Pick-a-Shelf discussion

I'm excited to be working my way through stacks of books I've had just sitting around here!!


Tasks completed: 10/10
Total books read: 63/63

Click on my star rating next to each finished book for my review.

* Read 5 books from your stacks/shelves at home that you haven't read yet.


Work Song by Ivan Doig - finished July 21 - 4 stars
Halt's Peril by John Flanagan - finished Oct. 31 - 5 stars!
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix - finished Dec. 8 - 4 stars
A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner - finished Dec. 20 - 4 stars
Dashing Through the Snow by Mary Higgins Clark - finished Dec. 17 - 3 stars
Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella - currently reading


Finished for this task: 5/5 - COMPLETED!

* Read 7 books you have borrowed (from friends, family, the library) so you can return them and make room.

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig - finished July 16 - 5 stars!!
The Noonday Friends by Mary Stolz - finished July 22 - 3.5 stars
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson - finished August 21 - 3.5 stars
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt - finished July 11 - 5 stars!!
George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster - finished Sept. 26 - 3.5 stars
The Maze Runner by James Dashner - finished Oct. 18 - 4 stars
Scumble by Ingrid Law - finished Oct. 19 - 5 stars!!


Finished for this task: 7/7 - COMPLETED!

* Read 6 books recommended to you by a friend.


Crossfire by Dick Francis - finished Aug. 26 - 3.5 stars
Abarat by Clive Barker - finished Oct. 15 - 4 stars
An Autobiography by Agatha Christie - finished Oct. 24 - 4 stars
The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff - finished Oct. 27 - 4 stars
Sarah's Quilt by Nancy E. Turner - finished Dec. 4 - 4 stars
Storm Front by Jim Butcher - finished Dec. 11 - 3.5 stars


Finished for this task: 6/6 - COMPLETED!

* Read 5 books that you have been dreading to tackle either due to reviews you have heard, content or the sheer length of them. (I can't read more than 5 of these! It's torture! :)

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - finished July 30 - 1.5 stars
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville - finally finished Nov. 1!! - 2 stars
The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White - finished Dec. 10 - 2.5 stars
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky - finished Dec. 26!! - 4 stars
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien - finished Dec. 31 !!!!! - 3 stars

Finished for this task: 5/5 - COMPLETED!!!!

* Read the 5 books that have been on your TBR the longest.


Soul Eater by Michelle Paver - finished Oct. 3 - 4 stars
My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen - read Oct. 20 - 5 stars
Gideon the Cutpurse by Linda Buckley-Archer - finished Nov. 8 - 4 stars
The Maze in the Heart of the Castle by Dorothy Gilman - finished Nov. 20 - 4 stars
The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - finished Dec. 6 - 3.5 stars


Finished for this task: 5/5 - COMPLETED!

* Read the 7 shortest books from your TBR that aren't picture books.


Here We All Are by Tomie dePaola - read Sept. 25 - 4 stars
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson - finished Aug. 31 - 4 stars
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - finished Aug. 22 - 4 stars
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - finished Oct. 26 - 4.5 stars
The Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy Rhoads - finished Oct. 27 - 3.5 stars
The Light at Tern Rock by Julia L. Sauer - read Oct. 21 - 4 stars
Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers by Gary Paulsen - finished Oct. 21 - 4.5 stars

Finished for this task: 7/7 - COMPLETED!

* Spell something (BOOKS ARE FUN) with 11 picture books or graphic novels using the first letter of each title.

B- Big Bad Wolves at School by Stephen Krensky - read Sept. 13 - 4 stars
O- Of Numbers And Stars: The Story of Hypatia by D. Anne Love - read Sept. 13 - 4 stars
O- Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World by Mac Barnett - read Sept. 2 - 4 stars
K- Keep Your Eye on the Kid by Catherine Brighton - read Sept. 17 - 3 stars
S- Something to Tell the Grandcows by Eileen Spinelli - read Sept. 16 - 3 stars

A- Action Jackson by Jan Greenberg - read Sept. 9 - 4 stars
R- Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest by Gerald McDermott - read Sept. 7 - 3 stars
E- (The) Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base - read Sept. 11 - 4 stars

F- (The) Fortune-Tellers by Lloyd Alexander - read Sept. 7 - 4 stars
U- Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau - read Sept. 13 - 3 stars
N- Never Smile at a Monkey by Steve Jenkins - read Sept. 17 - 5 stars

Finished for this task: 11/11 - COMPLETED!

* Read 5 non-fiction books.


Candyfreak by Steve Almond - finished Oct. 25 - 4 stars
Indian Chiefs by Russell Freedman - finished Nov. 11 - 4 stars
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser - finished Nov. 25 - 4 stars
The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd by Jana Bommersbach - finished Dec. 12 - 4 stars
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell - finished Dec. 18 - 4 stars


Finished for this task: 5/5 - COMPLETED!

* Read 7 books from series, in order to complete some.


