Author: Rachelle

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.
Current Reads:

  • Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien – for the #FanspeakTheRing Read-Along
  • (R)evolution by P.J. Manney
  • Feed by Mira Grant
  • Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro
  • The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Fellowship Revolution Feed

Primary Scorpio

Finished:

  • The Martian by Andy Weir
  • Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
  • Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Martian Grave Bookmarked
Giver

Challenges:

Total pages read: 1117

Total # of books for the year: 46.

What are you reading this week?

#24in48 Readathon – Final Update

Published on by Rachelle

The 24 in 48 readathon is over, and while I didn’t read for 24 hours, I still see it as a success.  Below is my final update.
self_high_five
Final Update
The Boyfriend brought me home a burrito from Chipotle so I wouldn’t have to interrupt my reading time to make lunch.  However, we had plans to go out for dinner with friends, and I’m already in bed thanks to having to be up at my normal time to go to work, so I still didn’t read as much as I wanted.  That’s ok, because I got a lot of reading done, and I’ll be much better prepared for my next 24 in 48 hour readathon.
In the Middle of Reading:

  • The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
  • Feed by Mira Grant

Scorpio Feed
Books Finished:

  • Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry

Bookmarked Giver
Pages Read: 291
Total Pages Read: 780 – I added wrong at some point during the readathon, but this is the accurate page count.
Time Read: 6 hours 52 minutes
Total Time Read: 18 hours 25 minutes – It took me a ridiculous amount of time to get through less than 800 pages, and I can only guess that the reasons are listening to audiobooks and my edition of The Fellowship of the Ring having larger pages with a smaller type.
I don’t know when the next 24 in 48 readathon is, but I will definitely be participating!

#24in48 Readathon Update #3

Published on by Rachelle

Only 12 hours left of the 24 in 48 readathon!  Below is my update.
a-b-yay
Update #3
The cat allowed me to sleep in a little bit this morning and was nice enough to only paw at my ankle insistently until I raised my head from the pillow and acknowledged his presence.  I had the same breakfast as yesterday, except only one boiled egg, and twice as much tea.  Though I know I won’t make the goal of reading for 24 hours, I’m determined not to take any impromptu naps.
Current Reads:

  • The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
  • Feed by Mira Grant

Scorpio Feed
Books Finished:

  • Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry

Bookmarked Giver
Pages Read: 80
Total Pages Read: 576
Time Read: 1 hour 57 minutes
Total Time Read: 11 hours 33 minutes
My final update will be at Midnight Central time.  Happy reading!

#24in48 Readathon Update #2

Published on by Rachelle

We’re now a whole day into the 24 in 48 readathon.  I’m off to bed, but below is my update.
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Update #2
I really didn’t prepare for this readathon like I have in the past, and that started to show shortly after breakfast.  I didn’t get nearly as much reading time accomplished as I wanted to, but that’s because I fell asleep twice while reading The Fellowship of the Ring.  I was enjoying it, but I was so tired from not getting enough sleep (thanks to the cat) that it wasn’t enough to keep me awake.  After my two naps, I realized I needed to switch books.  I finished listening to Bookmarked for Death and started The Scorpio Races while I did some laundry, then I read Feed for a bit until my Nook warned me my battery was about to die.  I couldn’t even read (R)evolution by P.J. Manney because my Kindle needed to be recharged as well.  On top of that, I was feeling a little moody and didn’t want to read Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro, so I picked up The Giver instead.
I remembered that I had leftover Chinese food from Friday night, so I ate that for lunch.  I had some of my ice cream for dessert, and I had vegetarian “fish” filets and fries for dinner.  I also drank a lot of green iced tea.
Current Reads:

  • The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
  • Feed by Mira Grant
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry

Fellowship Scorpio Feed
Giver
Books Finished:

  • Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett

Bookmarked
Pages Read: 457
Total Pages Read: 496
Time Read: 7 hours 51 minutes
Total Time Read: 9 hours 36 minutes
My next update will be at noon tomorrow.  Now that my Kindle and Nook are charged, tomorrow should be a better reading day.  Goodnight!

