Pick-a-Shelf discussion

Begins Jan. 1, 2014
Ends Dec. 31, 2014

The Objective:
To read books within a set of Shelves and / or categories, given an initial letter of any word* in title or author's name. (*excluding A, An, The)

Reminders:

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).

January:

Letter: A


Shelves:

1. modern-fiction
2. juvenile
3. random
4. 2006
5. 2012-read
6. kids-books
7. have-read
8. digital
9. not-interested
10. lit
11. culture
12. detective

Categories:

a. Number of Pages: 501-600
b. Published in: 1900 - 1919
c. Have at least 10,000 ratings
d. Published in: 1940 - 1959
e. Main Character (90% of book): Male
f. Added to your to-read shelf in the first 12 months you joined GR
g. An average rating of more than 3.5 stars
h. Person on cover (partials acceptable)
i. Plant on cover (partials acceptable)
j. Number of Pages: 600+
k. Inanimate Object on cover (partials acceptable)
l. Cover is primarily bright colours (white, yellow, pink etc) Think: Happy

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:



BOOKS I'VE READ:

✓1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood - xCj (600+ pages) READ 23/02
✓2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - xCb (pub. 1908) READ 26/02
✓3. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom* - xCk (Ferris Wheel on cover) READ 28/01
✓4. Animal Farm by George Orwell - xCc (10,000+ rating), xCd (pub. 1945), xCf (added 4 months after joining GR) READ 02/02
✓5. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein READ 25/03
✓6. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry* - xCh (person on cover), xCi (flowers on cover) READ 23/01
✓7. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan READ 06/04
✓8. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle READ 09/02
✓9. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain READ 30/03
✓10. Emma by Jane Austen - xCa (509p) READ 17/6
✓11. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - xCl (bright cover) READ 05/05
✓12. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - xCe (Main male character), xCg (3.5+ rating) READ 07/01

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Thanks for commenting on my thread, Christina. I love Animal Farm and read it twice a year with my students. In fact, we are just finishing up a reading now.

I've also read Anne of Green Gables and loved it so much that I'm scared to do a re-read for fear it won't live up to my memories of it, lol!

I'm glad that you like them. I hope you still like Anne of Green Gables after a reread. I, somehow, grew up without ever reading either. I've missed out on so many books!

LOVED Anne of Green Gables and have re-read a few times. You're in for a treat, Christina!

Can't wait :)

So I'm almost finished with my book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which I thought would last me the next few days so I had to make a change. I'll likely start A Study in Scarlet (book #1) tonight so I switched it out for The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (book #3) just in case I finish book #2 as well. Luckily the whole series fits in that slot :) Lots of free time for reading while on vacation, it turns out.

Christina wrote: "Lots of free time for reading while on vacation, it turns out."

Lucky you!!
I need a vacation where I can get away from everything & everybody so I can just read...hhmm, somehow I don't think hubby will be impressed with such an idea, ha ha ha

My hubby is easily sucked into the television... even on vacations out of town, so I get to squeeze in plenty of reading during that time as well. ;) I just finished The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. On to book 4!

February:

Letter: M

Shelves:

1. pre-2009
2. romance-historical
3. mysteries-thrillers
4. friends-to-lovers
5. genre-fantasy
6. fantastic
7. multiple-reads
8. reviewed-books
9. sf-f
10. inspiration
11. paranormal-supernatural
12. books-to-movies

Categories:

a. Animal on cover (partials acceptable)
b. Main Character (90% of book): Female
c. Published in: 2000 - 2009
d. Number of Pages: 201-300
e. Published in: 1980 - 1999
f. Number of Pages: 100-200
g. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy
h. Female Authors
i. Added to your to-read shelf after 31 December 2012
j. Has number of rating less than 500
k. Inanimate Object on cover (partials acceptable)
l. Number of Pages: 301-400

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden - xCg (dark cover)
9. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells*

BOOKS I'VE READ:

✓1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - xCl (324 pages) READ 27/08
✓3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon - xCa (dog on cover), xCc (pub. 2003), xCd (226p) READ 10/08
✓4. The Note by Teresa Mummert
✓5. Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe* READ 11/02
✓6. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - xCf (118 p) READ 08/02
✓7. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - xCb (Esperanza), xCe (pub. 1984), xCk (house on cover)* READ 25/01
✓8. Making a Friend by Alison McGhee - xCh (female author), xCi (added 01/2014), xCj (122 ratings)* READ 25/01
✓10. Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom* READ 17/02
✓11. The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom* READ 09/02
✓12. The Hours by Michael Cunningham READ 03/08

-----------------------------------------------

Ooooo! I love that you include a cover spread.

