LaurLa’s Comments (group member since Nov 30, 2016)

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

Shelf Bender🚦Genre: Nonfiction
January - December 2024

My Shelf Bender Nonfiction Genre (msg 20)

Shelf Picks



✅The Library Book🚦nonfiction page 2🚦01.28 ★★★★
✅Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake🚦nonfiction page 14🚦03.10 ★★★
✅Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back🚦spirituality page 3🚦02.07 ★★★★

Next Picks



✅3. Object on cover
🚥book used: The Library Book🚦object: flame
🚥Kitty Raises Hell🚦04.10 ★★★★

✅4. Best of
🚥book used: Heaven is for Real🚦list: list: #437 Best Books of 2011
🚥Unclaimed🚦05.26 ★★★★

✅5. Wacky Shelf
🚥book used: Catch Me If You Can🚦word: fake page 1
🚥How to Fake It in Hollywood🚦06.13 ★★★★

Shelf Bender🚦Genre: Mystery
January - December 2024

My Shelf Bender Mystery Genre (msg 19)

Shelf Picks



✅Loose Ends🚦paranormal mystery page 1🚦07.23 ★★★★
✅Death in Kew Gardens🚦historical mystery page 6🚦04.13 ★★★★
✅A Murder Is Announced🚦murder mystery page 1🚦03.25 ★★★

Next Picks



✅1. Readers also enjoyed
🚥book used: A Murder Is Announced
🚥Marple: Twelve New Mysteries🚦04.08 ★★★★

✅2. Similar authors
🚥book used: Loose Ends🚦author: author: Rebecca Zanetti
🚥You Can Die🚦07.17 ★★★★

✅4. Best of
🚥book used: Death in Kew Gardens🚦list: #1033 Best Books of 2019
🚥Wicked Hour🚦03.20 ★★★★

Shelf Bender🚦Genre: Literature
January - December 2024

My Shelf Bender Literature Genre (msg 17)

Shelf Picks



✅Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets🚦literature page 7🚦 02.05 ★★★★
✅Storm Front🚦literature page 11🚦08.27 ★★★
✅The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry🚦21st century page 8🚦07.10 ★★★

Next Picks



✅1. Readers also enjoyed
🚥book used: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
🚥The Wishing Game🚦06.26 ★★★★★

✅3. Object on cover
🚥book used: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets🚦object: eyeglasses
🚥The Trouble With Tony🚦01.09 ★★★

✅4. Best of
🚥book used: Storm Front🚦list: #837 Best Books of the Decade: 2000s
🚥Bet Me🚦09.26 ★★★★★

Shelf Bender🚦Genre: Historical
January - December 2024

My Shelf Bender Historical Genre (msg 23)

Shelf Picks



✅Unraveled🚦historical romance page 5🚦08.14 ★★★★
✅The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy🚦historical romance page 3🚦02.18 ★★★★
✅Three Weeks With Lady X🚦regency page 8🚦03.16 ★★★★

Next Picks



✅2. Similar authors
🚥book used: The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy🚦author: Ali Hazelwood
🚥Love, Theoretically🚦04.25 ★★★★

✅4. Best of
🚥book used: Unraveled🚦list: #7127 Best Books of the Decade: 2010s
🚥Hawke🚦04.03 ★★★★

✅5. Wacky Shelf
🚥book used: Three Weeks With Lady X🚦word: three page 13
🚥Below Zero🚦07.10 ★★★★

Shelf Bender🚦Genre: Cultural
January - December 2024

My Shelf Bender Cultural Genre (msg 22)

Shelf Picks



✅The Kite Runner🚦cultural page 1🚦04.05 ★★★★
✅The Hippopotamus Pool🚦egypt page 1🚦10.02 ★★★★
✅Beyond the Thistles🚦scotland page 13🚦05.06 ★★★★★

Next Picks



✅3. Object on cover
🚥book used: The Kite Runner🚦object: domed building
🚥Garrison's Creed🚦01.30 ★★★★

✅4. Best of
🚥book used: Beyond the Thistles🚦list: #197 Best Books of 2023
🚥Encore in Death🚦06.04 ★★★★

✅5. Wacky Shelf
🚥book used: The Hippopotamus Pool🚦word: pool page 15
🚥The Awakening🚦09.14 ★★★★

Well, I took me a full year (mostly because I forgot to check on it at certain points), but I finally finished!
Updated post: My The Birthday Game Challenge (msg 24)

Books read🚦27

Finished 7 for September!! Yay! The goal for October is 3 plus my rollovers of 8 makes my overall goal 11. Hopefully I can get ahead of that in Oct!!

