Pick-a-Shelf discussion

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

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

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from October 2025 reads.
1. I Who Have Never Known Men dystopia, science fiction, classics
2. A Great Act of Love: A Novel historical fiction, australia, literary fiction
3. Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief mystery, thriller, crime

C. Like for Like (L4L)
1. science fiction, dystopia == Zone One✔️
2. historical fiction, literary fiction == Sweetland
3. thriller, mystery == Don't Let Him In✔️

D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added
Sweetland == added July 2015 == The Children's Crusade✔️

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
Zone One == One Aladdin Two Lamps✔️

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
Don't Let Him In == Katabasis✔️

TBR Bender, 12- December

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from October 2025 reads.
1. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, 31 Oct 2025
fiction, literary fiction, contemporary


2. The Great Mann, Kyra Davis Lurie, 2 Oct 2025
historical fiction, retelling, literary fiction


3. The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes, Chanel Cleeton, 14 Oct 2025
historical fiction, mystery, books about books


C. Like for Like (L4L)
1. (The Correspondent, contemporary)
The Second Chance Book Club, Stephanie Butland, 9 Dec 2025


2. (The Great Mann, historical fiction)
The Tsarina's Daughter, Ellen Alpsten, 4 Dec 2025


3. (The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes, mystery)
Five Golden Wings, Donna Andrews, 1 Dec 2025


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)
(The Second Chance Book Club, TBR 12/25)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, 20 Dec 2025, TBR 12/25


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.
(Five Golden Wings, 297 pp.)
Long Range, C.J. Box, 12 Dec 2025, 356 pp.



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
(The Tsarina's Daughter, 512 pp.)
Death Knells and Wedding Bells, Eva Gates, 16 Dec 2025, 272 pp.

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

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

Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame - Book Club, Food, Chick-Lit
Sense and Scent Ability - Paranormal, Fantasy, Cozy Mystery
Key West Connection - Fiction, Action, Thriller

C. Like for Like (L4L)
For each of Your Books, pick one shelf from their top 3-5 shelves.
You will read a book from each of these shelves (preferably those already on your TBR).

Book Club: The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love: A Fallen Southern Belle's Look at Love, Life, Men, Marriage, and Being Prepared by Jill Conner Browne
Cozy Mystery: The Jasmine Moon Murder by Laura Childs
Fiction: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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)

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black - author initials HB
One Lavender Ribbon by Heather Burch

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

The Jasmine Moon Murder - moon
Moon Tiger

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

The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love: A Fallen Southern Belle's Look at Love, Life, Men, Marriage, and Being Prepared = 213 pages
Perestroika in Paris = 265 pages

December - DONE!

Like for Like (L4L)

1. The Orchardist - historical-fiction
Last Twilight in Paris - Completed 11/8/25

2. A Killer's Code - netgalley
Gone Too Far - Completed 11/9/25

3. The Client List - thriller
Strange Sally Diamond - Completed 11/3/25

4. Paranoia - mystery
Vicious Circle - Completed 12/7/25

5. Truth in Advertising - fiction
A Line in the Sand - Completed 11/9/25

D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: A Line in the Sand - added 9/1/25
The Chase - added 8/19/25 - Completed 11/7/25

2. Series: Gone Too Far
Can't Go Back (next in series) - Completed 12/14/25

3. Author: Vicious Circle by C.J. Box
Black Diamond Death by Cheryl Bradshaw (author with the same first and last initials) - Completed 12/11/25

4. Title: Last Twilight in Paris
Every Last Drop (same title word - LAST) - Completed 12/10/25

5. Pages: Strange Sally Diamond - 384 pages
The Lost Bookshop - 435 pages (at least 50 pages more) - Completed 11/11/25


D.2. new books
1. Date: Vicious Circle
The Story of Arthur Truluv (both published in 2017) - Completed 12/13/25

2. Series (maybe): A Line in the Sand
Misadventures of a Cryptid Hunter (standalone books by new authors) - Completed 11/7/25

3. Author: Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff
1st Case by James Patterson (author with the same first & last initials reversed) - Completed 12/13/25

4. Title: Strange Sally Diamond
shelf with a word* in title www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/strange
I Who Have Never Known Men - Completed 12/5/25

5. Pages: Gone Too Far - 382 pages
The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory - 256 pages (the first number of pages is that of your book's last number of pages) - Completed 11/5/25

. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from October 2025 reads.
Valdemar
Dead to the World
She's a Mad Hatter

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).
Magic's Pawn
Arrows of the Queen
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)
Irresistibly Broken
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 t⁴o 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

December Spot!

B: My Books - October
1. Trust - Fiction / Historical Fiction / 2023
2. Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman's Guide to Finding Contentment - Christian / Non-Fiction / Christian Living
3. Artificial Condition - Sci-Fi / Science Fiction / Fiction

C. Like for Like
1. Salt to the Sea Shelf: Historical Fiction Added: Mar 10, 2023
2. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Shelf: Non -fiction Added: Jun 15, 2022
3. Aurora Rising Shelf: Science Fiction Added: Dec 31, 2018

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)
A Castaway in Cornwall (added Jun 9, 2022, using Guns, Germs, and Steel)

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 Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (using Salt to the Sea)

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon (using Aurora Rising, Amie Kaufman)

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.

Read: 0/6

December TBR Bender
Read: 0/6

Top 3 October Reads:
* Ayiti - Short Stories, Poetry, Feminism
* Britt-Marie Was Here - Contemporary, Book Club, Humor
* Playing Hard to Master - BDSM, Romance, Erotica

Like for Like (L4L):
* Ayiti - Short Stories
1. The Age of Calamities - Short Stories

* Britt-Marie Was Here - Book Club
2. Endling - Book Club

* Playing Hard to Master - Romance
3. The Pawn - Romance

TBR:
Date: The Age of Calamities - added July 2025
4. We Who Have No Gods - added July 2025

Series: The Pawn - first in series
5. The Knight - second in series

Pages: Endling - 352pp
6. Beacon 23 - 256pp

TBR Bender ❱❱ December ❱❱ COMPLETE
December 2025

My December TBR Bender (msg 10)

November Books
🔺Framed in Death ❱❱ mystery; romance; thriller; futuristic; crime
🔺The Vampire Book Club ❱❱ mystery; cozy mystery; paranormal; vampires; witches
🔺Forward Passes ❱❱ sports; romance; contemporary; football; erotica

Like for Like



☑️mystery ❱❱ Framed in Death
🔺State of Shock ❱❱ 11.16 ★★★★
☑️vampires ❱❱ The Vampire Book Club
🔺Undead and Unworthy ❱❱ 11.07 ★★★
☑️erotica ❱❱ Forward Passes
🔺Beyond Ruin ❱❱ 11.09 ★★★★

Options - TBR



☑️Date ❱❱ Undead and Unworthy ❱❱ added July 2024
🔺Beware the Darkness ❱❱ 11.01 ★★★★
☑️Author ❱❱ State of Shock ❱❱ initials MF
🔺Delirious ❱❱ 11.13 ★★★★
☑️Pages ❱❱ Beyond Ruin ❱❱ 323 pp ❱❱ 460 pp
🔺Forsaken Duty ❱❱ 11.24 ★★★★

Options - New



☑️Series ❱❱ State of Shock ❱❱ new series/author ❱❱ Arlington Hall
🔺The Invitation ❱❱ 11.15 ★★★★
☑️Author ❱❱ Undead and Unworthy ❱❱ initials MD
🔺Sleeping with the Fishes ❱❱ 12.18 ★★★
☑️Pages ❱❱ Beyond Ruin ❱❱ 323 pp ❱❱ 316 pp
🔺Finding Southern Comfort ❱❱ 11.29 ★★★

December
Goal: 3 Books
Read: 2/9

October Books
1. Only Enchanting by Mary Balogh
Shelves: Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Regency, Mary Balogh
2. Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews
Shelves: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, 2023, Paranormal, Magic
3. Last Guard by Nalini Singh
Shelves: Romance, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, 2021

Like for Like
1. Historical Romance - The Viper by Monica McCarty
2. Urban Fantasy - Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs
3. Paranormal Romance - Shadowbound by Bec McMaster (441)

Options - TBR
1. Date (February 2023): Faking It by Jennifer Crusie
2. Series: Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs
3. 50+ Pages (491+): The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman (496)

Options - New
✔︎ 1. New author: A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain
Read: November 22, 2025
Rating: 2 Stars
2. Title (Shelf-Silence): An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo (P.7)
✔︎ 3. Date (2016): The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Read: November 7, 2025
Rating: 3 Stars

Goal: 3 books
Read: 4/6

October Books
1. DisneyWar
2. Doctor's Orders
3. You Will Speak For The Dead

L4L
1. Nonfiction - Milk! A 10,000-Year Food Fracas 12/18
2. Science fiction - Some Desperate Glory 12/3
3. Horror - Their Monstrous Hearts

Options: D.1 TBR
1. Pages - 385 + 50 = 435 - Blood Moon (448)
2. Author - Emily Tesh (ET) - The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington 11/29
3. Title - Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart: And Other Stories 12/8

It appears I never posted my plans here, but I've been working on it and finally finished today.

DECEMBER

My Top 5 Reads in Dec (month) & shelves:

✔Ghostdrift:science fiction, space opera, adventure, audiobook, fiction
✔The Chalk Pit(Ruth Galloway #9): mystery, crime, fiction, audiobook, mystery thriller
✔Rose/House: science fiction, mystery, novella, horror, fiction
✔The Bookbinder: historical fiction, fiction, historical, books about books, book club
✔Defending the Galaxy (Sentinels of the Galaxy #3): science fiction, young adult, space, romance, fantasy

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

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Rose/House)
✔Book 1: Children of Memory - fin 12/31

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (The Bookbinder)
✔Book 2: Slow Time Between the Stars - fin 11/17

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (The Chalk Pit)
✔Book 3:Last Words (Mark Novak #1), Michael Koryta - fin 11/16

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Defenders of the Galaxy)
✔Book 4: Bones Beneath My Skin- fin 10/25

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Ghostdrift)
✔Book 5: Notes on Grief - fin 12/4

D1 Your TBR

1. Date: Using one of your [Like 4 Like] books, read from closest date added
✔Bones Beneath My Skin, added 6/26/23
✔Pardonable Lies - fin 12/2

2. Series: Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or another book by the same author
✔Slow Time Between the Stars, John Scalzi
✔The Shattering Peace - fin 11/21


3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)
✔Last Words (Mark Novak #1)
✔Ghost Talkers, Kowal - fin 11/11

4. Title:Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
children
Children of Memory, memory
✔Murder by Memory - fin 11/24

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
✔Notes on Grief, 86 pages
✔Guilt(Alex Delaware #28), 378 pages - fin 11/27

COMPLETED 12/31