Author: Rachelle

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai
  • Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
  • The Wisdom of the Shire by Noble Smith
  • Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Legends by Lydia Sherrer
  • My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Finished:

  • The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Total pages read this week: 399

TBR Mountain: -9

Total books read: 22 of 80

I’ve been in a comfort reads kind of mood lately, but I finally discovered Serial Reader! I had no idea it was free! I’m starting with My Man Jeeves, and then we’ll see where I end up. I used to hate reading off of my phone or a tablet, but most apps have dark mode nowadays, so it’s much easier, especially if I’m wearing my blue light-blocking glasses.

My TBR mountain has grown a little (though I’m still ahead for the month) because I went to a bookstore yesterday with the intention of using a gift card I had gotten for Christmas. I found 3 books from my wishlist, but completely forgot about the gift card in my wallet!

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

Down the TBR Hole #103

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 shelf is down two books to 1144.  I decided to remove a couple of books in a series from my wishlist.
This week’s books:

Chase Tinker and the House of Magic by Malia Ann Haberman – KEEP.  The synopsis on Goodreads seems like it’s trying too hard, but I’m willing to give it a chance.

The Lucky Dime by Patrick E. McLean – KEEP.  I have loved everything I’ve read by McLean, starting with the free “podiobook,” The Merchant Adventurer.

Walking by Henry David Thoreau – KEEP.  I enjoy reading about walking, probably because I love The Hobbit so much, and this is an essay mostly about the joys of walking and Nature.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys – KEEP. This is going to be a heartbreaking novel, but I need and want to read it.

Sourdough by Robin Sloan – GO.  I only bought this because I enjoyed Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore; however, after having lived in the Bay Area for several years and hating it about 75% of the time, there is no way I will want to read a story set there that isn’t even about books.  It’s probably good, but no, thank you.
My want-to-read shelf is down to 1143 books. The next post will be a mixture of ebooks and physical books that I own or are on my wishlist, and I don’t think I’ll be getting rid of any of them, but we’ll see!

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for April 9th – 15th.
  • I haven’t lost any weight this week.
  • I finished filling one of my raised garden beds, and I got it fenced in to keep out the critters (hopefully).  However, I won’t be putting together the 2nd raised bed like I originally wanted to, at least not this year. I discovered that the ground is very uneven and is also slightly sloped, so I would have to do some landscaping that I just don’t have the time or physical capacity to handle right now.
  • I earned another $5 towards something on my wishlist!
  • If you have a Fitbit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 3/5
  • Steps: 45,979
  • Miles: 18.75/17.26
  • Total Miles: 214.90/900
  • Active Minutes: 105/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai
  • The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
  • Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
  • The Wisdom of the Shire by Noble Smith

DNF:

  • The Bookshop That Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw
  • Foreign Correspondenses by Lesley Krueger

Total pages read this week: 176

TBR Mountain: -12

Total books read: 21 of 80

I keep striking out in the book choice department, with the exception of my re-reads. Hopefully, the trend will change sooner rather than later. What’s annoying is the time I’ve wasted starting books that are really good for the first few chapters but aren’t good enough to keep reading to the end. I need to finish at least 6 books before the end of the month to catch up with my reading goal for the year, and I won’t be able to do that if I continue to pick duds.

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

Down the TBR Hole #102

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 shelf is up two books to 1148.  Though I finished several books, I also added several to my wishlist.
This week’s books:

The Broken Sword by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy – KEEP.  This is the 2nd book in the “Forever King” series, and I got it through Netgalley before I realized it was a sequel.  I haven’t read the 1st book, The Forever King, yet, so I’m going to keep this one at least until I do.

Censored by Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis – KEEP.  This is another book I got through Netgalley, and my plan is to read it at some point during a future Banned Books Week.

Of Myst and Folly by Leah Cutter – GO.  I don’t remember how I got this ebook, but I suspect it was a freebie.  Regardless, I have a hunch that this book is not going to be something I will enjoy.

Wrestling with Gods ed. by Liana Kerzner and Jerome Stueart – KEEP. Short-story anthologies are always hit or miss for me, but I’m willing to try this one out.

The Pearl and the Carnelian by Annabel Fielding – GO.  This is another ebook that I’m not sure where I got it from, but I have a hunch it’s just not for me.
My want-to-read shelf is back down to 1146 books. The next post will be a mixture of ebooks and physical books that I own, so I’m not sure what the results will be.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for April 2nd – 8th.
  • I haven’t lost any weight this week.
  • I finally got half of one of my raised garden beds filled with the soil mixture I’m making, but that was very hard on my back, so I’m delayed (again) until next weekend. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.  I will probably only have one garden bed this year, instead of the two that I had planned.
  • If you have a Fitbit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 4/5
  • Steps: 30,350
  • Miles: 12.32/17.26
  • Total Miles: 196.15/900
  • Active Minutes: 114/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai
  • The Bookshop That Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw
  • The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
  • Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Finished:

  • Broken (In the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson
  • The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister
  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Total pages read this week: 849

TBR Mountain: -12

Total books read: 21 of 80

This has been a fantastic reading week! I’m ahead on my TBR goal, after finishing 3 excellent books (and deciding to let go of a couple), and I only need to finish 6 books by the end of the month to get back on track with my reading goal for the year. I’m not 100% sure I’ll be able to do that, but I will likely get close since there is a 24-hour readathon coming up near the end of the month.

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

Down the TBR Hole #101

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 shelf is up one book to 1148.
This week’s books:

Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead by Neil Strauss – GO.  This is a book of celebrity interviews, and I mistakenly thought it was all interviews of musicians when I bought it.

Power Hungry by Howard Weinstein, Masks by John Vornholt, and The Captain’s Honor by David Dvorkin and Daniel Dvorkin – KEEP.  These are books 6, 7, and 8 in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” series, and I eventually want to own and read all of them.

The Possessed by Elif Batuman – GO.  I want to be the kind of reader who loves Russian novels and would love to read this book about Russian novels, but I’m not.  I only got through Anna Karenina by listening to the audiobook, and I’ve put off starting War and Peace for over a decade.  Russian novels are dark and depressing, and the Russian History course I took in college was so dark and depressing that I steered clear of anything having to do with Russia for months.  It’s time to let this book go.

Shakespeare Wrote for Money, The Polysyllabic Spree, and Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby- KEEP. I have greatly enjoyed most of Hornby’s novels, and I found all three of these books containing his articles from “The Believer” magazine in a used bookstore.

Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld – KEEP.  This is the second book in the “Midnighters” series, and I loved the first book, The Secret Hour.
My want-to-read shelf is down one to 1146 books. The next post will be full of ebooks I own, which are usually hit or miss as far as what I will decide to keep.  Most of my ebooks are freebies I got during times when I was on some type of book-buying ban or didn’t have money to spend on anything other than necessities.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for March 26th – April 1st.
  • I haven’t lost any weight this week.
  • More rain and high winds kept me from doing much of anything in the yard this weekend, and then the Boyfriend got sick, so my energy has gone toward taking care of him and everything he usually does along with my share of the chores.
  • If you have a Fitbit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 5/5
  • Steps: 33,544
  • Miles: 13.70/17.26
  • Total Miles: 183.83/900
  • Active Minutes: 176/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai
  • Broken (In the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson
  • The Bookshop that Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw
  • The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister

DNF:

  • Bookends by Zibby Owens
  • A Tale of Light and Shadow by Jacob Gowans

Finished:

  • The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
  • The Librarian of Crooked Lane by C.J. Archer

Total pages read this week: 474

TBR Mountain: -7

Total books read: 18 of 80

I finally finished one of my physical books, and because I also DNF’d one I’m now back to meeting my TBR goal for the year, and I only need to finish or get rid of one more book for the month. I ended up being two books behind on my reading goal, so I will need to finish nine books this month to get back on track. Luckily, a readathon is coming up toward the end of the month.

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