 12 Nov 2025
(The Woman With the Cure, historical fiction)


3. Three Words for Goodbye, Hazel Gaynor, 2 Nov 2025
(The Last Assignment: A Novel of Dickey Chapelle, historical fiction)


D. Your Options

For this section, you may choose to either read purely from your TBR or new books* or BOTH! There are separate tasks as per below options:

*the definition of new books here is quite liberal; it could literally be a new book you've brought home or newly published book which you've put on your TBR last year or new-to-you... whichever works for you

Each of the books you read for L4L are to be used as starting point for each of below prompts (ie. 1 book cannot be used for more than 1 prompt per option).

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added (could be the month and even if it was a new book you read/added in January 2025, read another book you added in January 2025)

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or (for stand alone book) read another book by the same author

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
^we're not going to be super strict here, it could be exactly identical, found intact or just of similar nature (eg. monster - monstrous is acceptable)

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
(Three Words for Goodbye, 400 pp.)
A Slowly Dying Cause, Elizabeth George, 8 Nov 2025, 656 pp.




D.2. new books
1. Date: Using one of your books, read a book published in the same year.
Nothing to Fear: Demystifying Death to Live More Fully, Julie McFadden, 14 Nov 2025
(The Blackout Book Club, both pub 2024)


2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read a book from a series by a new-to-you author OR (for stand alone book) read another book by a new-to-you author

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in a flipped position)

4. Title: Using one of your book titles, read from a shelf with a word* in title
www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/[INSERT WORD IN TITLE HERE]
*word cannot be articles, preposition, or connective

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book where the first number of pages is that of your book's last number of pages
(Run for the Hills, 253 pp.)
The Killing Stones, Ann Cleeves, 10 Nov 2025, 384 pp.

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from September 2025 reads.
1. The Book of Guilt historical fiction, dystopia, science fiction
2. Heart the Lover romance, literary fiction, contemporary
3. Earth contemporary, literary fiction, ireland

C. Like for Like (L4L)
1. historical fiction, science fiction The Actual Star✔️
2. romance A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping✔️
3. contemporary, literary fiction Everyone and Everything✔️

D. Your Options


D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping == 1 Oct 2025 == The Autumn of Ruth Winters✔️

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials
The Actual Star ==MB== Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre✔️

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
Everyone and Everything == Everything Is Tuberculosis✔️

November TBR Bender
Read: 6/6

Top 3 September Reads:
* Feel Free: Essays - Essays, Nonfiction, Short Stories
* The Song of Achilles - Fantasy, Hist. Fiction, Romance
* Sing, Unburied, Sing - Book club, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction

Like for Like (L4L):
* Feel Free: Essays - Nonfiction
✅1. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness - Nonfiction - 12/8/25

* The Song of Achilles - Romance
✅2. Salacious Exposure - Romance

* Sing, Unburied, Sing - Literary Fiction
✅3. Greek Lessons - Literary Fiction - 12/24/25

TBR:
Date:Salacious Exposure - added Aug. 2025
✅4. Ayiti - added Aug. 2025

Pages: The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness - 400pp
✅5. Girl, Woman, Other - 453pp

New:
Pages: Greek Lessons - 192pp
✅6. Thérèse Raquin - 201pp

November Spot

B: My Books - September
1. God's Grace in Your Suffering - Christian / Counseling / Christian Living
2. The Midnight Library - Fiction / 2021 / Fantasy
3. All Systems Red - Sci-Fi / Science Fiction / Fiction

C. Like for Like
1. Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life Shelf: Christian Living Added: Jan 20, 2024
2. Sweet Dates in Basra Shelf: Fiction Added: Sept 24, 2012
3. Sea of Tranquility Shelf: Science Fiction Added: Dec 9, 2022

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added (could be the month and even if it was a new book you read/added in January 2025, read another book you added in January 2025)

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or (for stand alone book) read another book by the same author
The Glass Hotel (same author as Sea of Tranquility)

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)
The Accidental Beauty Queen (by Teri Wilson, using Tish Warren, Liturgy of the Ordinary)

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
^we're not going to be super strict here, it could be exactly identical, found intact or just of similar nature (eg. monster - monstrous is acceptable)

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
The Covered Deep (400 pgs, using Sweet Dates in Bosra, 347 pgs)

Read: 0/6

November - DONE!

