Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
My shelf is up several books to 1138. I added several books to my wishlist. Luckily, most of those books are available at my local public library.
This week’s books:
Investing 101 by Michele Cagan – KEEP. I bought this a couple of years ago, and I plan of finally reading it this year as I’m getting much more serious about how I invest the money in my retirement accounts.
The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser – KEEP. This is a Romance, which apparently wasn’t immediately obvious to me when I picked it up. Probably because it has “Bookshop” in the title and it’s set in Scotland so I didn’t look any closer. I rarely ever read Romance, but I will give this one a chance.
A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire – KEEP. I enjoyed the first book in the “October Daye” series, and I was able to get most of the books in a Humble Bundle last year, so I’m looking forward to diving further into this series and McGuire’s other books.
On Borrowed Crime by Kate Young- KEEP. I have so many first books of cozy mystery series. I’m keeping this one, but it will probably be a while before I get around to it.
Will Storr vs. The Supernatural by Will Storr – KEEP. This one was on my wishlist for years before I finally bought it online. I’m hoping to get to it during #RIP this year.
My want-to-read shelf is staying at 1138 books. I don’t foresee getting rid of any books any time soon, but since I’m doing the #ShelfLove challenge again this year, my TBR should decrease as I finish books.
In addition to New Year’s Day, I also had the rest of the week off from work. I took that time to begin another, but more aggressive round of decluttering. While I was getting rid of items I no longer wanted, I realized that the way my office was arranged wasn’t working for me. I thought it was due to all of the clutter, and while that was part of the problem, it wasn’t the entire problem. Once I rearranged a couple of pieces of furniture, the space is much more functional and feels more open.
Since decluttering and rearranging/reorganizing took up a lot of my time, I didn’t do much else other than update my fitness goals and decide to get back on the Galveston diet.
I went to Half Price Books with a couple of boxes of books that the boyfriend and I no longer wanted to keep. The money I got from selling my books is the only money I can use to buy books this year (other than my Nightmares from Nowhere book club books), and I got a couple.
Since two of my finished books were read by the end of 2024, they don’t count towards this year’s goals, and Rock Paper Scissors was a library book, so it also doesn’t count for the challenge, but that’s OK. There are 361 days left in the year!
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
My shelf is up several books to 1130. While I read a ton of books over the past couple of weeks, they were mostly free Audible books I came across. I also received a couple of books as Christmas gifts, and I bought several books while traveling and visiting family for the holidays. Thankfully, I’ve decided to do the #ShelfLove challenge again in 2025!
This week’s books:
Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg – KEEP. I’ve loved just about everything Holmberg has written so far.
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten – KEEP. The synopsis compares this to “The Blair Witch Project” and “Midsommar,” only one of which I’ve seen. While I’m a little skeptical because the synopsis doesn’t compare this Horror Thriller to other books, it sounds good enough to peak my interest.
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell – KEEP. This is supposed to be a “Victorian Ghost Story” according to the synopsis, and that sounds like the kind of Horror that is right up my alley.
Craven Manor by Darcy Coates- KEEP. There has only been one book by Coates that I thought was only OK.
The Big Book of Texas Ghost Stories by Alan Brown – KEEP. I’m not quite sure if the stories in this collection are Brown’s own or if he collected the stories and wrote versions of them. Either way, I’m looking forward to reading a bunch of ghost stories set throughout Texas.
My want-to-read shelf is staying at 1130 books. While I was hoping to have my TBR under 1118 books by January 1st, I didn’t plan for what would happen when I visited family for the holidays. Having a five-hour layover in the Denver airport, which has a Tattered Cover bookstore, along with extra space in my carryon didn’t help!
Have a happy New Year and I’ll see y’all in 2025!
I did a lot of walking while I was visiting family in Arizona! I also did a lot of relaxing and enjoying sweets and foods I no longer eat on a regular basis.
Because I was traveling and didn’t have access to my computer, this post is for the past 2 weeks of activity. It’s also my last FitReaders post of the year, and I’ll be back in 2025 with updated goals! Until then, have a happy New Year!
“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.
