Monday, September 26, 2016

The Children's Zoo

The Epic Library Read Book 1

The Children's Zoo by Lillian O'Donnell


I struggled a bit with this one.  I'm not a fan of mystery stories, but if I were forced to read more in this series, I could do it and not complain too much.  It was a quick read.  



The Epic Library Read

I blame Phyllis Rose.  She wrote The Shelf: From LEQ to LES: Adventures in Extreme Reading which led me to grab my very own shelf at my local library.

 The Shelf

My method of choosing my shelf was pretty quick and simple--Isabelle randomly spewed out a few numbers which led me to the shelf housing books about spiders, undersea creatures, shells and snails!! Squeal!!  

I have been reading through my shelf for awhile now and have loved the journey.  I also have sensed the calling of the other shelves around mine.  "What about me?  Pick me! Pick me!"   So, I decided to read one book from each shelf in the library. WHAT?!  Yes, it's crazy!  Yes, it will take me forever! Yes, I wish I had a neat name for this adventure and maybe that will come later.  For now, I am calling it Library Roulette. 

Isabelle patiently walked around with me while I mapped out the library shelves.  Friends and family gave me random numbers between 1 and 66.  I assigned these numbers to the map.  It sounds muddy as I explain it, but it makes sense to me and takes me to where I am supposed to be going. So, there is a map and rules.  Let the fun begin!


  1. Counting is from left to right, top to bottom.
  2. This is my favorite-- if the book I land on is one I can't possibly even handle reading, I can move to the end of the shelf and do a "reverse count" but, I HAVE to keep that book. 
  3. No Harlequin books, ever. period.  
  4. I have to give the book a chance by reading at least 3-4 chapters.  
  5. If I have to ditch a book, Isabelle will give me a random number and I will grab that book instead.

UPDATE:  I ditched the counting method because it wasn't as fun and quirky-random as I hoped.  Now, I just pick a book that catches my attention.  I do try to pick books that take me out of my comfort zone.  If I can't pick one then I use the counting technique.