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

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

FINISHED

Just Read It! (Music edition)
Prompt 1: 🎵 Killing Me Serially 🎵
1 Jan 2022 - 31 Dec 2022

Goal: 10 books

Only series books will qualify in this round.
Only 1 book per series can be claimed for this challenge.
You can read in any order.

√1. - 482 pages - The Black Echo (Harry Bosch, #1) Read 9/22/22 - 4*
√2. - 368 pages - Liar's Moon (Thief Errant, #2) Read 5/6/22 - 4*
√3. - 272 pages - Hangman's Root (China Bayles, #3) Read 2/15/22 - 4*
√4. - 1232 pages - Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4) Read 1/27/22 - 4*
√5. - 360 pages - Board Stiff (Mattie Winston Mysteries, #5) Read 11/30/22 - 3*
√6. - 310 pages - Quietly in Their Sleep (Commissario Brunetti, #6) Read 8/11/22 - 4*
...
√11. - 226 pages - Zapped (Regan Reilly Mysteries, #11) Read 3/4/22 - 4*
...
√12. - 504 pages - The Queen's Fool (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #12) Read 11/25/22 - 4*
...
√17. - 319 pages - A Drop of the Hard Stuff (Matthew Scudder, #17) Read 5/11/22 - 3*
...
√20. - 224 pages - To the Land of Long Lost Friends(No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency , #20) Read 2/11/22 - 3*

FINISHED!

Just Read It! (Music edition)
Prompt 3: 🎵 READ the World 🎵
1 Jan 2022 - 31 Dec 2022

Goal: 10 books

Read a book set in (at least 50%) AND written by author born/live in another continent from your current residence. For me, this will be outside of North America

√1. - 226 pages - My Sister, the Serial Killer (Nigeria) Read 2/26/22 - 3*
√2. - 304 pages - The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart (England) Read 8/11/22 - 3*
√3. - 380 pages - The Ruin (Ireland) by Dervla McTiernan (Ireland) Read 2/6/22 - 4*
√4. - 176 pages - Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark (Scotland) Read 6/11/22 - 3*
√5. - 196 pages - Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage by M.C. Beaton (Scotland) Read 3/31/22 - 3*
√6. - 495 pages - All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo (Spain) Read 11/17/22 - 4*
√7. - 509 pages - The Witch Elm by Tana French (Ireland) Read 11/2/22 - 4*
√8. - 380 pages - An Equal Music by Vikram Seth (India) Read 10/29/22 - 4*
√9. - 352 pages - Silent House by Orhan Pamuk (Turkey) Read 10/26/22 - 2*
√10. - 188 pages - The Vegetarian by Han Kang (South Korea) Read 10/28/22 - 3*

I'm counting this one done. I didn't read yet the one book in the original 10, but I did read one of the alternatives.

Just Read It! (Music edition)
Prompt 4: 🎵 Your STORY is a Wonderland 🎵
1 Jan 2022 - 31 Dec 2022

Goal: 10 books

Read books with fictionalised settings (any fictional town in real country counts just as well as fictional universe).

√1. Old Man's War - space opera Read 12/8/22 - 4*
√2. Uglies - dystopia Read 5/31/22 - 4*
3. Children of the Mind - science fiction/space
√4. Z for Zachariah - dystopia Read 3/18/22 - 3*
√5. Cold Magic - fantasy Read 3/27/22 - 4*
√6. Eldest - fantasy Read 10/23/22 - 4*
√7. Sabriel - fantasy Read 2/18/22 - 4*
√8. The Wicked King - fantasy Read 10/25/22 - 4*
√9. The Poppy War - fantasy Read 3/7/22 - 4*
√10. The Midnight Library - fantasy Read 1/3/22 - 4*

alternatives:
Black Powder War - alternative history
Ink and Bone - alternative history, fantasy, dystopia, steampunk Read 7/26/22 - 4*
Thirteenth Child - alternative history, fantasy, steampunk

Shannon wrote: "I'm going to call this one incomplete. I went so far as to check out the tenth book on my list from the library, but I never started it, and I know I wouldn't be able to read it in a month. (It's nearly 1,000 pages long!)

... The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor Did not finish - read the first 51 pages (of 600+) but decided I didn't know enough about Flannery O'Connor to appreciate her letters. Maybe I'll try it again after I read more of her work."

I do this also. I have a shelf labelled "to finish reading" with 6 titles on it. These are books that I might come back to again, but, at the time, I just could not get into them.

I read so many serials, this should be a no-brainer for me.

Period of Challenge: January 1 - December 31, 2023

0/23

1 = Murphy's Law - Read 1/31/23 - 4*

2 = Linger - Read 3/13/23 - 4*

3 = Old Wounds] - Read 4/5/23 - 4*

4 = To Love and Be Wise - Read 1/12/23 - 4*

5 = A Little Yellow Dog - Read 5/13/23 - 4*

6 = Blood and Circuses - Read 7/23/23 - 4*

7 = Tell Me, Pretty Maiden - Read 9/13/23 - 4*

8 = Lavender Lies - Read 10/5/23 - 4*

9 = Fire Touched - Read 6/17/23 - 4*

10 = The Novel Habits of Happiness - Read 8/15/23 - 4*

11 = Exit the Milkman (#10)- Read 8/11/23 - 3*
AND Frames (#1) - Read 8/9/23 - 4*

