Monday's Minutes

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

  • Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton
  • Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey
  • Do it! Let’s Get Off Our Buts by Peter McWilliams
  • Wildwood by Colin Melot
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

   
DNF:

  • Tales of Terror and Mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


Finished:

  • Demons ed. by John Skipp
  • The Turn of the Screw by Henry James – for #Turnofthescread
  • The Shadow Garden by Allen Houston
  • The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women ed. by Stephen Jones

                           
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 1146
Total # of books for the year: 82 of 85.  I got a lot of reading done this week only because I couldn’t do much else.  I had to take nearly 3 days off from work while I went to doctor’s appointments trying to find out what is wrong with my hands.  Right now, the diagnosis is Synovitis.  I can’t be on the computer much and crocheting or coloring while listening to audiobooks is out of the question.  At least I’ve been able to complete the #ShelfLove challenge with more than 2 months to go before the end of the year!
What are you reading this week?

#FitReaders Check-In

fitreaders-2017-1

  • This check-in is for October 6th – 12th.
  • All of the overtime I’ve been working has caused me a lot of pain in my hands and wrists so I haven’t been able to blog, crochet, or do much of anything I enjoy.  I’m definitely not doing any burpies.  I have an Occupational Therapy appointment this morning, so I’m hoping to get my hands back to the point where I can do all the things I love to do.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 23,113/70,000
  • Miles: 9.48/35
  • Total Miles: 381.98
  • Active Minutes: 94/210
  • Virtual 5Ks: 0/10
  • Total Money Donated: $4.43/$5.00

Monday's Minutes

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

  • The Turn of the Screw by Henry James – for #Turnofthescread
  • Demons ed. by John Skipp
  • Do it! Let’s Get Off Our Buts by Peter McWilliams
  • Wildwood by Colin Melot
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

   
Finished:

  • The October Country by Ray Bradbury
  • The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

 
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 466
Total # of books for the year: 78 of 85.  This post is late today because, though I’ve been keeping up with Damn Early Days, I’ve started having a lot of pain in my hands.  I’m hoping to be able to get in to see my Doctor today, but until I do or I get better, I probably won’t be posting.
What are you reading this week?

Down the TBR Hole #15

Image: hjl

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

  • Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
  • Order on ascending date added.
  • 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?

I will be repeating this process every week until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.  I still have 566 books on my to-read shelf.

This week’s five books:


The Dreaming Place by Charles de Lint – GO.  I added this one to my wish list thanks to a random friend of a friend of a friend I met at a Christmas party a few years ago.  While I definitely want to read some de Lint at some point, I think I would rather not start with book #14 of a series.  Instead, I have a collection of his short stories in an ebook and I’ve added the first book of the “Newford” series to my wish list.

The Shadow Garden by Allen Houston – KEEP.  This is the 2nd book of the “Nightfall Gardens” series, and I already own it.  I was given the 1st book, Nightfall Gardens, by the author and I enjoyed it enough to save up my free $1 credits on Amazon to buy this one (I was on a strict book buying ban at the time and could only use credits, gift cards, etc. to support my reading addiction).

Buan: Company of Heroes by Reece Bridger – KEEP.  This is another instance where I was sent the first book, Buan: The Perfect Mortals, but in this case, I loved it so much that I anxiously awaited the publishing of the 2nd book.  I don’t know how it happened that I added it to my TBR and then never got around to reading it.

Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn – GO.  Both the synopsis and the cover give me the impression that this book is ridiculously trope-filled and formulaic. No thanks.

The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson – GO.  Any synopsis that opens with something like “changed the face of fantasy fiction forever” is automatically suspect to me, especially when those words are bolded AND italicized.  The rest of the synopsis did not remove my suspicions that this book is not worth my time or money.
My to-read shelf is down to 564 books.  That’s the 3rd week in a row that I’ve made my TBR just a smidgen shorter!  Hopefully the trend will continue next weekend when I start with book #116.

#FitReaders Check-In

fitreaders-2017-1

  • This check-in is for September 29th – October 5th.
  • I started Damn Early Days on Monday, and it’s been rough!  It’s so hard to get out of bed at 5 am when I don’t HAVE to get up.  So far, I’ve managed to haul my butt out of bed though.  While I haven’t gotten any time on the treadmill in, I’ve gotten a lot of burpies done.  I hate burpies, but they really get the blood flowing when I need it most.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 19,942/70,000
  • Miles: 8.20/35
  • Total Miles: 372.50
  • Active Minutes: 62/210
  • Virtual 5Ks: 0/10
  • Total Money Donated: $4.40/$10.00

Thursday's Things: October Country

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.

Wednesday's Words: Sylvia Plath

  
“Wednesday’s Words” is all about the quotes that inspire me or are relevant to my life in some way.
When most people think about living life positively or constructively, I doubt the first person to come to mind for inspiration is Sylvia Plath.  However, I’m more Emily than Pollyanna, and my brain tends to aim for the minor key when I want to find guidance for maneuvering through life’s obstacles.
Right now, the major obstacle in my life is how to live as if I knew it were my last day.  The idea was presented in yesterday’s Damn Early Days morning post and I’ve been thinking about it since.  There was a question that Steve Jobs supposedly asked himself every morning: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”  He said that if the answer was “No” for too many mornings, he knew he had to change something.  I asked myself the same question yesterday and my answer would definitely be “No” when it comes to my job.

“Let me live, love and say it well in good sentences.” – Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals

On both Monday and yesterday mornings I found myself feeling resentful of having to stop writing and get ready for work.  I was especially annoyed at having to work overtime.  While I may not be able to just up and quit the job that pays my bills, I can do quite a lot every morning about making sure I’m not stuck spending most of my time working in a job I don’t love.  I can harness the energy behind that resentment and put it to work towards change.  I can spend my free time doing what I love, instead of wasting it being grumpy.

“I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again.” – Sylvia Plath, Mad Girl’s Love Song

Though “Mad Girl’s Love Song” has nothing to do with meditation, this line makes me think about the session I did yesterday morning.  It was a guided meditation titled “Creating an Extraordinary Day”.  Several things Gael Chiarella said during that meditation gave me the same feeling Plath’s quote generates: “I am the Master of my life.  I am courage in action.  I have infinite creative power.”  This goes back to how I spend my time.  Obviously, I can’t blink my job into one that I love, but I can create small changes that eventually lead to me having work that makes me want to get out of bed in the morning, rather than hit the snooze button a million times.

“Out of the ashes, I rise with my red hair…” – Sylvia Plath, Lady Lazarus

Lady Lazarus is another of Plath’s poems that has little to do with the feeling this line gives me.  Not only does it make me think of Jean Grey as the Phoenix, but it makes me feel as if the garbage thrown at me in my life will not succeed in keeping me down.  I will rise up and I will triumph.  It may take a while, but as a line from one of my favorite album introductions, “Piano and I” by Alicia Keys, “No matter how long that sh*t takes….What ever stops you from dreaming, whatever tries to stop you from living…flip it.”
Here’s an even more fitting song:

Image from clip of Youtube video.

Monday's Minutes

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

  • The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Do it! Let’s Get Off Our Buts by Peter McWilliams
  • Wildwood by Colin Melot
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

  
Finished:
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 455
Total # of books for the year: 76 of 85.  This morning is the 1st of Damn Early Days, and I am ridiculously tired thanks to the same feeling I used to get the night before the first day of school.  My brain wouldn’t shut up and let me sleep.  Sigh.  This is also the beginning of another week of mandatory overtime so even if I allowed myself to nap, I don’t have the time for even 20 minutes of shuteye.  Apparently, there is no rest for the wicked.
What are you reading this week?