Author: Rachelle

Building the Book Fort

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

Currently Reading:

  • Handbook for the Heartbroken by Sara Avant Stover
  • How to Be the Love You Seek by Dr. Nicole LePera
  • Running on Empty by Jonice Webb, PhD
  • The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon

Finished:

  • No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor
  • Doctor Who: The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner
  • Lock In by John Scalzi

Total pages read this week (and last week): 842

Total books read: 82 of 85

TBR (goal is -24): -22

#ShelfLove Challenge: 47 of 51

I signed my lease for the apartment last Friday, spent the entire weekend packing, making trips with stuff that I didn’t want the movers moving (food, really fragile stuff, important paperwork, etc.), and getting my computer and the internet set up. Surprisingly, the move itself on Monday was the least stressful part of the whole process, but with everything going on, I didn’t have the time or energy to write or post anything last week.

Nearly everything I’ve read for the past two weeks has been in the form of audiobooks while I was packing, driving back and forth, cleaning, unpacking, and generally feeling like I was going to fall apart at any moment. I’ve had panic attacks, a couple of days of severe depression, and a synovitis flare up (which I haven’t had in a couple of years). I would fall into bed exhausted each night, but then wake up around one or two in the morning and not be able to get back to sleep. On top of all of that, I still went to work everyday this week (other than moving day). Needless to say, I will be doing nothing but resting today. No unpacking, no driving, no errands. I’m not even going to change out of my pajamas. Just reading, drinking lots of herbal tea, and cuddling with my cats, who are still adjusting to our new home.

While not everything I’ve unpacked has been put away yet, most of what is still in boxes is art, decorations, and my books. I only have two small bookshelves until I can get to IKEA, but first I need to buy a washer and dryer. The apartment complex doesn’t have a laundry facility, and while I will be able to do my laundry at my ex’s house for a little while, he will eventually be selling the house. So, it will likely be a couple of months until I finally get to unpack my books.

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

#FitReaders Check-In

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  • This check-in is for September 7th – 13th.
  • I overdid it at the Ohio Renaissance Festival last weekend and ended up having to take a couple of days off from work. I felt so bad, I thought I had come down with the flu.
  • The night before I went back to work, I realized I had less than two weeks before I move, and I’ve been on a rollercoaster of emotions and anxiety since. I’ve been moving from one place to another, several times to different countries or across the US, my entire life, but this time feels very different despite only moving across town. Maybe it’s because of why I’m moving or maybe it’s that I’m getting older and all of the major life changes and stress over the years have piled up, but this move is the hardest one I’ve ever done.
  • The few vegetables in my garden that didn’t die have been plentiful. I ended up with a giant eggplant, far more bell peppers than I know what to do with, three enormous carrots, and a ton of green beans. I’ve been eating the green beans with a ham that I baked, and trying to figure out a way to put bell pepper in everything else. I’m going to cut up the carrots to put on salads, and I’m baking an eggplant lasagna sometime this week.
  • Next year, I’ll mostly be doing container gardening, but I think I might have room on my patio for one or two gardening boxes that are similar to raised beds.
  • Exercise Days: 0/7
  • Steps: 30,613
  • Miles: 12.40/16.31
  • Total Miles: 556.22/850
  • Zone Minutes: 12/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

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

Currently Reading:

  • Handbook for the Heartbroken by Sara Avant Stover
  • The Death of a Beekeeper by Lars Gustafsson
  • How to Be the Love You Seek by Dr. Nicole LePera
  • No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor
  • The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick

Finished:

  • An Uninvited Ghost by E.J. Copperman
  • The Disappearance of Emily Downs by C.J. Redwine

Total pages read this week: 434

Total books read: 79 of 85

TBR (goal is -24): -20

#ShelfLove Challenge: 44 of 51

I finished two audiobooks and started a third. My hold for How to Be the Love You Seek finally came in, so I’m going to try to finish that by the time I move. I discovered that another book I had checked out from the library, Devil’s Gun by Cat Rambo is the second book in the “Disco Space Opera” series. I’ve added the first book, You Sexy Thing, to my wishlist, but it will likely be quite a long time before I check it out. Instead, I picked up the next book on my library stack, The Poppy Fields. I only read the first chapter before I went to bed last night, but that’s only because I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer despite already being hooked.

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

#FitReaders Check-In

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  • This check-in is for August 31st – September 6th.
  • Yesterday, I went to the Ohio Renaissance Festival for Fantasy weekend. I had a wonderfully whimsical time, walked over 10k steps, and was exhausted by the end of the day. It was 100% worth my time and energy!
  • I now have an official move-in date for the townhouse apartment I’ll be renting, so I’m going to be spending most of my free-time over the next couple of weeks packing and prepping for the move.
  • Exercise Days: 2/7
  • Steps: 42,781
  • Miles: 17.20/16.31
  • Total Miles: 543.82/850
  • Zone Minutes: 75/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

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

Currently Reading:

  • Mind Your Body by Nicole J. Sachs, LCSW
  • Handbook for the Heartbroken by Sara Avant Stover
  • Embers of the Hands by Eleanor Barraclough
  • An Uninvited Ghost by E.J. Copperman

Finished:

  • METAtropolis ed. by John Scalzi
  • Firestarter by Stephen King

Total pages read this week: 352

Total books read: 77 of 85

TBR (goal is -24): -19

#ShelfLove Challenge: 42 of 51

I finished two books over the holiday weekend, and then my life got busy again, and I didn’t do much more than listen to an audiobook. I have an official moving date now, and as much as I want to do so many other things, I’ll be spending most of my free time packing the rest of my books and stuff. Along with that, I’ll probably be listening to more audiobooks. However, today, I’m going to the Renaissance Festival for Fantasy Weekend. I’ll be dressed up as a Hobbit, and I’m very excited about my costume!

