Author: Rachelle

#BoutofBooks 18: Day Six

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books 18

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 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th 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 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I finished Shiver and listened to part of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren while I finally got some cleaning done around the apartment.  Then I settled onto the couch with a blanket and my cat to relax with The Mermaid’s Sister by Carrie Anne Noble.
  • Time Read:  5 hours and 45 minutes
  • Pages Read: 305
  • Books Finished: 1
  • Total Number of Books Read: 5

#BoutofBooks 18: Day Five

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books 18

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 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th 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 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I listened to some more of Shiver and I finished Shadow, Shadow by V.B. Marlowe.  I also borrowed my friend’s copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and finished it in one sitting.  I’m now reading The Mermaid’s Sister by Carrie Anne Noble.
  • Time Read:  6 hours and 35 minutes
  • Pages Read: 381
  • Books Finished: 2
  • Total Number of Books Read: 4

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

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  • This check-in is for December 30th, 2016 – January 5th, 2017.
  • I’ve decided to switch things up a bit this year.  I’m walking to Mordor.  That’s right, I’m committing to walking 1,779 miles in a year, which breaks down to just under 5 miles a day, or about 10,000 steps, which is the recommended amount of walking we should do every day.
  • In addition to the walking, I’m going to try to go to at least 1 yoga class a week.  I hope I can fit in more, but I’m still trying to figure out how to get all the walking in, too.
  • I’ve also started the Full Plate Diet.  My goal is to get up to 75% of each meal consisting of fiber-rich foods.  I’m also going to continue to work on drinking at least 64 ounces of water each day.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Steps: 23,145/70,000
  • Miles: 7.93/35
  • Total Miles: 7.93/1779
  • Active Minutes: 69/150
  • Days I Drank 64 ounces of Water: 3/7
  • Virtual 5Ks: 0/10
  • Total Money Donated: $0.04/$30.00

#BoutofBooks 18: Day Four

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books 18

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 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th 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 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I decided to listen to some of Shiver while I colored.  I also finished The Bear and the Nightingale and started Shadow, Shadow by V.B. Marlowe.  I decided that since I’m on vacation, I should act like it and stop trying to do everything.  Now that I’m doing whatever I want to do instead, I’m getting a lot more reading done.
  • Time Read:  5 hours and 45 minutes
  • Pages Read: 345
  • Books Finished: 1
  • Total Number of Books Read: 2

#BoutofBooks 18: Day Three

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books 18

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 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th 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 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I finished Days of Blood and Starlight and got through a quarter of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden.
  • Time Read:  2 hours and 40 minutes
  • Pages Read: 224
  • Books Finished: 1
  • Total Number of Books Read: 1

#BoutofBooks 18: Day Two

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books 18

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 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th 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 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I got some more of Days of Blood and Starlight read, but a friend’s Father passed away suddenly.  While I was driving around taking care of some stuff, I listened to part of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.
  • Time Read:  3 hours and 7 minutes
  • Pages Read: 172
  • Books Finished: 0
  • Total Number of Books Read: 0

#BoutofBooks 18: Day One

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books 18

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 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th 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 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I got some reading done, but I was mostly out and about celebrating my Birthday.  I went to the used bookstore with a box of books and my 15% off Birthday coupon.  Then I went to the Steeping Room for lunch and watched Matilda, based on one of my all time favorite books.  Not bad for the first day.  What I did read was Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor.
  • Time Read: 1 hour
  • Pages Read: 53
  • 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:

  • The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien – for #FanspeakTheRing
  • Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
  • Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë – for the #Eyrealong

return starlight shiver
jane
Finished:

  • The Humbug Murders by L.J. Oliver
  • Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
  • The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley

humbug wolf haunted

Challenges:

Total pages read this week: 662

Total # of books for the year: 0 of 85.  Finally, it’s a new year.  I read 85 books last year, so I’m shooting for that same number this year.  Today is my Birthday, the start of Bout of Books 18, and my week-long vacation from work!  While I’ll be catching up on a lot of stuff around the apartment, I’ll be listening to audiobooks and when I’m not doing that, I’ll be reading my ARCs.

What are you reading this week?

#ShelfLove Challenge 2017

Published on by Rachelle

shelf_love_2017_250x250

I’m joining the Show Your Shelves Some Love Challenge again!  Below are my goals.

My Goals

  • Read at least 51 books from my personal library that I got before January 1, 2016 (my shelves and I are going steady).
  • With the exception of one book, I can only buy books using the money I get from selling books to the used bookstore.  I can “buy” as many free books as I would like,  as well as accept ARCs and enter giveaways to my heart’s content.
  • If I’m purchasing ebooks with my book money, I may add on the audio narration without it counting against my book money.  To me, adding on the audiobook is like buying a second copy of a book I already own.
  • Participate in the monthly discussion posts.  I didn’t do so well with this goal last year, but I’m hoping to get back to writing a discussion post every month.

My TBR

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These are, of course, only my physical books, and not all of them are books I haven’t read yet, but the majority of them have never been opened. Total, I have 293 unread books sitting on my shelves or in my Kindle and Nook, according to my TBR shelf on Goodreads.  However, I know that’s not all of them.  I don’t know how close it is to last year’s 400+, but considering I acquired a few more books and only read 58 of the ones I got prior to 2016, I’m sure it’s not far off.  One of my projects this year will be to update my TBR shelf on Goodreads to get a more accurate total (most of the ebooks on my Nook aren’t on it).

#ShelfLove – End of Year Check-In!

Published on by Rachelle

Shelf Love Challenge 2016
This is it!  The last month of the #ShelfLove No Book Buying Challenge!  Those of us participating are discussing how we did.
For those of you who don’t remember, I chose not to purchase any books this year.  Free books, of course, didn’t count.  However, I didn’t meet this goal.  I ended up purchasing several books at the Texas Book Festival.  I did succeed in reading at least 51 books that were already on my shelves…or on the floor.  Yeah, lots of books, but I got rid of a lot of them, too.

2016-06-18 13.09.19
My TBR Shelf

I plan on participating again next year, but that’s for another post.