2026 TBR Cleanup Challenge: You Are What You Read

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

It has been said: "You are what you eat." Here at SFFBC we say, you are what you read. This TBR Cleanup Challenge is designed to help you clean out your book pantry. Just match books on your To Be Read pile/list to one of our edible prompts.

PS: We love it when you come back and tell us how you paired your book and prompt in this thread.

1. Appetizer
2. Snack Food
3. Kids Menu
4. Latin Flare
5. Asian Menu
6. European Fare
7. Lean Cuisine
8. Bad Apple
9. In a Pickle
10. Recipe for Disaster
11. Food for Thought
12. Piece of Cake
13. “Dammit Doughnut”
14. Vegan
15. Spicy
16. Homemade
17. Comfort Food
18. Popcorn
19. Takeout
20. Dessert

Sign up for the challenge here on January 1st.
Other challenges in here.
Personal challenge threads here.
Find all the different ways to see what's on the group shelf in Current Events.
Challenge on TSG: coming soon

[Stephen]

Well, I’m going to participate and I think I’ve got my list of books figured out. The following are physical books I have on my shelves. 17 are unread by me, and the other 3 are books I’ve been intending to reread.

1. Appetizer - Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer. Not really an appetizer perhaps, but at least a prequel.

2. Snack Food- The Wheels Of If And Other Science-Fiction by L. Sprague de Camp. Short stories. I’ve read one or two of them before and found them quite entertaining.

3. Kids Menu - Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein. One of Heinlein’s famous “juveniles”. I haven’t read it in many years.

4. Latin Flare - The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Set in Mexico. The author is Mexican Canadian I understand.

5. Asian Menu The Years of Rice and Salt. by Kim Stanley Robinson. Alternate history in which the black plague almost wiped out the European population.

6. European Fare - The Valkyrie by Kate Heartfield - based on northern European legend

7. Lean Cuisine - The Watch Below by James White - seems to be one of the thinnest spines on the TBR shelf. It’s a good many decades since I read the novel. It will be interesting to see what I make of it.

8. Bad Apple - The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Significant themes as I recall include marriage and the state of fallen humanity, which link (in my mind) to the Garden of Eden and therefore to the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; a Bad Apple? A stretch maybe, but I want to reread this one.

9. In a Pickle - Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. Three young Victorian British guys on holiday get into various scrapes.

10. Recipe for Disaster - A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly Weinersmith - I suspect the answers to the questions in the title are negative. Hugo winner for Best Related Work in 2024.

11. Food for Thought - Arrive at Easterwine: The Autobiography of a Ktistec Machine by R.A. Lafferty- 1971 novel involving a philosophizing self-aware computer of some kind.

12. Piece of Cake - Murder Is Easy by Agatha Christie

13. “Dammit Doughnut” - The Game-Players of Titan by Philip K. Dick

14. Vegan - Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction by David DeGrazia

15. Spicy - Herovit's World by Barry N. Malzberg. “Spicy” in the sense of “provocative”. This realistic novel about a science fiction writer caused some stir in the community when it was published, I believe.

16. Homemade - Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake. The title castle is home to most of the characters and the centre of the novel.

17. Comfort Food - The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison. This trilogy is something of a comfort read for me. I haven’t read this third volume yet.

18. Popcorn - The Last Days of John Lennon by James Patterson. Author Patterson has a reputation as a writer of fairly shallow suspense novels, i.e. “popcorn” reading. I don’t know what to expect from this one, but someone gave me the book a few years ago and I’m somewhat interested in Lennon.

19. Takeout - The Lenient Beast by Fredric Brown. Takeout in the sense of murder. Hopefully not too tenuous a connection to the prompt.

20. Dessert - The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Sequel to The Book of the New Sun which I read in 2025.

[CBRetriever]

Stephen wrote: "Well, I’m going to participate and I think I’ve got my list of books figured out. The following are physical books I have on my shelves. 17 are unread by me, and the other 3 are books I’ve been int..."

I'm going to steal your idea of a prequel for the appetizer - good idea

[Kaia]

Thanks for sharing your ideas, Stephen! I have to admit that when I looked at the prompts, I was coming up with a lot of blanks. Seeing how you've interpreted them helped me get my brain into the right place to start working on my choices.

[Meredith]

Stephen wrote: "Well, I’m going to participate and I think I’ve got my list of books figured out. The following are physical books I have on my shelves. 17 are unread by me, and the other 3 are books I’ve been int....