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

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XX

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The R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril challenge, otherwise known as R.I.P. starts today, September 1st and continues through October 31st. The whole point of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books and other media that could be classified as Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, Supernatural, and any other genre that you think fits.


There are multiple levels of participation (Perils), which are a little different this year:

  • Peril of the Imagination – Read books of any length that fit the definition of R.I.P. literature.
  • Peril of the Real – Read any true tales of horror.
  • Peril of the Listen – Listen to RIP-related audiobooks, podcasts, and music.
  • Peril on the Screen – This is for those of us who like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious, Gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large.
  • Peril of the Buddy Read – There will be a group read of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

I’ll be doing Peril of the Imagination, Peril of the Listen, and Peril on the Screen. I’ve got a huge list of books on Goodreads for me to choose from for this event and Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon happening on October 18th.

Are you participating in #RIPXX or reading any spooky reads over the next couple of months? Leave a comment!

#FitReaders Check-In

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  • This check-in is for August 24th – 30th.
  • This past week was very low-key. I didn’t have any social plans except for on Thursday, and I used a lot of my free time to read. I’m not sure if the considerably slower pace after such a busy week was the cause, but I felt down a lot. Maybe it’s just more of the ups and downs of dealing with the ending of a relationship and the major life changes that come along with that. Reading definitely helped, though.
  • One thing I forgot to mention in last week’s post was that I decided to also participate in #75Soft. I did fairly well the first week, though I struggled a bit with journaling, getting enough water, and moving my body, but I really fell off the wagon this week. I’m doing my best to be gentle with myself about it, and getting back on that wagon this weekend.
  • Yesterday, I drove out to Lynd Fruit Farm to go to their market. They got in fresh apple cider and had some good deals on produce that made it worth the gas to get there and back. However, I wanted to go so I could get out of the house, take a mini road trip by myself, and treat myself to a sinfully delicious apple fritter. I also bought way too many pickles from the Crazy Cucumber and a small bag of kettle corn.
  • Exercise Days: 1/7
  • Steps: 42,835
  • Miles: 17.27/16.31
  • Total Miles: 526.62/850
  • Zone Minutes: 55/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

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

Currently Reading:

  • Mind Your Body by Nicole J. Sachs, LCSW
  • Firestarter by Stephen King
  • Handbook for the Heartbroken by Sara Avant Stover
  • Embers of the Hands by Eleanor Barraclough
  • METAtropolis ed. by John Scalzi

Finished:

  • Adult Survivors of Toxic Family Members by Sherrie Campbell, PHD
  • A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris
  • Sprinkles and Sea Serpents by Danielle Garrett

Total pages read this week: 805

Total books read: 75 of 85

TBR (goal is -24): -19

#ShelfLove Challenge: 41 of 51

I deliberately spent more of my time reading this past week instead of doing other activities. I’ll be doing a lot of reading during this holiday weekend as well, since I’m focusing my free time on finishing as many of the library books I’ve got checked out as possible. I’m up to 20 books, and only one of them is an ebook!

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

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

  • This check-in is for August 10th – 23rd.
  • I had a massage last Saturday afternoon, which helped me quite a bit with the crazy amount of stress I had. The rest of that weekend was busy and I’m not sure how I would have managed if I hadn’t had the massage to “reset.”
  • My calendar was jam packed this week with social activities I had scheduled when I was doing really well in addition to appointments that had been scheduled for a while. One of those appointments was with my Health Coach. We discussed how busy I was going to be if I went to the social stuff and I was concerned about how I was going to fit in the self-care activities I’m trying to do every day and also get enough sleep. I was considering cancelling those plans, but she reminded me that doing fun things is just as important a part of self-care as all of the other stuff like meditation, journaling, exercise, etc. She’s right, of course, so I didn’t cancel my plans, and I’m glad I didn’t.
  • I’ve joined two social clubs – the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) and a local chapter of the Silent Book Club! I could go on for hours about how much I love the SCA (but I’ll spare y’all), and the Silent Book Club is the perfect no-pressure book club for me.
  • Exercise Days: 1 and 1/7
  • Steps: 31,408 and 46,875
  • Miles: 12.69 and 18.97/16.31
  • Total Miles: 509.35/850
  • Zone Minutes: 48 and 20/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Mind Your Body by Nicole J. Sachs, LCSW
  • Firestarter by Stephen King
  • Handbook for the Heartbroken by Sara Avant Stover
  • A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris
  • Adult Survivors of Toxic Family Members by Sherrie Campbell, PHD
  • Embers of the Hands by Eleanor Barraclough

Finished:

  • Constituent Service by John Scalzi

Total pages read this week: 400

Total books read: 72 of 75

TBR (goal is -24): -19

#ShelfLove Challenge: 39 of 51

I have never had a better massage than I did last Saturday! It helped a lot, and I booked my next massage for shortly after I move next month. Prior to that, I decided to take a friend’s advice and get out of the house to go do something that wasn’t work or running errands. I went out for brunch and then checked out a small but eclectic Indy bookstore, Birdie Books. I unfortunately forgot what happens to my stomach when I’ve been very stressed, and the somewhat rich food I had for brunch caused me to have to leave before I wanted. I will definitely be going back at some point.

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