I had very little energy this week and didn’t do much of anything other than use another of my remaining Audible credits. I didn’t even have the energy to read much more than a few pages several days this week and went to bed early instead. I’m hoping that I’ll finish at least a couple of my current reads over this long weekend, though. I have Monday off from work for the holiday, and while I’ll mostly be packing, I plan on taking plenty of rest breaks for reading.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
I decided to buy a new wristband for my FitBit instead of “downgrading” to a simple pedometer. Mostly because my FitBit still works and the new wristband was less than $7, versus the nearly $40 price of an accurate pedometer. Hopefully the wristband will take care of the issue of having my skin rubbed raw. If I still have problems, my next solution is to stop wearing it when I sleep since tracking my sleep isn’t as important to me as it used to be.
I decluttered enough things to completely fill my car and I got a friend to help me load it up to drop off at a Goodwill, and I felt like a weight had been lifted off of me. I felt so good about being rid of all that stuff that I continued decluttering when I got back home. I filled another bag full of clothes and accessories and completely emptied a suitcase. I realized that I had owned and hated that suitcase for over 20 years, and now I can finally be rid of it. Why did I hold onto something I hated for all that time? Because it was useful for holding a lot of clothes, some of which I hadn’t worn in over a decade. Next weekend I’ll be taking all of that and whatever else I decide to let go of to Goodwill as I continue to pack for my move at the end of the month.
Part of me felt guilty about all of this stuff that I owned, and part of me felt sad to be letting go of things that once brought me a lot of joy. However, I reminded myself over and over again that beating myself up for past overconsumption doesn’t solve or help anything. What matters is that all that stuff can now find new homes and I’m going to be much more choosy about what I buy and bring into my home going forward. I also frequently reminded myself that my memories aren’t in the things themselves, but in my mind and heart. Letting go of things that used to make me happy but no longer do doesn’t erase those memories.
I finally finished my first book of the New Year. While I’m reading for at least 90 minutes every day, I’m also reading multiple books, as usual, so 2026 is off to a slow start.
My number of books also went up by one because I used a couple of my Audible credits. I won’t be renewing my Audible subscription this year since I had planned on canceling it last year but renewed after I was offered a significant discount I didn’t want to pass up. However, I have far too many audiobooks that I still haven’t listened to, and I’m not happy with Amazon’s business practices in regards to authors, so this is definitely the final year. I also have a Libro.FM subscription that I have paused for three months. At that point, I will decide on whether I will keep it or cancel it until I use up those credits and actually get through a significant number of the audiobooks I already own.
While getting through my audiobook collection won’t reduce the number of physical books I own, nearly all of those books are now packed up, with the exception of a basket of books I want to read over the next few months. Other than those, I won’t be reading any of my physical books until I’m settled in a place where I can fully unpack. Hopefully that will be by June.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
I’ve been off of work since New Year’s, and I’ve spent most of my time off relaxing, prepping for the new year, and packing up for my move at the end of the month.
I’ve been thinking a lot about goals, and I’ve decided to keep an annual mileage goal, but beyond that, my focus is going to shift to getting outside more. To start off, I want to get outside to walk at least two days a week. That didn’t happen this week, and it might not happen at all this month, but I will soon be living next door to a park again.
I’m also considering getting rid of my FitBit and moving down to a pedometer, as I don’t find all the bells and whistles on my FitBit to be very useful or necessary. On top of that, the wristband has been rubbing a spot on my wrist raw. For now, I might look for and buy a new wristband that won’t do that, but I am seriously considering doing away with it altogether.
I managed to finish one last book before the New Year, bringing my total books read in 2025 to 104. I’m setting my reading goal for 2026 fairly low because I really want to focus on reading what I’m in the mood to read instead of picking shorter books. However, I’ve added a new goal of reading for a total of 90 minutes every day. Over the last few months of the year, I noticed that I wasn’t reading much after I got home for work. Instead, I was scrolling on my phone or bingeing TV. I want to return to quiet evenings with a book and a mug of tea after dinner. I already know from first-hand experience that doing that helps me.
I gave myself permission to buy some books for my Birthday. I was only supposed to buy one, but I ended up buying 4 physical books (1 of them is used) and an ebook.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
I’ve spent most of my time since Wednesday relaxing, reflecting, planning, and beginning the process of decluttering and packing. I got so caught up in all of that, that I nearly forgot to write this post.