5. Asian Menu The Years of Rice and Salt. by Kim Stanley Robinson. Alternate history in which the black plague almost wiped out the European population.

That's a good pick, I enjoyed reading this one.


17. Comfort Food - The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison. This trilogy is something of a comfort read for me. I haven’t read this third volume yet.

I'm totally stealing this (thank you!), I have #2 on my TBR. I love this series and I was so happy Addison kept writing in this universe she created.

[Tamara]

I only know I'm going to read the latest DCC for 13. “Dammit Doughnut” 😁 I love that it's a prompt!

[Becky]

Here's my list and justifications, since we all love to ogle what everyone else is having... For starters, I'm limiting my TBR only to my OWNED books, so I had to get a bit creative... shopping the pantry, if you will. ;)

1. Appetizer - The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff - doing a "first course" platter here. First book by this author, first book in a series, and the first book I'll have read from her.

2. Snack Food - Lysistrata by Aristophanes - a nice light short snack of a book (under 150 pages)

3. Kids Menu - A History of the Breast by Marilyn Yalom - I think the rationale here is obvious. ;)

4. Latin Flare - The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough - because they'd have spoken Latin

5. Asian Menu - Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie - because it's set in China, by a Chinese author

6. European Fare - The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux - set in Paris, pretty straightforward

7. Lean Cuisine - A Firing Offense by George Pelecanos - Because those cheap TV dinners may be what you survive on after you're fired.

8. Bad Apple - A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick - Mail-order bride gone wrong... seems bad appley to me.

9. In a Pickle - War Trash by Ha Jin - a Chinese soldier held in a US POW camp during the Korean war seems like they'd be in a pickle to me.

10. Recipe for Disaster - Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes - one part dead boy, one part dead deer, several parts messed up community, stir well and bring to a boil. Yum.

11. Food for Thought - In the Shadow of the Towers: Speculative Fiction in a Post-9/11 World by Douglas Lain - the speculative aspect spoke to me on this one.

12. Piece of Cake - A Very Simple Crime by Grant Jerkins - Somehow I don't think it will be...?

13. “Dammit Doughnut” - The Damnation Game by Clive Barker - as much as I would LOVE to go full prompt inspiration and read a DCC book for this, I don't have any. DAMMIT. So damnation + game it is, even though I somehow suspect that it won't be quite the same vibe. lol

14. Vegan - Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson - This was by FAR the hardest one for me to choose. I ended up going with morality as the reason some people go vegan, and this book felt like it fit the bill for that.

15. Spicy - As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann - No, I don't consider salt to be spicy, this is "M/M histfic romance" spicy!

16. Homemade - Kids for Cash: Two Judges, Thousands of Children, and a $2.6 Million Kickback Scheme by William Ecenbarger - "homemade" here refers to this being a scandal local to where I live. Unfortunately.

17. Comfort Food - Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons - Second hardest for me to choose, and this one is simply because the title had comfort in it. I was running out of clever.

18. Popcorn - House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski - selected for the layout style within being "popcorny". Just go with me here.

19. Takeout - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - Harold "takes" a letter "out" of town to a friend. (This was another hard one, since Stephen already used murder! :P)

20. Dessert - Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd - The last course shall be the last physical book I acquired.

[Meredith]

