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 has increased again to 1122 books. I finished a few books, but I added several more to my TBR.
This week’s books:
How to Be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson – KEEP. I think having time to do nothing at least every once in a while is important. I see it as self-care. I am a bookworm after all and I love to spend lots of time reading for the sheer enjoyment of it, rather than for a productive purpose.
Welcome to the United States of Anxiety by Jen Lancaster – GO. I don’t need to be told that Anxiety is a big problem in the US.
The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb – GO. I thought this would be a stereotypical Horror story, but it sounds more like a Paranormal Romance with a dash of Horror, and I’m not interested in that.
The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan – GO. Several years ago, I thought I needed to be successful and productive to be happy. I began listening to several of the motivational speakers that were very popular, and they all mentioned this book. It wasn’t until none of what I was doing, based on the advice of these motivational speakers was making me any happier. Then I realized that searching for happiness outside of myself was never going to work.
The Miracle Equation by Hal Elrod – GO “Hal Elrod…shares his “miracle equation,” the secret to unlocking happiness, success, and your full potential.” NO, THANKS.
My want-to-read shelf is down a few books to 1118. I wasn’t sure about any of these books until suddenly, I knew I didn’t want most of them anymore. A couple of them were books I bought for a version of myself I no longer aspire to be.
I’ve struggled with making healthy food choices that are in line with the Galveston Diet this week, especially when I’m not at home. I’ve been getting far too many carbs and the result is that my weight has bounced back and forth between the same couple of pounds. My consolation is that I am still eating considerably healthier and yummy food most of the time and building good habits.
“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
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
Finished:
The New Menopause by Mary Claire Haver, MD
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor
Total pages read this week: 1077
Total books read: 48 of 80
TBR: -16 (Goal is -36)
I bought a lot of books at the Columbus Book Festival last weekend and then even more books during Amazon Prime Days. I am thoroughly stocked up on Science Fiction for many #SciFiSummer reading challenges. I also bought a few Horror novels to add to my #RIP TBR.
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 has jumped up to 1121 books. I finished a book, but I added a bunch when I went to the Columbus Book Festival this weekend.
This week’s books:
The Price of Paradise by Susan López Rubio – KEEP. I used to love Historical Fiction set in Cuba, but it’s been a long time since I last read any. I’m also skeptical about this one because it’s a love story, but I’m hoping it will be similar to one of my favorite movies, “The Lost City.” With that hope in mind, I’ll give this book a chance.
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert – GO. Based on the synopsis, I feel like the title of this book is a little misleading. I’m no longer interested in reading this one.
Hobbit Virtues by Christopher A. Snyder – KEEP. This is one of the few books related to The Hobbit that doesn’t seem to be purely academic or entirely religious. There’s nothing wrong with those books, but I’m always on the lookout for cozy and/or slightly more secular books that are all about Hobbits.
The Omega-3 Effect by William Sears, M.D. – GO. As good as this might be, though I’m sure a little outdated due to being twelve years old, I already know how important getting enough omega-3 in my diet is and have been doing so for quite a while now. I don’t need this book, so I’m going to let it go.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust – KEEP. I bought this solely based on Jenny Lawson recommending it. At some point, I will get around to reading it.
My want-to-read shelf is down a couple of books to 1119. I surprised myself a little this time, and I’ll probably surprise myself again in the next post. I’m not sure about any of the books coming up.
I didn’t lose any weight this week, but I also veered from my diet a bit due to dining out for dinner on Friday with a friend and getting lunch and snacks at the Columbus Book Festival yesterday.
Fitbit has made it more difficult for me to tally up my weekly stats by doing away with the dashboard on the website. I now have to go day by day in the app. The frustrating part is that the app only shows my “Zone” minutes and not all active minutes. While my goal of 150 minutes a week is going to stay the same, I’ve changed the name of it.
I made it to the Columbus Book Festival about 30 minutes after it started this morning. Don’t let the photo above fool you; all the action was happening inside the library and the topiary park behind the library, and it was already packed when I arrived!
Midnight Reader Club
The Midnight Readers Club was probably the most packed spot in the topiary park and with good reason! They were selling lots of wonderful “Blind Date with a Book” packages that all included a reading log bookmark, a magnetic bookmark, a highlighter, annotating tabs, and stickers. Since it’s #SciFiSummer, I picked up three interesting-sounding SciFi novels.