Thanks! Definitely got that from Lauren's page. I like the look! ;) So if you read this, Thanks Lauren!

Christina wrote: "Thanks! Definitely got that from Lauren's page. I like the look! ;) So if you read this, Thanks Lauren!"

Glad to be of service ;0)

hhhm, tempted to do cover spread too now :)

I like your list - I borrowed a few when mine was hard to fill up. :)

LOL no problem. Glad to help! ;)

March:

Letter: H

Shelves:

1. 19th-century
2. 2004
3. e-reader
4. it-wikipedia
5. book-series
6. middle-school
7. mystery-crime
8.childhood-favorites
9. murder
10. America
11. comic
12. fluff

Categories:

a. Main Character (90% of book): Male
b. Male Authors
c. Inanimate Object on cover (partials acceptable)
d. Number of Pages: 100-200
e. Cover is primarily bright colours (white, yellow, pink etc) Think: Happy
f. Main Character (90% of book): Female
g. Published in: 1900 - 1919
h. Multiple POVs(more than 2)
i. Number of Pages: 201-300
j. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy
k. Published in: 1980 - 1999
l. Alternating POVs (2 only)

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

4. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery



BOOKS I'VE READ:

✓1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë -xCj (dark cover), xCl (Alternating POVs) READ 07/03
✓2. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff - xCd(176p), xCk (pub. 1982) READ 07/04
✓3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling READ 24/07
✓5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling READ 12/04
✓6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling READ 14/05
✓7. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - xCg (pub. 1901) READ 11/06
✓8. The Complete Adventures of Curious George by Margret Rey and H.A. Rey - xCa (male main character), xCb(male author), xCe (bright cover) READ 23/02
✓9. The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle READ 22/06
✓10. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - xCh (3+ POVs) READ 24/02
✓11. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel - xCc (tray), xCf (female main character), xCi (232 pages) READ 23/02
✓12. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling READ 13/04

----------------------------------------------

APRIL:

Letter: P

Shelves:

1. in-the-library
2. modern-lit
3. asia
4. started-but-didn’t-finish
5. pleasure-reading
6. non-fic
7. five-star-books
8. top-100
9. non-series
10. fiction-other
11. school-reads
12. finished-series

Categories:

a. Published in: 1980 – 1999
b. Published in: 1960 - 1979
c. Number of Pages: 100-200
d. Number of Pages: 401-500
e. Published in: 1940 - 1959
f. Number of Pages: 501-600
g. Male Authors
h. Cover is primarily bright colours (white, yellow, pink etc) Think: Happy
i. Female Authors
j. Published after 2009
k. Alternating POVs (2 only)
l. Main Character (90% of book): Male

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

1. The Princess Bride by William Goldman - xCb (pub. 1973), xCd (456p), xCg (male author)
2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles - xCe (pub. 1959)
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
6. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson - xCj (pub. 2011)
7. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
9. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - xCk (alternating POVs)
10. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - xCa (pub. 1998), xCf (546p.)
11. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson -xCc (143p.)

BOOKS I'VE READ:

✓3. Sold by Patricia McCormick - xCh (bright cover) READ 30/11
✓5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling READ 14/10
✓8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling READ 05/11
✓12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling -xCi (female author), xCl (main male character) READ 16/11
-----------------------------------------

MAY:

Letter: I

Shelves:

1. all-time-favourites
2. keepers
3. plays
4. picture-book
5. american-literature
6. biographies
7. made-me-cry
8. epic
9. steampunk
10. sociology
11. crime-fiction
12. humorous

Categories:

a. Number of Pages: 201-300
b. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy
c. Added to your to-read shelf after 31 December 2012*
d. Multiple POVs(more than 2)
e. Multiple Authors (can be 2 -co-authors, OR many -for anthologies, etc)
f. Main Character (90% of book): Female
g. An average rating of more than 3.5 stars
h. Number of Pages: 100-200
i. Number of Pages: 301-400
j. Alternating POVs (2 only)
k. Published in: 2000 - 2009
l. Male Authors

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

1. Atonement by Ian McEwan
2. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
3. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
5. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
7. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
8. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
9. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
10. A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer
11. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
12. America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart, John Oliver (contributor)