Currently Reading:
A Mindful Year by Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth J. Gillihan
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
Death at a Scottish Wedding by Lucy Connelly
Cold Days by Jim Butcher
Finished:
Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
The Shoe Box by Francine Rivers
The Legend of the Christmas Witch by Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
The Secret History of Christmas by Bill Bryson
A Texas Hill Country Christmas by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone
Father Christmas’s Fake Beard by Terry Pratchett
An Advent Carols Countdown by Michael D. Young
The Twelve Topsy-Turvey, Very Messy Days of Christmas by James Patterson and Tad Safran
25 Days by Per Jacobsen
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Old Magic of Christmas by Linda Raedisch
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum
Total pages read this week: 1831
Total books read: 128 of 130
I’ve been reading nothing but Christmas books for most of the month, and now I’m going to try to finish as many of my current reads before the end of the year. I’m also getting everything set up for 2025 in terms of goals and action plans for achieving those goals, a few of which are book related.
The biggest goal for me will be a fairly strict book-buying ban and shopping my own shelves for the #ShelfLove challenge. I’m keeping my Nightmares From Nowhere book club subscription for now, along with my Audible subscription, but the only other money I’m allowed to spend on books will be money that comes from selling books I don’t want to keep to Half Price Books. Any other books will either have to be free, from the library, or gifts/bought with gift cards.
Since this is my final “Building the Book Fort” post for the year, I will see y’all in 2025! Have a happy New Year!
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
My shelf is down several books to 1118. I finished a few books and I decided to not continue a series so I removed those books from my wishlist.
This week’s books:
The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike – KEEP. I haven’t read a Christopher Pike book since I was a kid, so I’m looking forward to this one.
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard – KEEP. The synopsis looks too good to pass up this one.Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J.W. Ocker – KEEP. This looks like a classic horror house story that might actually scare me a little.
Slender Man by Anonymous- KEEP. This is another book that looks like it might scare me a bit.
Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco – KEEP. I’ve been wanting to read more classic Horror after reading The Elementals by Michael McDowell, and I think this should be my next book. It’s supposedly the inspiration for The Shining by Stephen King.
My want-to-read shelf is staying at 1118 books. I’m not complaining, though since it’s the lowest it’s been in a few years. I’m hoping to have it even lower by January 1st when I start my year-long #ShelfLove challenge.
I’m fully enjoying the holiday season now and am out of my funk! I got all of my Christmas shopping done, found a few more decorations to put up around the house, and I’ve been watching Christmas movies while drinking hot chocolate and keeping a fire crackling a long in the fireplace.
I’m bringing back the #ShelfLove reading challenge in 2025 in an attempt to reduce the amount of money I spend on books and the number of books on my TBR.
Goal: Abstain from buying books or set a book buying limit – and focus on clearing your physical and virtual TBR bookshelves for the entire year.
Challenge Dates: January 1st – December 31st, 2025
THE GUIDELINES:
Abstain from spending money on books for one calendar year or set a book buying limit (whether that’s monetary or the number of books you may buy).
Gift cards are OK as well as any Audible credits you already have in your account.
Encourage other challenge participants via blog comments and social media.
Library books do not count for this challenge. This challenge is only for books you already own.
Netgalley, Edelweiss, or other ARC books can count for this because you have the book, so read it!
Read books that are in your personal library that were obtained before January 1, 2025.
NO BOOK BUYING CHALLENGE STEP 1: SELECT YOUR GOAL
1-10 books: shake hands with your shelves
11-20 books: pat your shelves on the back
21-30 books: give your shelves a warm friendly hug
31-40 books: regular date night with your shelves
41-50 books: your shelves are now your BFF
51+ books: your shelves and you are going steady – I’m choosing this goal because my reading goal for 2025 will be more than 50 books. I’m a member of the Nightmares from Nowhere book club, so I am allowing myself to continue my subscription. These books, plus whatever books I check out from the library should be more than enough, but the key is to stay away from the book stores!
NO BOOK BUYING CHALLENGE STEP 2: Link-Up
Create a sign-up post that includes your chosen goal on your blog or any social media platform (Facebook, X, Goodreads, Litsy, etc.).
Don’t forget to use the challenge hashtag #ShelfLove.
Comment on this post with a link to your sign-up post!
NO BOOK BUYING CHALLENGE STEP 3: READ THOSE BOOKS!
Feel free to post updates on how the challenge is going and what books you’ve been reading. I’ll be providing an update every week in my “Building the Book Fort” posts, and you can comment on those posts if you would like, but updates aren’t mandatory.
I can’t wait to read all y’all’s sign-up posts and show my bookshelves some love!
Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J.W. Ocker – KEEP. This looks like a classic horror house story that might actually scare me a little.