12 = Hush Now, Don't You Cry (#11) Read 12/23/23 - 4* AND A Scone To Die For (#1) Read 12/28/23 - 3*

13 = And Be a Villain - Read 2/16/23 - 4*

14 = Bless the Bride (#10)Read 12/13/23 - 4* AND The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien (#4) Read 12/14/23 - 4*

15 = The Confession of Brother Haluin Read 10/6/23 - 4*

16 = The Chocolate Bunny Brouhaha - Read 6/22/23 - 3*

17 = Skeleton Man - Read 6/20/23 - 4*

18 = Holly Blues - Read 3/21/23 - 4*

19 = Chasing Midnight - Read 5/6/23 - 4*

20 = Betrayal of Trust - Read 3/8/23 - 4*

21 = Song of the Lion - Read 3/25/23 - 4*

22 = Bone Deep(#21) Read 11/23/23 - 4* AND Call Down the Hawk(#1) Read 9/5/23 - 3*

23 = The Cat Who Smelled a Rat - Read 1/26/23 - 3*

Finished:
X Marks the Scot for BtM

Reading:
The Dressmaker's Gift for Found
Old Man's War for JRI 4

Congrats, Amy!

Moving Mountain - 2023 Edition
Challenge Period: Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2023

I wasn't going to do this one this year, but I have decided to start small and see where it goes.

Interpretation:
🌈 Colours: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet + black, white, gray
Read book where:
1. cover is predominantly (50%) of card colour; OR
2. colour is found intact in title/subtitle/author's name

🔢 Numbers: 2-10
Each number card represent a colour
2 - Red
3 - Orange
4 - Yellow
5 - Green
6 - Blue
7 - Brown
8 - Violet
9 - Black or White
10 - Grey

Face cards:
Jack - 2-3 colours
Queen - 3-4 colours
King - 4-5 colours
Ace - 5 or more colours

**If you want the extra challenge, add these additional conditions:
♠️ [spade] - a stand alone book
♣️ [clubs] - a part of a series
♥️ [hearts] - has at least 10,000 ratings
♦️ [diamonds] - has won or been nominated for an award

Draw:
√1. 7 of clubs [brown, series] [84.1% brown, #2] Read 1/18/23
2. 4 of clubs [yellow, series] [69% yellow, #2]
3. King of hearts [4-5 colors, ratings >10K] [white/blue/brown/grey colors, 90,077 ratings]
4. 8 of hearts [violet, ratings >10K] [73.9% violet, 94,045 ratings]
√5. 9 of hearts [black/white, ratings >10K] [54.6% black, 43,167 ratings] Read 4/15/23
√6. 3 of spades [orange, stand alone] [78.6% orange, stand alone] Read 1/29/23

Finished:
Murder of a Stacked Librarian for BtM
Board Stiff for BtM

Reading:
The Dressmaker's Gift for Found
X Marks the Scot for BtM

Joanna wrote: "I've read 9 found books, so I guess I'll add this one for December!

1. From one author read for LOST: read another book of that author that was either published and/or added to your TBR at a later..."

Like Lost and like Found, this game requires 10 books. Good reading, Joanna.

I also vote for it to return. I am slow sometimes to figure out new games, but I did enjoy this one for being achievable as well as introducing me to new books on my TBR/Wishlist.

Well, I am starting December with 6 carryover books to read. Total 7. Do-able if I focus on this game.

I finished C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton and gave it 4*.

I really enjoyed this book even though I must have read it in the past as I think I had gotten pretty far in the series before she died. And, I don't usually do rereads, but GR only has recorded that I have read a few scattered book in this series and not this one...so I gave it a try.

One of the reasons I don't do rereads is that I remember too much of the story. Not so with this book.

Kinsey is a new detective, trying to build her business. I am not sure I would label her as a Kick Ass kinda woman, but she is persistent. In this one, she was trying to determine if a car accident was a murder attempt as well as save her landlord from a questionable female. She did both.

I nominate Sleuths

Finished:
Winter Counts for BtM and MM
C is for Corpse for monthly shelf

Reading:
The Dressmaker's Gift for Found
Murder of a Stacked Librarian for BtM
Board Stiff for BtM
X Marks the Scot for BtM

Finished:
An Apple for the Creature for Found

Reading:
The Dressmaker's Gift for Found
Winter Counts for BtM and MM
Murder of a Stacked Librarian for BtM
Board Stiff for BtM
C is for Corpse for monthly shelf

Finished:
Lowcountry Bombshell for Found
The Queen's Fool for Blind Bingo, JRI 1, and Trim 21

Finished:
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science for BtM
Wicked Business for Trim 22
Ghosts for Trim 22

Reading:
The Queen's Fool for Blind Bingo, JRI 1, and Trim 21
The Dressmaker's Gift for Found
Winter Counts for BtM and MM
Lowcountry Bombshell for Found
An Apple for the Creature for Found

Michelle wrote: "Updated message #21! Completed woo hoo!!!"

Congratulations!

Ooo...I will definitely read A ​Court of Silver Flames as I am really enjoying this series.

I have changed my mind about the JD Robb book. Still avoiding it. Maybe I should just give up on that series, huh?

I need a quick read as the month is quickly passing, so I will go with C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton.