Building the Book Fort – I’m Back!

“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • The DOSE Effect by T.J. Power
  • Threadneedle by Cari Thomas
  • The Darkness Surrounds Us by Gail Lukasik
  • The Graveyard Shift by D.M. Guay

Finished:

  • Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno Garcia
  • Daindreth’s Assassin by Elisabeth Wheatley
  • Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  • The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris
  • The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore
  • Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Total pages read: 3,393

Total books read: 15 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): ?

#ShelfLove Challenge: 8 of 51

It’s good to be back. This has been the slowest reading year since I started tracking well over a decade ago. A lot has happened and life got crazy enough that I got pulled away from reading, blogging, and even getting on bookish social media. I won’t be meeting any of my goals this year, and I’m okay with that all things considered. A lot of the events in my life over the past several months have been extremely stressful, even though some of them were good changes. I BOUGHT A HOUSE, Y’ALL! And I finally have all of my books and bookish decor unpacked and all together in one place, organized just the way I want. Who needs a dining room when you can have a library?!

I’ve decided to keep the dining room table and chairs for now since that’s where I put together puzzles and occasionally use it as an actual dining room table. However, I’ve considered getting a large coffee table for my living room, moving my puzzle board there, and then replacing the dining room table and chairs with a chaise lounge or a couple of arm chairs and a side table for cups of tea and TBR stacks.

During my time away, I ended up coping with a lot of the stress by buying books. My retail therapy was bad enough that I simply stopped trying to track how many and what books I brought home. So the next phase is going to be scanning my books and getting Goodreads and StoryGraph updated. However, that’s not going to happen until sometime after this weekend’s Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon!

The Readathon is why I’m posting this long overdue update today instead of waiting until Saturday. I’ll be trying to get a Readathon post up Saturday morning by the time the Readathon starts with my TBR and snack options. Until then, I actually have to put together that TBR and get said snacks. In all of this, I’m also attempting to be on Litsy more often, so most of my Readathon updates will likely be there.

After I get Goodreads updated, my plan is to get back into posting “Down the TBR Hole” again. I’m on a sort of book buying ban for the remainder of the year, and by “sort of” I mean no Fiction books in any format unless I’m using up one of my remaining Libro.FM credits. Why? A few different reasons. The first one being that I left my job back in April due to the toxic work environment, being at a dead end in my career, and my health was declining the longer I stayed. The second reason being that I now live less than two miles from a public library. The third reason for my sort of book buying ban? Y’ALL, I’M STARTING MY OWN BUSINESS! The only books I’m allowing myself to buy are ones related to that business, and I’m putting those under the category of “Professional Development.”

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

#FitReaders Check-In


  • This check-in is for February 22nd – 28th.
  • This week has been rough emotionally, but things have gotten better during the weekend. I took the day off from work on Monday, and I stayed home and rested on Saturday, putting my mileage for the week much lower than I like. However, I really needed the rest and recovery.
  • Though it won’t count for this week’s stats, I went to a really nice park with a friend this afternoon and had a good time. The park is very close to a condo that might just be the place I want to make my home so I’ll be going with my realtor sometime during the week to get a look at the inside.
  • Days Walking Outside: 1/7
  • Miles: 11.86/15.87
  • Total Miles: 132.71/825

Building the Book Fort

“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
  • Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • The Paris Secret by Karen Swan
  • Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan
  • Hand Book for the Heart Broken by Sara Avant Stover
  • Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn

Total pages read this week: 330

Days read at least 90 minutes: 4/7

Total books read: 5 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +4

#ShelfLove Challenge: 5 of 51

This has been an emotional couple of days for me, but I’m doing much better since this afternoon. In fact, I feel like I’m finally moving on from a chapter in my life that was holding me back from living it to the fullest. I got some much needed rest today as well.