The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness - finished Sept. 5 - 5 stars
This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer - finished Sept. 6 - 3.5 stars
Charlie Bone And The Red Knight by Jenny Nimmog - finished Aug. 29 - 3.5 stars
Lord Sunday by Garth Nix - finished Aug. 18 - 4 stars
The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan - finished Aug. 14 - 5 stars
Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull - finished Aug. 8 - 4 stars
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - finished Sept. 3 - 4.5 stars

Finished for this task: 7/7 - COMPLETED!

* Read 5 books started but never finished. (The winning task from our poll!)


Wizards at War by Diane Duane - finished Sept. 12 - 4 stars
The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by Lloyd Alexander - finished Sept. 20 - 3 stars
The Serial Garden by Joan Aiken - finished Nov. 8 - 2.5 stars
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke - finished Nov. 14 - 3.5 stars
Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander - finished Nov. 14 - 4 stars

Finished for this task: 5/5 - COMPLETED!

Two 5-star books in a row! They are very different, but I loved both The Underneath by Kathi Appelt and The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. Click on my star ratings above to read my reviews. Next up: Work Song also by Ivan Doig.

The Turn of the Screw was barely a 2-star book for me. I'll link to my review above once I've written it. Did anyone like that book? I would like to discuss it with someone who did and see what I missed because I really didn't like it at all.

I ended up giving The Turn of the Screw 1.5 stars. I just couldn't go as high as 2 stars - especially since the GR definition of 2 stars is "it was ok." You're welcome to read my review, if you like. I also posted my review of Keys to the Demon Prison, the final book in the Fablehaven series - a wonderful fantasy series that I highly recommend!

Another 5-star book! John Flanagan's Ranger's of Apprentice series has been one of my favorite series in the past couple of years. And book eight, The Kings of Clonmel, was right up there with several of my other favorites in the series. I highly recommend the series!

Is it cheating to add Crossfire by Dick Francis to my "recommended by a friend" list? I do have a GR friend who read an ARC and recommended it even before it came out. Although I would be reading it no matter what she said about it since he is one of my all-time favorite authors. :) So it almost feels like cheating. But I can't get it to fit anywhere else, and I want to read it before Mockingjay comes! I added it to my list instead of replacing a book, if that helps. :) What does everyone think?

ETA: Maybe it could fit in the "dreaded" category since for YEARS I've been dreading the FINAL book by Dick Francis. :( It's simply very sad.

Luann wrote: "Is it cheating to add Crossfire by Dick Francis to my "recommended by a friend" list? I do have a GR friend who read an ARC and recommended it even before it came out. ..."

It was recommended to you, right? So how could it be cheating? I can't conceive of the concept of the FINAL book by Dick Francis. I haven't read any in quite a while, but I used to love them when I did.

Susan wrote: "...how could it be cheating?"

I guess it feels like cheating because even if she recommended NOT reading it, I still would. :) But I want to fit it into the challenge, and that's really the only category that works. So if there aren't huge protests, that's where I'm going to slot it.

Susan wrote: "I can't conceive of the concept of the FINAL book by Dick Francis."

It is very hard to believe. I'm assuming his son will continue writing, but it just won't be the same.

Thanks for the feedback, Susan. Also, just in case you are following this thread, I thought I'd post here as well: Did you know that you have been chosen to be September's Shelf Picker? We anxiously await your pick!

So I did add Crossfire to my "recommended" list. I just HAD to add it somewhere! :) Click on my star rating above, if you would like to read my review. I also read the eighth Charlie Bone book, while ANXIOUSLY waiting for my copy of Mockingjay to arrive!!

Mockingjay! My review

Wow. Those of you who are reading and loving The Hunger Games series might also like the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness. I just finished book two, The Ask and the Answer, and am desperate to get my hands on a copy of book three! Click on "5 stars" in my list above to read my review.

I still need to read a nonfiction book and one that has been on my TBR the longest. I'm worried about having a bunch of books from all of the most difficult tasks at the end and having to read them one right after the other. But I sure enjoyed reading books from all of those series one right after another! :)

Luann wrote: "Wow. Those of you who are reading and loving The Hunger Games series might also like the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness. I just finished book two, [book:The Ask and the Answer..."

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm going to try these.

Cool, Lahni! You'll have to let me know what you think when you read them!!

Picture book task completed! :) Now I REALLY need to concentrate on reading something from every task - namely nonfiction and longest TBR books. Although library books with due dates also have to take priority. Those are the ones I've marked "on deck."

Why does life always get in the way of my reading?? :) Last week was the book fair at my school and I can't think of much else while that's going on. Now that it's over I finally got a chance to sit down and write reviews for my last three books, all pretty solid four-star books for me: Soul Eater, Abarat, and The Maze Runner. Click the "4 stars" link above next to each title to read my review.

Scumble by Ingrid Law -- 5 stars!!

Why are the books I love the most the most difficult to write about? I have the hardest time saying anything more than: "Amazing!" or "I loved it!" or "Everyone should read this book!"

Luann wrote: "Scumble by Ingrid Law -- 5 stars!!

Why are the books I love the most the most difficult to write about? I have the hardest time saying anything more than: "Amazing!"..."

It sure is easier to complain about something isn't it!

I finally read one for the nonfiction task! (Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America - I posted my review in the biography thread.) Now I've completed at least one book for each task. Whew!

