Author: Rachelle

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

  • This check-in is for February 23rd – March 1st.
  • My Boyfriend and I took his Mom to German Village to walk around, go to the Book Loft, and eat lunch. Somehow, I over did it, and have been feeling worn out and not well since last night. I’m hoping some rest today will get me back to normal, but I’m not looking forward to work tomorrow.
  • Active Days: 1/5
  • Steps: 51,854
  • Miles: 20.87/16.31
  • Total Miles: 119.59/850
  • Zone Minutes: 38/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
  • Harry Potter’s Bookshelf by John Granger
  • Wintering by Katherine May
  • Quicksilver by Callie Hart
  • The Search for the Red Dragon by James A. Owen

Finished:

  • The House Witch by Delemhach
  • The Whole Five Feet by Christopher R. Beha

Total pages read this week: 736

Total books read: 23 of 75

TBR (goal is -24): -9

#ShelfLove Challenge: 14 of 51

My Boyfriend’s Mom is visiting so I’ve been fairly busy, especially since my job is getting more and more chaotic and stressful. I’ve been reading whenever I get a little time, and greatly enjoying each book. Two of the library books I have checked out are due within a couple of days, so I’ll be trying to finish those this weekend.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

Down the TBR Hole #190

Published on by Rachelle
Image: hjl

How it works:

  • Go to your Goodreads want-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?
My want-to-read shelf jumped back up to 1178 books. I added a couple of Cozy books to my wishlist.
This week’s books:

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman – KEEP. I absolutely loved the “Practical Magic” series, and since this story is book-related, I want to give it a try.

Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire – KEEP. This book about books has such a beautiful cover that I accidently bought two copies!

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik – KEEP. I will definitely be reading this second book in the Dark Academia “Scholomance” series.

Lone Women by Victor Lavalle- KEEP. This is either the second or third book pick for Jenny Lawson’s Horror book club, “Nightmares from Nowhere.” I started reading it last year during #RIP, but put it down because I want to read another book, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë first.

Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner – KEEP.  I read The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry already, not knowing it’s the second book in the “Unnatural Magic” series, of which this is the first. I may need to reread the second book after I read this one, but I’m not sure yet.
My want-to-read shelf is staying at 1178 books. There are several Cozy reads coming up on my want-to-read shelf for the next post, so I doubt I’ll be letting any of them go.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

  • This check-in is for February 16th – 22nd.
  • I’ve been sick since Friday and feeling stressed for most of the week, so I haven’t been doing much else other than resting when I’m not at work.
  • Active Days: 1/5
  • Steps: 35,298
  • Miles: 14.21/16.31
  • Total Miles: 98.72/850
  • Zone Minutes: 36/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
  • The House Witch by Delemhach
  • Harry Potter’s Bookshelf by John Granger
  • The Whole Five Feet by Christopher R. Beha

Finished:

  • Night Shift by Stephen King

Total pages read this week: 840

Total books read: 21 of 75

TBR (goal is -24): -8

#ShelfLove Challenge: 13 of 51

I’m slowly getting caught up on all of the library books I checked out, and am getting more into Cozy reading. I’m hunkering down this weekend thanks to even more uncertainty with my job, the possibility of two of my work friends getting let go (both of whom moved long distance away from friends and family for their jobs), and now I’m sick with either a cold or a sinus infection. I hope it’s only a cold and that a lot of rest and soup will take care of it. I hope my friends still have jobs on Monday.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

Down the TBR Hole #189

Published on by Rachelle
Image: hjl

How it works:

  • Go to your Goodreads want-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?
My want-to-read shelf jumped up again to 1178 books. I finished several books this past week, but I added several Cozy books to my wishlist.
This week’s books:

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher – KEEP. This book keeps coming up in Fantasy recommendation lists of all kinds. My hope is to get to it sooner rather than later.

Live Your Best Life by Dr. Stuart Farrimond – GO. I tried listening to this audiobook during my morning commute as part of my Miracle Morning routine, but I just couldn’t get into it, and I stopped listening. I meant to come back to it and give it another chance at some point, but every time I see it in the Chirp app, I’m reminded of how boring I thought it was.

A Book of Bosh by Edward Lear – GO. I don’t remember where I learned about this “book of nonsense”, but it’s been on my wishlist for two years, is out of print, and I haven’t bothered to try finding a copy.

