Pick-a-Shelf discussion
Eyes on the TBR (2026)
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January
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I will give this a go....Main category: Author initial
Letters: Z or P
Read:
1.
2.
3.
Options:
The Dilemma*
Eating With My Mouth Open
Luminous
The Amalfi Curse*
Behind Her Eyes
The Hounding
The Shape of Darkness
The Bee Sting
The Fraud
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty*
Yours Cheerfully
Mod
Mod
Main category: published in year containing
Number: 9
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse pub 2009
Time's Long Ruin by Stephen Orr pub 2009
The Odd Flamingo by Nina Bawden pub 1954
What Maisie Knew by Henry James pub 1897
A Heart Divided (The Legend of the Condor Heroes #4) by Jin Yong pub 1957
A Past Unearthed (The Return of the Condor Heroes) by Jin Yong pub 1958
Mod
Although I would like to be more ambitious in my goal, I will keep it at my usual 5. I have dropped quite a few of my challenge groups over the past year, but, since Darla, my reading amount has fallen also.
Main Category: published in year containing
Number: 3
January Books
Goal: 5
1. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson pub 1938
2. Six Easy Pieces by Walter Mosley pub 2003
3. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears pub 2023
4. Widow's Tears by Susan Wittig Albert pub 2013
5. Weyward by Emilia Hart pub 2023
(view spoiler)
Such a useful challenge! Just what I need :) I will go for 3 per month to start, and see how it goes. One category because I need that flexibility!Main category: Published in year ending in
Number: 6
Read:
β 1. To Each His Own by Leonardo Sciascia, 1966
2.
3.
Options:
*To Each His Own by Leonardo Sciascia, 1966
Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre, 1996
The Incredulity of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton, 1926
In the Frame by Dick Francis, 1976
Bolt by Dick Francis, 1986
Faithful Unto Death by Caroline Graham, 1996
The Ghost it Was by Richard Hull, 1936
Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes, 1936
What Happened at Hazelwood by Michael Innes, 1946
Last Ditch by Ngaio Marsh, 1976
The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain, 2016
Wings Above The Diamantina by Arthur W. Upfield, 1936
*books I need to read for another challenge
I'm going to start with 3 per month and see how it goes.Eyes on TBR
January 2026
Read: 0/3
Main category: Published in year containing
Number: 3
1. The Yellow Dog (pub. 1931)
2. Fourth Wing (pub. 2023)
3. Supernova Era (pub. 2003)
I'm going to do 3 :)Main Category: First word of Title Starts With
Letter: B or R
January Books
Goal: 3
1.
2.
3.
Mod
Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2026
Using both TBR & considering shelves; new books also ok
MUST BE READ DURING THE MONTH THEY'RE DRAWN
Jan: title starts with Y or O
the old man
one of us is next
our hidden conversations
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
The Other Story
Read:
β1. Old Media - fin 1/1
β2. One Day All This Will Be Yours - fin 1/3
3.
4.
5.
Marked DNF:
the owl killers
The Overton Window
I'll jump in and will start with a goal of 3 books per month and one category. I'd like to go for the stars, as Tien mentioned, but I know that there will be too many other challenges to try and fit together. But I like the focus of toppling the TBR!
I have been struggling with my reading lately so I will go with 3 books in one category.AUTHOR'S COUNTRY
ASIA
Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
Eyes on the TBR - JanuaryAuthor's Country (born/living in) Asia
Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi (India)
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali (Turkey)
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar (India)
I don't have a lot of books in this category on my TBR, so I'll start with 3.
I'm in for 3 a month:Main Category: Author's Country born/living in
Oceania
1. The Forgotten Garden
2. Oscar and Lucinda
3. The Rosie Project
Eyes on the TBR (2026) - JANUARYOfficial Start is January 1, 2026. Challenge will run up to December 31, 2026.
Books must have been added to your TBR at the very least the last day of the previous month.
You can spin the wheels on the 15th of current month for next month's category to allow for your planning.
Main Category: First words of the title
Letters: K or S
1. The Stranger in the Library, Eva Gates, 3 Jan 2026, added Dec 2023
2.
3.
4.
5.
(I'm trying 5 for January, but may change that depending on how it goes.)
Some possibilities
Killing Moon - Nesbo - library
The Secret Keeper - Graham - own
Secrets of the Nile (#16) - Alexander - libby
The Sisterhood (#19) - Alexander - libby
Separation of Church & Hate - Fugelsang - libby
Shelterwood - Wingate - library
So Far Gone - Walter - library
Somebody's Fool - Russo - library
Someone Else's Shoes - Moyes - library
Stellar Debut of Galactica Macfee - Smith - own
Stolen Life of Colette Marceau - Harmel - library
Storm Watch (#23) - Box - library
The Storm We Made - Chan - own
The Sunflower House - Allegri - libby
Sunflower Sisters - Kelly - own
Sweetness of Forgetting - Harmel - libby
The Sword & the Scimitar - Ball - own
Goal: 5 Completed: 0/5
Main category: First word of title starts with
Letters: U or G
1. The Unquiet Bones
2. The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
3. Gone for Good
4. Garden Spells
5. Goldilocks
My 2025 challenge was a dismal failure, so I'm going to be slightly less ambitious this year and only do the TBR section. January
Goal: 3 Books
Main category: Published in year ending in ...
Number: 1
Books:
1. The Viper by Monica McCarty (2011)
2. The Girl in the Ground by Stacy Green (2021)
3. Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown (2021)
Eyes on the TBR: January 2026Duration: Jan 1 - Jan 31, 2026
GOAL: 3-5 books
TBR only π
Main Category: First word of Title Starts With
U or G
New Books β¨ (Optional)
Must connect to/read less than TBR books
Eyes on the TBRMy reading has really dropped off over the last few years, so I'm keeping to a low target of 2 books from TBR only.
Main Category: Published in year containing ....
Number: 9
January Books Goal: 2
1.
2.
Pick-a-Shelf
Books mentioned in this topic
The Other Story (other topics)The Winter Ghosts (other topics)
Time's Long Ruin (other topics)
The Stranger in the Library (other topics)
The Girl in the Ground (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kate Mosse (other topics)Stephen Orr (other topics)
Eva Gates (other topics)
Stacy Green (other topics)
Sandra Brown (other topics)
More...
Below is the main part of instruction including links to the wheels:
B. TBR only π
We are going to specifically focus on a random category per month and all the books read for this section must be from your TBR*
*TBR - the books must have been added to your TBR at the very least the last day of the previous month. For example, for November, I can read a book I added on 31 October.
You can spin the wheels on the 15th of current month for next month's category to allow for your planning.
For the Main Category, you can follow the below link and spin the wheel:
https://wheeldecide.com/index.php?c1=...
There are only 6 Main Categories for which then you will need to spin another wheel, depending on what you need for the Main Category you've spun:
For letters: https://wheeldecide.com/index.php?c1=...
For numbers: https://wheeldecide.com/index.php?c1=...
For continents: https://wheeldecide.com/index.php?c1=...
You will then ONLY read books that fit this category for the month.
You may have 2 categories per month, if you like, BUT each book must meet both categories to qualify for the challenge.
C. New Books β¨ (Optional)
The only "New Books" you can read for this challenge are those you can make a connection to your "TBR only" books. You may be as creative as you like with these connections BUT note that total of "New Books" read must be LESS than total of "TBR only" books read.
By "New Books", it would mean the book wasn't or hasn't ever been on your TBR so if you have discovered a new author whom you'd like to read all the backlist for, this is the space for it
You make make connections to any "TBR only" books you've read throughout the year and each of these books may have multiple connections.