#24in48 Readathon Update #1

Published on by Rachelle

It’s hour 12 of the 24 in 48 readathon and here’s my first update!
lets-do-this
Update #1
For breakfast, I had two boiled eggs, whole wheat toast with Irish butter, a vegetarian “sausage” patty, a yogurt, and a large cup of Earl Grey.  I haven’t decided on lunch yet, but I know it will involve a tall glass of green iced tea.  My goal for today is at least 12 hours of reading, and compared to the last 24 in 48 readathon, I did a little better, timewise.
Current Read: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Fellowship
Pages Read: 39
Time Read: 1 hour and 45 minutes
My next update will be at Midnight central time, and I will have much more to share!  See you then 🙂

#24in48 Readathon – See you in the morning!

Published on by Rachelle

You Can't Read All Day
Though I won’t start reading until I get up in the morning, the readathon officially started at midnight EST.  So, I figured I’d post this now before I go to bed.  I’ll be posting updates throughout the weekend, every 12 hours.
For every readathon I’ve ever participated in, I always buy lots of snacks and easy to cook and eat one-handed meals.  I’m doing things a little differently this time.  With the exception of ice cream and popcorn, the only extra I’ve got is a carton of guava nectar to make homemade slushie cups.  Other than that, I’ve got my regular breakfast foods and fruit.  Oh, and lots and lots of tea, but there’s always plenty of that.  I’m not sure what I’ll eat for lunch or dinner, but I’ll figure it out.
My TBR pile has changed slightly since I finished The Martian by Andy Weir and Grave Peril by Jim Butcher earlier this week:

  • Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • (R)evolution by P.J. Manney
  • Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett
  • Feed by Mira Grant
  • Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro

Fellowship Revolution Bookmarked

Feed Primary

The Boyfriend was sweet and hired a maid service to clean the whole apartment so I wouldn’t have to do anything but the laundry.  So, I’ll be sitting or laying on the couch in my pajamas for most of the readathon.  However, I also intend on getting on the treadmill each day as well as taking breaks to move around and do other things while I listen to an audiobook.
For now, though, I’m going to sleep.  See you in the morning! 🙂

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
FitReaders2016
  • This check-in is for July 15th – 21st.
  • My goal for this week was 5K steps per day, and I just barely met it.  My new goal is 6K steps per day.
  • I completely forgot to mention in last week’s check-in that I joined the Harry Potter Alliance’s Road to Hogwarts 2: Escape from Privet Drive virtual race.  Participants have until August 31st to complete 50 miles.  I’ll be updating my progress below with the rest of my goals.
  • I’m not 100% sure on this, but I think Plus3 lowered or did away with the amount of money donated for certain activities.  Last year, I was donating at least $1 or $2 a week, but this week I’ve only donated a little more than 25 cents.  I may have to lower my goal again.
  • If you’d like to add me as a friend on FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Steps: 35,635/35,000
  • Miles: 14.63/10.5
  • Flights of stairs: 124/70
  • Active Minutes: 122/105
  • Road to Hogwarts miles: 20.15/50
  • Monthly 5K Races Completed: 3/10
  • Monthly 1 Mile Fun “Runs” Completed: 2/10
  • Total Money Donated: $20.57/$50.00

Review: Welcome to the Future

Published on by Rachelle

Welcome

  • Publisher: Christina Escamilla Publishing
  • ISBN: 9780991529360
  • Genre: Science Fiction
  • Pages: 260

What will the future hold? Sometimes bleak, sometimes inspiring, these twenty tales seek to answer the very question that civilization has pondered for centuries. From a world where specialized eyes shape the way reality is perceived to fabricated simulations that are designed to allow full control over an augmented reality. This book takes you to the far reaches of the universe to the remnants of a forgotten Earth. In short, these twenty tales boldly answer the question of “what if” with a simple: Welcome to the Future. – Goodreads synopsis