BOOKS I'VE READ:

✓4. This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen -xCb (dark cover), xCc (added April '14), xCg (+3.5 ratings) READ 22/04

-----------------------------------------

JUNE:

Letter: R

Shelves:

1. wwii
2. (indie-own ) childrens-literature
3. creepy
4. life-changing
5. historical-mystery
6. (shifter ) Anthropology
7. battle-of-the-books
8. womens-fiction
9. alternate-history
10. 1001-books-to-read-before-i-die
11. apocalyptic
12. futuristic

Categories:

a. Main Character (90% of book): Female
b. Published in: 1980 - 1999
c. Number of Pages: 600+
d. Average rating of 4 or higher
e. Plant on cover (partials acceptable)
f. Published in: 1920 - 1949
g. Number of Pages: 201-300
h. Male Authors
i. Number of ratings more than 5,000
j. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy
k. Average rating of 3.5 or less
l. Multiple Authors (can be 2 -co-authors, OR many -for anthologies, etc)

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

1. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
3. A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner - xCa (main character female)
4. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
5. The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Tomason - xCk (= or < 3.5 in ratings), xCl (mult. authors)
6. One Perfect Day by Rebecca Mead
7. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
8. Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern OR The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
9. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - xCb (pub. 1996), xCc (600+ pages)
10. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
11. The Road by Cormac McCarthy -xCg (201-300p), xCh (male author), xCj (dark cover)
12. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - xCi (5000+ ratings)

BOOKS I'VE READ:

✓2. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams - xCd (4+ ratings), xCe (plant on cover), xCf (pub. 1922)
-----------------------------------------

( OR )

JULY

Letter: J

Shelves:

1. glbt
2. time-travel
3 feminism
4. light-reading
5. popular-fiction
6. contemporary-literature
7. 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die
8. classic-fiction
9. magical-realism
10. book-club-reads
11. ghosts
12. high-fantasy

Categories:

a. Published in: 1960 - 1979
b. Number of Pages: 401-500
c. Female Authors
d. Published after 2009
e. Animal on cover (partials acceptable)
f. An average rating of more than 3.5 stars
g. Male Authors
h. Has more than 150,000 ratings
i. Main Character (90% of book): Male
j. An average rating of 4 or more stars
k. Published in: 19th Century
l. Main Character (90% of book): Female

BOOK I PLAN ON READING:

1. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
2. Something Rotten (Book #4) by Jasper Fforde
3. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys -xCa (pub 1966), xCc (female author)
4. The Well of Lost Plots (Book #3) by Jasper Fforde
5. Lost in a Good Book (Book #2) by Jasper Fforde
6. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling -xCb (401-500 pp), xCd (pub >2009)
8. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - xCk (pub 19th Century), xCl (female main character)
9. First Among Sequels (Book #5) by Jasper Fforde
10. The Eyre Affair (Book #1) by Jasper Fforde
11. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

BOOKS I'VE READ:

✓7. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck -xCf (3.5+ stars), xCh (150,000+ ratings), xCi (male main character)
✓12. The 13 Clocks by James Thurber -xCe (animal on cover), xCg (male author), xCj (4+ rating)READ 21/11
-----------------------------------------

AUGUST:

Letter: T

Shelves:

1. american-history
2. medieval
3. real-life
4. dragons
5. bad-boys
6. mystery-suspense-thriller
7. regency
8. tragedy
9. classic-lit
10. european
11. cozy-mystery
12. foreign

Categories:

a. Female Authors
b. Number of Pages: 100-200
c. Cover is primarily bright colours (white, yellow, pink etc) Think: Happy
d. Multiple POVs (more than 2)
e. Has more than 500 but less than 10,000 ratings
f. Number of Pages: 401-500
g. An average rating of more than 3.5 stars
h. Added to your to-read shelf after your first year of joining GR but before 1 January 2013*
i. Plant on cover (partials acceptable)
j. Person on cover (partials acceptable)
k. Published in: 1940 - 1959
l. Published in: 1980 - 1999

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

1. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote - xCg (3.5+ stars), xCh (>2013), xCi (plant)
2. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien - xCf (401-500 pp)
3. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (d? or skip d)
5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson -xCj (person on cover)
6. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
7. SKIP
8. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy -xCb (100-200 pp)
9. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
10. Closely Watched Trains by Bohumil Hrabal
11. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien -xCk (pub 1940-1959)
12. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes - xCl (pub 1980-1999)

