I recently came across a fun thing to do – a Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt.  This was something created by BookTuber The Library of Sarah, and here’s her introductory video.  My bookshelf is more virtual, but it sounds such an interesting idea, I thought I’d give it a go.  So without further ado, let’s get started:

Find an author’s name or title with the letter Z in it
My bookshelf contains both ebooks and audiobooks.  For this one I chose the audiobook of Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny.  This is a fun series – each time you think you’ve got to the heart of the matter, another layer is pulled away.

Find a classic
This one’s easy.  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  A classic if ever there was one.

Find a book with a key on it
I struggled with this one for a bit.  I was even going to suggest the Wheel of Time’s Winter’s Heart which depicts Rand working with the Choedan Kal which is the access key to huge amounts of the One Power.  However, I thought that was stretching it somewhat.  Eventually I found this:

Find something on your bookshelf that’s not a book
As my bookshelf is virtual, I’ll have to pass on this one.

Find the oldest book on your shelf
This I will interpret as being the book which was originally published earliest.  For me that would probably be Evelina by Fanny Burney originally published in 1778,  I’ve not read this one yet.

Find a book with a girl on the cover
I’m spoiled for choice here.  It’s amazing how many young adult fantasy books have a girl on the cover.  As I’m on a Cassandra Clare kick right now though, I’ll go with Clockwork Princess.

Find a book that has an animal in it
I have a soft spot for gentle mysteries in which the protagonist’s cat helps to solve it.  For this let’s go with File M for Murder by Miranda James in which librarian Charlie is ably aided and abetted in his sleuthing by his Maine Coon cat, Diesel.

Find a book with a male protagonist
Two words.  Harry Potter.

Find a book with only words on it
This was surprisingly difficult.  It’s amazing how much cover art is part of the book experience.  The closest one I have is probably Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.  This is an excellent book, by the way, and worth checking out.

Find a book with illustrations in it
Hmmm.  Let’s go with Harry Potter Page to Screen.  This is a simply gorgeous book of how the Harry Potter films were made.  It was a gift from my husband and definitely one book I’m happy to have in beautiful hardback.

Find a book with gold lettering
Gold seems to be a popular choice for lettering.  Let’s go with The Gathering Storm from Wheel of Time

Find a diary (true or fictional)
I was torn between The Diary of Anne Frank and The Bridget Jones Diary.  Both are excellent books for very, very different reasons.  As the sequel to Bridget Jones is coming out in a few months, let’s go with Bridget.

Find a book written by someone with a common name (like Smith)
I assume “Dan Brown” counts?

Find a book that has a closeup of something on it
Shatter Me by Taheri Mafi is a new addition to my library.  I’ve not read it yet, but I’m hearing excellent things about it.  The cover shows a closeup of an eye

Find a book on your shelf that takes place in the earliest time period
Without a doubt, this would have to be Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children series, which is set in the Ice Age.  I enjoyed the first couple of books, but after that I found they got bogged down somewhat.

Find a hardcover book without a jacket
My virtual books all have virtual dust jackets

Find a teal/turquoise colored book
One thing I love about my virtual library is that it can be sorted at the click of a button.  One of the sort options Delicious Library has is to sort by cover colour.  This helped me to find this:

Find a book with stars on it
How about The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker.  This was an interesting concept, but failed slightly in the execution.

Find a non-YA book
I borrowed 50 Shades of Grey from the library, so cannot say it’s on my bookshelf, even if I would admit to it.  Of the books in my library, I’d say the least YA friendly would be possibly The Time Keeper by Mitch Alborn.  While I’m sure young adults could read and enjoy it, I’d say a few more years of life experience would help in the appreciation of the themes explored.

There you have it.  Thank you, Sarah, for coming up with a fun and imaginative exercise.  I enjoyed the fact that it showed how varied my library is.  What would you scavenge from your bookshelf?  Let me know in the comments.