Pick-a-Shelf discussion

Do share which month you've completed and what you've read for them here...

January

LynnB
Meg

..

01 - January, Completed.

My top 3 reads from November 2024, 4&5 star
1.
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout - 2024, fiction, literary fiction
2.
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta - non-fiction, politics, 2024
3.
Straw Dogs of the Universe: A Novel by Ye Chun - historical fiction, fiction, 2024

Like4Like
1. (Tell Me Everything)
Shelf: 2024

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, Kirsten Miller, 2 Jan 2025

2. (The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism)
shelf: non-fiction

Secrets of the Octopus, Sy Montgomery, 2 Jan 2025

3. (Straw Dogs of the Universe)
Shelf: historical fiction

The Potter's Field, Ellis Peters, 5 Jan 2025

D1 - Your TBR

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.
(Secrets of the Octopus)
What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World's Most Familiar Bird, Sy Montgomery, 5 Jan 2025


D2 - New Books
1. Date: Using one of your books, read a book published in the same year.
(Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, 2024)
Sandwich, Catherine Newman, 3 Jan 2025, pub. June 2024


2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read a book from a series by a new-to-you author.
(The Potter's Field, Brother Cadfael)
She Who Knows, Nnedi Okorafor, 5 Jan 2025, She Who Knows #1

JANUARY

My top 3 reads from November 2024
Hello Beautiful fiction, historical fiction, audiobook, romance
The God of the Woods mystery, fiction, thriller
The Outsider horror, fiction, thriller, mystery

Like 4 Like
1. Hello Beautiful = historical fiction = The Secret Wisdom of the Earth ✔️
2. The God of the Woods = mystery = The Hangman ✔️
3. The Outsider = horror = Cursed Bread✔️

D1 - TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added
The Secret Wisdom of the Earth added Apr 22, 2015
>>For Today I Am a Boy added Apr 10, 2015 ✔️

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read the next book in the series
The Hangman
>> A Trick of the Light ✔️

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials
Cursed Bread (SM)
>> Mislaid in Parts Half-Known ✔️

TBR Bender (2025) - 02 - February
Completed

Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from December 2024 reads.
1. Finding Margaret Fuller, Allison Pataki, historical fiction, fiction, feminism

2.The Grey Wolf, Louise Penny, mystery, mystery thriller, Canada

3. The Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin, fiction, contemporary, nature


Like for Like (L4L)

Shelf 1: (Finding Margaret Fuller)
Shelf: Historical Fiction

The Booklover's Library, Madeline Martin, 3 Feb 2025

Shelf 2: (The Grey Wolf)
Shelf: Mystery

Below Zero, C.J. Box, 9 Feb 2024

Shelf 3: (The Music of Bees: A Novel)
Shelf: Fiction

Exile Music: A Novel, Jennifer Steil, 5 Feb 2025

.
D.1. Your TBR
✔5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
(Below Zero, 400 pp.)

Scotland Yard: A History of the London Police Force's Most Infamous Murder Cases, Simon Read, 11 Feb 2025, 480 pp.

D.2. new books
✔1. Date: Using one of your books, read a book published in the same year.
(The Booklover's Library), pub 2024

The Lion Women of Tehran, Marjan Kamali, 13 Feb 2025, pub 2024

✔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
(Exile Music: A Novel, 432 pp.)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, John Boyne, 6 Feb 2025, 218 pp.

FEBRUARY COMPLETE

My top 3 reads from December 2024

Playground science fiction, literary fiction, nature
My Name Is Lucy Barton literary fiction, contemporary, family
Stone Blind mythology, fantasy

Like 4 Like
1. literary fiction == Maureen✔️
2. literary fiction, contemporary, family == Banyan Moon✔️
3. fantasy == Weyward✔️

D1 - TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added
Weyward (added Jan 31 2022) == Amazing Grace Adams (added Feb 1 2022)✔️

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

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
Maureen (144) == The Famous (338)✔️

I finished January!

B: My Books - November
-Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies - Parenting / Christian / Non-Fiction
-Death on the Nile - Mystery / Fiction / 2022
-The Princes of Ireland - Historical Fiction / Fiction / Ireland

C. Like for Like
✔1. A Severe Mercy: A Story of Faith, Tragedy, and Triumph Shelf: Christian Added: Aug 2024 Read 2/11
✔2. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Shelf: Mystery Added: Jan 2022 Read 1/29
✔3. And the Mountains Echoed Shelf: Historical Fiction Added: Dec 2013 Read 1/26

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)
✔Dear Mr. Knightley (Added Dec 2013, using And the Mountains Echoed) Read 1/31

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)
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (using Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie) Read 2/15

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.
Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder - 351 pages (using A Severe Mercy, 240 pages) Read 3/8

Read: 6/6

I've completed January!

My top 3 reads in November:
The Benefactress - Classics / Fiction / Germany / Humor / Audiobook
The Almond Tree - Historical Fiction / Fiction / War / Historical / Contemporary
A Master of Djinn - Fantasy / Historical Fiction / Fiction / Steampunk / Mystery

L4L

The Benefactress by Elizabeth von Arnim
Top shelf: classics
Book #1: The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim - read 20/01

The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti
Top shelf: contemporary
Book #2: Veleni di Dio, medicine del diavolo by Mia Couto - read 05/01

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
Top shelf: fantasy
Book #3: Killing Time by Jodi Taylor - read 28/01

Options

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Veleni di Dio, medicine del diavolo (added 27/06/2014) --> Arctic Rising (added 26/06/2014) - read 11/01

4. Title: Killing Time --> The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - read 08/03

5. Pages: The Pastor's Wife (492 pages) --> Entry Island (554 pages) - read 12/02

Read: 6/6

I'm done with January!

January
Goal: 3 Books
Read: 9/9

November Books
1. Wolf Rain by Nalini Singh
Shelves: Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, 2019
2. Shadow Fall by Laura Griffin
Shelves: Romantic Suspense, Romance, Suspense, Mystery, Laura Griffin
3. The Proposal by Mary Balogh
Shelves: Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Regency, Mary Balogh

Like for Like
✔︎ 1. Paranormal - Key of Knowledge by Nora Roberts
Read: January 5, 2025
Rating: 2.5 Stars
✔︎ 2. Mystery: Bad Liar by Tami Hoag
Read: January 20, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars
✔︎ 3. Historical - Who Cries for the Lost by C.S. Harris
Read: February 1, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars

Options - TBR
✔︎ 1. 50 Extra Pages (377+): Protect the Prince by Jennifer Estep (417 pages)
Read: January 25, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars
✔︎ 2. Date added (May 2022): The Cliff's Edge by Charles Todd (Added June 2022)
Read: January 8, 2025
Rating: 3.5 Stars
✔︎ 3. Next in series: What Cannot Be Said by C.S. Harris
Read: March 12, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars

Options - New
✔︎ 1. Series w/New Author: A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane
Read: January 16, 2025
Rating: 1 Star
✔︎ 2. Publication Year (2024): People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle
Read: February 15, 2025
Rating: 2.5 Stars
✔︎ 3. Title (Shelf-Lost): Hidden by Fern Michaels (p.7)
Read: January 18, 2025
Rating: 2 Stars

February Complete!

