Author: Rachelle

Dewey's 24-Hour #Readathon – Let's Get This Party Started!

Published on by Rachelle

Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza
Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon has officially started!  I stumbled out of the bedroom at 4:30 am so I would have time to make a giant bowl cup of tea.  I’ll be posting my updates every 8 hours, assuming I don’t fall asleep.

  • What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I’m in Emeryville, CA.
  • Which book in your stack are you looking forward to the most? The Alchemyst by Michael Scott.
  • Which snack are you looking forward to the most? I got a bag of praline pecans from the farmer’s market on Wednesday that I’ve been saving for the readathon.
  • Tell us a little something about yourself!  Here are 20 somethings about myself.  Also, I’m a planner addict, and I now have several favorite Etsy shops that I gladly give most of my spending money to when they add new sticker kits.
  • If you participated in the last readathon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?  My Synovitis was horrible during the last readathon in October, which meant I couldn’t socialize much.  I’ve got it under control now, mostly, so I’ll be chatting it up a bit more this time.

Here’s my TBR:

  • Day 21 by Kass Morgan
  • Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
  • Bohemian Gospel by Dana Chamblee Carpenter
  • Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (or another book with magical creatures for the Care of Magical Creatures OWL)
  • Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier (or another book involving a prophecy for the Divination OWL)

My first update will be at 1 pm.  I’ll be tracking how many pages I read and any books I finish.  I’ll also include snacks I’ve nommed, and any musical earworms that have gotten into my head.
Whether you’re participating in the readathon or not, what book(s) are you currently reading? 

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

  • This check-in is for April 20th – 26th.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 31,520/56,000
  • Miles: 12.95/25
  • Total Miles: 238.24
  • Active Minutes: 232/210
  • Total Money Donated: $0.66/$5.00

Monday's Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

“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:

  • Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • Day 21 by Kass Morgan
  • Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines
  • The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

  
  
Finished:

  • The 100 by Kass Morgan
  • Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

 
 
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 734
Total books for the year: 28 of 90.  I’m now more than a quarter of the way through my OWLs!  I’m in the middle of 4 of them, and I finished the Arithmancy OWL on Tuesday and Transfiguration on Wednesday.  I was originally going to read The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers, but I really wanted to read The 100.  It was so good I decided to replace The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon for Astronomy with Day 21, but it’s starting to feel like a soap opera, so I don’t know if I’ll read the next book, Homecoming.  I loved Howl’s Moving Castle so much that I immediately bought the next book, Castle in the Air, which I might use in place of The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley for the Charms OWL or Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier for Divination.
What are you reading this week?

Down the TBR Hole #22

Published on by Rachelle

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 until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.  My TBR pile is back up to 719 books.  Though I read a few books this past week, I also added a few.

This week’s five books:


Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm – KEEP.  This is the other fancy book the Boyfriend gave me as part of a Birthday gift several years ago.  I haven’t removed the plastic from this one either.

Doctor Who and Philosophy ed. by Courtland Lewis – KEEP.  I’ll never forget the first episode of “Doctor Who” I ever watched.  A friend recommended I start with the 9th Doctor and go from there when I expressed an interest in trying it out but had no clue how or where to enter into this crazy world.  I’ve been hooked ever since, and so I inevitably buy just about every book about the show.

Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon – KEEP.  This book is on the list of armchair travel books in The Bad Girl’s Guide to the Open Road by Cameron Tuttle.  I may have already read it, but I can’t remember, and I still own a physical copy, so I’ll keep it for now.

A Gentle Madness by Nicholas A. Basbanes – KEEP.  I already own a physical copy of this book, and let me tell you, it is a door stopper!  I attempted to start it several years ago, but couldn’t get into it; however, I’m willing to give it another chance.  After all, there are very few books about books that I don’t at least like.

Eight Women Philosophers by Jane Duran – KEEP.  This has been on my shelf since I found it at a book sale while I was still in college.  I haven’t read it yet because I’m a little bit burned out on Feminism, or at least what passes for Feminism on Twitter these days.  I’ll get around to it eventually.
My to-read shelf remains at 719 books.  See you next Saturday when I start with book #151.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

  • This check-in is for April 13th – 19th.
  • I recently started using an app called “Plant Nanny” to help me drink more water.  It is awesome because I can see the consequences of not drinking enough water in the form of my adorable little plants starting to die.  It’s cute, free, doesn’t take up much of my time, and I love it!
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 22,835/56,000
  • Miles: 9.40/25
  • Total Miles: 225.29
  • Active Minutes: 107/210
  • Total Money Donated: $0.62/$5.00

Monday's Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

“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:

  • Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • The 100 by Kass Morgan

  
Finished:

  • The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
  • Skin Picking: the Freedom to Finally Stop by Annette Pasternak, Ph.D.
  • The Heart of the Revolution by Noah Levine

  
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 778
Total books for the year: 26 of 90.  My OWLs are well under way!  I’m currently taking 2 of them, and I finished the Herbology OWL on Thursday, Muggle Studies on Friday, and Ancient Runes on Sunday.  I was originally going to read The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, but The Lie Tree was an even more fitting choice.  I also planned on reading Voices of Freedom by Eric Foner but I finished Skin Picking: the Freedom to Finally Stop much earlier than I anticipated.
What are you reading this week?