I would like to write more about my decluttering, but even though I’ve just gotten started and this is a process I’ve gone through at least half a dozen times over the last decade, it’s been much more of an emotional experience this time around, and that has sapped my energy. I will probably write about in a week or two.
I lowered my mileage goal again because there was just no way I was going to be able to reach 825 miles. Frankly, with everything else going on, I’m perfectly happy that I’m over 800 miles for the year. I haven’t decided on what my goals for 2026 will be yet, but I will have at least a mileage goal.
Yule was quiet and wonderful, just how I wanted it. Spending Christmas Eve alone was difficult, but I made myself a giant mug of hot chocolate and a bowl of popcorn, and watched my favorite Christmas movie, “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.” After that, I settled in on the couch with Wolf Winter, my cats, and a big mug of tea. Christmas morning was also a bit difficult, but I’m glad I had plans to have a late lunch with a friend, as that helped me a lot.
I did next to nothing yesterday, and at first I felt guilty about that. Then I realized that I haven’t had any real time off from work just to relax since March. Any time off I’ve had since has been either only a day off in which I ran around trying to catch up on everything or because I was sick, injured, or dealing with something stressful. So, the only productive thing I did all day was to set up my 2026 Reading Tracker.
In addition to doing another year of my #ShelfLove reading challenge, I’ve decided to try the Reader’s Gauntlet:
I will be doing this challenge on “Easy mode,” and even then I have no idea how well I’ll do, but my only real goal for this challenge is to have fun by gamifying my reading. What I like about this challenge is that it’s not entirely made up of specific reading prompts. I’m too much of a mood reader to succeed at those challenges, unless they’re very short-term seasonal ones, and even then it’s iffy. Instead, just about every book I am likely to read will fit into the Reader’s Gauntlet somewhere, and the real challenge for me will be to fill in the “blanks” as I go along, similar to unlocking an achievement in a video game. That sounds like a lot of fun!
Over the remaining days of 2025, I’ll be doing my best to finish all of my current reads so that I’m starting 2026 fresh.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
I’ve spent most of this weekend relaxing, and today I’m focused on cleaning my apartment and then enjoying a nice homemade dinner to celebrate the Winter Solstice. This dinner was going to be my Christmas dinner, but I have plans to have Chinese food with friends on Christmas.
I only have to work two days this week and then only three days the week after that, so I’ll be relaxing and resting. That way, I’ll have plenty of energy to get everything packed up to move at the end of January.
I’ve accepted the written agreement to break the lease! I’m glad I saved all of the boxes and packing materials from my move. I’m also going to be doing another round of decluttering so that there won’t be as much to move, though I still have far more books than anything else.
I also talked to a realtor this week, and I’m going to take the steps to get pre-approved for a mortgage next week.
Beyond that, I’m doing my best to stay in the holiday spirit. Only having to work for two days next week is definitely helping with that. I have plans to celebrate Yule tomorrow by having a quiet day at home and then making and eating a nice dinner. I was going to have that dinner on Christmas, but I’ll be getting together with a couple of friends for Chinese food that afternoon instead. The following week, I only have to work three days and then I’m off until the 5th, and I’m greatly looking forward to all of the rest I’ll hopefully get between now and then. After that, my life is going to get very busy again as I declutter, pack, and start looking at condos with my realtor.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
I’ll being doing the #ShelfLove reading challenge again next year, as a part of my Low-Buy year.
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, 2026
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 or Libro.FM credits you already have.
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 you acquired prior to 2026 count for this challenge because you have the book, so you might as well read it (and write those reviews!).
Read books that are in your personal library that were obtained before January 1, 2026.
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 again because my reading goal will be more than 50 books. While I am allowing myself to buy used books with money I get from selling back the books I no longer want, I won’t be buying any brand-new physical books. The only exceptions to this are that I am allowed to buy myself one new book for my Birthday and as a Christmas present to myself. I’m also not buying any ebooks this year, but I have a lot of credits for audiobooks, so I’ll only be limiting those to the credits I already have.
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, StoryGraph, 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 y’all’s sign-up posts and show my bookshelves some love!