February
Goal: 3 Books
Read: 9/9

December Books
1. Payback in Death by J.D. Robb
Shelves: Mystery, 2023, 2024, Romance, JDRobb
2. When Blood Lies by C.S. Harris
Shelves: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, 2022, Historical
3. A Very Bellamy Christmas by Minerva Spencer
Shelves: Historical Romance, Romance, 2024, Historical, Kindle Unlimited

Like for Like
✔︎ 1. Mystery - Fatal Reckoning by Marie Force
Read: January 24, 2025
Rating: 2 Stars
✔︎ 2. Historical Mystery - Guardian of the Horizon by Elizabeth Peters
Read: February 7, 2025
Rating: 3 Stars
✔︎ 3. Romance - Key of Valor by Nora Roberts
Read: February 16, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars

Options - TBR
✔︎ 1. Title Word: A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber
Read: February 27, 2025
Rating: 3 Stars
✔︎ 2. Next in Series: A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters
Read: March 22, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars
✔︎ 3. Date added (January 2025): Crush the King by Jennifer Estep (Added January 2025)
Read: March 8, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars

Options - New
✔︎ 1. Publication Year (2019): Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
Read: March 17, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars
✔︎ 2. Title (Shelf - Guardian): Nearly a Lady by Alissa Johnson (p.8)
Read: March 22, 2025
Rating: 3 Stars
✔︎ 3. Series w/New Author: The Watchmaker's Daughter by C.J. Archer
Read: March 28, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars

Completed March 2025

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

1.
There Are Rivers in the Sky, Elif Shafak, historical fiction, literary fiction, fiction
2.
Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, Kirsten Miller, fiction, books about books, contemporary
3.
Brightly Shining, Ingvild H. Rishøi, contemporary, holiday, novella

C. Like for Like (L4L)
For each of Your Books, pick one shelf from their top 3-5 shelves.
Shelf 1: (There Are Rivers in the Sky)
Shelf: historical fiction
Read:
Where Lilacs Still Bloom, Jane Kirkpatrick, 14 Mar 2025

Shelf 2. (Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books)
Shelf: Humor
Read:
Nothing to See Here, Kevin Wilson, 9 Mar 2025

Shelf 3: (Brightly Shining)
Shelf: Contemporary
Read:
Sweetness in the Skin, Ishi Robinson, 7 Mar 2025

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

Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman, Patrick Hutchison, 22 Mar 2025, both published 2024

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, (for stand alone book) read another book by a new-to-you author
(Nothing to See Here)

The Upstairs Delicatessen: On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and Eating While Reading, Dwight Garner, 16 Mar 2025

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
(Where Lilacs Still Bloom), 371 pp.

Banned Book Club, Kim Hyun Sook, 26 Mar 2025, 199 pp.

MARCH COMPLETE

My top 3 reads from January 2025

North Woods historical fiction, literary fiction, nature
Babylonia historical fiction, mythology, fantasy
I'll Come to You historical fiction, literary fiction

Like 4 Like
1. literary fiction, nature == Wild Dark Shore✅
2. historical fiction == Learned by Heart✅
3. historical fiction == By Her Hand✅

D1 - TBR
1. Date: added in January 2025
By Her Hand == A Happy Marriage✅

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
Learned by Heart == Haven✅

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
Wild Dark Shore == In the Beautiful Dark✅

March complete!

Goal: 3 books

January Books
1. Burnt Offerings
2. A Game of Lies
3. The Will of the Many

L4L
1. Horror - Bound in Blood: Stories of Cursed Books, Damned Libraries and Unearthly Authors 3/9
2. Mystery - West Heart Kill 2/22
3. Fantasy - The Lost Story 2/24

Options: D.1 TBR
1. Date - Brain Twister 4/1
2. Title - You May Now Kill the Bride 3/12
3. Pages - 352 + 50 = 402 - He Who Drowned the World 3/28

February complete!

Goal: 3 books

December Books
1. The Navigating Fox
2. The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands
3. Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

L4L
1. Novella - The Butcher of the Forest 3/7
2. Fantasy - The West Passage 1/24
3. Nonfiction - Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea 3/16

Options: D.1 TBR
1. Pages - 160 + 50 - Three Eight One 3/24
2. Date - added 24 Aug 2024 - The Last Hour Between Worlds 3/20
3. Title - "memoir" - Consent: A Memoir 4/19

TBR Bender - April 2025
Completed 29 April 2025

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from February 2025 reads.
1.
Exile Music, historical fiction, music, World War II
2.
Crow Talk, nature, contemporary, animals
3.
The Lion Women of Tehran, historical fiction, historical, Iran

C. Like for Like (L4L)
1. (Exile Music)
Shelf: Historical Fiction

The Underground Library, Jennifer Ryan, 11 Apr 2025

2. (Crow Talk)
Shelf: Contemporary

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, Anna Johnston, 8 Apr 2025

3. (The Lion Women of Tehran)
Shelf: Historical Fiction

The Turtle House, Amanda Churchill, 15 Apr 2025

D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added.
(The Underground Library)
both added Dec 2023

A Wild and Heavenly PlaceRobin Oliveira, 16 Apr 2025

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
(The Turtle House, 304 pp.)

Force Of Nature, C.J. Box, 20 Apr 2025, 385 pp.