I won Welcome to the Future during a #COYER challenge, and I was so happy I did since I was also participating in a book buying ban and had added the book to my wishlist nearly as soon as it was published.  I was particularly interested in it because one of the authors also has a blog I love to read.  However, that also made me hesitant to review it.  What if I didn’t like the book or, even worse, her story?
To get around the worry, I promised myself that I didn’t have to review it if I didn’t want to or feel comfortable doing so.  I don’t review every single book I read, though I try.  However, I had nothing to be concerned about since I wound up devouring Welcome to the Future in one day.  I don’t usually do that with short story anthologies.  I tend to dip into them for a story or two and then read something else for a bit before returning.  That’s mostly because I’ve never read an anthology in which every single story was phenomenal.  While I didn’t love all the stories in this one either, almost all of my favorites were front loaded.
If anything, that’s what I disliked about this collection.  I didn’t enjoy the last few stories, and if I hadn’t plowed through the book so quickly, that might have tarnished my view of it as a whole.  I feel as if the runner-up selections were tacked on at the end only to make the book a little longer.  A better way of organizing it would have been to spread them out amongst the gems of the bunch.  Putting that aside, Welcome to the Future is well worth buying.
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Review: Doctor Who – Snowglobe 7

Published on by Rachelle

Snowglobe

  • Author: Mike Tucker
  • ISBN: 9781846074219
  • Publisher: BBC Books
  • Genre: Science Fiction
  • Pages: 256

Earth, 2099. Global warming is devastating the climate. The polar ice caps are melting.
In a desperate attempt at preservation, the governments of the world have removed vast sections of the Arctic and Antarctic and set them inside huge domes across the world. The Doctor and Martha arrive in Snowglobe 7 in the Middle East, hoping for peace and relaxation. But they soon discover that it’s not only ice and snow that has been preserved beneath the Dome.
While Martha struggles to help with an infection sweeping through the Dome, the Doctor discovers an alien threat that has lain hidden since the last ice age. A threat that is starting to thaw. – Goodreads synopsis

Not long after I got hooked on Doctor Who, I bought every book involving my favorite tenth Doctor that I could find at the used bookstore.  When it came to choosing which one to start with, I looked at my TBR shelf on Goodreads and picked the first one on the list.
I wasn’t expecting anything fantastic, but now I wonder if the books are made from scripts that, while great, didn’t make the cut for one reason or another.  There are only so many episodes per series after all, and the majority of them link together in some way to form an overall story line.  So why not take the ones that didn’t fit and put them in another format for fans to enjoy during that excruciatingly long time between series?
Regardless of the reason, Snowglobe 7 felt like watching an episode, and that’s exactly what I was hoping for when I bought this and the other Doctor Who books I found.  This wasn’t my first Doctor Who story outside of watching the show, but my first was an audiobook narrated by David Tennant, so I couldn’t be 100% sure if it’s awesomeness was due to the format or the writer.  It was probably both, but it was also a different writer than Mike Tucker, so the only things I was truly certain of was that this book was about the 10th Doctor and Martha and the story involved some kind of dangerous alien species and a wintry environment.
If you’re specifically looking for a Doctor Who story but you want something new or don’t feel like re-watching the show, look no further than Snowglobe 7.  I have a feeling I’ll be repeating that as I make my way through my book collection.
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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.
Current Reads:

  • Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien – for the #FanspeakTheRing Read-Along
  • The Martian by Andy Weir
  • Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
  • (R)evolution by P.J. Manney
  • Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett
  • Feed by Mira Grant

Fellowship The Martian Grave

Revolution Bookmarked Feed

Finished:

  • Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairytales

Time Lord

Challenges:

Total pages read: 598

Total # of books for the year: 42.

What are you reading this week?