Let the Hunt Begin!

Do you like scavenger hunts? I can’t attest to having done many (if any . . .?) in my current lifetime, but I’ve seen this ‘Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt’ circling around the blogverse for a while now and thought it’d be fun—and rather challenging, as it turns out. So come! Let us peruse the library for these hidden treasures, and then let me challenge you to find some (or all!) of these prompts, either on your own shelves or even if you’ve just read it but don’t own it—and don’t forget to post them in the comments so we can all see and enjoy! It’s always so much fun to see the different titles people share for the same prompt.

3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . GO!

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

That would be Kerry Nietz, author of the oddly adorable post apocalyptic robot-punk LOST BITS (and a plethora of other books). I loved this story about a lost robot trying to find his family. Totally made me think of the movie HOMEWARD BOUND, but with robots.

Find a classic

JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN! I have books 4-9 of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s extensive Tarzan series, and I thought it’d be fun to highlight a classic early 20th century pulp fiction for a change. Besides. Tarzan is awesome.

Find a book with a key on it

This hunt has perfect timing! I’d have to have failed this one if not for the ARC (advance reader copy) of THE ETERNITY GATE by Katherine Briggs. This book doesn’t officially release until September, but y’all, you are not gonna want to miss this one!

Find something on yourbookshelf that’s not a book

Um, well . . . Besides the character art, Lamplighter Literary candles, teacups, and bric-a-brac, I’ve just recently added succulents. I love my new succulents. I hope they live.

Find the oldest book on your shelf (fullblod)

Uh, I’m pretty sure this goes to the ancient copy of what I think is the New Testament. I say think because it’s in Norwegian. And I do not read Norwegian. The date is 1856. So, like, 167 years old.

Find a book with a girl on the cover

OF FIRE AND ASH by Gillian Bronte Adams. This book. Y’all, this book is fantastic, from cover to cover full of action, adventure, magical horses, and outcasts fighting to preserve what’s dear to them. This one is can’t-put-downable, and book 2, OF SEA AND SMOKE, is releasing in November! (That cover has Rafi on it. It’s also quite lovely.)

Find a book with a boy on the cover

ON THE DARK SEA OF DARKNESS by Andrew Peterson. This series, The Wingfeather Saga, is incredible, and it doesn’t matter if you’re seven or seven hundred thirty-two, there’s something ageless about the story. Depth to it that every maturity level can grasp and appreciate. It’s also an animated series with a second season en route. (I totally suggest you watch it)

Find a book that has an animal in it

Oh! This one’s too easy: REDWALL by Brian Jacques. This book, this entire series, is centered around anthropomorphic forest critters and the many adventures they have while battling foe-ish sea rats, foxes, serpents, stoats, and weasels. We go on voyages with otters, defend mountain strongholds with badgers and hares, and feast merrily with the mice (and moles! and squirrels!) of Redwall Abbey. The animated TV show from the early 2000s is my childhood.

Find a book with a male protagonist

Most of them . . .? But definitely TRIGUN by Yasuhiro Nightow. I mean, how can you not love this donut mowing, gunslinging cinnamon roll pacifist? Vash is incredibly goofy, but his laughter and incomprehensible kindness stem from a painful past and a rock-solid conviction that drive him to incredible lengths for the people he’s chosen to love and the homicidal maniac brother he swore to stop.

Find a book with only words on it

Honestly, I think the best I can do for this one would be my (maybe?) 1883 copy of ROBINSON CRUSOE, though it does have a floralish pattern embossed. But it’s either that or my Barnes & Noble editions of select titles.

Find a book with illustrations in it

I’ll go with my copy of THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss. This book swept me away like it was a riptide and I a hapless swimmer. I could hardly put it down, and when I did, it was all I thought about. At the time, I hadn’t had an experience like that in a long while, and it reminded me of how much fun reading can be. The writing was inspirational, and it has a handful of absolutely gorgeous illustrations.

Find a book with gold lettering

TRESS OF THE EMERALD SEA by Brandon Sanderson. I confess that I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, so I don’t know anything about the story, but the gold lettering is pretty literal on this one. Shiny gold foil, not just gold yellow. So I think that makes up for not playing an actual words-only cover. Right? Right??

Find a diary (true or false)

Okay, I really do lose on this one. I’ve read a diary or two (STEPPING HEAVENWARD and DIARY OF A WIMPY VAMPIRE (what a set those make)), but do not have copies of either. I should definitely read more of that style, though! Got any suggestions?

Find a book written by someone with a common name (like smith)

THE RUINS OF GORLAN by John Flanagan. ‘John’ is about as common as ‘Smith’, right? This Ranger’s Apprentice series, though, is uncommonly good. I read it as a young teen, and now that the series is actually finished, I’m thinking it’s time for a reread. I absolutely loved the characters and had so much fun going along on all of their adventures across the kingdom—and beyond!