Okay, here goes,

1. Appetizer - Magic Bites, it's #1 in a series and "magic bites" sounds like an awesome appetizer.
2. Snack Food - The Proper Thing and Other Stories, I was looking for a collection to be 'snacks,' and this even has a charcuterie board on the cover.
3. Kids Menu - Lessons in Magic and Disaster, the daughter (kid) teaches the mother magic in the story.
4. Latin Flare - The Hanging Tree, the magic system uses Latin, Lux!
5. Asian Menu - Interior Chinatown, author with Asian heritage and some parts are set in a Chinese restaurant.
6. European Fare - The Bird King, set on the Iberian peninsula.
7. Lean Cuisine - The Narrow Road Between Desires, it's a novella (lean) and the title also works.
8. Bad Apple - Indexing, there's an apple on the cover, and it's set in NYC, the Big Apple.
9. In a Pickle - Hounded, seems like he’s in a tough spot.
10. Recipe for Disaster - Heat Stroke, there's a pending weather-related disaster.
11. Food for Thought - Killingly, the story is based on an unsolved disappearance, what happened?
12. Piece of Cake - Peace Talks, I was pleased by the homophones (piece/peace). Plus with Dresden, I'm sure the peace talks will totally not be a piece of cake.
13. “Dammit Doughnut” - Cat Crimes Takes a Vacation, I haven't read DCC, but I know Doughnut is a cat so this seemed to be a good fit.
14. Vegan - The Warrior's Apprentice, Vorkosigan, V...gan, Vegan!
15. Spicy - A Tyranny of Queens, the main character is named Saffron, a spice.
16. Homemade - Don't Touch That!: A Sci-Fi & Fantasy Parenting Anthology, parenting and families relates to homes.
17. Comfort Food - The Grief of Stones, I love this series, total comfort read.
18. Popcorn - Slayers of Old, the description makes this sound like a super fun, popcorn read.
19. Takeout - Mistborn: The Final Empire, it's a heist story, which is like taking something out, and they also want to take out the ruler.
20. Dessert - The Shattering Peace, last in a series.

[Monica]

Placeholder

1. Appetizer
2. Snack Food
3. Kids Menu
4. Latin Flare
5. Asian Menu
6. European Fare
7. Lean Cuisine
8. Bad Apple
9. In a Pickle
10. Recipe for Disaster
11. Food for Thought
12. Piece of Cake
13. “Dammit Doughnut”
14. Vegan
15. Spicy
16. Homemade
17. Comfort Food
18. Popcorn
19. Takeout
20. Dessert

[CBRetriever]

there's another Donut the cat in Head On

[Bryan]

I really tried to shape these choices to books I was hoping to read in 2026.

1. Appetizer - As this is my planned first read of the new year, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
2. Snack Food - I often refer to my love of litRPG as reading junk food, so it's only appropriate for my snack to be Wistful Ascending by J.C.M. Berne
3. Kids Menu - Kids = children, means this will be Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4. Latin Flare - The MC's name of Gabriel de León leads me to Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
5. Asian Menu - The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee because it's Fonda Lee, I'd read a user agreement if she wrote it
6. European Fare - As this book is set in Oxford, I will go with Babel by R.F. Kuang
7. Lean Cuisine - With less than 300 pages, my lean choice is Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
8. Bad Apple - With it's dark academia theme, I'll go with Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
9. In a Pickle - This is the perfect term for the plot of this book, Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
10. Recipe for Disaster - Warring nations and religions make for a perfect disaster in Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar
11. Food for Thought - Time travel and a parallel universe will give my brain a workout with Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
12. Piece of Cake - Book 1 in a 6 book series seems proportion to a slice of cake, Life Reset by Shemer Kuznits
13. “Dammit Doughnut” - This had to be DCC 8, A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman
14. Vegan - This may be a stretch, but I did see the term "agriculture bots" in the description, so Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman
15. Spicy - What could be spicier than gunpowder? Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan
16. Homemade - Perfect place for an indie published book, Ironbound by Andrew Givler
17. Comfort Food - Nothing's more comforting that jumping back into Realm of the Elderlings with Fool's Errand by Robin Hobbs
18. Popcorn - With the popularity of a summer blockbuster, it will be The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
19. Takeout - The MC's father been taken out, so begins his search for answers in The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
20. Dessert - They say there is nothing sweeter than revenge, The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

[Netanella]

This is a great annual challenge! I'm excited to pick the books this month!

2026 TBR Cleanup Challenge: You Are What You Read

1. Appetizer
2. Snack Food
3. Kids Menu
4. Latin Flare
5. Asian Menu
6. European Fare
7. Lean Cuisine
8. Bad Apple
9. In a Pickle
10. Recipe for Disaster
11. Food for Thought
12. Piece of Cake
13. “Dammit Doughnut”
14. Vegan
15. Spicy
16. Homemade
17. Comfort Food
18. Popcorn
19. Takeout
20. Dessert

[Anshika (ia till 29th Dec)]

I'm in!

1. Appetizer
2. Snack Food
3. Kids Menu
4. Latin Flare
5. Asian Menu
6. European Fare
7. Lean Cuisine
8. Bad Apple
9. In a Pickle
10. Recipe for Disaster
11. Food for Thought
12. Piece of Cake
13. “Dammit Doughnut”
14. Vegan
15. Spicy
16. Homemade
17. Comfort Food
18. Popcorn
19. Takeout
20. Dessert

[Kristin]

Always in! Like Becky, I'll be shopping the pantry as much as possible. Placeholder for now.