D.2. new books
1. Date: Using one of your books, read a book published in the same year.
(The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife)
both pub. 2024

The Last Twelve Miles, Erika Robuck, 29 Apr 2025

TBR Bender ❱❱ January ❱❱ COMPLETE (finally)
January - December 2025

My January TBR Bender (msg 16)

November Books
🔺Party of Two ❱❱ romance; fiction; contemporary; chick-lit; adult
🔺Fall Hard ❱❱ mm; contemporary; romance; mystery; amnesia
🔺Network Effect ❱❱ sci-fi; fiction; space; adult; space-opera

Like for Like



☑️romance ❱❱ Party of Two
🔺Christmas in Destiny ❱❱ 01.07 ★★★★
☑️mystery ❱❱ Fall Hard
🔺The Crawling Darkness ❱❱ 01.13 ★★★
☑️sci-fi ❱❱ Network Effect
🔺Passions in Death ❱❱ 02.22 ★★★★

Options - TBR



☑️Date ❱❱ Passions in Death ❱❱ added July 2024 ❱❱ Aug 2024
🔺Irish Rose ❱❱ 01.25 ★★★★
☑️Series ❱❱ Christmas in Destiny ❱❱ Destiny series
🔺Return to Destiny ❱❱ 03.14 ★★★★
☑️Author ❱❱ The Crawling Darkness ❱❱ author initials ❱❱ JB
🔺Taking a Shot ❱❱ 02.03 ★★★★

Options - New



☑️Date ❱❱ Passions in Death ❱❱ published Sep 2024 ❱❱ published Oct 2024
🔺You Can Kill ❱❱ 01.18 ★★★★
☑️Author ❱❱ Christmas in Destiny ❱❱ author initial ❱❱ TB
🔺Fix Her Up ❱❱ 04.22 ★★★★
☑️Pages ❱❱ The Crawling Darkness ❱❱ 222 pages ❱❱ 298 pages
🔺Bound ❱❱ 01.29 ★★★★

TBR Bender ❱❱ February ❱❱ COMPELTE!!
February - December 2025

My February TBR Bender (msg 11)

December Books
🔺Nobody's Perfect ❱❱ fiction; humor; romance; contemporary; chick-lit
🔺Shadowed Steel ❱❱ urban fantasy; fantasy; vampires; paranormal; romance
🔺The Woman by the Lake ❱❱ romance; romantic-suspense; contemporary-romance; mystery; contemporary

Like for Like



☑️humor ❱❱ Nobody's Perfect
🔺Bananapants ❱❱ 02.18 ★★★★
☑️urban fantasy ❱❱ Shadowed Steel
🔺Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors ❱❱ 04.06 ★★★★
☑️romantic-suspense ❱❱ The Woman by the Lake
🔺Exposed ❱❱ 02.23 ★★★★

Options - TBR



☑️Date ❱❱ Bananapants ❱❱ added Sep 2024
🔺Dorothy Daisy, A Fiona Gavelle Mystery ❱❱ 03.01 ★★★
☑️Author ❱❱ Exposed ❱❱ author initials ❱❱ KC
🔺Unlaced ❱❱ 04.25 ★★★
☑️Pages ❱❱ Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors ❱❱ 370 pages ❱❱ 502 pages
🔺What A Dragon Should Know ❱❱ 03.11 ★★★★

Options - New



☑️Date ❱❱ Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors ❱❱ pub Feb 2012 ❱❱ pub May 2012
🔺Karma ❱❱ 02.01 ★★★★
☑️Series ❱❱ Exposed ❱❱ new series Heart's Ease
🔺Against Her Rules ❱❱ 02.16 ★★★★
☑️Pages ❱❱ Bananapants ❱❱ 392 pages ❱❱ 35 pages
🔺Random Acts of Trust ❱❱ 02.28 ★★★★

TBR Bender ❱❱ March ❱❱ COMPLETE! I'm on a roll!
March - December 2025

My March TBR Bender (msg 8)

January Books
🔺The True Love Experiment ❱❱ romance; contemporary; audiobook; books-i-own; adult
🔺Undone ❱❱ historical-romance; erotica; fairy-tale; fairy-tale retelling; ebook
🔺Bound ❱❱ paranormal; romance; fantasy; mythology; demons

Like for Like



☑️books-i-own ❱❱ The True Love Experiment
🔺Bride ❱❱ 03.18 ★★★★
☑️fairy-tale retelling ❱❱ Undone
🔺Tangled Up in You ❱❱ 04.26 ★★★★
☑️paranormal ❱❱ Bound
🔺Go Fetch ❱❱ 04.07 ★★★★

Options - TBR



☑️Date ❱❱ Bride ❱❱ added Jan 2025
🔺Hour of the Lion ❱❱ 03.31 ★★★★
☑️Author ❱❱ Go Fetch ❱❱ initials SL ❱❱ LS
🔺Undercover Love ❱❱ 02.20 ★★★★
☑️Title ❱❱ Tangled Up in You ❱❱ you
🔺If I Were You ❱❱ 02.24 ★★★★

Options - New



☑️Date ❱❱ Bride ❱❱ published 2024
🔺Back in the Saddle ❱❱ 04.21 ★★★★
☑️Series ❱❱ Go Fetch ❱❱ new series The Book Waitress
🔺The Book Waitress ❱❱ 03.06 ★★★
☑️Author ❱❱ Tangled Up in You ❱❱ initials CL
🔺Dirty Rowdy Thing ❱❱ 02.09 ★★★★

March TBR Bender 2025
Read: 6/6
Complete 5/9/25

Top Reads from January:
* 4321 = Contemporary, Historical Fiction, America
* The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue = Fantasy, Romance
* Beautyland - Fantasy

L4L
January book: 4321
✅1. The Wishing Game - contemporary - 5/9/25

January book: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
✅2. Babel - Fantasy - 3/11/25

January book: Beautyland
✅3. Piranesi - Fantasy - 3/17/25

D1 - TBR:
Pages: Piranesi - 272 pages
✅4. The Leftovers - 368 pages - 4/30/25

D2 - new:

Author: The Wishing Game = M-S
✅5. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear = S-M - 3/29/25

Series: Babel
✅6. Deep Cuts - new author - 4/23/25

TBR Bender May
Read: 6/6 - Completed 5/15/25

Top Reads from March:
Babel - Fantasy, Hist. Fict., Dark Academia
Piranesi - Fantasy, Mystery, Mag. Realism
The Ninja Daughter - Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Like for Like:
Babel - Fantasy
✅1. The Husbands - Fantasy - 4/21/25

Piranesi - Mystery
✅2. Dark Pines - Mystery - 5/7/25

The Ninja Daughter - Mystery
✅3. Sacred and Profane - Mystery - 5/8/25

TBR:
Date:Dark Pines (added Jan. 2025)
✅4. Dungeon Master (added Jan. 2025) - 5/9/25

Pages: Sacred and Profane (374pp)
✅5. The Line of Beauty (438pp) - 4/8/25

New:
Series: The Husbands (standalone)
✅6. Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady (new author, standalone) - 5/15/25

February completed!

