You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

This challenge is inspired by my Toppler read on the weekend which I literally have no idea why on earth I bought it about 15 years ago.

Do you ever look at a book on your bookshelf, your kindle, your audiobook library, and go, what on earth is that book? Why is it there? How did it get there? What was I thinking?

This month, I want you to go firstly to your owned libraries and have a look at what's on the shelves/lists. What I want you to do for this challenge is look at those books that you have no idea why they are there or where they came from, and choose one of them to read.

When I say why they are there, I don’t necessarily mean you don’t remember buying/finding them (no judgement), but you cannot remember a reason why you bought it or why it appealed to you. And therefore, it's just sat there.

Not a chronic book buyer/gatherer/hoarder/collector? That’s okay. After you have had a look through your owned libraries and established there are no options, then you can move to your TBR list and find a book that is on there that you are equally bewildered by and read that. Up to you how you do that (in the spirit of the challenge I would suggest your library instead of buying it, but you do you!).
But please only move to your TBR once you have made sure there are no mystery books lurking in your audio/ebook/physical libraries.

Importantly, there is no judgement here about anything that may be on your shelf that fits this category. This is a chance for us to clear out those random books that appear and then linger as we cannot for the life of us remember the reason for why they did! And obviously, to make room for another one… or six…

Reporting:

- WOF name
- What you chose to read
- Why did you choose to read it? Which library/list was it lurking in? How long do you think it was on there? Any inklings now why you got it? If you went the TBR option, let me know you exhausted other options and answer the above with a TBR jist instead.
- What did you think of it? Give us a couple of sentences so we can see if we want to snaffle this on to our own lists. "I liked it" will not count.

General Rules:

1. The book may be in any format - paperback, ebook, audiobook.
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge and the Group Themed Read.
3. The book must be started and read between May 1 - 31, 2025 (based on your local time zone).
4. The challenge is for one book. You may read more books if you chose but you need only report one.
5. The book must be 175 pages or more determined by the issue you read.
In the case of ebooks & audiobooks, the ebook edition must be at least 200 pages and the audiobook must be a minimum of 6 hours long.

WoF Marnie

I read The Blackhouse
12 hours audiobook/ 386 pages

This was from my audio library and the best that I can tell I’ve owned it for a decade. I seem to collect Audibles but I mostly listen through my library app so they collect dust. My best guess is that someone recommended it to me.

I had a 600 mile roadtrip yesterday and listened to this door to door. It made the miles fly. It reminded me of Jane Harper in that it was a very slow burn and the setting (a small island in Scotland) was a central character. I had the “who” of the mystery figured out pretty early but the “why” was a complete surprise. A four star read.

I forgot to come here!

- WOF name - Karin
- What you chose to read - Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
- Why did you choose to read it? I had no idea why I put it on my shelf but it had been on there for five years and it fit with several different reading lists for this month plus a tag/shelf list (strong women.) A lot has been going on IRL so I'm trying to read books I feel will have a positive ending since RL isn't always that way.
Which library/list was it lurking in? On my To Read shelf here on Goodreads
How long do you think it was on there? I added it on May 6, 2020, which is one of the helpful things about GR. Since I read 400 books that year in an intense reading game (it was Covid) I have no idea why I added a number of books from that year. Plus other years :)
Any inklings now why you got it? If you went the TBR option, let me know you exhausted other options and answer the above with a TBR jist instead. I went to my TBR because I know why I have all of my owned books; there is nothing I ask "why is that there?" about. I bought most of them myself; most are not books for leisure reading, either.
- What did you think of it? Give us a couple of sentences so we can see if we want to snaffle this on to our own lists. "I liked it" will not count. It was better than I expected, but since it's Canadian historical Christian fiction it has more of a niche audience. This type of marriage (of convenience) really happened back at the time this is set. It's not schmatlzy and to me didn't read like a romance at all for much of the book; it was very much about grief and literal survival (grief for the woman obviously, but also the man). It was also about a woman who'd lost all faith as a child.

- WOF name - Hannah
- What you chose to read - The Rats by James Herbert
- Why did you choose to read it? Which library/list was it lurking in? How long do you think it was on there? Any inklings now why you got it? If you went the TBR option, let me know you exhausted other options and answer the above with a TBR jist instead. - I just had a "clear out" of a lot of books (moved to a separate pile) so there weren't many mystery books left to choose. I remember buying this book because the person behind the counter told me it was good when I went to pay. I don't remember why I bought though. I know I kept it due to the recommendation. It's quite new since I only bought it in December but it's one of the only books I still own with no memory of why I picked it up.
- What did you think of it? Give us a couple of sentences so we can see if we want to snaffle this on to our own lists. "I liked it" will not count. - I wasn't sure what to expect from this book since all I knew about it from the blurb and goodreads is that it was a horror novel about killer rats. I have never read a horror novel before and since it's short I thought it would be a quick read even if I didn't like it (which I expected not to). It was very graphic with regards to the killings but I enjoyed the different POVs and also the main character. There is a sequel which I might read if I find it secondhand somewhere but I wouldn't pay full price for what I assume is more of the same. It was a fun book but I won't be keeping since I'm not sure there would be much value in a reread.

WoF Aya

I read The Wild Way Home, it's on my tbr list because I was away from home and had no recollection of my copies. It has been on my list since 2020.

It's a middle grade book about time travelling to stone age era. I tend to read children book from time to time, but not a big fan of fantasy and time travel. I think I picked it for its beautiful cover. It's an easy read, and while it's less dramatic than I expected it to be, I like how I, as an adult, learned a lesson or two from those 'supposedly' kids.

WOF Beth
I read The Tenth Muse
It was a letter I needed in the year long challenge for my current list, and it has been sitting in my Audible library because I couldn't remember why I had it. I got it in August of 2020 which was just after I moved to NH and before I started my job. Probably audible was having a 2 for 1 sale and it looked good, but I really have no idea.

I actually really enjoyed it and will keep an eye out for more books by the author. It's a book about a woman mathematician whose parentage is complicated. She is brilliant, but her achievements get attributed to the men around her. As she wrestles with how to establish herself as a mathematician, she also is struggling with who she is and why she has a notebook with complex math in it.

WoF Nix
I read The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises by Shehan Karunatilaka

I chose this because I was going through my bookshelf and realised I had no recollection of buying this one. Upon opening it, realized it was a gift from my brother-in-law. I thus deided to read this one as it had been a while since I had read short stories collection and the cover looked very cool!



I enjoyed a lot of the stories. They were of different formats and you can see the author did quite a lot of experimental styles. Few were not that great and felt a bit lazy. Overall a mix baf but I am glad I picked it up as it gave me a glimpse of the political situation in Sri Lanka and what people were feeling over there.

WoF - Janice
I read Unwanted.

I debated between this book and another, The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep. Both books fit the prompt for the challenge. Both books would do double duty with the annual challenge, but this one was more appealing.

I first shelved this in 2015 on my to-read shelf. I had purchased it from iBooks. It may have been a sale or a freebie. It's hard to say what impelled me to buy it 10 years ago.

This was the case of "why did I wait so long to read this book"? It was a mystery about a police team pulling out all the stops to locate a depraved serial killer. The subject matter was disturbing, but it made me more anxious to learn how the case was resolved.

WoF Pragya

I read Assistant to the Villain.

It was a book that came in a (surprise) book box I purchased. I am not much of a fantasy reader so it waited around 2 years in the box. If not for this challenge, it would have probably waited for a few more.

I chose to read it because it also fitted in with the annual challenge, a great way to get this done (I don't particularly like 'killing two birds with one stone', why are we going around killing birds?)

As I well knew, it did not appeal to me. I mean it was a fast paced read, I will give it that. But the romance was too seen-it-all teenage kinds (yup, I am definitely not the right reader for it), and it was just too flimsy and fantastical (as it was meant to be) for me. If you like fantastical romance and don't care if you have read it a million times before, go for it.

WOF SharonBiskit

I read Taking Eve: An Eve Duncan Novel

I have had this book for several years. I bought it at a library book sale. I thought I would get around to reading all of the Eve Duncan series in order. I have not. I keep putting it to the side while I choose another. I finally just got tired of moving it. (In addition, it also fits the annual challenge which was a happy coincidence.)