C. Like for Like (L4L)

1. The Book Woman's Daughter - 2024
Where They Last Saw Her - Completed 10/15/25

2. Back Blast - thriller
Hard Duty - Completed 10/3/25

3. Dead Law - crime
The Lying Man - Completed 10/10/25

4. A Dead Draw - mystery
The Client List - Completed 10/25/25

5. Off the Grid - fiction
Black Out - Completed 10/5/25

D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Black Out
Defending Britta Stein - both added Sep 9, 2025 - Completed 10/16/25

2. Series: Hard Duty
Hard Lights (next book in the series) - Completed 12/3/25

3. Author: The Lying Man by Andy Maslen
The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne (authors with same first and last initials) - Completed 12/14/25

4. Title: The Client List (identical word in title -
An Innocent Client - Completed 11/2/25

5. Pages: Where They Last Saw Her - 336 pages
Hour of the Witch - 406 pages (at least 50 pages more) - Completed 10/18/25

D.2. new books
1. Date: Where They Last Saw Her - published Sep 3, 2024
The Sky Beneath Us - published September 10, 2024 - Completed 10/11/25

2. Series: Hard Duty
The Collaborators - series by a new-to-me author - Completed 12/4/25

3. Author: The Client List by Robin James
Born in Death by J.D. Robb (authors with the same initials reversed) - Completed 12/6/25

4. Title: Black Out
Crook Manifesto - Black shelf - Completed 12/10/25

5. Pages: The Lying Man - 392 pages
Half the Blood of Brooklyn - 223 pages (first number of pages is that of my book's last number of pages) - Completed 10/12/25

Goal: 3 books
Read: 5/6

September Books
1. The Poisoned Chocolates Case
2. Borderline
3. Body Shocks: Extreme Tales of Body Horror

L4L
1. Mystery - Murder Must Advertise 10/7
2. Fantasy - Sunrise on the Reaping 10/15
3. Horror - The Lottery and Other Stories 11/22

Options: D.1 TBR
1. Title - How to Solve Your Own Murder 11/10
2. Author - SC - The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean
3. Pages - 302 + 50 = 352 - Blindsight (384 pages) 10/27

TBR Bender ❱❱ November ❱❱ COMPLETE
November - December 2025

My November TBR Bender (msg 10)

September Books
🔺Born to Be Badger ❱❱ romance; paranormal; fantasy; urban fantasy; humor
🔺The Woman Left Behind ❱❱ romantic suspense; mystery; small town romance
🔺Happy After All ❱❱ romance; contemporary; enemies to lovers; christmas; chick lit

Like for Like



☑️paranormal ❱❱ Born to Be Badger
🔺Sanctuary ❱❱ 10.04 ★★★★
☑️romantic suspense ❱❱ The Woman Left Behind
🔺The Guarded Widow ❱❱ 10.26 ★★★
☑️christmas ❱❱ Happy After All
🔺Christmas with a SEAL ❱❱ 10.23 ★★★

Options - TBR



☑️Date ❱❱ Sanctuary ❱❱ added Jan 2025
🔺Shaken ❱❱ 10.08 ★★★★
☑️Series ❱❱ Christmas with a SEAL ❱❱ series ❱❱ Uniformly Hot SEALs
🔺A SEAL's Proposal ❱❱ 10.24 ★★★
☑️Pages ❱❱ The Guarded Widow ❱❱ 207 pp ❱❱ 368 pp
🔺Framed in Death ❱❱ 10.13 ★★★★

Options - New



☑️Series ❱❱ The Guarded Widow ❱❱ new author ❱❱ Toshikazu Kawaguchi
🔺Before the Coffee Gets Cold ❱❱ 10.09 ★★★
☑️Title ❱❱ Christmas with a SEAL ❱❱ shelf ❱❱ christmas
🔺Wreck the Halls ❱❱ 10.16 ★★★★
☑️Pages ❱❱ Sanctuary ❱❱ 152 pp ❱❱ 246 pp
🔺The Vampire Book Club ❱❱ 10.18 ★★★★

NOVEMBER PAS BENDER

TOP SEPTEMBER BOOKS:
1.American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
2. Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper
3. Doctor Who: Out of Time

Like 4 Like
1. SEPT BOOK -American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
2. SEPT BOOK -Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper
3. SEPT BOOK - Doctor Who: Out of Time

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added
2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or (for stand alone book) read another book by the same author
3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)
4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.

D.2. new books
1. Date: Using one of your books, read a book published in the same year.
2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read a book from a series by a new-to-you author OR (for stand alone book) read another book by a new-to-you author
3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in a flipped position)
4. Title: Using one of your book titles, read from a shelf with a word* in title
www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/[INSERT WORD IN TITLE HERE]
*word cannot be articles, preposition, or connective
5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book where the first number of pages is that of your book's last number of pages

November
Sept reads

1.Sociopath by Patric Gagne
Biography
2.My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Humor
3.Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II by Abbott Kahler
Mystery
4.Isola by Allegra Goodman
Historical Fiction
5.The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
Fantasy

L4L
1.The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke
2.Dirk Gently: The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul (BBC Audio) by Adams, Douglas (2008) Audio CD by Douglas Adams
3.Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
4.The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
5.The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch

D
1.
2.Lies Sleeping -Rivers of London
3.
4.The Professor's House
5.


I didn’t mean to do this twice! It never showed up the first time after I posted it so started over. After posting second time, both showed up!

I didn’t mean to do this twice! It never showed up the first time after I posted it so started over. After posting second time, both showed up!..."

Don't worry about it Rebekah. If you want, you can delete the first one. There is a "delete" button underneath the post.

