Bea’s Comments (group member since Apr 29, 2011)

Bea’s comments from the Pick-a-Shelf group.

September TBR Bender 2025

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 - 5 top reads from July 2025 reads.
1. Cry Wolf
2. The Little French Bistro
3. The Teller of Small Fortunes


C. Like for Like (L4L)
For each of Your Books, pick one shelf from their top 3-5 shelves
1. Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance: Soul Taken
2. France, Contemporary, Literary Fiction: Blackberry Wine
3. Fantasy, Cozy, Mystery: Moonlight and Mischief

D. Your Options

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)
Blackberry Wine was added December 1, 2011
Key West Connection was also added on that date

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)
Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs (PB)
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

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

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
Moonlight and Mischief has 161 pages
The Friend has 212 pages

Meg wrote: "I completed LOST on May 26

Added between Apr-Jun 2015

1For Today I Am a Boy📕
2The Secret Wisdom of the Earth📕
3[book:Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in th..."

Congrats, Meg.

TBR Bender - August 2025

B. Your Books
Pick your 3 top reads from June 2025 reads.
1. Waypoints: My Scottish Journey - Memoir, Nonfiction, Scotland
2. The Warsaw Anagrams - Historical Fiction, Mystery, Holocaust
3. The Vaster Wilds - Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Nature

C. Like for Like (L4L)
For each of Your Books, pick one shelf from their top 3-5 shelves.
You will read a book from each of these shelves (preferably those already on your TBR).
1. Scotland: Letters from Skye
2. Holocaust: Suite Francaise
3. Nature: The Overstory

D. Your Options

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added (could be the month and even if it was a new book you read/added in January 2025, read another book you added in January 2025)
The Overstory - added to TBR 4/28/20
The Stationery Shop - added to TBR 5/1/20

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
Suite Francaise by Irène Némirovsky
She also wrote: The Fires of Autumn

3. Author: Using one of your books, read a book from an author with the same initials (first & last only in the same position)
Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole - initials = JB
The Bone Yard by Jefferson Bass

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.

Well, May was disastrous! I read 1 and have 2 in progress. So sad.

Since I didn't read any of my carryover, I now have 5 from May + 9 carryover in May = 14

That means June is 7+14 or 21 books! I need to look for short books!

Beth wrote: "one more!"

Your're nearly there...

Participants:
Beverly
Meg Completed
Tien

This particular game requires that you complete LOST 2025 first, since you use the date of completion to determine your books for this game.

Directions:
Read 10 books which were:
1. added to your TBR in the past 6 months AND
2. were published prior to the date you completed LOST 2025 (#1).

TBR Bender

Top 3 for May:
1. Sweet Bean Paste - Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Asia
2. Discover Your God-Given Gifts - Spirituality, Nonfiction, Self-Help
3. Gabriel's Angel - Romance, Contemporary, Holiday

Like for Like:
1. Sweet Bean Paste - Literary Fiction
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

2. Discover Your God-Given Gifts - Spirituality
The Celestine Prophecy

3. Gabriel's Angel - Contemporary
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

D.1. Your TBR
1. Date: Using one of your books, read from closest date added
The Celestine Prophecy added 5/30/17
A House Without Windows added 5/31/17

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
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - bones
Bones of Betrayal

5. Pages: Using one of your books, read a book with at least 50 pages more.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow = 401 pages
The Pony Wife = 456 pages

I am blaming my April performance on my traveling. However, it has given me a slow start on May also.

April read: 1 + 1 in progress
rollover: 7
+
previous rollover read: 4 + 1 in progress
current rollover: 2
=
total rollover for May: 9

I am just back from vacation and will need a week to decompress from my trip, so look for LOST #2 (new books) to be posted soon.

LynnB wrote: "2 down, 8 to go 🤣"

LOL! I am back there, too. Cheering for those making headway but thinking that I will be finishing this game by the end of the year!

Beth wrote: "8 down 2 to go!"

Go, Beth, Go!

Finished:
After Alice Fell for BTM

I am leaving on my vacation and will be reading Kindle books for BTM. I will post upon my return.

LynnB wrote: "Finally finished! I was on the library wait-list for the last book quite a long time."

Congrats, LynnB!

Finished:
Vengeance in Death for old games
Scraps of Paper for BTM
Born of Water for BTM

Currently reading:
After Alice Fell for BTM

Joyce wrote: "Five down 5 to go. halfway there."

Nice, Joyce.

Susan wrote: "Bea wrote: "Susan, she is a new unknown author to me. I will check her out this summer if my reading gets back on schedule. Which of her books would you suggest?.."
Start with [book:The Empress of ..."

Thank you for the recommend.

Susan wrote: "Among my recent 4* and 5* reads have been several by Nghi Vo. I believe she's Asian-American, and her stories certainly have the feel of the ancient East."

Susan, she is a new unknown author to me. I will check her out this summer if my reading gets back on schedule. Which of her books would you suggest? I am more a fantasy reader.

Tien wrote: "oops! I have completely lost my challenge worksheet lol

I can't be bothered building a new spreadsheet either - umph, it's also got a list of all the books I own to read. oh dear... I thought it ..."

Oh, No!

March was a bit hard for me. I read 6/15 and have 2 in progress.

April will be a travel month for me. I have 7 Kindle books and two owned books in my plan to read while traveling. My totals for April are 9 + 7 carryover = 16.