I’m determined to finish Till Summer Do Us Part this weekend. I only have 21 pages left.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

#FitReaders Check-In


  • This check-in is for February 15th – 21st.
  • This week has been much easier than previous weeks. The water main has been fixed and the end of the driveway filled in with gravel. The weather was fairly nice most days, and I had a massage appointment yesterday that was so relaxing I fell asleep. Of course, I hadn’t slept at all the night before, but still.
  • I was invited by a friend to a potluck on Friday, and despite my social anxiety, I went and had a great time. I’m hoping to do more things like that in the future and add some fun back into my life.
  • Days Walking Outside: 1/7
  • Miles: 13.59/15.87
  • Total Miles: 120.85/825

Building the Book Fort

“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
  • Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • The Paris Secret by Karen Swan
  • Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan
  • Hand Book for the Heart Broken by Sara Avant Stover
  • Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn

Total pages read this week: 158

Days read at least 90 minutes: 2/7

Total books read: 5 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +4

#ShelfLove Challenge: 5 of 51

I’m still not reading much, but it’s definitely more than last week thanks to a friend’s recommendation of Till Summer Do Us Part, which is not from a genre I typically read. I certainly wouldn’t have picked this book up on my own, but I’m glad I did, even if it’s making me blush a lot.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

#FitReaders Check-In


  • This check-in is for February 8th – 14th.
  • A water main busted under the driveway of where I live and the house lost a lot, though not all, of the water pressure. No one from the county came out until it was too late to do anything but put up cones and tape off the area. I’m hoping that they’ll be able to make the repairs on Tuesday, since tomorrow is a holiday. The only part of it getting fixed that I’m not looking forward to is the driveway getting torn up. I’m not sure where I will park my car.
  • I haven’t been sleeping well for the past week. I wake up around 2 am every night and rarely fall asleep again until just before my alarm goes off. I’ve been very grateful for having this three-day weekend with very few plans so I can take naps when I feel like it and stay in bed as long as I want instead of having to be up at 5 am.
  • Days Walking Outside: 0/7
  • Miles: 15.45/15.87
  • Total Miles: 107.26/825

Building the Book Fort

“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
  • Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • Valkyrie by Johanna Katrín Fridriksdóttir
  • The Paris Secret by Karen Swan
  • Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan
  • Hand Book for the Heart Broken by Sara Avant Stover

Total pages read this week: 28

Days read at least 90 minutes: 0/7

Total books read: 5 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +4

#ShelfLove Challenge: 5 of 51

This has been a very emotionally tough week for me, and I don’t know what else to say about that other than I thought I had fully processed my relationship ending back in July. I discovered that wasn’t the case, and I have been focused on dealing with that.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

#FitReaders Check-In


  • This check-in is for February 1st – 7th.
  • I’ve spent most of the week resting as much as possible, and it wasn’t until today that I really started to get settled into where I’m living. I was determined to get things organized and put away, especially the stuff that was on my couch because I would like to have a friend over sometime this week or next. It’s rare for me to invite anyone over to my home, so this is a bit of a big deal for me.
  • Days Walking Outside: 0/7
  • Miles: 16.11/15.87
  • Total Miles: 91.81/825

Building the Book Fort

“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
  • Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • Valkyrie by Johanna Katrín Fridriksdóttir
  • The Paris Secret by Karen Swan
  • Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan

Finished:

  • Pluto in Astrology by Mari Silva

Total pages read this week: 237

Days read at least 90 minutes: 6/7

Total books read: 5 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +5

#ShelfLove Challenge: 4 of 51

I’ve been resting as much as possible this week. Dealing with all of the stress from last week has exhausted me in every way. With the exception of reading for a while in the evenings, I haven’t done much beyond going to work, going back home, getting ready for the next day, and then going to bed.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

#FitReaders Check-In


  • This check-in is for January 25th – 31st.
  • It’s been a very rough week, and I’ve spent this weekend focusing on organizing my new temporary home to make it not feel so much like a storage unit and to get myself back into a daily routine.
  • Since I knew I was moving to somewhere very close to a park with a walking path, I signed up for Team RWB’s GWOT 100 challenge. It’s more or less the same as the Taji 100 that I’ve attempted in previous years, but Team RWB has taken over from the non-profit that used to do the Taji 100 and expanded it to honor all veterans who served during the global war on terrorism. What I wasn’t expecting was the massive Winter storm making the park unwalkable. Since it’s only a very small local park in the neighborhood, the walking path doesn’t get cleared. I’m going to have to figure out a plan B if I’m going to have any hope of getting even close to 100 miles this month.
  • Days Walking Outside: 0/7
  • Miles: 24.21/15.87
  • Total Miles: 75.70/825