BOOKS I'VE READ:

4. The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy -xCa(female author), xCc (bright cover), xCe (500-10,000 ratings)
-----------------------------------------------

SKIP

SEPTEMBER:

Letter: L

Shelves:

1. children-young-adult
2. comics-graphic-novels
3. young-adult-books
4. beautiful-covers
5. misc-fiction
6. social-commentary
7. family-drama
8. nature
9. speculative
10. modern-literature
11. Victorian
12. sweet

Categories:

a. Published in: 1940 - 1959
b. Number of Pages: 501-600
c. Alternating POVs (2 only)
d. Main Character (90% of book): Male
e. Male Authors
f. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy
g. Number of Pages: 201-300
h. Number of Pages: 600+
i. Published in: 1900 - 1919
j. Published in: 1920 - 1949
k. Has more than 25,000 ratings
l. Published in: 19th Century

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

1.
2. The Far Side Gallery by Gary Larson -xCe (male author)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

BOOKS I'VE READ:


-----------------------------------------------

October: Birthday Edition

Letter(s): PICKASHELF + 2 bonus
10 letters to spell out PICK A SHELF plus 2 freebie reads as long as they fit the shelves they are being claimed for. Letters do not have to be read in order of shelves (ie. P does not have to be for shelf #1; it can be for shelf #10)

Shelves:

1. fiction
2. mystery-and-crime
3. modern-fantasy
4. historical-novels
5. made-into-a-movie
6. marriage
7. espionage
8. animals-and-children
9. memoir-biography
10. fantasy-romance
11. ya-contemporary
12. strong-women

Categories:

a. Male Authors
b. Number of Pages: 401-500
c. Added to your to-read shelf in the first 12 months you joined GR*
d. Person on cover (partials acceptable)
e. Number of Pages: 100-200
f. Published in: 1900 - 1919
g. Female Authors
h. Multiple Authors (can be 2 -co-authors, OR many -for anthologies, etc)
i. Number of Pages: 600+
j. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy
k. Plant on cover (partials acceptable)
l. Published in: 1940 - 1959

*if you don’t maintain a to-read shelf of GR (as I know some of you don’t), here’s an alternative:

c. Books purchased / received more than 5^ years ago

^I'm just using 5 years as a gauge (PAS is also 5 yo!) -you are more than welcome to change this number to suit your books but 3 will be the lowest number. Please make a note of it on your thread if you are changing the number of years.

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

BOOKS I'VE READ:


-----------------------------------------------

November:

Letter: S

Shelves:
1. action
2. psychology
3. need-to-get
4. college
5. 3-stars
6. literary-fiction
7. 20th-century
8. war
9. summer-reading
10. mythology
11. animals
12. religion

Categories:

a. Number of Pages: 301-400
b. Has number of rating less than 500
c. Number of Pages: 401-500
d. Main Character (90% of book): Female
e. Inanimate Object on cover (partials acceptable)
f. Published in: 19th Century
g. Main Character (90% of book): Male
h. Male Authors
i. Number of Pages: 100-200
j. Plant on cover (partials acceptable)
k. Published in: 1920 - 1949
l. Has number of rating of 50,000++


OK, here is the list for November. I think I checked all of the links, but if anything is not working let me know and I will fix it.

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

BOOKS I'VE READ:


-----------------------------------------------

December

Letter: E

Shelves:

1. 4-stars
2. 2012
3. e-books
4. non-fiction
5. classics
6. contemporary
7. adult
8. adventure
9. urban-fantasy
10. short-stories
11. abandoned
12. poetry

Categories:

a. Inanimate Object on cover (partials acceptable)
b. Multiple POVs(more than 2)
c. Male Authors
d. Number of Pages: 600+
e. Main Character (90% of book): Female
f. Published in: 1920 - 1949
g. Number of Pages: 301-400
h. Multiple Authors (can be 2 -co-authors, OR many -for anthologies, etc)
i. Published in: 2000 - 2009
j. Published after 2009
k. Cover is primarily dark colours (black, brown, dark blue etc) Think: Gloomy
l. An average rating of more than 3 stars

BOOKS I PLAN ON READING:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

BOOKS I'VE READ:


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WHAT'S LEFT:


Jan: 0!!!!!!!!
Feb: 2
Mar: 1
Apr: 8
May: 11
Jun: 11
Jul: 10
Aug: 10
Sep: 11
Oct: 12
Nov: 12
Dec: 12