My top 3 reads in December:

Jane Eyre - Classics / Fiction / Gothic / Historical Fiction / Literature
The Land Of Maybe - Travel / Nonfiction / Nature / Memoir / Denmark
Il giardino di Fuyang o Come si scrive amore a Panama - Panama / Short Stories

L4L

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Top shelf: fiction
Book #1: The Naked Woman by Armonía Somers - read 15/02

The Land Of Maybe by Tim Ecott
Top shelf: travel
Book #2: ioParto - read 30/03

Il giardino di Fuyang o Come si scrive amore a Panama by Rosa María Britton
Top shelf: short stories
Book #3: Storie della Serie Cremisi by Lucio Besana - read 17/02

Options

D.1. Your TBR

3. Author: ioParto by Miriam Orlandi --> Voladoras by Mónica Ojeda - read 10/04

4. Title: The Naked Woman --> The French Lieutenant’s Woman - read 08/04

5. Pages: Storie della Serie Cremisi (260 pages) --> La discendenza (575 pages) - read 18/05

Read: 6/6 - COMPLETED

April TBR Bender 2025
Read: 6/6
Completed 5/22/25

Top Reads from February:
* Recursion
* Fuzzy Nation
* There Are Rivers in the Sky

L4L
February book: Recursion - Time Travel
✅1. Here and Now and Then - Time Travel - 4/14/25

February book: Fuzzy Nation - Fantasy
✅2. The City and Its Uncertain Walls - Fantasy - 4/16/25

February book: There Are Rivers in the Sky - Historical Fiction
✅3. Skylark Farm - Historical Fiction - 4/28/25

D1 - TBR:
Pages: Skylark Farm - 288 pages
✅4. Monkey Dancing: A Father, Two Kids, And A Journey To The Ends Of The Earth - 368 pages - 5/22/25

D2 - new:
Series: Here and Now and Then - standalone
✅5. The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing - standalone, new author - 3/20/25

Author: The City and Its Uncertain Walls - H-M
✅6. We Do What We Do in the Dark - M-H - 5/22/25

APRIL

My top 3 reads from February 2025

The Things That Matter Most contemporary, australia
Victorian Psycho horror, historical fiction, gothic
Broken Country historical fiction, romance, mystery

Like 4 Like
1. Anything Is Possible contemporary✔️
2. She's a Lamb! horror✔️
3. After Darkness historical fiction✔️

D1 - TBR
1. Date: added in same month
After Darkness added May 2015 == The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August✔️

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
Anything Is Possible == Oh William!✔️

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials
She's a Lamb! =MH= Days of Light✔️

Joyce January TBR Bender: COMPLETED

B. My Top November Reads

1. Nothing to See Here
2. Seventh Grave and No Body
3. DallerGut Dream Department Store

C. Like 4 Like (numbers correspond with books as listed above)
(view spoiler)[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). (hide spoiler)]

1. Fiction shelf-A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - 2/15/25

2. Urban Fantasy - Chill Factor Finished 1/26/25

3. 2024 shelf- The Ministry of Time Finished 1/17/25

D1/TBR: (Use L4L books as starting point)
(view spoiler)[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. (hide spoiler)]

1. Title Word - using A Psalm for the Wild-Built - The Broken Mirror 2/26/25
2. Pages: using book Chill Factor has 337 + 50= 387 Hell Bent 481 pages Read 1/26/25
3. Author: using The Ministry of Time author has initials KB- Magical Midlife Madness by K.F. Breene Finished 2/6/25

6/6 books

oyce's February TBR Bender: COMPLETED

B. My Top December 2024 Reads

1. The Last Phone Booth in Manhattan
2. Hidden Pictures
3. The Secret of the Old Clock

C. Like 4 Like (numbers correspond with books as listed above)
(view spoiler)

1. Romance - Full Tilt 2/21/25

2. Mystery -Manhattan Is My Beat 2/7/25

3. Classics- Red Planet 2/22/25

D1/TBR: (Use L4L books as starting point)
(view spoiler)
1. Date: using Full Tilt added June 2011 - 6/Touched by an Alien Added June 2011 6/27/25
2. Title: using Manhattan Is My Beat - Manhattan Mayhem: New Crime Stories from Mystery Writers of America 5/13/25
3. Pages - Using Red Planet 256 pages -Magical Midlife Madness 316 pages 2/4/25


6/6 books read

Joyce's March TBR Bender: Completed

6/6 BOOKS

B. My Top January 2025 Reads

1. Hell Bent 1/30/25
2.The Masked City 1/9/25
3.Strange Magic 1/9/25

C. Like 4 Like (numbers correspond with books as listed above)
(view spoiler)[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). (hide spoiler)]

1. January Book - Hell Bent
The September House - Horror - 4/19/25
2. January book: The Masked City
Moving Pictures - fantasy - 3/20/25
3.January book: Strange Magic
Dungeon Crawler Carl - Fantasy 5/8/25

D.2. new books

1. L4L book: The September House
Series - new to me author -The Husbands 3/31/25
2. L4L book: Moving Pictures
Pages #4 - Sparrow Hill Road 432 pgs 5/26/25
3. L4L book: Dungeon Crawler Carl
Date 2020 - The Shattered Sword 3/14/25

TBR Bender: May 2025
Completed

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from March 2025 reads.
1.
The Jackal's Mistress, historical fiction, civil war, romance
2.
One Hundred Saturdays, nonfiction, history, memoir
3.
Chancing your Arm, ireland, contemporary, mystery

C. Like for Like (L4L)
1. (The Jackal's Mistress)
Shelf: historical fiction

Where the Sky Begins, Rhys Bowen, 6 May 2025

2. (One Hundred Saturdays)
Shelves: nonfiction, memoir

The Bookseller at the End of the World, Ruth Shaw, 6 May 2025

3. (Chancing your Arm)
Shelf: Ireland

The Irish Girl: A Novel, Ashley E. Sweeney, 3 May 2025

D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
(The Bookseller at the End of the World, 267 pp.)

The Bohemians, Jasmin Darznik, 13 May 2025, 368 pp.