Shelf Bender🚦Genre: Fantasy
January - December 2024

My Shelf Bender Fantasy Genre (msg 22)

Shelf Picks



✅The Shadows🚦urban fantasy page 21🚦05.24 ★★★★
✅About a Dragon🚦dragons page 1🚦06.17 ★★★★
✅Wild and Free🚦paranormal page 16🚦03.11 ★★★★

Next Picks



✅1. Readers also enjoyed
🚥book used: The Shadows
🚥Cain's Identity🚦02.12 ★★★

✅3. Object on cover
🚥book used: About a Dragon🚦object: dragon
🚥The Golden Dragon🚦07.31 ★★★

✅4. Best of
🚥book used: Wild and Free🚦list: #6832 Best Books of the Decade: 2010s
🚥Until Nico🚦01.03 ★★★★

Shelf Bender🚦Genre: Horror
January - December 2024

My Shelf Bender Horror Genre (msg 19)

Shelf Picks



✅The Lunatic Cafe🚦horror page 19🚦 08.11 ★★★
✅Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper🚦ghost stories page 6🚦 01.06 ★★★
✅Barbarian Alien🚦erotic horror page 14🚦01.16 ★★★

Next Picks



✅2. Similar authors
🚥book used: Barbarian Alien🚦author: Katee Robert
🚥Seducing the Bridesmaid🚦05.18 ★★★

✅3. Object on cover
🚥book used: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper🚦object: home in background
🚥Dixie Rebel🚦02.19 ★★★★

✅5. Wacky Shelf
🚥book used: The Lunatic Café🚦word: café page 11
🚥April🚦03.27 ★★★

Shelf Bender🚦Genre: Science Fiction
January - December 2024

My Shelf Bender Science Fiction Genre (msg 18)

Shelf Picks



✅Artificial Condition🚦science fiction page 2🚦03.18 ★★★★
✅Majesty🚦alternate history page 5🚦08.04 ★★★★
✅Desperation in Death🚦near future page 25🚦04.19 ★★★★

Next Picks



✅2. Similar authors
🚥book used: Majesty🚦author: Tessa Bailey
🚥Staking His Claim🚦02.28 ★★★★

✅3. Object on cover
🚥book used: Artificial Condition🚦object: body armor
🚥Disavowed🚦04.02 ★★★★

✅4. Best of
🚥book used: Desperation in Death🚦list: #400 Best Books of 2022
🚥A Hard Day for a Hangover🚦07.25 ★★★★

Well, doesn't feel like a good month at all since I read only 5, but that's August's monthly goal, so I guess that's maintaining, just not making headway on the rollovers. I still have 11 rollovers, so my September goals will be 4 monthly + 11 rollovers = 15 total.

Using the added during the month saved my this month! Here's hoping for a better September!

Doing better! Finished 9 in June which is more than the June goal of 7, so I made a little bit of progress on rollovers!
July goal 6 + 14 rollover = 20 total for July. 😊

Finished 6 in May so barely maintaining. But I'm optimistic!!
June goal 7 + 16 rollover = 22 total for June. I can do this! (well, not 22 but I can make inroads on the rollover...)

I managed to read April's goal (YAY!) so going into May with the same rollover number but that's okay... I'm maintaining! May goal 8 + 14 rollover = 22 total goal.

♞ Pat wrote: "I'm really sorry to hear that. Makes my little horsemanship clinic feel like not that big a deal. At least all my family is ok."

Thanks, Pat. We're all working to the other side of it and will heal eventually. But you had a fun excuse for getting off track - no need to feel bad about that!

♞ Pat wrote: "March was a really tough month for me."


Me too. I had a family tragedy early in the month where I didn't read much and it sort of affected the rest of the month.

I felt like I back-slid in March but actually read 5 which is one more than February, so I guess that's better than nothing. :-) I have TONS of books that I added to my TBR in April of 2013 (about when I joined GR/discovered kindle/ebooks), so one would think I could make some progress here... we'll see how well they play with other challenges, though.

April goal is 9 books + 14 rollover for a total goal of 23.

After a great January, February was just 4... so my total for March will be 19 books: 10 for March and 9 rollovers. I can do this! Right?

Tien wrote: "If I'm understanding it correctly, you've used the Next Pick option as repeat for the same genre? If so then yes, you'll have to revise this plan of yours, sorry!

Each Next Pick option is only to ..."

That's what I figured. Luckily I spent time finding books that would work for any of the Next Pick options for each book in each genre during planning, so it wasn't too hard to re-arrange things. Though there are some really great object on the cover correlations I found that I won't get to use now 😁😜

Hi Tien... thought you were done with me, didn't you. Ha! I'm back! 🤪

I think I might have messed up in my planning. For Next Picks, do we have to choose different tasks? What I mean is that if for Shelf Pick book A I chose to do the Readers Also Enjoyed task, do my other Next Picks have to be different?

I picked my Next Pick options based solely off the Shelf Book I was looking at and didn't pay attention if I used that Next Pick option already... and now I'm wondering if I have to go back and re-think things.

♞ Pat wrote: "I figured out that if you average 6+ books a month, you should be able to finish this one. But you gotta hit at least 6 to not have a huge rollover by the end of things.....

Just information if an..."

Yep, 6-7 a month keeps you on track to have minimal or only one to read in December. It's fun to scare ourselves though with the growing total number to read until we hit that magical month where the goals go down and you start to makeup ground.

But there are super-readers out there (like you) who get their goals each month... way to go!