Author: Rachelle

#ThanksgivingReadathon – Five Days of Reading!

Published on by Rachelle


Jackie B @ Tsundoku and Ottavia @ Novels and Nonfiction are hosting the #ThanksgivingReadathon, “a stress-free way to get caught up with your reading and prioritize me-time during a family-packed week.”
Below is how to participate, but click on any of the links above to get more details, including information about the giveaway!

  • Read as many books as you can.
  • Use #ThanksgivingReadathon to share your participation and progress.
  • Publish a Sign-Up Post between Monday the 20th and Wednesday the 22nd with your readathon TBR and goals.
    • Bonus: Share some of your holiday traditions or what you are excited about this Thanksgiving week!
  • Publish a Wrap-Up post between Monday the 27th and Wednesday the 29th.
    • Bonus: Share what you are thankful for this year.
  • Comment on Ottavia’s and Jackie’s posts with your post links to link up and share the comment love.

My TBR:

  • The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros
  • The Book of Night with Moon by Diane Duane
  • John Saturnall’s Feast by Lawrence Norfold
  • Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

    
These are my current reads, and I might finish one or two of them before Wednesday.

My Goal:

  • Finish at least 3 of the books on my TBR above.

Since #COYER starts in December, I want as many of my current reads finished by then so I can start fresh.
Are you participating in the #ThanksgivingReadathon or any other readathons over Thanksgiving? Which book on my TBR should I finish first?

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 Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros
  • The Book of Night with Moon by Diane Duane
  • John Saturnall’s Feast by Lawrence Norfold
  • Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

  
  

 
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 345
Total books for the year: 90 of 95.  I was in a mood most foul earlier in the week and went on Litsy to ask for book recommendations.  My request was for stories full of Buffy-like ass-kicking characters, and that’s how I ended up reading The Secret Hour.  So far, it has hit the spot perfectly even though there hasn’t been much ass-kicking yet.  I’m nearly done with it, and once I am, I’ll catch up with the Silmarillion for #LOTRChapteraDay.  I should be finished with that by the end of this week.  Then I’ll be trying to finish the rest of my current reads before the start of #COYER on December 16th.  Speaking of #COYER, I’ve been preparing by finally, and slowly getting all of my books scanned into Goodreads.  Once I’m done, I’ll also be fully prepped for next year’s #ShelfLove.
What are you reading this week?

#COYER Winter Switch!

Published on by Rachelle

It’s time to get ready for another round of #COYER!  The challenge begins December 16th and ends March 9th.  I’ll be participating in the “Switch”, which is outlined below, but click on the link to get all of the details.

COYER Switch

There are 3 components: “The Strict”, “The List”, and “The One with the Twist”.  Each component will be done once, in any order, at one of the 3 phases:

  • December 16 – January 12
  • January 13 – February 9
  • February 10 – March 9

The Strict

  1. Every book you read must be an eBook or audiobook.
  2. Every book must be either free or less than $5.
  3. No library books, borrowed books, or Kindle Unlimited.

The List

  1. Make a list of up to 30 books you want to read.
  2. Every book on the list must be in your possession BEFORE you put them on the list.
  3. You can add 5 new books for every 5 books you read.
  4. Books on the list can be any format, any price, obtained any LEGAL way.

The One with the Twist

  1. You can read ANY book. ANY price. Obtained any LEGAL way.
  2. “The Twist” is that you have to stick with one format; audiobook, ebook, or physical.

I’m going to do “The List” first, from December 16th to January 12th, then “The One with the Twist” second, from January 13th to February 9th, and then I’ll wrap up this round of COYER with “The Strict” from February 10th to March 9th.  I’ve already put together my List on Goodreads, and I’m going to stick to my physical books for “The One with the Twist”.  I’ve created another list of the free/less than $5 ebooks and audiobooks I have for “The Strict”, but it’s a work in progress.
From now until #COYER starts, I’ll be trying to finish up all of my current reads so I can start fresh with a book from my list.  Are you participating in #COYER Winter Switch?  What do you think of the books on my list?  Are there any I should I read first?

The Classics Club Spin #16 – Short and Sweet

Published on by Rachelle

classicsclub
The Classics Club announced the Spin number yesterday:

4

Which means I’ll be reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  While it wasn’t the book I really wanted, it will be a quick, easy read and that’s probably a good thing right now.  I’m in the middle of reading The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien and it is definitely not light reading.