1. Appetizer
2. Snack Food
3. Kids Menu
4. Latin Flare
5. Asian Menu
6. European Fare
7. Lean Cuisine
8. Bad Apple
9. In a Pickle
10. Recipe for Disaster
11. Food for Thought
12. Piece of Cake
13. “Dammit Doughnut”
14. Vegan
15. Spicy
16. Homemade
17. Comfort Food
18. Popcorn
19. Takeout
20. Dessert

[Kaa]

It's been a little while since I attempted this challenge, but I love the categories this year!

1. Appetizer: A Mouthful of Dust - this is a novella and it's the first thing I'm planning to read in the new year, so it's my reading appetizer for the year
2. Snack Food: Batgirl: A Celebration of 50 Years - lots of snack-sized selections from the history of Batgirl
3. Kids Menu: Breakfast of Champions - my toddler picked this one out for me from my physical bookshelves
4. Latin Flare: Autobiografía del algodón / The Autobiography of Cotton
5. Asian Menu: The Breath of a Wok
6. European Fare: Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory
7. Lean Cuisine: Saga, Volume 10 - a skinny graphic novel
8. Bad Apple
9. In a Pickle: Far Sector - I mostly picked this because pickles are green and this is a Green Lantern book, but I do also expect that Jo is going to end up in some tricky situations
10. Recipe for Disaster
11. Food for Thought: Special Topics in Being a Parent: A Queer and Tender Guide to Things I’ve Learned About Parenting, Mostly the Hard Way - I am hoping there will be a lot for me to think about in this book
12. Piece of Cake
13. “Dammit Doughnut”
14. Vegan: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy - the society in these books eats a plant-focused diet
15. Spicy: A Fire Born of Exile - fire, revenge, a love story... sounds spicy to me
16. Homemade: Cheerleaders From Planet X - published by a collective of indie authors
17. Comfort Food: The Healers' Home - the first book in the series is one of my favorite comfort reads
18. Popcorn: Jade War - these books remind me of kung-fu movies
19. Takeout: Automatic Noodle - four robots start a takeout noodle shop
20. Dessert

[CBRetriever]

Got 'em

1. Appetizer = Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger
Reason = prequel to first book by author (A Snake Falls to Earth)
2. Snack Food = The Big Book of Classic Fantasy edited by Ann VanderMeer
Reason = lots to snack on and will segue into the Modern one for Takeout
3. Kids Menu = The Secrets Below by Camilla Sten
Reason = rated as suitable for 10-14 years old
4. Latin Flare = The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino
Reason = author was born in Cuba and grew up in Italy = Latin America and Italy was where Latin was originally spoken
5. Asian Menu = The Poppy War by R.F. KuangKuang, R.F.
Reason = set in 12th century China
6. European Fare = Best of British Science Fiction 2023 by Donna Scott
Reason = British = European
7. Lean Cuisine = These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein
Reason = only 110 pages so it's thin = lean
8. Bad Apple = Mirror of our Sorrows by Pierre Lemaitre
Reason = Bad Apple = confidence trickster Désiré Migault who is one of the main characters
9. In a Pickle = Drumindor by Michael J. Sullivan
Reason = character named Pickles is in a pickle
10. Recipe for Disaster = Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse by John Joseph Adams
Reason = the Apocalypse is a disaster
11. Food for Thought = They Eat Horses, Don't They?: The Truth About the French by Piu Marie Eatwell
Reason = lots to think about here I hope
12. Piece of Cake = The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
Reason = lots of episodes of eating cake and mentions of cake plates
13. “Dammit Doughnut” = Head On by John Scalzi
Reason = yet another cat named Donut
14. Vegan = Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Reason = Crakers are completely vegetarian, and they can eat grass and leaves
15. Spicy = Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions by Nalo Hopkinson
Reason = Jamaican food is spicy
16. Homemade = The Song of All by Tina LeCount Myers
Reason = main character has chosen to live off the grid thus everything is homemade
17. Comfort Food = I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson
Reason = I'm sure I'll laugh at this even though I returned after only 5 years to some culture shock
18. Popcorn = Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
Reason = it was made into a movie and people eat popcorn at movie theaters
19. Takeout = The Big Book of Modern Fantasy edited by Ann VanderMeer
Reason = will be my takeout book for a while
20. Dessert = Feisty Felines and Other Fantastical Familiars by Kevin J. Anderson
Reason = I love cats so this would be a pleasant dessert

[Meredith]

CBRetriever wrote: "there's another Donut the cat in Head On"

I forgot about that! Too bad I already read this one. I have a friend with a cat named Donut.

