Niamh’s Comments (group member since Jul 09, 2013)

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

Only one left in Feb and I've started on March. Hopefully by the end of this month I'll be on target.... I hate being behind

I just finished another Mitch Albom book and this one flowed better than the first one I read this month.

For One More Day is a great read. It really brings home to you how important your family are in your life and shows the consequences of deception in a family, both from the actions of Chick and his father.

I gave it 4 stars (come on Goodreads and give us the half point for stars). While it ticked most of the boxes for Thought Provoking it just didn't seal the deal for me to give it 5 stars.

Yay! January finished... Now to make some inroads to February before March hits :D

Good to know. Will definitely keep that movie on the skip list then. Much better to remember the book :)

Great choice Amy :)

I'm trying to work in the Pick-A-Shelf with my Scattershelves. So, for March I'll be (hopefully) reading:
Speak
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

And Matilda if I don't get to it in February.

Did you find the top shelves link Marie?

I also read Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I really liked it. It's been a while since I read his other book Tuesdays, and I didn't think that this one was as good as that but I still gave it 4 stars. If I was to take one thing from this book it would be to remember that things you do can affect others. Like the first person that Eddie meets in heaven. I won't say any more - you have to read it for yourself to find out :)

March
Letter: H

Shelves:

19th-century
The Time Machine (Signet Classics)
by H.G. Wells (shelved 111 times as 19th-century)
avg rating 3.81 — 219,777 ratings — published 1895
b, c (clock), d (118 Pages)
Read 03/04

2. 2004
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Paperback)
by Mark Haddon (shelved 59 times as 2004)
avg rating 3.81 — 671,849 ratings — published 2003
a, b, i (226 pages)
Read 19/03

3. e-reader
A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy, #1)
by Deborah Harkness (Goodreads Author) (shelved 4 times as e-reader)
avg rating 3.99 — 216,509 ratings — published 2010
f, j (dark blue)
Read 06/04

4. it-wikipedia
Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)
by Robin Hobb (Goodreads Author) (shelved 3 times as it-wikipedia)
avg rating 4.11 — 98,067 ratings — published 1995

5. book-series
The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, #1)
by Rick Riordan (Goodreads Author) (shelved 28 times as book-series)
avg rating 4.39 — 9,129 ratings — published 2010
h
Read 16/4

6. middle-school
This Is What Happy Looks Like (Hardcover)
by Jennifer E. Smith (Goodreads Author) (shelved 1 time as two-narrators)
avg rating 3.70 — 39,517 ratings — published 2013
l (2 POV)
e (yellow)
Read 12/03

7. mystery-crime
Red Harvest (ebook)
by Dashiell Hammett (shelved 15 times as mystery-crime)
avg rating 4.04 — 16,566 ratings — published 1929
Read 18/3

8. childhood-favorites
The Secret Garden (Hardcover)
by Frances Hodgson Burnett (shelved 440 times as childhood-favorites)
avg rating 4.09 — 504,490 ratings — published 1911
g (1911)
Read 11/4

9. murder
Heat Wave (Nikki Heat, #1)
by Richard Castle (shelved 16 times as murder)
avg rating 3.53 — 72,957 ratings — published 2009
j (black)

10. America
Speak (Paperback)
by Laurie Halse Anderson (Goodreads Author) (shelved 9 times as america)
avg rating 3.96 — 285,279 ratings — published 1999
k (1999)
Read 11/4

11. comic
The Secret of the Unicorn (Tintin, #11)
by Hergé (shelved 72 times as comic)
e (yellow)
Read 05/03

12. fluff
Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1)
by Charlaine Harris (shelved 57 times as fluff)
avg rating 3.97 — 375,694 ratings — published 2001
f, j
Read 25/03

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)

OMG Just realised that March posting is up already. I am so behind. Still working on January :/ At least I only have one and a half left to read for that month. Good thing is that I have a few of my to-read books in the February list :D

February:

Letter: M

Shelves:

1. pre-2009
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Read 25/2

2. romance-historical
The Wicked Lord Montague (Castonbury Park #1)
by Carole Mortimer
j (112 ratings), d (268 pages)
Read 26/2

3. mysteries-thrillers
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #1)
by Alexander McCall Smith
Read 08/03

