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:

  • Come November by Katrin van Dam
  • Unf*ck Your Brain by Faith G. Harper

Finished:

  • Adventures in Opting Out by Cait Flanders
  • A Killer Edition by Lorna Barrett
  • This is Your Brain on Depression by Faith G. Harper

Total pages read this week: 435

Total books for 2022: 81 of 85.

Since I only have 4 books left to reach my goal for the year, and I typically read 6 or 7 books in a month, I’ve started listening to podcasts again instead of back-to-back audiobooks. I’m also doing some things in silence that I used to only do while listening to something (crocheting for example), in an attempt to give my brain a break. To top it off, I’m reading more Non-Fiction than I normally do, thanks to restarting the Miracle Morning practice, part of which involves reading books about whatever it is you want to work on. For me, that means my mental health, so I’m reading about that for 10 minutes each morning.

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

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for November 4th – 10th.
  • I’m posting this a day early since I’m not working today because it’s Veterans’ Day.
  • I typically don’t do anything special on Veterans’ Day, even though I am a Veteran and there are tons of free and discounted things to get and do for Veterans and their families on this day.  However, that usually means crowded places, which stresses me out.  I would rather stay home and relax.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 4/5
  • Steps: 37,307
  • Miles: 15.13/19.25
  • Total Miles: 681.14/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 113/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Adventures in Opting Out by Cait Flanders
  • A Killer Edition by Lorna Barrett

Finished:

  • Amphigorey Also by Edward Gorey
  • Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
  • Strange Fascination by Syd Moore

Total pages read this week: 516

Total books for 2022: 78 of 85.

I’m feeling like I need to take it easy right now and not push myself to do anything, including reading anything “difficult.” I’m also trying to get back into taking care of myself a little better. A Cozy Mystery and a book about intentional living seemed like the perfect reads. On another note, I’ve put myself on a book-buying ban after realizing that I bought far more books than I read in the past couple of months, and I don’t have enough shelf space for all of them. My book-buying ban will last until I have room on my shelves, which might take me a while since I’m slowing down a bit.

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

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for October 28th – November 3rd.
  • During my most recent physical therapy appointment, I tried out a TENS unit to see if it would help, and it was amazing!  I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t in any pain, and so this is a game changer.  I’m continuing with my physical therapy, of course, but I now have a lot more hope that I can start doing a lot of the things I haven’t been able to do for a long time.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 4/5
  • Steps: 41,524
  • Miles: 16.87/19.25
  • Total Miles: 666.01/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 136/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Amphigorey Also by Edward Gorey
  • Dead Leprechauns and Devil Cats Grady Hendrix
  • Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
  • Strange Fascination by Syd Moore

Finished:

  • The Witches by Roald Dahl

Total pages read this week: 907

Total books for 2022: 75 of 85.

Tomorrow is the last day of Readers Imbibing Peril, and I will have finished all of my current reads by the time I go to bed on Halloween. That will mean I finished 20 books for the challenge, which I think is the highest number of books I’ve ever read for RIP. I’m also down to the last few episodes of “Supernatural,” though I don’t think I’ll get to the end before tomorrow night. The Boyfriend and I watched the movie “Malevolent” last night, and “The Ritual” on Friday night. We’re planning to watch another horror movie of some kind tonight, though we don’t know what yet, and tomorrow night we’ll watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” that I finally bought on DVD (thanks to it now only being available for streaming on AppleTV).

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

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for October 21st – 27th.
  • I’ve been tired a lot lately.  I assumed it was because I’ve been in a lot of pain, and there’s been a lot going on over the past couple of months, and the weather has not been helpful either.  It turns out that, while all of that is definitely true, I’m also low on vitamin D again (I had to be on a supplement a few years ago).  I’m now back on the supplement, and I’m hoping that my energy will improve soon.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 4/5
  • Steps: 39,028
  • Miles: 15.80/19.25
  • Total Miles: 649.14/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 113/150

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for October 14th – 20th.
  • I’m posting this later than usual due to the #Readathon over the weekend, which was a lot of fun!
  • I start physical therapy today, after having an initial appointment to do an assessment and then discuss goals.  I’ll be doing 8 weeks of physical therapy, and then the spine specialist and I will reassess what we’re going to do from there.  The good news is that she says I don’t need surgery.  The bad news is that I am likely to never be 100% pain-free.  Instead, our focus will be getting me to the point where I can do more with less pain.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 4/5
  • Steps: 39,285
  • Miles: 15.90/19.25
  • Total Miles: 633.34/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 135/150

Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon Wrap-Up

Published on by Rachelle2 Comments
Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza


Another Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon is over. I made it to a little after 3 am, just long enough to finish Pet Sematary by Stephen King.

  • Total Pages Read: 925
  • Total Time Read: 15 hours, 25 minutes
  • Books Read: The World of Lore: Dreadful Places by Aaron Mahnke, The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, Seven Feet Under by Matthew Weber, and Pet Sematary by Stephen King.

Closing Survey

  1. How would you assess your reading overall? I did really well. I finished more books and I read and stayed up longer than last time.
  2. Did you have a strategy, and if so, did you stick to it? My strategy was to listen to more audiobooks and post fewer updates. I ended up reading more physical books, but I think posting fewer updates helped me get more pages read.
  3. What was your favorite snack? The pumpkin spice oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies I had baked.

See you next #Readathon! 🙂

Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon Mid-Event Survey

Published on by Rachelle
Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza

Here are my answers to Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon Mid-Event Survey!

1. What are you reading right now? I’m in the middle of Pet Sematary by Stephen King
2. How many books have you read so far? 3
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Readathon?  I’m hoping to get to The Witches by Roald Dahl before I get too tired to stay awake, but I want to finish Pet Sematary first.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I think this is the first readathon I’ve done and not had a single interruption! I’ve probably jinxed myself now, and I’m sure the cats will start bugging me for attention until I finally go to bed.
5. What surprises you most about the Readathon, so far?  I’ve been yawning a lot, despite getting up to stretch and walk around every hour and going on a longer walk in the park while I listened to audiobooks.

Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon

Published on by Rachelle
Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza


Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon has officially started!  The cats let me sleep until my alarm went off this morning at 7:30, which is not normal for them, but I’m not complaining! I’ve got a large cup of tea and I’m set up in the den on the couch to read while I eat some pumpkin spice oatmeal (doctored with a bit of very tart green apple), and a yogurt.

My first book of the readathon is Seven Feet Under by Matthew Weber. I’ve still got my pile of books, but I’m probably going to be listening to more audiobooks than I usually do during readathons. I’m trying to be more active whenever my back lets me, and the weather is supposed to be nice today, so I’m hoping to get outside for a long walk at the park. I’m also going to only do this opening post and a closing/wrap-up post instead of my usual 8-hour updates, but I might do the mid-event survey.

  • What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I’m in Columbus, OH.
  • Which book in your stack are you looking forward to the most? The Witches by Roald Dahl.
  • Which snack are you looking forward to the most? I made pumpkin spice oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies from a mix I bought at Trader Joe’s, and I’ve been holding off on eating all of them so I could snack on them during the readathon.
  • Tell us a little something about yourself! Here’s a fact that I don’t think I’ve ever written about on this blog before: I’m a Grandma! I have two grandsons, one who just recently turned 2, and the other is a newborn.
  • If you participated in the last readathon, what is one thing you’ll do different today? As mentioned above, I’ll be listening to more audiobooks, moving around more (as I’m able), and posting fewer updates. I’ll still be posting to my social media accounts, though.

Whether you’re participating in the readathon or not, what book(s) are you currently reading?