Author: Rachelle

#BoutofBooks 20: Day 1

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long readathon that begins 12:01 am Monday, August 21st and runs through Sunday, August 27th 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 20 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Updated TBR

  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
  • Jack the Bodiless by Julian May
  • Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge
  • Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
  • Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker
I listened to some of Tess of the d’Urbervilles during my commute to work, and read nearly half of Fly By Night while I was at home.  Not bad for the first day.
  • Time Read:  5 hours 54 minutes
  • Pages Read: 287
  • 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:

  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – for #LengthyLit
  • Jack the Bodiless by Julian May
  • The Once and Future King by T.H. White
  • Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge
  • Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
  • Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker

    
Finished:

  • The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov


Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 444
Total # of books for the year: 61 of 85.  Today starts #BoutofBooks 20, so I’ll be concentrating on finishing up my current reads.  However, I already have a stack of 15 books that I would like to read during September and October.  With the exception of Christmas, the Fall is my favorite time of year.  I used to think it was Winter, but I’ve realized that while I love (and miss) snow and all the cold weather clothing options, I feel more at home when the days are just beginning to shorten, the leaves start turning, and the stories I read, watch, and listen to get spookier.
What are you reading this week?

Down the TBR Hole #9

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 every week until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.  I currently have 566 books on my to-read shelf.  I culled several books towards the bottom of the list while I was looking through them for something to read after a somewhat bad day.

This week’s five books:


Foreign Correspondences by Lesley Krueger – KEEP.  I love travel writing and I already own this in ebook format.

The Thickety: A Path Begins by J.A. White – KEEP.  I already own this one too, and there’s no way I would get rid of what sounds like an awesome Middle-Grade Fantasy story.

How to Catch a Bogle by Catherine Jinks – KEEP.  This is another Middle-Grade book I already own and don’t have plans of getting rid of anytime soon.

Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines – KEEP.  I own this in paperback, and I’ve heard nothing but great things about it and the author.  I might take it off the shelf to read next month.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige – GO.  This seemed so interesting before there was a ridiculous number of other stories which turn the supposedly “good guys” into bad.  No thanks.
 
My to-read shelf is down to 565 books.  I’ll start off next week with book #81.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

fitreaders-2017-1

  • This check-in is for August 11th – 17th.
  • I realized that I haven’t mentioned my progress on the virtual Appalachian Trail at Walking4Fun.  I’m currently on my way through Stage 6 (of 89) and have walked over more than 120 miles of the Trail.  I’m just over the Georgia – North Carolina border 🙂  Here is a picture from where I was at yesterday before I went to bed:

Trail Location

  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Steps: 18,833/70,000
  • Miles: 7.73/35
  • Total Miles: 317.31
  • Active Minutes: 40/210
  • Days I Drank 80 ounces of Water: 7/7
  • Virtual 5Ks: 0/10
  • Total Money Donated: $4.10/$10.00

Thursday's Things: Back to School!

Published on by Rachelle

1001 Things
Original Image: Viktor Hertz

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.
Students are headed back to school for another year of learning, and I’m just a wee bit jealous!  The #SciFiSummer reading challenge is still going strong with roughly a month left, so I mixed in a few Science Fiction related links with the more “scholarly” ones.

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:

  • Allegiant by Veronica Roth
  • The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – for #LengthyLit
  • Jack the Bodiless by Julian May
  • The Once and Future King by T.H. White
  • Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker
  • The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore

  
   
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 571
Total # of books for the year: 58 of 85.  I was really hoping I would finish Allegiant this weekend, but I fell asleep on the couch.  I’m about 150 pages away from finishing, so I’ll definitely be done some time this week.
What are you reading this week?

Bout of Books 20!

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long readathon that begins 12:01 am Monday, August 21st and runs through Sunday, August 27th 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 20 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I have to work during this Bout of Books, unfortunately, but I’m planning on getting some extra reading time in with audiobooks.

My Goals

  • Read.  Read.  Read.
  • Finish the books I’m currently reading.
  • Finish at least one more book from my TBR.

Books to Read

One or two of these might already be finished by the 21st.

  • Allegiant by Veronica Roth
  • The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
  • Jack the Bodiless by Julian May
  • Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker
  • The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore

Updates

I will be posting an update each day with the amount of time I read, the number of pages read that day and the titles of any of the books I’ve finished.

Down the TBR Hole #8

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 every week until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.  I currently have 576 books on my to-read shelf.  I cleared out a few books towards the end of the list that I was no longer interested in reading.

This week’s ten books:


Seraphina by Rachel Hartman – KEEP.  Why have I not read this book yet?!  A friend of mine gave it to me as a Birthday present a couple years ago, and it’s still sitting on the shelf.  I need to fix that.

The Shelf by Phyllis Rose – KEEP.  I bought this about a year ago, and haven’t managed to get to it yet, despite how much I love reading books about books.

The Library Book by various authors – KEEP.  This is a collection of essays and has been on my wishlist for what feels like forever.  I’ve never found a physical copy of it, and I don’t want to settle for the ebook.

The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell – KEEP.  This is another book that has been on my wishlist for a long time because I haven’t been able to find a physical copy of it.

When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning – KEEP.  A book about books and WWII?  Yes, please!

The Uncanny Valley by Gregory Miller – KEEP.  I’m putting this towards the top of the list of books I want to read in October.

Turn of the Tide by Margaret Skea – KEEP.  If I judged this book solely on the cover, I probably would have gotten rid of it.  However, the story is based on real life events in Scotland during the 16th century, so there’s no way I’m getting rid of it.

Ren of Atikala by David Adams – KEEP.  This one sounds too fun to get rid of and I got it for free.

The Princess of Dhagabad by Anna Kashina – GO.  A story about a Princess who seduces her slave?  No thanks, even if it is supposed to be based on The Arabian Nights.

The Librarian: Little Boy Lost by Alexandra Bracken – KEEP.  I would never get rid of a book about a magical library.
My to-read shelf is down to 575 books.  I’ll start off next week with book #76 and I might do ten books yet again since it looks like I’ll probably be keeping most of them.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

fitreaders-2017-1

  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Steps: 23,570/70,000
  • Miles: 9.69/35
  • Total Miles: 309.58
  • Active Minutes: 31/210
  • Days I Drank 80 ounces of Water: 7/7
  • Virtual 5Ks: 0/10
  • Total Money Donated: $3.38/$10.00

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:

  • Allegiant by Veronica Roth
  • The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – for #LengthyLit
  • The Once and Future King by T.H. White
  • Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker
  • The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore

  
  
Finished:

  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy

  
Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 537
Total # of books for the year: 58 of 85.
What are you reading this week?