It turned out to be a decent read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ That being said, I may not read others in the series. Maybe…

Wof Anna M

I read Raised by a Serial Killer: Discovering the Truth About My Father

This book was on my tbr list on Libby. I don't remember why added it, as true crime isn't a particularly interesting topic to me. As for when I added it, it must have been pretty recent since the booknwas published in December 2024. I picked it up because Inwas in mood for a memoir. Im glad I read it, it was a heartbreaking story, and I'm impressed by how strong the author grew up to be. Her Christian faith seems to have played a significant role in helping her.

WoF Vicki

I read Fauna

This was from my physical shelf. I have no recollection of acquiring it. There is no pencil price in the front, so I don't think it was from a used bookfair. I believe I must have gotten it from a free little library, and that is where I am putting it back.

I didn't really care for it. It aims to be an Urban Jungle book, the characters are group reading The Jungle book by Kipling and some of the chapters are titled City Book so in that sense it's well done. It's set along a bit of wilderness in Toronto called the Don Valley and people familiar with the city might enjoy it more but I found the characters and plot to be very strange. It's about a group of misfits all rather passionate about animals in a variety of forms. But the book itself is just a snapshot of their lives during one week plus a lot of backstory. It's a bit slow at times but I guess I ended up liking it enough to give it 2.5 - 3 stars

WOF Lynn

Before I Go
So all the books I own that I've not read (not a huge amount as I'm mainly a digital reader) I remember why they are on my tbr. So I had to turn to my GR want to read list and immediately when to the books that have been the longest on that list.
This has been on my list since 2014, no idea why I put it on there in the first place.

When I read the synopsis again I was dubious as to whether I should just remove it from the list. I should have done that.
I didn't dislike it, it was fairly inoffensive if a little silly in it's premise, but I was basically bored. 2.5 Stars

WoF: Kristie

I chose to read The House Children. I believe this was sitting in my Audible library from January 2022. I chose it simply because I couldn't remember why it was there. I listened to the sample and thought it sounded interesting. Now that I've read it, I still don't know why I purchased it. I'm guessing it was in a sale at some point and I just thought it sounded good.

I thought the book was good, but I didn't love it. Some parts felt sort of slow and repetitive in a way. I definitely didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to. I felt for the young MC, but she wasn't my favorite character. I also think part of the reason this wasn't as good for me is that I had just finished a book with similar themes that was better.

WoF Katrisa

I read Metamorphica.
I just scrolled though my Chirp library until I found a book that I had no idea what it was or why I bought it.
It ended up being a retelling of sorts of Ovid's Metamorphoses - which I assume is what attracted me whenever it was that I bought it, as I love Greek mythology and retellings. This one wasn't the best though. I gave it three stars.

HI, I was wondering if I'll be getting a badge for this https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... (it might be you're behind, which I understand.)

Badges will be coming.

Janice wrote: "Badges will be coming."

Thanks! The last couple of times they came quickly and I'm still new so wasn't sure if I'd made a mistake or it just takes longer sometimes.

Real life sometimes get in the way. The mod will add a note when badges have been posted. If you're expecting a badge and you didn't get one, then let her know. But, if the mod hasn't indicated badges have been posted, then they'll still be coming.

Thanks for checking in, Karin! Shall rectify after the Toppler :D And as Janice says, I will always post when I put badges up so people can make sure they have received theirs. Accidents happen.

For full disclosure, the other mods in the team are much more speedy, on top of things, and just generally better functioning humans than me ;)

No self-depreciation allowed here. Above everything else, be kind to yourself.

I'm pretty sure every one of the mods feels like they are the one that doesn't function well at times. lol That's why we make a good team.

Oh no you don't, Rus. We are a team - "One for all and all for one!"

Janice wrote: "Real life sometimes get in the way. The mod will add a note when badges have been posted. If you're expecting a badge and you didn't get one, then let her know. But, if the mod hasn't indicated bad..."

Absolutely, RL gets in the way :)

This group is very well run based on what I've seen so far; it's one of the best-run groups I know of.

Thanks Karin.

Thanks Karin :) It's a pretty awesome team

Cheers guys. Remember tongue in cheek self deprecation is an Australian sport, all is good ;)

Badges for May are posted. Sorry for the delay. Please let me know if I've missed anyone.

Hannah, GoodReads is not letting me create your wall just yet. We're restricted to the number of threads we're allowed to start. I'll have yours posted shortly.
'

Hannah, your wall is HERE