D.2. new books

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, (for stand alone book) read another book by a new-to-you author
(Where the Sky Begins, Rhys Bowen)

Small Mercies, Dennis Lehane, 31 May 2025

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in a flipped position) - AS/SA
(The Irish Girl: A Novel, Ashley E. Sweeney)

The First Mrs. Rothschild, Sara Aharoni, 20 May 2025

TBR Bender - January
Read: 6/6 - completed 5/31/25

Top 3 Nov. 2024
Controlled Burn: Stories of Prison, Crime, and Men - Short Stories, Crime
Gap Creek - Historical Fiction, Southern, Romance
In the Dream House - Memoir, LGBT, Queer, Horror

L4L
Controlled Burn: Stories of Prison, Crime, and Men - Short Stories, Crime
✅1. Die Trying - Crime - 1/22/25

Gap Creek - Historical Fiction, Southern, Romance
✅2. The Kiss Quotient - Romance - 1/7/25

In the Dream House - Memoir, LGBT, Queer, Horror
✅3. Somewhere Beyond the Sea - LGBT - 1/21/25

D1
Date: Die Trying (added Nov. 21, 2024)
✅4. Crow Lake (added same month) - 1/27/25

Title: The Kiss Quotient
✅5. Black Lipstick Kisses - 5/31/25

D2
Title: Somewhere Beyond the Sea (416pp)
✅6. Shelf - "beyond" (p. 6) - The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store - 1/26/25

February Bender - DONE!

Like for Like (L4L)

1. This Motherless Land - africa
All the Glimmering Stars - Completed 2/15/25

2. Nothing More Dangerous - 2020
The Dark Corners of the Night - Completed 2/10/25

3. The Reformatory - 2024
The House of Cross - Completed 2/2/25

4. What a Fool Believes: A Memoir - memoir
The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man - Completed 5/9/25

5. 5. The Frozen River - mystery
Deep Sleep - Completed 2/12/25


D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: The House of Cross - added October 9, 2024
Cold Wind - added October 5, 2024 - Completed 2/4/25

2. Series: The Dark Corners of the Night
Shadowheart (next in series) - Completed 3/14/25

3. Author: All the Glimmering Stars by Mark T. Sullivan
The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley - Completed 5/1/25

4. Title: The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (BOOK) - Completed 5/3/25

5. Pages: Deep Sleep - 365 pages
Nemesis - 464 pages - Completed 3/8/25

D.2. new books
1. Date (published in the same year): The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man - published May 23, 2023
Locked In - published Nov 2, 2023 - Completed 6/2/25

2. Series: The House of Cross
Ragdoll (1st in series by new-to-me author) - Completed 2/4/25

3. Author (reversed initials): Deep Sleep by Steven Konkoly
Dust by Kara Swanson - Completed 2/12/25

4. Title word: All the Glimmering Stars
www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/stars
Idol - Completed 4/12/25

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 Dark Corners of the Night - 364 pages
This Is Why We Lied - 453 pages - Completed 2/8/25

January Bender - DONE!

The Mystery Guest - fiction
Shelterwood - Completed 1/18/25

Into the Gray - mystery
The Hunting Wind - Completed 1/12/25

A Killer Harvest - thriller
First Lie Wins - Completed 1/9/25

The Deceiving Look - 2024
Now or Never - Completed 1/2/25

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date added: Shadows of Pecan Hollow
The Girl in Cabin 13 - both added Nov 16, 2024 - Completed 1/12/25

2. Series: The Hunting Wind
North of Nowhere (next in series) - Completed 5/3/25

3. Author: Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate
The Swimmer by Loreth Anne White - Completed 5/9/25

4. Title word: Now or Never
You Will Never Be Me - Completed 1/12/25

5. Pages: First Lie Wins - 340 pages
The Waiting - 407 pages - Completed 1/2/25


D.2. new books
1. Date: Shelterwood
The Grey Wolf - both published in 2024 Completed 1/5/25

2. Series: The Hunting Wind
Hidden in Snow (The Åre Murders, #1) - Completed 1/16/25

3. Author: Now or Never by Janet Evanovich
A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella - Completed 6/8/25

4. Title: First Lie Wins
www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/first
A ​Court of Silver Flames (p. 4) - Completed 2/14/25

5. Pages: Shadows of Pecan Hollow - 432 pages
The Man Feared by Darkness - 287 pages - Completed 1/29/25

March Complete!
Slow going as I'm in a bit of a reading slump!

Goal: 3 Books
Read: 9/9

January Books
1. Bad Liar by Tami Hoag
Shelves: 2024, Mystery, Thriller, 2025, Tami-Hoag
2. The Cliff's Edge by Charles Todd
Shelves: Mystery, 2023, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical
3. Protect the Prince by Jennifer Estep
Shelves: Fantasy, Romance, Magic, 2019, Favorites

Like for Like
✔︎ 1. Thriller - Listen To Me by Tess Gerritsen
Read: April 20, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars
✔︎ 2. 2023 - Home at Night by Paula Munier
Read: March 18, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars
✔︎ 3. Fantasy - Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn (292)
Read: February 14, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars

Options - TBR
✔︎ 1. Date Added (March 2022) - The Hidden One by Linda Castillo (January 2022)
Read: June 11, 2025
Rating: 3.5 Stars
✔︎ 2. Word in Title (Night) - Alpha Night by Nalini Singh
Read: March 26, 2025
Rating: 2.5 Stars
✔︎ 3. 50 Extra Pages (342+): Howl at the Moon by Christine Warren (352)
Read: February 23, 2025
Rating: 3 Stars

Options - New
✔︎ 1. Series w/New Author: Vanishing Girls by Lisa Regan
Read: June 22, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars
✔︎ 2. Publication Year (2023): Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown
Read: March 14, 2025
Rating: 5 Stars
✔︎ 3. Pages (292-->352): Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey (352)
Read: April 29, 2025
Rating: 1 Star

TBR Bender - June 2025
Completed 24 June 2025

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from April 2025 reads.
1.
Esperanza Rising, Pam MuñozRyan, 25 Apr
historical fiction, middle grade, young adult

2.
The Lies We Leave Behind, Noelle Salazar, 21 Apr
historical fiction, romance, world war II

3.
The Turtle House, Amanda Churchill, 15 Apr
historical fiction, Japan, family

C. Like for Like (L4L)
1. (Esperanza Rising, historical fiction)

The Women of Chateau Lafayette, Stephanie Dray, 9 June 2025

2. (The Lies We Leave Behind, romance)

Every Tom, Dick & Harry, Elinor Lipman, 4 June 2025

3. (The Turtle House, historical fiction)

The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel, ReShonda Tate, 14 June 2025

D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR

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 Women of Chateau Lafayette), Stephanie Dray

