Author: Rachelle

#BoutofBooks 21 – Day 4

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 21 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

This Bout of Books has not been great for me reading-wise.  I never seem to have the time to just lay around and read.  Being an adult sucks.  I’m determined to finish The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss by the end of the week.

  • Time Read:  1 hour 30 minutes
  • Pages Read: 62
  • Books Finished: 0
  • Total Number of Books Read: 0

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

  • This check-in is for January 5th – 11th.
  • I haven’t had any problems with sticking to the “low fat” side of my diet, but I haven’t been able to get 35 grams of fiber a day yet.  I get close, but without using a fiber supplement, it’s difficult for me to eat enough food to hit that number.  I haven’t used a supplement yet because I’m allowing my body at least this week to adjust.
  • I also haven’t been able to keep my calories down to 1,200 per day.  However, I have managed to eat fewer calories than I burn every day, and well under 2,000.  I have already lost a couple of pounds as a result (I’m sure all the water I’m drinking is helping, too).
  • Part of the Fiber35 program is resistance band exercises and cardio.  I’ve managed to do the cardio, but on the mornings I was supposed to do the exercises, I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.  Saturday is cardio day, but I’m going to do the exercises that day as well to help make up for my lack of motivation this week.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 27,118/30,000
  • Miles: 11.13/15
  • Total Miles: 21.29
  • Active Minutes: 119/210
  • Total Money Donated: $0.06/$5.00

#BoutofBooks 21 – Day 3

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 21 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I ended up working some overtime so I didn’t get much time to read.  I only listened to a bit more of Dharma Punx by Noah Levine while I ate lunch.

  • Time Read:  1 hour
  • Pages Read: 40
  • Books Finished: 0
  • Total Number of Books Read: 0

#BoutofBooks 21 – Day 2

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 21 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I listened to a bit of Dharma Punx by Noah Levine while I ate dinner and then I read some more of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss before bed.  So, better than yesterday, but still not as much as I would like.

  • Time Read:  2 hours 45 minutes
  • Pages Read: 115
  • Books Finished: 0
  • Total Number of Books Read: 0

#BoutofBooks 21 – Day 1

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 21 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Updated TBR

  • A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros
  • The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
  • Dharma Punx by Noah Levine
  • Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
  • Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
I read some of The Name of the Wind before bed, but that was it.  Monday’s are always difficult, but even more so when it’s the first day back to work after vacation.
  • Time Read:  1 hour
  • Pages Read: 36
  • Books Finished: 0
  • Total Number of Books Read: 0

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
  • A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros
  • The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – for the #EpicBuddyRead on Litsy.
  • Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
  • Dharma Punx by Noah Levine

     
DNF:

  • Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading by Maureen Corrigan


Finished:

  • The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan
  • The Fiber35 Diet by Brenda Watson, C.N.C.

 
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 1014
Total books for the year: 2 of 90. It does not bode well for the year that the first book I opened in 2018 ended up on the DNF pile.  Luckily, The Name of the Wind is so good I will likely finish it far ahead of the Buddy Read; especially since today is the start of Bout of Books.
What are you reading this week?

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

  • This check-in is for December 29th, 2017 – January 4th, 2018.
  • My first check-in for 2018!  I finished up 2017 with just over 500 miles walked.  This year, I’m hoping to at least double that.
  • 23 and Me is doing a study on the possible connections between weight and genetics that starts on Monday.  I signed up and got put into the high fiber/low fat group.  I was lucky enough to find an excellent, non-gimmicky book about eating a high fiber diet at a Half Price Books store, The Fiber35 Diet by Brenda Watson, C.N.C.  I’ll be using it to help me stick to my diet for the next 12 weeks. 
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 24,765/70,000
  • Miles: 10.16/35
  • Total Miles: 10.16
  • Active Minutes: 40/210
  • Total Money Donated: $0.02/$5.00

Tuesday's Tunes: It's My Birthday!

Published on by Rachelle


“Tuesday’s Tunes” is an occasional post containing a playlist I’ve made with a specific theme, often related to a book or books in general.
I haven’t done a “Tuesday’s Tunes” in what feels like forever.  Since today just happens to be my Birthday, I figured I would share my Birthday playlist with all of you.  Enjoy! 🙂
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries?list=PL_w7F0yw9YbsSwwYPWRJXrlt2S2VWrExo]
All of the songs on this playlist are sung/performed by women, and most of them come from the 80’s and 90’s.  These songs were a major part of my musical upbringing, and will always be some of my favorites.
I’m gonna go eat ice cream cake now.

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.

Happy New Year!

Currently Reading:

  • Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading by Maureen Corrigan – My 1st read of the New Year!  The title is fitting, don’t you think? 😉
  • Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – I’m starting this today with the hopes of finishing it by the end of the year.  It’s a re-read, but I haven’t read it since high school.
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson – One of my #FitReaders goals is to finish the virtual Appalachian Trail, and this book, this year.
  • A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros
  • The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – for the #EpicBuddyRead on Litsy.
  • The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan

     
Finished:

  • Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford
  • Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
  • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins

  

Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 998
Total books for the year: 102. I can’t believe I finished 102 books in 2017!!!  My goal for this year is 90, which is only 5 more than my original 2017 goal.  I’m a little sad that there won’t be a 2018 #ShelfLove challenge, and I haven’t found a comparable TBR challenge yet, so if you know of any, please leave a link in the comments.
What are you reading this week?

#ShelfLove – End of the Year Wrap-Up

Published on by Rachelle

shelf_love_2017_250x250

The Show Your Shelves Some Love Challenge is over, and unfortunately, it will not be returning in 2018.
As far as goals go, I sort of bombed the challenge.  While I read far more than 51 books from my TBR, I bought just as many physical books.  I was only supposed to buy one physical book and only use the money I got from selling books to purchase ebooks.  I also only participated in a couple of the monthly discussions.

At the beginning of the year, I determined that I had 293 unread books sitting on my shelves or in my Kindle and Nook.  While I knew that wasn’t all of them because I hadn’t scanned all of my books into Goodreads yet, I was way off from the actual number.  One of my projects for this year was to update my TBR shelf on Goodreads, and I did finally get around to doing that.  The total number of unread books I own is a whopping 553!!!  That is after finishing 101 books this year and 5 that I’m currently reading.

Since there won’t be a #ShelfLove challenge next year, I’m probably going to find another TBR challenge of some kind to help me whittle down that ridiculous number.  I’ll also continue to participate in Down the TBR Hole.  So, if you know of any TBR challenges that aren’t too complicated, leave me a link in the comments!
And, in case you’re interested, click on the pic below to see my “Year in Books” on Goodreads: