Author: Rachelle

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for August 18th – 24th.
  • I went to a concert on Friday night and that’s where most of my active minutes came from. I had a blast, and it was worth it, but my body still feels beat up. My Fitbit is saying I have a Readiness Score of 1 out of 100, so I’ll be resting again today.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 54,642
  • Miles: 22.08/15.34
  • Total Miles: 536.62/850
  • Zone Minutes: 182/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • A Mindful Year by Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth J. Gillihan
  • Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
  • The First City by Joe Hart

DNF:

  • The Undays of Aralias Lyons by K.L. Horvath
  • Andrea Vernon and the Superhero-Industrial Complex by Alexander C. Kane

Finished:

  • A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke
  • The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
  • Starter Villain by John Scalzi
  • How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale by Cressida Cowell
  • Midlife Magic and Magnolias by Meredith Carlisle

Total pages read this week: 1,488

Total books read: 60 of 80

TBR: -13 (Goal is -36)

There are two days left of #BoutofBooks and I hope to finish two more books. That will get me nearly back on track to hitting my TBR goal because I bought more books. As much as I’ve read this week, I would have been ahead otherwise.

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

Down the TBR Hole #165

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 still holding steady at 1129 books. I bought a couple of ebooks and an audiobook.
This week’s books:

The Search for the Red Dragon by James A. Owen – KEEP. I loved the first book in the “Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” series, Here, There Be Dragons, so I’m keeping and reading this one.

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi – KEEP. I bought this one a while ago, and let my boyfriend read it, despite not having read it myself. He really enjoyed it, so I’m keeping it and will hopefully read it during next year’s #SciFiSummer reading challenge.

Andrea Vernon and the Superhero Industrial Complex by Alexander C. Kane – KEEP. I’ll get around to this one eventually since I enjoyed the first book in the “Andrea Vernon” series enough to buy this one.

Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Betrayal by Lydia Sherrer – KEEP. I love this series!

Among Others by Jo Walton – KEEP. For some reason, I keep thinking this is literary fiction when it’s Fantasy. Perhaps it’s the cover. Regardless, I mostly want to read this book because the main character escapes her troubled life by reading SciFi and Fantasy.
My want-to-read shelf remains at 1129 books. I’m nearly halfway through 2021, when I became much more discerning about the books I bought, mostly because I had little spending money for much of that year. It will likely be several posts before I get rid of any books.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for August 11th – 17th.
  • I completely forgot about the Summer Charity Challenge again so I’m not bothering to continue with it or try to catch up.
  • I probably forgot about the challenge because I’ve been feeling burnt out. I’ve been sleeping a lot, my food choices haven’t been great, and I haven’t been getting much exercise. I think I might be slipping into another depression. I recently bought a book titled, Feral Self-Care by Mandi Em, and I need to read it sooner rather than later.
  • One good note is that I’ve hit my goal weight despite everything. My next goal is another 10 lbs.
  • Active Days: 1/5
  • Steps: 23,081
  • Miles: 9.36/15.34
  • Total Miles: 514.54/800
  • Zone Minutes: 20/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • A Mindful Year by Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth J. Gillihan
  • Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
  • A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke
  • The Undays of Aralias Lyons by K.L. Horvath

Finished:

  • Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine
  • Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

Total pages read this week: 1104

Total books read: 55 of 80

TBR: -10 (Goal is -36)

If I hit my reading goal and don’t buy any more books for the rest of the year, I could reach my TBR goal, but we all know I’m not likely to go several months without buying a single book! I’ll just have to read more, and luckily, #BoutofBooks is next week. We’re also rapidly approaching my favorite time of year for reading when I tend to fly through books thanks to the #RIP reading challenge and Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon.

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

#BoutofBooks 41!

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01 am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, daily Discord questions, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 41 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I haven’t participated in “Bout of Books” in several years, and I sadly learned that this one will be the last. They’ve moved most of the activities to Discord, which I don’t use (it gives me flashbacks to IRC chat rooms from the 90s) so I’ll only be participating in the actual readathon by reading as much as possible instead of doing other things like watching TV. I’ll mostly be finishing the books I’ve been reading, all of which I’m nearly at the halfway point.

My Goals

  • Read.  Read.  Read.
  • Finish at least 3 books.

Books to Read

  • Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
  • The Undays of Aralias Lyons by K.L. Horvath
  • A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke
  • Another book from my TBR.

Updates

Unlike past Bout of Books readathons, I will only be posting a wrap-up at the end instead of a daily update.

Are you participating in Bout of Books? Let me know in the comments!

Down the TBR Hole #164

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 holding steady at 1129 books. I was pretty busy this past week and didn’t finish any books.
This week’s books:

The Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton – KEEP. The zombie apocalypse from the perspective of a “foul-mouthed” crow? Yes, please, and thank you!

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas – KEEP. This appears to be a “Peter Pan” retelling of sorts, but darker, and that sounds interesting to me.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson – KEEP. This story involves libraries full of books about sorcery and one of the characters has a demonic servant of some kind. It sounds like it might be adjacent to the “dark academia” subgenre, and I’m down for that.

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville – KEEP. I’ve wanted to read this book for a long time. I have a feeling it’s going to be nothing like I’ve read before.

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay – KEEP. I’m highly skeptical about this one thanks to not enjoying The Brontë Plot. I will give it a chance, but I will ditch it in a heartbeat if it starts veering in the same direction.
My want-to-read shelf remains at 1129 books. I knew I wasn’t likely to get rid of any of this week’s books, but I’m not sure about the next ones.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for August 4th – 10th.
  • I got so busy this week that I forgot about the Summer Charity Challenge. I also walked around so much yesterday that I hurt my foot. I think it’s one of the tendons, but regardless, I will be resting today.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 48,863
  • Miles: 19.72/15.34
  • Total Miles: 505.18/800
  • Plank Time: 3/120 minutes
  • Zone Minutes: 83/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • A Mindful Year by Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth J. Gillihan
  • Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine
  • Metatropolis ed. by John Scalzi
  • Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

Total pages read this week: 355

Total books read: 52 of 80

TBR: -12 (Goal is -36)

I got up early this morning to get on the road for the “Wands and Wizards” festival. Many of the local businesses participating had nothing to do with anything related to the wizarding world (one place literally had one “Harry Potter” item for sale in their entire store), but the places that did legitimately join in the fun made the 45-minute drive worth it. I was simultaneously tired and wired by the time I finally decided to head home thanks to all of the sugar, caffeine, and walking.

The best shop there

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

Down the TBR Hole #163

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 quite a few books to 1129. I discovered a bunch of Horror books missing from my TBR when I was rearranging my physical bookshelves and planning for #RIP.
This week’s books:

The Mighty Manligator by Patrick E. McLean – KEEP. So far, I have loved everything that McLean has written.

The Book by Keith Houston – KEEP. This has been on my wishlist for a very long time. The problem is that I have so many books about books that I haven’t read yet. Eventually, I will buy this book, add it to my collection, and hopefully read it, too.

The Book Jumper by Mechthild Gläser – KEEP. Stories about being able to enter books are in my wheelhouse, and I will buy them automatically.

John Winchester’s Journal by Alex Irvine – KEEP. I’m glad “Supernatural” got a real ending, but that doesn’t mean I want it to be over. I hope to pick this one up during this year’s #RIP.

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix – KEEP. Hendrix is an auto-buy author to me, and there’s no way I’m not reading this one.
My want-to-read shelf is holding steady at 1129 books. I was right that I wouldn’t let go of any of this week’s books. I don’t think I’ll get rid of any of the books in the next post, either.