4. friends-to-lovers
The secret diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever
by Julia Quinn
h, b, k (book)
Read 06/03

5. genre-fantasy
The Hedge Knight
by George R.R. Martin
Read 03/03

6. fantastic
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)
by Douglas Adams
Read 05/03

7. multiple-reads
Wild Magic (Immortals, #1)
by Tamora Pierce
a (horse), l (362 pages)
Read 18/2

8. reviewed-books
Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1)
by Maggie Stiefvater
Read 21/2

9. sf-f
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
by George R.R. Martin
e (1999), i, k (Crown)
Read 24/2

10. inspiration
For One More Day (Hardcover)
by Mitch Albom
c (2004), f (197), g (purple/dark blue)
Read 27/2

11. paranormal-supernatural
Frostbite (Vampire Academy, #2)
by Richelle Mead
h (Richelle Mead), b
Read 26/2

12. books-to-movies
The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)
by James Dashner
Read 02/03

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

Finally got my new laptop so I'm back in action. Only a couple left to read in Jan but have to go researching today to see what I can come up with for Feb.
Really liked the Lovely Bones. Really glad that I didn't watch the movie first :)

Thanks Tien :)

I've never read Pippi Longstocking so looking forward to that one. I rejigged some of my reads as my library didn't have some. Hopefully I will be able to get through the ones I have now... only one that I'm not sure of getting is the Mitch Albom one but I'm sure I'll be able to find another one that fits into there without any hassle.

One down and nearly finished 2 more. This is really keeping me busy :p

Laptop died so limited to my phone as library also closed so hope that I have these right but here goes nothing:

Letter:

A


Shelves:

1. modern-fiction - The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold g,k
2. juvenile - Artemis Fowl -c
3. random - The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom -e
4. 2006 - The Second Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares - h
5. 2012-read - Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer - a (596 pages)
6. kids-books - The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lindberg - l (yellow), d (1945)
7. have-read - Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead - h
8. digital - Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett
9. not-interested - Evermore (The Immortals #1) - Alyson Noel - i (rose)
10. lit - People of the Abyss - Jack London - b (1903)
11. culture - American Gods - Neil Gamain - j (656 pages)
12. detective - A is for Alibi - Sue Grafton - f

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

*if you don’t maintain a to-read shelf of GR or for any other reason you'd need an alternative for this Category, here it is:

f. 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.

I read Rose by Any Other Name. It was ok but nothing to get excited about. The thing that I didn't like about it was that the main character goes and has an affair with her best-friends father, seemingly just because her best friend goes and gets a crush on the guy (her own age) who she likes even though she tells her friend that she doesn't. 1 star.

Sounds like this will be a real challenge :) Great new game Tien.
Count me in. I don't know if I'll get them all read but it will be fun to try.

I read Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. A lovely story of a rescued kitten growing into Mr Personality, winning the hearts of one and all during his long 17 years of being a small-town library cat. Although I knew how it would end, it still brought tears to my eye at its conclusion.

I finished Every Living Thing by James Herriot. One of the few by him that I hadn't gotten around to reading and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Written in the form of each chapter to an event/treatment it was very easy reading. Written by Herriot after settling down and having some time under his belt it was an engaging read and one any "All Creatures Great And Small" fan would like.

Nice one Tara :) Lots to choose from there!

Time for picking the new shelf picker :)

Tag Tara. You're it. lol

Sorry can't message you :/

Thanks DG and Lynn. I was looking for a nice avi to suit and just couldn't say no to that little guy :)

So far I have read Horses Never Lie about Love: The Heartwarming Story of a Remarkable Horse Who Changed the World Around Her which was disappointing. Probably ok if you aren't an experienced horse owner but overall, not fantastic. I thought that it progressed quite slowly for about three-quarters of the way in but then felt rushed towards the end.

I also read Diamond Spirit. This was much more enjoyable. A nice story geared for the YA readers but obviously written by someone who has horse experience but enough in the story that anyone can read it and understand. I will definitely read the next in the series.

My library doesn't have Dog on It or the others in the series :/ Sounds like they would be good reads.

Thanks Lynn :) I'm having trouble whittling down the choices myself.

The Hunger Games was in a lot of the shelves that I looked at D.G. I guess I'd better put it in my TBR :)