  1. Kafka, Franz: The Trial
  2. Lawrence, D.H.: Lady Chatterley’s Lover
  3. Du Maurier, Daphne: Rebecca
  4. Burnett, Frances Hodgson: The Secret Garden
  5. Barrie, J.M.: Peter Pan
  6. Beckett, Samuel: Waiting for Godot
  7. Remarque: All Quiet on the Western Front
  8. Melville, Herman: Moby Dick
  9. Hemingway, Ernest: A Farewell to Arms
  10. Bronte, Anne: Agnes Grey
  11. Flaubert, Gustav: Madame Bovary
  12. Eliot, George: Middlemarch
  13. Proust, Marcel: Swann’s Way
  14. Gogol, Nikolay: Dead Souls
  15. Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter
  16. Heller, Joseph: Catch-22
  17. Cooper, James Fenimore: The Last of the Mohicans
  18. Crane, Stephen: Red Badge of Courage
  19. Hugo, Victor: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  20. Dickens, Charles: Oliver Twist

Are you participating in the Classics Club Spin?

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

fitreaders-2017-1

  • This check-in is for November 10th – 16th.
  • To put it plainly, this has been a rough week, motivation-wise, and it shows in my stats.
  • One nice thing is that I’m only a mile shy of finishing stage 9 on the Appalachian Trail.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 32,086/50,000
  • Miles: 13.32/20
  • Total Miles: 442.69
  • Active Minutes: 184/210
  • Virtual 5Ks: 0/10
  • Total Money Donated: $4.61/$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 Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros
  • The Book of Night with Moon by Diane Duane
  • John Saturnall’s Feast by Lawrence Norfold
  • Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

  
  
Finished:

  • Wildwood by Colin Melot


Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 729
Total # of books for the year: 90 of 95.
What are you reading this week?

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

fitreaders-2017-1

  • This check-in is for November 3rd – 9th.
  • I missed 2 days of walking this week thanks to having to go into the office to work.  However, I was less than 7K steps from meeting my goal, which is pretty good considering I was barley getting 25K steps a week before I set my new goal.
  • I nailed my Active Minutes goal, which means I’ll be raising it for next week.  I’m think 245 minutes is a good step up since that’s only 15 more minutes than I did this week.

 

  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 43,142/50,000
  • Miles: 17.71/20
  • Total Miles: 429.37
  • Active Minutes: 230/210
  • Virtual 5Ks: 0/10
  • Total Money Donated: $4.58/$5.00

The Classics Club Spin #16

Published on by Rachelle

classicsclub

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin!  Below is my Spin list.  While I’m interested in reading all of the books on this and my master list, I’m really hoping it will be one of the books below in particular.  I’m not saying which one, though.

  1. Kafka, Franz: The Trial
  2. Lawrence, D.H.: Lady Chatterley’s Lover
  3. Du Maurier, Daphne: Rebecca
  4. Burnett, Frances Hodgson: The Secret Garden
  5. Barrie, J.M.: Peter Pan
  6. Beckett, Samuel: Waiting for Godot
  7. Remarque: All Quiet on the Western Front
  8. Melville, Herman: Moby Dick
  9. Hemingway, Ernest: A Farewell to Arms
  10. Bronte, Anne: Agnes Grey
  11. Flaubert, Gustav: Madame Bovary
  12. Eliot, George: Middlemarch
  13. Proust, Marcel: Swann’s Way
  14. Gogol, Nikolay: Dead Souls
  15. Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter
  16. Heller, Joseph: Catch-22
  17. Cooper, James Fenimore: The Last of the Mohicans
  18. Crane, Stephen: Red Badge of Courage
  19. Hugo, Victor: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  20. Dickens, Charles: Oliver Twist

The Spin number will be chosen on Friday, November 17th, and then those of us participating will have until the end of the year to read the book that corresponds to that number.
Are you participating in the Classics Club Spin?

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:

  • Wildwood by Colin Melot
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros

 
Finished:

  • My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
  • Ghost Story by Peter Straub

 
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 670
Total # of books for the year: 89 of 95.  I upped my main reading goal again, and with any luck, I’ll have to raise it to 100 by the end of the month 🙂
This weekend was the Texas Book Festival.  I originally planned to go both days, but then I found out that Kate Milford (author of Greenglass House) and Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Boys) were both going to be there on Sunday, so I saved my spoons.  I’m so glad I did because the humidity was brutal and I bought so many books that I then had to lug around with me in my tote bag that I would have never made it through the day had I gone on Saturday as well.

The pic I posted on Litsy.

What are you reading this week?

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

fitreaders-2017-1

  • This check-in is for October 27th – November 2nd.
  • November is going to be all about fitness for me.  I’m doing Damn Early Days again, and my goal is to walk 50,000 steps every week.  That’s a steep, but achievable, goal since I’ve been doing less than half that number of steps for awhile.
  • I finally got to a point on the virtual Appalachian Trail to read another chapter of A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.  I have also started reading A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros.

 

  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.

 

  • Steps: 23,497/50,000
  • Miles: 9.65/18
  • Total Miles: 411.66
  • Active Minutes: 133/210
  • Virtual 5Ks: 0/10
  • Total Money Donated: $4.54/$5.00