Rolling Thunder wrote in
:

snip
So I'm looking at alternatives. Knowing the clips are the least
expensive way to go for a low cost book shelf I'm building,
kinda mission style 30" tall,


I'm guessing that we're just talking about securing the top here, right?

Glue small blocks to the underside of the top, or to the top edge of the
sides, but not both. Elongate some screw holes in the blocks, and secure
to the unglued piece with a standard wood screw of appropriate size. The
long screw hole allows for the cross-grain wood movement to occur
gracefully. And cheaply.

The same thing could be done with hidden bracing under the top, which adds
to the strength of the strucure.

Did that make any sense to you? I'd be willing to try again, when I'm
awake.

Patriarch