[Meredith]

Kristin wrote: "Always in! Like Becky, I'll be shopping the pantry as much as possible. Placeholder for now...."

I like that concept of shopping the pantry. For this challenge, I always aim to read books that I own (e-books included) as of Dec 31 of the year before (so, books I owned as of the end of 2025 for the 2026 challenge).

[CBRetriever]

I sometimes look on gutenberg.org for books that meet prompts as those are free

[Jay]

My TBR Cleanup list for 2026:

1. Appetizer - A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking | T. Kingfisher
(Popping some wizard tarts to start)

2. Snack Food - A Cat's Tale: A Journey Through Feline History | Paul Koudounaris
(Bowlful of fact-snacks with Baba the cat)

3. Kids Menu - Princess Rouran and the Dragon Chariot of 10,000 Sages: Princess Rouran Adventures Book 1 | Shawe Ruckus
(Oh, look, another hapless child toppled headfirst into a fantasy)

4. Latin Flare - Havana Storm | Clive Cussler; Dirk Cussler
(No idea when or how I ended up with this book, but I put it on TBR, and the blurb mentions the Caribbean, so…)

5. Asian Menu - The Cat Who Saved Books | Sōsuke Natsukawa | Louise Heal Kawai - translator
(Ingredients: heartwarming eastern heritage, a talking cat, and a moewvelous quest)

6. European Fare - The Book of Lost Things | John Connolly
(Horror-tinged fairytale retellings? That counts as European, right? I’ll know for sure when I read it)

7. Lean Cuisine - Pineapple Hurricane | Amy Vansant
(Cozy, lean, but not mean; just mystery)

8. Bad Apple - Snake-Eater | T. Kingfisher
(It’s just one debt… what can possibly go wrong?)

9. In a Pickle - A Tangle of Time | Josiah Bancroft
(This is a series, but I’m not sure about buying the first book unless I like this one, which I just happen to have; so I guess I’ll start here)

10. Recipe for Disaster - Black Leopard, Red Wolf | Marlon James
(Dark, gritty, grim, bloody, and very generously served at 600+ pages… is this good for me or will this give me indigestion? Only one way to find out…)

11. Food for Thought - The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee (Has been on non-fic TBR for a while now; need to chew through this thoughtfully over green tea in a garden bistro)

12. Piece of Cake - The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant | Drew Hayes
(If the club bookshelf’s the cake, this is my third slice since joining)

13. “Dammit Doughnut” - Toto | A.J. Hackwith
(Another Oz glazed tale? With sprinkles? Seriously?)

14. Vegan - Protector of the Grove: An Apocalypse LitRPG | Nicholas Searcy
(LitRPG, foraged directly from the fantasy grove)

15. Spicy - The Jasad Heir | Sara Hashem
(Smells like someone upended the condiment cabinet into this; iced water on the side, please)

16. Homemade - The Snow Queen | Joan D. Vinge
(Heard it’s a classic, flavoured with nostalgia just like how mom used to bake them)

17. Comfort Food - The Bone Ships | RJ Barker
(Dragons are my comfort food)

18. Popcorn - The Invisible College | Jeff Wheeler
(Hand me six corn buckets, caramelised)

19. Takeout - Sphere | Michael Crichton
(That dino steak was good; what’s this dish about?)

20. Dessert - Satan's Diary | Nicholas Ponticello
(Lava cake, this irreverent yarn, belly laughs {burp}—and I’ll be done)

Can’t wait for the feasting.
Already got my bib on.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

Y'all are amazing and so creative. This thread brings me so much joy.

I'm not going to plan a full list ahead of time for this challenge, but I will use my already owned books that I read throughout the year.
**I am resisting the acquire books for the challenge before the year turns.**

[Banshee]

I love this challenge, because matching books with prompts is so much fun! I made sure to only use the narrowed TBR list from my spreadsheet which I fortunately have already prepared for 2026 (yes, I LOVE planning my reading, even when I end up reading something else afterwards). This time, I have more options for many of the prompts for more flexibility.

