Month: April 2016

Dewey’s 24 Hour #Readathon

Published on by Rachelle5 Comments

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon begins tomorrow, at 7 am CST, but I wanted to share with all of you what I’ll be doing.

First off, the books.  Since I’m also participating in the #ShelfLove reading challenge, all my books are off of my own bookshelves, whether physical or virtual.  I’ll switch back and forth between books on the list as needed, but I am going to try to finish as many books as possible this readathon.  So, most of the books are under 300 pages:

  • The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Hobbit Companion by David Day
  • Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
  • The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
  • The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket
  • Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea by Diana Marcellas
  • The Sons of Macha by John Lenahan
  • The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
  • The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry
  • Parnassus On Wheels by Christopher Morley
  • Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio
  • Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
  • The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
  • The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Yes, my TBR list is insanely long, but I want plenty of short and fun choices.  Since past readathons were filled with a lot more time on the internet than with pages being turned, this readathon will be more about reading than socializing for me.  Or at least that’s my goal.  However, my BFF will be in town, and we’re getting together in the afternoon.  So, while I will be trying to stay up for the entire 24 hours, there will be a large chunk of time during which I won’t be reading.

My updates will be every 8 hours after my kick-off post.  Along with the books I’ve finished and the number of pages I’ve read, I’ll include any mini-challenges I’ve participated in, along with other tidbits such as music or snacks.

Are you participating in Dewey’s Readathon?  If so, what books do you have planned to read?  Leave a comment, and include your link if you have a “goals” post!

See you tomorrow morning! 🙂

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle1 Comment
FitReaders2016
  • This check-in is for April 15th – 21st.
  • With the weight loss program, I’ve had slightly different goals than the ones I’ve had while participating in Fit Readers.  I realized by having two different sets of goals, I’m not being fair to myself.  So, I’ve edited the goals below to reflect my goals with the program.
  • I’ve managed to keep 2 lbs. off so far this week.  Fingers crossed that that doesn’t change by the end of the weekend.  I’m hoping it’s because I’m in week 3 of the I Quit Sugar plan, which is the week I had to cut out sugar completely.  The first two weeks were all about cutting back and making small changes.
  • Before, I would only increase my step goal when I eventually met my step goal for that week.  That meant that I sometimes went months without increasing my step goal.  With the new program, I’m holding myself more accountable and increasing it each week regardless of whether or not I meet it.  I’m also making a point of hitting my step goal each day before I allow myself to be “lazy”, which, barring injury or illness, means I’ll be more likely to at least meet that minimum goal.
  • This week, my goal was to average 4k steps per day (I’m in week 4 of the program, but I gave myself an extra week to quit sugar since I started this right in the middle of moving; hence the difference, in case you noticed).  That’s an easy goal, I know, but the point of going back to lower steps is to ensure I achieve my goals the first few weeks, making it more likely that I won’t give up or get discouraged.
  • If you’d like to add me as a friend on FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Steps: 36,658/28,000
  • Miles: 15.44/14
  • Flights of stairs: 112/70
  • Active Minutes: 134/210
  • Monthly 5K Races Completed: 1/10
  • Monthly 1 Mile Fun “Runs” Completed: 2/10
  • Total Money Donated: $13.49/$100.00 – I’m having trouble getting logged in again. I’ll update it when I can.

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Current Reads:

Brooklyn Hobbit Inkdeath

Lestat

Challenges:

Total pages read: 270

Total # of books for the year: 16.  I thought I was in a reading slump until I started reading The Vampire Lestat on Friday night.  It turns out that the problem was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  It’s an excellent book, but it’s depressing and makes me think far too much about how my great grandparents and grandparents struggled to make a life for themselves.  Also, how there are people today who are still barely making ends meet, or even failing to do so.  Since my job makes me aware of that on a daily basis, I don’t want to be faced with it when I’m reading.  I might pick it back up during the readathon this weekend, but until then, I’m going to stick with what keeps me reading.

My Top Commenters: Thank you to everyone who stopped by to welcome me back and leave well wishes 🙂

What are you reading this week?

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle2 Comments
FitReaders2016
  • This check-in is for April 8th – 14th.
  • My last check-in was for March 11 – 17th.  Not much changed after that, except I started a new weight loss program offered through the VA.  Also, last week, I finally met my step goal of averaging 6K steps per day.
  • I’m a little frustrated with the weight loss program since I seem to be losing and regaining the same 5 lbs. for the past couple weeks.  I’m hoping that will change soon.
  • My new step goal is to average 7K steps per day, which I didn’t meet this week.  However, I was sick with a stomach bug for about half of it, so I’m letting it go.
  • My new stairs goal is 49 flights of stairs, which I have no trouble meeting now that I live in a three story townhome style apartment.
  • Speaking of my new apartment; the complex’s fitness center is about 200 ft. from my front door, and it’s got all the equipment I need to get a good workout.  Buh-bye excuses! 🙂
  • If you’d like to add me as a friend on FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Yoga Workouts: 0/5
  • Steps: 36,658/49,000
  • Miles: 15.06/17.5
  • Flights of stairs: 87/49
  • Active Minutes: 102/210
  • Monthly 5K Races Completed: 1/10
  • Monthly 1 Mile Fun “Runs” Completed: 2/10
  • Total Money Donated: $13.49/$100.00

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle2 Comments

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Current Reads:

Brooklyn Hobbit Inkdeath

Finished:

  • The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
  • Crows and Cards by Joseph Helgerson

Ripley Crows

Challenges:

Total pages read: 643 – This is for the past couple of weeks and is just a guesstimate since I wasn’t keeping track of my pages read after my laptop went down.

Total # of books for the year: 16.  With everything going on, I haven’t done much reading.  There were several days in a row in which I didn’t read at all.  Every time I thought about picking up a book, all I could see were the boxes still needing to be unpacked and all the stuff that needed to be organized and put away.  No matter how smooth a move goes, it seems inevitable that some things get misplaced and end up being found in the most random of places.  I am not someone that handles that type of chaos very well, and so I couldn’t justify the reading time I desperately needed until most, if not all, of my new apartment was put in order.  I also had to get my laptop back up and running with a fresh install and then take the time to reinstall all the drivers and download what felt like endless updates.  I’m still not done since I need to transfer my files from my external hard drive and install all the programs I use.  On top of that, I’ve got a stomach bug that has kept me from doing much of anything, including running my weekly errands.  So, this week will probably be light on the reading as well, as I catch up with the grocery shopping, laundry, and other adult things that I wish I had the money to pay someone else to do so I could read.

My Top Commenter: Litha from Victorian Soul Book Critiques.

What are you reading this week?

I’m Back!…Sort of…

Published on by Rachelle3 Comments

I just wanted to post this quick message that my laptop is mostly back in working order.  The Boyfriend and I also moved into our new apartment, and most of the boxes have been unpacked.  My new home isn’t perfect yet, and neither is my laptop.  So while I’ll begin posting my Monday Minutes and #FitReaders posts again soon, I’m not ready to get back into the full swing of things quite yet.  Besides finding new homes for the random objects I’ve been taking out of the few remaining boxes, and downloading and installing the kajillion updates for my laptop, I’m also dealing with a bit of a stomach bug.  Either that or there was something wrong with last night’s dinner.  Regardless, I’m taking it easy.