Lahni wrote: "It sure is easier to complain about something isn't it!"

LOL. Yep! Either that or I need to broaden my vocabulary with more synonyms for "amazing." :)

I finally finished Moby Dick!! It took two months, but now I have finished and will never have to read it again!! I talk about the end a bit, so I marked my review with a spoiler alert. If you want to read it, click on the "2 stars" link in my list above.

I don't know if I'll ever get the gumption to start Moby Dick but it was my 13 year old's favorite book until he read Les Miserables.

Wow, Lahni! He must be SOME reader!!

He is. He really loves the classics. He likes to spend his money on nice leather bound collections.

I didn't vote for the "books started but never finished" task, but I am loving knocking some of those books off of my "unfinished" shelf! What a great sense of completion and accomplishment it gives you! I just finished The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories - a book I more than likely would NEVER have gone back to if not for this challenge with that task.

Thanks to everyone who voted for the "books started but never finished" task! I didn't look forward to it, but I ended up really enjoying it. And I finished with a book that I had been meaning to get back to for quite a few years!!

Nonfiction isn't usually my go-to genre, but I nearly always enjoy it when I read it. Just finished Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal and gave it 4 stars.

I'm getting there slowly. Just eight books left, if I only do five for the three remaining tasks. I'm most worried about finishing The Brothers Karamazov!

Luann wrote: "I'm getting there slowly. Just eight books left, if I only do five for the three remaining tasks. I'm most worried about finishing The Brothers Karamazov!"

Luann, I listened to TBK on tape, and I found it helped a lot to have someone else pronouncing the Russian names. That's usually a stumbling block for me in Russian works. It all seemed to flow for me much better than I think it would've if I'd been slogging through the book. If your library has it, you might even want to switch back and forth.

Thanks for the tip, Susan! I've done quite a few of the classics I've read this year on audio. It can be a really nice way to make it through a book. I mostly listen while I'm driving around - back and forth to work, running errands, etc. But after Moby Dick, I needed something light and fun to listen to. I didn't think I would be able to make it through The Brothers Karamazov listening in short segments - and I didn't think it would be the type of thing I would be motivated to listen to at other times not in the car. Also, my library doesn't have a professional audio version of it, and the Librivox version is recorded by a whole list of people. I try to stay away from those since the audio quality and voice quality tends to vary greatly from person to person. So TBK is going to be the first LONG book I read on my Kindle - assuming I actually do make it all the way through. :) I'm 30% through now, but have been stalled for a bit reading other things. :)

I think you're right on both counts, Luann. When I listened to it, I was making a couple 12-hour drives, and it worked really well for helping keep me alert. But it was also a professional recording. I think, especially with the Russian names, it would have been frustrating to have the reader change mid-book.

Susan wrote: "I think, especially with the Russian names, it would have been frustrating to have the reader change mid-book."

Definitely. Even with regular books, it's frustrating. I listened to a couple of them and had a hard time getting used to different voices and varying audio quality with each chapter. Then I found a couple of narrators at Librivox I liked who did entire books and now I'll never listen to the mixed-narrator there again. The only one I've enjoyed like that was Dracula and they hand-picked voices to read the different characters. And even then, some of the voices weren't my favorite.

Well, with some paring down of my list, I'm down to ONE task left - and of course it's the "dreading" task! I'm 44% of the way through The Brothers Karamazov, and then I need to read The Silmarillion.

But what's the deal?? I've still got STACKS of books around here waiting for me to read them. This challenge was supposed to help with that!! :)

I find the more I read...the more I post. The more I post....the more I see books of others that I want to read. It will never end! My TBR list grows much faster than my read list. Oh well. I had the hardest time getting through the "started but not finished" books. There was a reason I didn't finish most of them the first time around. :)

LOL - I agree, Lahni. It's a never-ending cycle. But I certainly love knowing about more great books to read than ever before.

Yay!! Finally finished The Brothers Karamazov!!! My tenth classic for 2010, and the first LONG book read entirely on my Kindle. And the penultimate book needed to finish my YOU CHOOSE tasks!! Now I just need to make it all the way through The Silmarillion in the next four days. Yikes. It's just over 300 pages, but I don't think it's going to be an easy read - thus its appearance on my "dreaded" list.

Luann wrote: "Yay!! Finally finished The Brothers Karamazov!!! My tenth classic for 2010, and the first LONG book read entirely on my Kindle. And the penultimate book needed to finish my YOU CHOOSE tasks!! Now I..."

I'm impressed, Luann. You're so close! You can do it!
I'm thinking I should've picked out an audio book for all these holiday trips to get family at the airport. I would've finished at least one more book that way.

Thanks, Susan!

Yep, audio books are great for fitting into those little car trips or other times when you really can't be reading but can be listening. I'm planning to finish at least one more before the end of the week on audio since it is a contemporary fiction. And I need something to balance out The Silmarillion.

I finally completed ALL 10 TASKS!!! With only 8 hours of YOU CHOOSE left! :) Wow, that "dreaded" task was very difficult - especially since I saved two of them until the end. I tried not to, but that's how it worked out. Now I'm looking forward to reading something I'm NOT dreading! :)