Miss Peregrine’s Museum of Wonders by Ransom Riggs- KEEP. I love this world and want to read more about it.

Murder at the Bookstore by Sue Minix – KEEP.  I wonder how many Cozy Mystery books have this exact same title? I also wonder how many other Cozy Mystery books have a main character who inherits a bookstore after the owner is murdered. Will this book be predictable? Oh, most certainly, but I need more predictableness in my life right now.
My want-to-read shelf is down a little bit to 1176 books. These posts are a reminder of how many great books I already have waiting for me to pick up while allowing me the chance to weed out the ones that I’m no longer interested in reading. Though I’ve been checking out a lot of books from the library lately, I have been mixing those in with the books I own so I can get my “new” book fix while slowly chipping away at my TBR. It may not look like it, but that system is working, even if the number of books on my want-to-read shelf expands more than it contracts.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

  • This check-in is for February 9th – 15th.
  • The weather has been rainy, icy, and bleh all week. Combined with everything else in my life, I’ve been spending more time under a blanket with a book, a hot cuppa, and at least one cat than doing anything else.
  • Active Days: 1/5
  • Steps: 39,734
  • Miles: 16.09/16.31
  • Total Miles: 84.51/850
  • Zone Minutes: 56/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
  • The House Witch by Delemhach
  • Harry Potter’s Bookshelf by John Granger
  • Night Shift by Stephen King

Finished:

  • Hunted by Meagan Spooner
  • The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
  • Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
  • The Colossus and Other Poems by Sylvia Plath

Total pages read this week: 925

Total books read: 20 of 75

TBR (goal is -24): -9

#ShelfLove Challenge: 13 of 51

I’ve been checking out a lot of books from the library, and five of them are going to be due over the next week. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish all of them, so I’ve prioritized reading the one I checked out for a reading challenge on Litsy, Night Shift. It’s one of the few King books I’ve never read, and since it’s one of his older short story collections, I’m really looking forward to diving in (I’ve only read the Forward so far). While it’s definitely not a Cozy read, it does bring up a lot of fond memories of me checking out and devouring his books during my teen years.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

Down the TBR Hole #188

Published on by Rachelle
Image: hjl

How it works:

  • Go to your Goodreads want-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?
My want-to-read shelf jumped up to 1175 books. While I finished a few books this past week, only one of them was from my TBR. The rest were library books that hadn’t been on my want-to-read shelf, and I added several more books to my wishlist.
This week’s books:

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly – KEEP. A Cozy Mystery in which the main character is a librarian and she has cats? Yes, please!

Dodger by Terry Pratchett – KEEP. I’m keeping this book on my wishlist because it’s by Sir Terry Pratchett, but I’m not going to buy it until after I finally get around to reading Oliver Twist.

Monster’s Bones by David K. Randall – KEEP. Anyone who knows me knows that I love Dinosaurs! On my Birthday, I visited COSI and got to see their exhibit dedicated to T. Rex. I learned a little bit about the man who discovered the first T. Rex, and this book goes more into the details about that story as well as the other people involved.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett- KEEP. Not only is this one of the books Jenny Lawson selected for the Fantastic Strangelings book club, but it also shows up on every Cozy Fantasy book recommendation list I’ve come across.

The Binding by Bridget Collins – KEEP.  A book-related Fantasy set in an alternate 19th century England? I’m intrigued.
My want-to-read shelf is staying at 1175 books. If you’ve read my most recent “Building the Book Fort” post, you’ll know that times have been rough for me. Through all of it, I’ve been sticking to my #ShelfLove goal of limiting how many books I buy. Instead of binging on new books from the bookstore, I’ve been soothing myself with books from the library and taking any Cozy book recommendations sent my way. While I know my want-to-read shelf will eventually go down, for now, I’m more concerned with how I’m coping than the number of books I own or have on my wishlist.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle

  • This check-in is for February 2nd – 8th.
  • While I will try to get as many miles as I can this month to hopefully get caught up on my mileage goal for the year, I won’t be completing the Taji 100. It’s simply too much for me to handle physically.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 40,275
  • Miles: 16.25/16.31
  • Total Miles: 68.42/850
  • Zone Minutes: 78/150