Tough Luck, Sandra Dallas, 24 June 2025

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical word in title
(The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel, Queen)

Mrs Queen Takes the Train, William Kuhn, 20 June 2025

D.2. new books

1. Date: Using one of your books, read a book published in the same year.
(Every Tom, Dick & Harry, both pub. 2025)

Seeds of Fate, Sarita Dasgupta, 12 June 2025

MAY BENDER DONE

Top 3 of March:
1 Wild Dark Shore mystery, thriller, literary fiction
2 Good Dirt historical fiction, literary fiction
3 The Mountains Sing historical fiction, war, literary fiction

Like for Like
1 Wild Dark Shore ==mystery, thriller == Five Found Dead✔️
2 Good Dirt== historical fiction, literary fiction==The Persians ✔️
3 The Mountains Sing ==historical fiction==The Impossible Thing✔️

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added
The Persians == added April 2025 == Good Girl✔️

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
The Impossible Thing==thing==The Last Thing He Told Me✔️

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
Five Found Dead==The Valley of Amazement✔️

Joyce's April TBR Bender: - COMPLETED

B. My Top February 2025 Reads

1.Full Tilt 2/21/25
2.A Psalm for the Wild-Built 2/15/25
3.Compulsory 2/6/25

C: L4L
1. February Book - Full Tilt - Mystery -New York to Dallas 6/3/25
2. February Book -A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Adventure - The City of Brass 5/29/25
3. February Book -Compulsory- Science Fiction - Mickey7 5/15/25

D.1. Your TBR
1. Series New York to Dallas - Series - Chaos in Death 6/15/25
2. Date - The City of Brass - added 3/6/20 -Chosen Ones 4/29/25 added 4/6/20
3. Pages Mickey7-296 Pages - The Shattered Sword 450 pages 4/8/25

Finally completed one! I've been trying to coordinate with my By-the-Month reads, which is definitely slowing me down.

>>>JANUARY

My Top 5 Reads in November & shelves:
✔All the Seas of the World: fantasy, historical fiction
✔Service Model: science fiction, sci-fi, 2024
✔Natchez Burning(Penn Cage #4): fiction, mystery, historical fiction
✔Ruin and Rising(The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3): fantasy, young adult, favorites
✔A Memory Called Empire(Teixcalaan #1):sci-fi, science fiction, fiction, fantasy, favorites

Like 4 Like : a book on one of the 3-5 top shelves
Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (All the Seas of the World)
✔Book 1: The Sacrifice of Tamar - fin 1/11

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Service Model)
✔Book 2: Finder (Finder Chronicles #1) - fin 4/25

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Natchez Burning)
✔Book 3: Murder By Other Means, by John Scalzi - fin 1/20

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Ruin and Rising)
✔Book 4: Traveler(Traveler #1) - fin 1/11

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (A Memory Called Empire)
✔Book 5: Fantasy in Death (In Death, #30) - fin 2/17

D1 Your TBR

1. Date: Using one of your [Like 4 Like] books, read from closest date added
✔The Sacrifice of Tamar, added 5/1/2015
✔Girl in the Spider's Web(Millennium #4), added 5/15/2015 - fin 1/18

2. Series: Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or another book by the same author
✔Finder (Finder Chronicles #1)
✔Driving the Deep (Finder Chronicles #2)53005399 - fin 5/23

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)
✔Murder By Other Means, by John Scalzi
✔A Fountain Filled with Blood, by Julia Spencer-Fleming - fin 4/19

4. Title:Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
✔ Fantasy in Death (In Death, #30) (death)
✔Wrongful Death (David Sloane, #2) - fin 7/9

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
✔Traveler(Traveler #1), 352 pages
✔Absolute Power, 511 pages - fin 1/21

COMPLETED 7/9

March completed!

My top 3 reads in January:

Riftmender - Fantasy
The Pastor's Wife - Fiction / Classics / Audiobook / British Literature / Germany
Killing Time - Time Travel / Science Fiction / Fantasy / Audiobook / Fiction

L4L

Riftmender by Zoé Perrenoud
Top shelf: Fantasy
Book #1: Piove per esigenze di trama: La prima indagine del Commissario Elfo - read 30/04

The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim
Top shelf: Fiction
Book #2: Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - read 23/03

Killing Time by Jodi Taylor
Top shelf: Fiction
Book #3: Cosima by Grazia Deledda - read 12/04

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Cosima (added 23/03/2025) -> Della donna aracnide (added 25/02/2025) - read 31/05

2. Series (maybe): Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia -> The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - read 10/06

5. Pages: Piove per esigenze di trama: La prima indagine del Commissario Elfo (399 pages) -> Racconti di demoni russi (473 pages) - read 13/07

Books Read: 6/6

>>>FEBRUARY

My Top 5 Reads in December & shelves:

✔The Bezzle: mystery, audiobook, thriller, science fiction
✔The Lost Bookshop: fantasy, fiction, historical fiction, magical realism, audiobook
✔Tales from the Inner City:short stories, graphic novels, fantasy, fiction, art
✔The Watchmaker's Daughter: fantasy, historical-fiction, mystery, romance, historical
✔Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: fiction, contemporary, romance, audiobook, literary fiction

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

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (The Bezzle)
✔Book #1: Atlantis Gene - fin 4/21

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (The Lost Bookshop)
✔Book #2: Shadow Study - fin 2/4

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Tales From the Inner City)
✔Book #3: We Are Not Strangers: A Graphic Novel - fin 2/9

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (The Watchmaker's Daughter)
✔Book #4: Velocity Weapon(The Protectorate #1) - fin 6/27

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow)
✔Book # 5: The Echo Wife - fin 2/26

D1 Your TBR

✔1. Date: Using one of your [Like 4 Like] books, read from closest date added
✔ The Echo Wife, added 3/27/22
✔ Chain of Gold (The Last Hours, #1), added 2/26/20 - fin 3/22

✔2. Series: Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or another book by the same author
✔Atlantis Gene, by A.G. Riddle
✔Quantum Radio - fin 4/20

✔3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)
✔Velocity Weapon(The Protectorate #1), by Megan O'Keefe - fin 6/27
✔Infomocracy (Centenal Cycle #1), by Malka Ann Older - fin 7/5

✔4. Title:Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
✔Shadow Study (shadow)
✔A Gathering of Shadows - fin 2/12

✔5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
✔We Are Not Strangers: A Graphic Novel, 197 pages
✔August Snow, 313 pages - fin 2/7

COMPLETED 7/5

January complete!