Tobias S. Buckell, John Scalzi, Yume Kitasei
When I was looking at the schedule this morning, I saw that there was a Horror panel, and I almost went to that, but then further down on the schedule, I saw there was a Science Fiction panel at the same time. I did not look at the names of the authors on the panel but decided to go purely because it was SciFi. So, imagine my surprise when I saw JOHN SCALZI! I’m sure the Horror panel was great, but these three authors were hilarious and I’m glad I didn’t miss it. I was in the back, so the photo I got of Tobias S. Buckell, John Scalzi, and Yume Kitasei isn’t great.
#BookHaul
Unfortunately, it completely skipped my mind to ask them if I could take a good photo when I went to get their books signed after the panel. I already have the ebook of Starter Villian, but couldn’t resist getting a physical copy along with a couple of Scalzi’s other books. I also got both of Kitasei’s books, The Deep Sky and The Stardust Grail, and Buckell’s Runes of Engagement, in addition to a couple of other books that looked interesting. 60 Songs that Explain the ’90s by Rob Harvilla is also a podcast that I will be listening to at some point and I picked up Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings after seeing the author on another panel I happened upon while trying to get out of the sun for a few minutes.
Novel Puzzles by Claire Mercer
All in all, I had a great day. The lines were long for just about everything, and I got hot, sweaty, and a little sunburnt, but now I have lots more books to read and some book-related puzzles to work through while I hang out inside in the AC.
“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
The New Menopause by Mary Claire Haver, MD
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Finished:
The Day of the Troll by Simon Messingham
Big Damn Hero by Nancy Holder & James Lovegrove
Titanborn by Rhett C. Bruno
Total pages read this week: 457
Total books read: 45 of 80
TBR: -32 (Goal is -36)
Last weekend, I aimed to finish two books for the #SciFiSummer reading challenge, and I succeeded. I am now one book away from being a “Viper Pilot.” One of those books, Titanborn, was an ARC for #CampNetGalley, and the other, The Day of the Troll, was my #DoubleSpin for this month.
This weekend is the Columbus Book Festival. Last year was a blast but there were far more people there than expected and I wasn’t prepared. This year, my goal is to get there at the beginning before it gets too crowded and too hot and I’m taking an extra tote bag with me for all the books and book-related things I know I will end up buying.
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 a whole lot of books to 1115. I was looking for an ebook I wanted to read and discovered a whole bunch of ebooks that I had never put into Goodreads. I’m not sure how that happened since I thought I had got them all cataloged a few years ago, but at least they’re organized now.
This week’s books:
A Girl from Nowhere by James Maxwell – KEEP. Nothing in the synopsis is grabbing my attention, but it also sounds like it might be a good story overall. I’ll give it the 50-page test.
The Witch’s Kind by Louisa Morgan – KEEP. I don’t know if I’m at all right, but I’m getting Practical Magic vibes from this one. I’m hoping it will be as good.
A Green and Ancient Light by Frederic S. Durbin – KEEP. The synopsis starts by comparing this book to three different excellent stories, and that always makes me skeptical. I’m still going to give it a chance, but I will not be expecting great things.
The Girl in the Tree by Şebnem İşigüzel – KEEP. I don’t know how I feel about this one. It’s not what I normally read, and many of the reviews don’t inspire me to pick this one up, but I’m not ready to let it go just yet.
The First Mrs. Rothschild by Sara Aharoni – GO. I don’t know why exactly, but I’m not interested in reading this.
My want-to-read shelf is down one to 1114 books. I’m not sure about any of these books, and I don’t think the next post will be much different.
“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
The New Menopause by Mary Claire Haver, MD
Big Damn Hero by Nancy Holder & James Lovegrove
Titanborn by Rhett C. Bruno
Total pages read this week: 287
Total books read: 42 of 80
TBR: -27 (Goal is -36)
My next few weekends will be busy and probably not very relaxing, though they’ll likely be fun. So, I’m doing only what I have to get done this weekend; other than that, I’ll be reading. I want to finish at least two books for the #SciFiSummer reading challenge. I’m also participating in #CampNetGalley and want to finish at least a couple of ARCs I’ve had on my TBR for far too long.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