Down the TBR Hole #21

Published on by Rachelle

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 until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.  My TBR pile is down to 717 books.  I weeded out a couple of books on my wish list that I knew I no longer wanted.

This week’s five books:


The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg – KEEP.  Holmberg is one of my auto-buy authors.  I absolutely loved the first 2 books in “The Paper Magician” trilogy, and I don’t understand why I haven’t read this one yet.  I need to get to it considering I have the spin-off book, The Plastic Magician, pre-ordered and it will be released in May.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal – KEEP.  It’s dark, it has characters with strange names, and it has to do with the Grimm fairy tales.  Why is this still on my wish list instead of on my bookshelves?

Steampunk ed. by Mike Ashley – KEEP.  I already own this absolutely beautiful hardcover.  I plan on keeping it no matter how long it takes me to get around to reading it.

Prince Lestat by Anne Rice – KEEP.  After Rice’s husband passed away she made a statement that she would never write another Vampire Chronicles book and would only write religious fiction.  None of her books were huge successes and she decided to start writing about werewolves, which I’ve heard didn’t do much better.  So, when it was announced she would be returning to writing about her most famous vampire, I had mixed feelings.  My feelings weren’t helped with a re-read of the first 3 books in the original series since I’m no longer completely besotted by the characters and story the way I was when I was in my early 20s.  I’m keeping it for now since I already own it and I want to continue my re-read of the series before I make a final decision.

The Arabian Nights translated by Sir Richard F. Burton – KEEP.  The Boyfriend gave this book to me as part of a Birthday gift several years ago.  It is so beautiful that I haven’t even removed the plastic yet.  We’ve moved a couple of times since that Birthday, and I’m afraid the cover will get damaged if I take off the plastic.  Even if I never read it, it will always remain a part of my collection.
My to-read shelf remains at 717 books.  See you next Saturday when I start with book #146.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

  • This check-in is for April 6th – 12th.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 31,961/56,000
  • Miles: 13.24/25
  • Total Miles: 215.89
  • Active Minutes: 197/210
  • Total Money Donated: $0.59/$5.00

Monday's Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

“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 Heart of the Revolution by Noah Levine
  • The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
  • Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • Skin Picking: the Freedom to Finally Stop by Annette Pasternak, Ph.D.
  • The 100 by Kass Morgan

    
Finished:

  • Of Books and Bagpipes by Paige Shelton
  • Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
  • The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by Thad Carhart

  
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 626
Total books for the year: 23 of 90.  My OWLs are well under way!  I’m currently taking 3 of them, and I’m hoping to finish at least one of them by the end of the week.
What are you reading this week?

Sunday's Sundries: 4 Years of Blogging

Published on by Rachelle


On April 4th, I celebrated my 4th blogiversary.  I had intended on writing something about this special occasion, but a whole lot has been going on in my life outside of this little world of books I created four years ago.  I didn’t have the emotional energy to write anything.

I’ve only talked very briefly about my mental illness, and I’ve only ever mentioned a small part of it.  Frankly, I didn’t see my Depression and Anxiety as anything to talk about.  My view was that what I was dealing with, while requiring medication, was still your average, run of the mill, Depression and Anxiety.  However, what I never said out loud is that I also have Dermatillomania.  I never mentioned it because I didn’t admit it to myself for quite some time, and I wasn’t even aware of it being a thing for even longer.

It turns out that for most of my life, I’ve had some type of BFRB (Body Focused Repetitive Behavior) or other.  I didn’t truly notice any of it or understand that the things I was doing weren’t “normal” until I went on Paroxetine.  It was like I was seeing myself from a slightly distanced point of view and I suddenly began realizing so many things that I had been living with as if everyone else does too.

My denial, or blind spot, for my Dermatillomania was so bad that whenever I read something on The Bloggess, I could relate to a lot of what Jenny Lawson has been through in regards to mental illness, but all I thought when she wrote about her BFRBs was that I was grateful I didn’t have it “that bad.”  So when I realized that I did have it “that bad,” I also realized that I needed to get care that involved more than just medication.

Well, that sounds great, doesn’t it?  It would have been great if my mind didn’t immediately get defensive and convince me that I was ok, my skin picking wasn’t creating scars, I didn’t do it very often, no one else ever brought it to my attention, I just needed to stay on the medication, and everything would be alright. *sigh*

Fast forward to the Boyfriend and I moving out to San Francisco.  I went to the VA to get a new primary doctor, and what I thought was just a formality turned into me not only seeing her but also having an appointment with a psychologist immediately after.  While the VA in Austin is amazing, the VA here in SF takes health care to a whole new integrated level.  Anyone I have an appointment with there is in communication with my primary so nothing gets overlooked.

To make a long story short, my psychologist has a way of getting things out of me that I didn’t even know were in my brain.  While that’s amazing, and extremely helpful in my progress towards better mental health, it’s also caused my Anxiety to spike.  With my increased anxiousness, the skin-picking has increased as well, and battling with all of this uses up a lot of spoons.  Hence, the lack of a proper celebratory blogiversary post.