Find a book that has a close up of something on it

Oooooph, this is hard, since I don’t generally read the type of books that have real closeups of anything. The best I’ve got is a handful of titles from ONE-PUNCH MAN, such as volume 21, which gets up close and personal with Saitama, the MC’s, shiny bald pate.

Find a book on your shelf that takes place in the earliest time period

Fantasy or literal? Because if this is an ‘anything goes’ kind of game, then I’m thinking this has to go to GREYWOLF’S HAERT by C.M. Banschbach, which is set in a prehistorical-ish Celtic-ish world of wild country and fierce tribes of warriors that ride giant grey wolves and sabertoothed cats.

Find a hardcover book without a jacket

Definitely MOONSCRIPT by H.S.J. Williams! This book was a journey of heart, of rescue, of light, and of the slow road to healing. It has a great cast of characters that play off each other very well, and I mean. Just look at that cover. It has got to be one of the most gorgeous naked covers I’ve ever met.

Find a teal/turquoise colored book

This one absolutely has to go to WINTER OF THE BEES by Angela R. Watts. It’s not a solid color, and it may not actually be true teal/turquoise, but it is the first book that came to mind for this prompt! This middle grade book about love, loss, pain, and healing is wholesome, poignant, heartfelt, and delightful. I highly recommend you give it a read!

Find a book with stars on it

Y’all, I thought I was done in by this one. I looked and looked, was coming up empty (lots of flowers and falling petals, but no stars). And then I remembered. SWORD IN THE STARS by Wayne Thomas Batson! Saved. This is another series that I’ve been collecting but haven’t jumped in on, but I’ve enjoyed Batson’s other works so far, so I’m confident this one will be just as epic (especially if the size of the volumes are any indicator!)

Find a non YA book

Psh. Easy . . .? DAWN OF VENGEANCE by Ronie Kendig. No, this is not the first book in the series. But the scavenger hunt rules didn’t say it has to be. It is my favorite cover of the Droseran Saga, though. It’s the colors. Mostly. This series is technically adult fiction, for the more mature themes and whatnot, but it’s still (mostly) clean and doggone intense. And if you haven’t met Tigo Decken or Daq’ti, you’re missing out. Oh, and Marco. And Roman. Isaura. Mavridis . . .

Find the longest book you own

That is totally not fair. Longest by page count, or longest by word count? Maybe that last one only really applies to authors and their our strange ways. But. I mean. If we’re gonna play this game, then, the BIBLE. My copy has over a thousand pages. It also takes place over the longest time period (so, I mean, the book of Genesis would technically work for the ‘earliest time period’ prompt. It starts at the very beginning . . .)

Find the shortest book you own

It was a close call, but PARTS by Tedd Arnold won out by one page. I loved this trilogy of picture books as a kid (evidently. I still have them!) It centers around a boy who takes the phrases his parents and neighbors use quite literally (such as coughing your lungs up and scared out of your skin) and winds up wrapping himself together out of fear that he’ll fall apart, until his parents come to the rescue. It’s really fun, and the dinosaur and action figure ‘side characters’ are hilarious.

Find a book with multiple PoVs

THESE WAR-TORN HANDS by Emily Hayse. This book opens up a sweeping and hauntingly beautiful trilogy set in a mysterious and rugged landscape akin to America’s West when it was still an untamed territory. Think a John Wayne movie meets Arthurian legend, and you’ll have a pretty good idea! There are at least five PoVs in this book, I believe.

Find a shiny book

I gotta admit, this one threw me off a little! But lo and behold, I came up with something! The copy of CASTAWAYS OF THE FLYING DUTCHMAN by Brian Jacques has an unique silver tone to it that makes the paper shine, but altogether differently than you’re typical glossy finish. More satiny, I guess? It’s really cool, regardless.

Find a book with flowers on it

Last but not least! I’m giving this one to volume 3 of KAKURIYO: BED & BREAKFAST FOR SPIRITS. This is a cute supernatural romance that weaseled it’s way into my heart because of, believe it or not, the cooking theme! Our heroine, Tsubaki Aoi, is whisked away to the realm where spirits live, and rather than being eaten by them, she feeds them with the cooking skills she learned from her grandfather. The series is ongoing, so I don’t know how it ends, but I’ve enjoyed watching how she relates to and interacts with the various characters that cross her path.

And there we are, friends! Whew! That took a while, some creative thinking, and quite a bit of actual hunting, but it sure was fun to explore and see how many books I could actually match to the prompts. Now it’s your turn! What books can you find to go with the prompts? (I totally concur with spending an afternoon at the library to do this, if you’re so inclined, and ebooks and audiobooks absolutely count, too!) And don’t forget to drop your findings here in the comments, let’s see what everyone can find! Happy hunting!