Goal: 3 books

November Books
1. The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis
2. Beloved
3. The Past Is Red

L4L
1. Nonfiction - Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel 2/3
2. Classics - Catch-22 5/22
3. Science Fiction - Red Rising 4/11

Options: D.1 TBR
1. Title - "history" - A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks 2/23
2. Author - JH - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels 4/26
3. Series - Golden Son 7/27

JULY - Completed 7/30/25

Your Books
Pick your 5 top reads from May 2025

C. Like for Like (L4L)
1. A Terrible Kindness - historical-fiction
Strangers in Time - Completed 6/29/25

2. Mercy Kill - mystery
Divided in Death - Completed 6/22/25

3. Look Both Ways - thriller
Pines - Completed 7/3/25

4. Leaving Eastern Parkway a novel - book-club
Demon Copperhead - Completed 6/28/25

5. Break Every Rule - 2025
The Summer Guests - Completed 7/6/25

D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Strangers in Time
Lethal Prey (closest date added - both added April 27, 2025) - Completed 6/7/25

2. Series: Pines
Wayward (next book in the series) - Completed 7/8/25

3. Author: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer (author with the same initials) - Completed 7/28/25

4. Title: Divided in Death
Visions in Death (identical word in title) - Completed 7/8/25

5. Pages: The Summer Guests - 363 pages
Home of the American Circus - 432 pages (at least 50 pages more) - Completed 7/13/25

D.2. new books
1. Date: Demon Copperhead
Unlikely Animals (published in the same year - 2022) - Completed 7/25/25

2. Series: The Summer Guests
Pandemic (a series by a new-to-you author) - Completed 7/19/25

3. Author: Pines by Blake Crouch
Endangered by C.J. Box (authors have same first & last initials reversed) - Completed 7/13/25

4. Title: Divided in Death
word in title: death
All the Colors of the Dark - Completed 6/18/25

5. Pages: Strangers in Time - 435 pages
the first number of pages is that of your book's last number of pages
Dissolving Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and the Forgotten History - 530 pages - Completed 7/30/25

.
TBR Bender, July 2025

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

1.
The Bohemians, Jasmin Darznik
historical fiction, book club, art

2.
The Bookseller at the End of the World, Ruth Shaw
nonfiction, memoir, books about books

3.
OverKill, J.A. Jance
mystery, suspense, thriller

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

1. (The Bohemians, historical fiction)
Together Tea, Marjan Kamali, 5 July 2025


2. (OverKill, mystery, thriller)
Endangered, C.J. Box, 7 July 2025


3. (The Bookseller at the End of the World, nonfiction)
The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos, Judy Batalion, 14 July 2025


✔D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR

2. Series (maybe): Using one of your books, read the next book in the series.
(Endangered, Joe Pickett #15)
Off the Grid, C.J. Box, 29 July 2025, Joe Pickett #16


4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
^it could be exactly identical, found intact or just of similar nature
(The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos, Days/Day)
Remainders of the Day: A Bookshop Diary, Shaun Bythell, 15 July 2025


5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
(Together Tea, 338 pp.)
All the Broken Places, John Boyne, 6 July 2025, 400 pp.

JUNE COMPLETED:

JUNE BENDER

Top 3 of April:
1 The Burrow literary fiction, australia, contemporary
2 The Safekeep historical fiction, LGBT
3 After Darkness historical fiction, australia, war

Like for Like
1 The Burrow ==literary fiction==Lucy by the Sea✔️
2 The Safekeep ==LGBT== A Language of Limbs✔️
3 After Darkness ==australia== Dropbear✔️

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
Lucy by the Sea == Tell Me Everything✔️

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
A Language of Limbs == language == Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language✔️

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
Dropbear==++==Juice✔️

MAY - Completed 8/6/25

Like for Like (L4L)

Top Shelf: Reunion in Death - jd-robb
Book 1: Portrait in Death - Completed 3/31/25

Top Shelf: Hold Strong - historical-fiction
Book 2: The Glassmaker - Completed 4/26/25

Top Shelf: First Degree - fiction
Book 3: Cold as Hell - Completed 4/7/25

Top Shelf: Breaking Point - mystery
Book 4: The Body in the Marsh - Completed 4/5/25

Top Shelf: Nemesis - thriller
Book 5: Storm Child - Completed 4/30/25

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: The Glassmaker - closest date added
Cliff Diver - both added in February 2025 - Completed 4/11/25

2. Series: Portrait in Death - read the next book in the series
Imitation in Death - Completed 4/19/25

3. Author: The Body in the Marsh by Nick Louth
The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster - same initials - Completed 6/10/25

4. Title: Cold as Hell - identical word in title
Stone Cold - Completed 4/23/25

5. Pages: Storm Child (336 pages)
The God of the Woods (478 pages) - at least 50 pages more - Completed 5/14/25

D.2. new books
1. Date: The Glassmaker - published in the same year
An Insignificant Case - both published in 2024 - Completed 3/31/25

2. Series: Cold as Hell (#3 in series)
The Other Half - first in a series by a new author - Completed 5/2/25

3. Author: Portrait in Death by J.D. Robb
Guilty Acts by Robin James -first & last initials reversed - Completed 6/12/25

4. Title: Storm Child (CHILD)
www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/child?pa...
Small Wars - Completed 8/6/25

5. Pages: The Body in the Marsh (384 pages) the first number of pages is that of your book's last number of pages
Invisible Son - 416 pages - Completed 4/13/25

Joyce's May TBR Bender: COMPLETED

B. My Top March 2025 Reads

1. Hollow Kingdom 3/7/25
2.We'll Prescribe You a Cat 3/17/25
3. Station Eternity 3/21/25

C. Like 4 Like (numbers correspond with books as listed above)
(view spoiler)[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). (hide spoiler)]

1. March Book - Hollow Kingdom - HORROR - The Night Guest 5/20/25
2. March Book - We'll Prescribe You a Cat - CATS -Days at the Morisaki Bookshop 7/30/25
3. March Book - Station Eternity- SCIENCE FICTION - The Lives of Tao 6/3/25

D1/TBR: (Use L4L books as starting point)
(view spoiler)[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.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 (hide spoiler)]

1. The Night Guest -SERIES -Friend of the Devil 5/25/25
2. The Lives of Tao - DATE 2013 -Some Like It Wicked 6/30/25
3. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop- TITLES -Bookshop - 1Q84 7/29/25

My Top 5 Reads in January & shelves:

✔The Outcast Dead: mystery, crime, fiction, mystery-thriller, audiobook
✔City of Dragons(Rain Wild Chronicles, #3): fantasy, dragons, fiction, high fantasy, epic fantasy
✔The Sacrifice of Tamar: fiction, jewish, historical fiction, judaism, judaica
✔Traveler(Traveler #1): fantasy, young adult, time travel, science fiction, romance
✔The Girl in the Spider's Web: fiction, mystery, thriller, crime, audiobook

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (City of Dragons)
✔Book 1: The Wicked King - fin 3/7

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Traveler)
✔Book 2: Cascade Failure - fin 3/27

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Outcast Dead)
✔Book 3: The Jane Austen Project - fin 5/15

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (Sacrifice of Tamar)
✔Book 4: Tug of War (Joe Sandilands #6) - fin 8/10

Top Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... (The Girl in the Spider's Web)
✔Book 5: The Ghost Fields - fin 3/8

D1 Your TBR

✔1. Date: Using one of your [Like 4 Like] books, read from closest date added
✔Cascade Failure, added 1/2/2025
✔The Blighted Stars, added 1/2/25 - fin 5/30

✔2. Series: Using one of your books, read the next book in the series or another book by the same author
✔The Ghost Fields, Elly Griffiths
✔Woman in Blue - fin 5/5

✔3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)
✔Tug of War (Joe Sandilands #6), Barbara Cleary
✔ A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1), Brittany Cavallaro - fin 7/23

✔4. Title:Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
✔The Wicked King (king)
✔The Pirate King - fin 4/13

✔5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
✔The Jane Austen Project, 384 pages
✔The Hunter), 467 pages - fin 3/29

COMPLETED 8/10

Done with April

April
Goal: 3 Books
Read: 9/9

February Books
1. Who Cries for the Lost by C.S. Harris
Shelves: Mystery, Historical Fiction, 2023, Historical Mystery, Historical
2. Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn
Shelves: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy, Vampires, Werewolves
3. Key of Valor by Nora Roberts
Shelves: Romance, Fantasy, Own, Paranormal, Fiction

Like for Like
✔︎ 1. Mystery - Fatal First Edition by Jenn McKinlay (320)
Read: April 4, 2025
Rating: 3.5 Stars
✔︎ 2. Paranormal - Red Wolf by Jennifer Ashley
Read: March 31, 2025
Rating: 3 Stars
✔︎ 3. Romance - Fatal Accusation by Marie Force (334)
Read: March 8, 2025
Rating: 2 Stars

Options - TBR
✔︎ 1. 50 Extra Pages (370+) - The Murder Club by Alexandra Ivy (393)
Read: April 11, 2025
Rating: 3.5 Stars
✔︎ 2. Word in title (Wolf): Midnight Wolf by Jennifer Ashley
Read: May 23, 2025
Rating: 3 Stars
✔︎ 3. Next in Series - Fatal Fraud by Marie Force
Read: April 4, 2025
Rating: 2 Stars

Options - New
✔︎ 1. Publication Year (2024) - The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong
Read: August 15, 2025
Rating: 3 Stars
✔︎ 2. Series w/New Author: The Making of a Highlander by Elisa Braden
Read: April 17, 2025
Rating: 3 Stars
✔︎ 3. Pages (334-->458): The Third to Die by Allison Brennan
Read: May 12, 2025
Rating: 4 Stars

JULY BENDER

Top 3 of may:
1 The Names historical fiction, literary fiction, contemporary
2 Mrs. March thriller, mystery, historical fiction
3 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August book club, science fiction

Like for Like
1 The Names historical fiction == Beyond That, the Sea ✔️
2 Mrs. March == mystery, historical fiction == Jamaica Inn✔️
3 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August == book club, science fiction == Beautyland✔️

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
Beautyland == Exit Zero✔️

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials
Jamaica Inn == DM == The Unquiet Grave ✔️

4. Title: Using one of your books, read a book with an identical^ word in title
Beyond That, the Sea == that == All That We See or Seem ✔️

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

08 - TBR Bender - August 2025
Completed 25 Aug 2025

✔B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from June 2025 reads.
1. Small Mercies, Dennis Lehane
historical fiction, mystery, thriller

2. Seeds of Fate, Sarita Dasgupta
India, short stories, family

3. Memorial Days, Geraldine Brooks
memoir, nonfiction, grief


✔C. Like for Like (L4L)
For each of Your Books, pick one shelf from their top 3-5 shelves
1. (Small Mercies, historical fiction)
The Book Club for Troublesome Women, Marie Bostwick, 10 Aug 2025

2. (Seeds of Fate, family)
Good Dirt, Charmaine Wilkerson, 11 Aug 2025

3. (Memorial Days, nonfiction)
The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear, Kate Moore, 19 Aug 2025


D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR
✔1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added.
(Good Dirt, both added Sept 2024)
The Spoon Stealer, Lesley Crewe, 16 Aug 2025


✔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 Woman They Could Not Silence, Kate Moore )
The Curse of Braeburn Castle, Karen Baugh Menuhin, 25 Aug 2025


D.2. new books
1. Date: Using one of your books, read a book published in the same year.
(The Book Club for Troublesome Women, both pub. 2025
Three Days in June, Anne Tyler, 12 Aug 2025

Finally finished February!! :D

C. Like for Like
✔1. Mistborn: The Final Empire Shelf: Fantasy Added: Nov 25, 2014 Read 3/20/25
✔2. The Odyssey Shelf: Classic Added: Jan 1, 2021 Read 8/29/25
✔3. Becoming a Vessel God Can Use Shelf: Christian Added: May 1, 2012 Read 5/24/25

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 Blue Sword - Added Jan 2021 (using The Odyssey) Read 3/27/25

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)
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (using Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson) Read 4/29/25

✔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)
Becoming a Woman of Influence: Making a Lasting Impact on Others (Using Becoming a Vessel God Can Use) Read 7/4/25

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

Read: 6/6

April complete!
Goal: 3 books

February Books
1. The Lives of Christopher Chant
2. The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote
3. Heads of the Colored People

L4L
1. Middle Grade - Beyond the Deepwoods 4/20
2. Nonfiction - All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians 4/16
3. Short Stories - The Office of Historical Corrections 5/6

Options: D.1 TBR
1. Author - Paul Stewart - Priya Sharma - Ormeshadow 6/22
2. Title - All That Consumes Us 9/1
3. Pages - 269 + 50 = 319 - Ball Lightning, 384 4/24