Progress: 0/20

☐ 1. Appetizer: Perdido Street Station OR The Ninth Rain OR Godkiller OR A Memory Called Empire
(The first book in a series.)

☐ 2. Snack Food: Old Babes in the Wood: Stories OR The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories OR River of Bones and Other Stories
(Short story collection.)

☐ 3. Kids Menu: The Eternity Code
(A middle-grade book.)

☐ 4. Latin Flare: The Last Guardian
(The author is from Puerto Rico.)

☐ 5. Asian Menu: The Wandering Earth OR The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 1
(Chinese author/Japanese author.)

☐ 6. European Flare: I Always Find You OR QualityLand OR Livets blod: En Ravnenes hvisken-fortælling OR Waran
(The author is from Sweden/Germany/Denmark/Ukraine.)

☐ 7. Lean Cuisine: Saturation Point OR Rose/House OR The Vital Abyss
(A novella.)

☐ 8. Bad Apple: Tidal Creatures
(There are obvious villains in the series.)

☐ 9. In a Pickle: Arm of the Sphinx
(The tower is the very definition of trouble.)

☐ 10. Recipe for Disaster: BioShock: Rapture
(The origin story of the experiment that could only have ended up in a disaster.)

☐ 11. Food for Thought: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
(A very important nonfiction book.)

☐ 12. Piece of Cake: TBD
(TBD)

☐ 13. "Dammit Doughnut": The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
(The next book in Dungeon Crawler Carl series.)

☐ 14. Vegan: Tender Is the Flesh
(A novel that is commentary on meat-eating.)

☐ 15. Spicy: The Bride Test OR Kingdom of the Wicked OR Ship Wrecked
(A romance or romantasy book.)

☐ 16. Homemade: Opowiadania bizarne OR Dożywocie OR Spalić wiedźmę
(A book from my home country, Poland.)

☐ 17. Comfort Food: Dzienniki gwiazdowe OR Brigands & Breadknives
(Childhood sentiment or cosy fantasy.)

☐ 18. Popcorn: The Book Thief
(The book has a movie adaptation.)

☐ 19. Takeout: The Kite Runner OR Paladin's Grace
(Loaned from the library.)

☐ 20. Desert: The Bone Shard War
(The last book in a series.)

[CJ]

I want to do this!

1. Appetizer - The Element of Fire by Martha Wells (her debut!)
2. Snack Food - Tropical Punch by SC Jensen
3. Kids Menu - Fledging by Octavia Butler
4. Latin Flare - The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas
5. Asian Menu - Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima
6. European Fare - On the Calculation of Volume II by Solvej Balle
7. Lean Cuisine - Citrus Bravo by Christopher George Quick
8. Bad Apple - Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
9. In a Pickle - The Disordered Cosmos by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
10. Recipe for Disaster - Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
11. Food for Thought - The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
12. Piece of Cake - Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault
13. “Dammit Doughnut” - Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart (the title reminds me of Princess Doughnut)
14. Vegan - Grass by Sheri S Tepper
15. Spicy - The Brightness Between Us by Eliot Schrefer
16. Homemade - Always Coming Home by Ursula K Le Guin
17. Comfort Food - Casual by Koji Dae
18. Popcorn - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
19. Takeout - The Extractionist by Kimberly Unger
20. Dessert - The End of Everything by Katie Mack

[CJ]

CBRetriever wrote: "I sometimes look on gutenberg.org for books that meet prompts as those are free"

Librivox also. They offer free audio recordings of books that are in the public domain. Very nice resource for classics!

[Midiain]

Tentative plan that will undoubtedly change several times:

1. Appetizer - The Left-Handed Booksellers of London 1st book in a series
2. Snack Food - The Long Past & Other Stories
Steampunk weird western with dinosaurs short stories sound like good snacks
3. Kids Menu - Platform Decay Murderbot has to deal with the horrors of children (yes, it's a new book, but it's my favorite series)
4. Latin Flare - A Memory Called Empire Partly inspired by the Aztecs and Nahuatl language
5. Asian Menu - Black Water Sister Malaysian author, characters, and culture
6. European Fare - Nicked Set in dark ages Italy
7. Lean Cuisine - Piranesi Fairly short book
8. Bad Apple - The Devils "unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters"
9. In a Pickle - Station Eternity The MC tries to escape having to solve murders and then gets stuck on a sentient space station where both humans and aliens are being murdered
10. Recipe for Disaster - The Hexologists The king wedges himself into an oven and demands to be baked into a cake which sounds like a definite recipe for disaster
11. Food for Thought - The Tainted Cup Holmes and Watson style mystery with a "gloriously labyrinthine plot"
12. Piece of Cake - Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos Explanations simplified enough that even I can understand them
13. “Dammit Doughnut” - The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us Princess Doughnut is a mammal who reigns over her minions
14. Vegan - A Botanical Daughter Vegans eat plants (but please don't eat intelligent plants)
15. Spicy - Burn Red Skies Dragons burn stuff with spicy fire?
16. Homemade - Stargazy Pie Stargazy pie is a traditional festival time dish that might be homemade except that it looks absolutely horrifying
17. Comfort Food - Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife Cozy fantasy
18. Popcorn - Brigands & Breadknives Light and funny book
19. Takeout - Service Model A robot takes out (murders) its master and takes itself out of bondage
20. Dessert - Last Gasp The very last part of a meal is the dessert

[Kristin]

Meredith wrote: "Okay, here goes,

1. Appetizer - Magic Bites, it's #1 in a series and "magic bites" sounds like an awesome appetizer.
2. Snack Food - [book:The Proper Thing and Other Stories|20492..."

Love seeing Ilona Andrews on a list! I hope you enjoy it. Magic Bites is one of their first books, but the world gets so much better further in. I'm biased. I love all of their books.

[Kaa]

CJ, let me know if you want to BR Always Coming Home, I've been trying to read it for several years and I think having a buddy might help motivate me.

I'm also considering stealing either Blood Over Bright Haven or Heavenly Tyrant for Bad Apple, as I'm hoping to get to both of them next year.

[CJ]

Kaa wrote: "CJ, let me know if you want to BR Always Coming Home, I've been trying to read it for several years and I think having a buddy might help motivate me.

I'm also considering stealing either Blood Ov..."

I posted something in the BR thread! Let me know there when a good starting time would be for you. Yeah, it's a long one, lol.

[Brian]

Alright! I used half of my day off to figure out this list. I am also trying to knock out my unread owned books list of over 350. Here it goes!

1. Appetizer - Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin
A small novel that was well before A Song of Ice and Fire
2. Snack Food - The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
It's so sad when you finish the bag of chips because all the chips are gone, but mostly because I may have eaten a whole bag...
3. Kids Menu - Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts
I have a daughter, she'll always be my little girl.
4. Latin Flare - Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
I like tortillas!
5. Asian Menu - Jade City by Fonda Lee
It's been on my shelf for years now. Thanks for giving me some extra motivation to finally read it.
6. European Fare - Number9Dream by David Mitchell
I thought it would be fun to see how a British guy would write about a kid in Tokyo.
7. Lean Cuisine - The God is Not Willing by Stephen Erikson
This is lean compared to his usual 1000+ page books
8. Bad Apple - The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
The soul of The Big Apple has a dark side.
9. In a Pickle - Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
I'm pretty sure I'm on the nose with this one.
10. Recipe for Disaster - The Gunslinger by Stephen King
I've been reading a lot of other stories(ingredients) that are wrapped up in the multiverse to be able to fully enjoy the feast of The Dark Tower series. I'm sure it's got a happy ending...
11. Food for Thought - Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
Maybe Jack, perhaps Diane. Have you considered Phlebus? There's something about it...
12. Piece of Cake - City of Thieves by David Benioff
The great quest for eggs to make cake!
13. “Dammit Doughnut” - Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff
Damn. That works.
14. Vegan - Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
I'm not the first to put this on the list. Since it's on the group bookshelf, I doubt I'll be the last.
15. Spicy - A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay
It's Guy Gavriel Kay....
16. Homemade - Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
I'm told that Castle Gormenghast is kind of its own character in this series.
17. Comfort Food - To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
It does sound nice.
18. Popcorn - Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
It's supposed to be a super fun read. That's it. Popcorn = Fun.
19. Takeout - The City & the City by China Mieville
Cities have takeout. 2 cities means more takeout. Right?
20. Dessert - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Tartts are yummy and debatably healthy.

I wasn't sure about the prompts, but it turned out to be really fun. Thanks.