Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt (Auriel Martin Edition)

Greetings, book lovers! I, too, enjoyed completing Kamama’s Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt and have come up with a list of findings to share with you all.

Find an author’s name or title with the letter z in it

The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Spear. This book (a historical fiction) used to be one of my favorite books, and was a double-scoring find, with a z in both the title and author’s name.

Find a classic

There are so many classics sitting on my shelves that this one was super easy. After paring the options down by using some in other categories I ended up with The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Find a book with a key on it

I was unable to find a book with a key on it. I assume that means I do not have one.

Find something on your bookshelf that’s not a book

Since I do not currently have a bookshelf that is mine to decorate, I decided to look around at every bookshelf in the house and choose my favorite item. It wasn’t hard. I’ve always loved the pink-and-white Mount Saint Helens glass ball gracing the highest shelf of the living room bookshelf.

Find the oldest book on your shelf

I have absolutely no idea which book is the oldest— there are so many old books on our bookshelves. One candidate would be The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards. The pages are yellowed with age and smell delightful, the back cover is only partial, and the spine and front cover are beginning to follow suit, so I thought this was a pretty close choice.

Find a book with a girl on the cover

Well, I chose the same book as Evelyn, but entirely by accident: Raiders from the Sea, by Lois Walfrid Jonson. This book’s cover features a few things on it, including a girl with reddish-blonde hair flying in the wind. Actually my favorite part of this cover is probably the celtic border on the side (though the cover isn't bad at all), but the book is really good (so are the sequels).

Find a book with a boy on the cover

Though I’m actually not sure whether it is a man or a hobbit featured on the cover of this book, I chose Tales from the Perilous Realm by J.R.R.Tolkien

Find a book that has an animal in it

How’s Inky? by Sam Campbell. This is a first of a series of twelve books in which the author (who lives on a large piece of land known as the Sanctuary) records the many wild animals living on or near his property and his adventures with them. Inky the porcupine is the most famous of these.

Find a book with a male protagonist

So, I meant to choose a different book for this section but then realized I don’t actually have this book! Instead, I’ll go with God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew. This is an autobiography, and I love it! It is the story of how Brother Andrew brought Bibles to Christians behind the Iron Curtain and there are some pretty incredible scenes in this book, including a car that wasn’t supposed to be able to operate, “invisible” Bibles, and other truly miraculous stories.

Find a book with only words on it

Will Our Generation Speak? by Grace Mally. While technically this book doesn’t have just words on it (there is a picture of an old oil lamp on it), I figured it was close enough.

Find a book with illustrations in it

While I have lots of stories with illustrations in them I chose Peter Pan, by J.M.Barrie. I don’t love this story as much as I used to, but I chose it because I have always been fascinated by the pictures. Our copy is illustrated by Scott Gustafson.

Find a book with gold lettering

I had no idea before I started this search how many books I have that have gold lettering on the cover! I chose Adorning the Dark, by Andrew Peterson. I’m going to stop right here and highly recommend this book to any aspiring authors or songwriters out there. (And anyone else, this is a great book). Adorning the Dark is both a memoir and a book of advice to authors and songwriters, and I loved it! There were many parts that made me laugh as well as meaningful advice.

Find a diary (true or fiction)

I couldn’t find a diary either, unless Eustace’s journal entries included in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader count.

Find an author with a common name

Bill Myers, author of the Journeys to Fayrah. This is a four book series starting with The Portal, followed by The Experiment, The Whirlwind, and The Tablet. It is about three children (Denise, Joshua, and Nathaniel) who journey to Fayrah several times and there learn valuable lessons through their many adventures.

Find a book with a close up of something on it

The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green. This book has a close up picture of a man’s hand holding a bow and arrow.

Find a book that takes place in an early time period

I was going to say The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C. Douglas at first, since I love this book, but then decided to go with Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick, since you can’t get farther back than creation! (Which is where this book starts). It’s a historical fiction telling the stories of Creation, Adam, and many of his descendants, at least as far as Noah.

Find a hardcover book without a dust jacket

Ivanhoe, by Walter Scott. I’ve read this classic a few times and enjoyed it.

Find a teal/turquoise book

Pembrick’s Creaturepedia by Andrew Peterson. (Though I almost picked the same thing that Evelyn did, again).

Find a book with stars on it

Tales of the Restoration by David and Karen Mains. This is the third in the Kingdom Tales trilogy, a fantasy series which is somewhat allegorical. I haven’t read this series in a while, due to the fact that it is a pretty easy read and probably intended for younger readers, but I enjoyed it when I did read it.

Find the longest book you own

So, I have absolutely no idea which book I have is the longest pages-wise, so I’ll go with the book that took me the longest to read. The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien took me two months. Please don’t think that because it took so long means I didn’t like it. Though I suppose I could say as some of my siblings do: I didn’t like it, I loved it!

Find the shortest book you own

A Triumph for Flavius by Caroline Dale Snedeker. This book has about 60 pages, but the font is large and I can blow through it really quickly. It is definitely geared for younger children, but it’s a pretty good story.

Find a book with multiple POVs

What is it with Evelyn and I picking the same books? Good taste, I guess. :) I chose the Wingfeather Saga, specifically The Warden and the Wolf King.

Find a shiny book

Probably the shiniest book I have is a newer copy of The Silver Chair from the Chronicles of Narnia. It’s not really that shiny, but the spine is silver and the chair is somewhat flashy.

Find a book with flowers on it

This might have been a bit of a stretch since the flowers are the design on the rug that is seen in the reflection of the mirror, but I picked The Silver Glass by Janifer C. De Vos. It is the second in The Guardian Series; the first book is The Purple Door and the trilogy is concluded in The Dark Watch.

Well, that’s all for now! I had a lot of fun doing this scavenger hunt, and would definitely recommend any of the books on this list if you are looking for a good book to read.

- Auriel