November
Goal: 3 Books
Read: 0/9

September Books
1. Her Mother's Grave by Lisa Regan
Shelves: Mystery, Thriller, 2024, Lisa-Regan, Crime
2. Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag by Tami Hoag
Shelves: Mystery, Tami-Hoag, Thriller, 2015, Own
3. Pippa and the Prince of Secrets by Grace Callaway
Shelves: Historical Romance, Historical, 2022, Series, Grace-Callaway

Like for Like
1. Crime - Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb
2. Own - Kitty Goes to War by Carrie Vaughn
3. 2022 - The Wrong Victim by Allison Brennan (453)

Options - TBR
1. Date (August 2025): At Close Range by Laura Griffin
2. Series: Kitty's Big Trouble by Carrie Vaughn
3. Author: Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

Options - New
1. New author: Seducing Cinderella by Gina L. Maxwell
2. Title (Shelf-War): Maisie Dobbs Jacqueline Winspear (P.7)
3. Pages: Amaryllis by Jayne Castle (328)

Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads A Study in Sablefrom September 2025 reads.
Jolene completed
A Study in Sable

C. Like for Like (L4L)
For each of Your Books, pick one shelf from their top 3-5 shelves (aside from "to-read", "currently-reading"). (they may end up being
duplicated if you are a genre reader)
You will read a book from each of these shelves (preferably those already on your TBR).
The Bartered Brides
Dragonsinger

D. Your Options

For this section, you may choose to either read purely from your TBR or new books* or BOTH! There are separate tasks as per below options:

*the definition of new books here is quite liberal; it could literally be a new book you've brought home or newly published book which you've put on your TBR last year or new-to-you... whichever works for you

Each of the books you read for L4L are to be used as starting point for each of below prompts (ie. 1 book cannot be used for more than 1 prompt per option)

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added (could be the month and even if it was a new book you read/addedin January 2025, read another book you added in January 2025)

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read the next book in the
series or (for stand alone book) read another book by the same author
Dragonsinger

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
^we're not going to be super strict here, it could be exactly identical,
found intact or just of similar nature (eg. monster - monstrous is
acceptable)

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
Before We Were Yours
Completion 11/23/25
D.2. new books
1. Date: Using one of your books, read a book published in the same year.

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read a book from a series by a new-to-you author OR (for stand alone book) read another book by a new-to-you author

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in a flipped position)

4. Title: Using one of your book titles, read from a shelf with a word* in title
www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/[INSERT WORD IN TITLE HERE]
*word cannot be articles, preposition, or connective

5. Pages: sing one of your books, read a book where the first number of pages is that of your book's last number of pages

November

B. Your Books
1. The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown 13 September 2025 ★★★★★ Magical Realism, Time Travel, Books about books
2. Raven's Shadow by Patricia Briggs 19. September 2025 ★★★★★ Fantasy, High Fantasy, Romance
3. This Same Earth by Elizabeth Hunter 30 September 2025 ★★★★ Mystery, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural, Vampires

C. Like for Like (L4L)
1. Books about books - The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer
2. High Fantasy - A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
3. Supernatural - Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune



You will read a book from each of these shelves (preferably those already on your TBR).

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date added: May 2021 - The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Death by Christine Wenger
2. Title: Night - A Torch Against the Night
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
3. Author's initials (TK) - Under the Whispering Door
Hummus and Homicide by Tina Kashian

NOVEMBER

My Top 5 Reads in September & shelves:

✔Dreaming Spies: mystery, historical fiction, fiction, historical, historical mystery
✔Stories of the Raksura, Volume 1: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud: fantasy, short stories, fiction, audiobook, high fantasy
✔The Invisible Parade: picture books, fantasy, middle grade, graphic novels, childrens
✔The Fractured Dark: science fiction, romance, space opera, audiobook, fiction
✔The Relentless Moon: science fiction, fiction, alternate history, historical fiction, space

Like 4 Like : a book on one of the 3-5 top shelves

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Dreaming Spies)
✔Book 1: The Chalk Pit (Ruth Galloway #9)

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Stories of the Raksura)
✔Book 2: A Mouthful of Dust - fin 10/31

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (The Relentless Moon)
✔Book 3: River of Stars - fin 11/3

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (The Invisible Parade)
✔Book 4: [The Wild Robot on the Island|218629476] - fin 11/1

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (The Fractured Dark)
✔Book 5: The Untitled Books, C.J. Archer - fin 9/28

COMPLETED 11/27

D1 Your TBR

1. Date: Using one of your [Like 4 Like] books, read from closest date added
✔A Mouthful of Dust , added 3/31/25
✔House Rules (Joe DeMarco #3)|2736836], added 6/30/25 - fin 11/2


2. Series: Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or another book by the same author
✔The Chalk Pit (Ruth Galloway #9)
✔The Dark Angel(Ruth Galloway #10) - fin 11/15

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position) - initials CA
✔The Untitled Books, C.J. Archer - fin 9/28
✔The Bookstore at the End of America, by Charlie Jane Anders - fin 11/5

4. Title:Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
✔River of Stars, river
✔Into This River I Drown - fin 11/27

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
✔[The Wild Robot on the Island|218629476], 48 pages
✔Since We Fell, 419 pages - fin 10/29