Author: Rachelle

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

Finished:

  • How Should One Read a Book? by Virginia Woolf

Challenges:

#ShelfLove – 9 of 51 books from my TBR.

Total pages read this week: 175

Total books for the year: 9 of 90.

“The Last Kingdom” show starts out almost exactly as the book does and I thought watching the show had ruined the book for me. However, the book then goes on into much further detail on what Uhtred’s life was like with the Danes, and it’s really good reading so far. I’m still glad I took a very brief break to read How Should One Read a Book?, though.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for March 12th – 18th.
  • Doctor’s appointments, phone interviews for jobs I applied for, and house hunting meant that I completely forgot about posting this yesterday.
  • My labs came back, and my cholesterol is a little too high, so I’m focusing on cleaning up my diet and getting more exercise in general.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 21,256
  • Miles: 8.70
  • Total Miles: 137.28/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 79/150

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

Finished:

  • Sixpence House by Paul Collins

DNF:

  • Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

Challenges:

#ShelfLove – 8 of 51 books from my TBR.

Total pages read this week: 219

Total books for the year: 8 of 90.

After I got my new library card, I placed a bunch of books on hold that were on my wish list but that had very few copies available and fairly long hold lists. My thinking was that would give me plenty of time to read books I already have and then be able to read the library books as they came available. I did finish all the books I’d been reading since before the move and started Lament, a library book, but now my holds are starting to come in already; The Last Kingdom becoming available over the weekend. I went ahead and DNF’d Lament then because as much as I wanted to like it, I didn’t, and it was painful to read.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for March 5th – 11th.
  • I’ve had quite a few Doctor’s appointments since meeting my new Primary Care.  She’s wonderful and is trying to get everything taken care of that hasn’t been done since before the pandemic started.  I’ve got more appointments coming up over the next couple of months.
  • Now that I’m more settled into my new home and getting back into my morning and evening routines, I’m back to eating healthier and I’m sleeping better.  Now I just have to work on the exercise part of the equation.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 1
  • Steps: 20,492
  • Miles: 8.34
  • Total Miles: 128.58/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 35/150

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • Sixpence House by Paul Collins
  • Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

Finished:

  • White Night by Jim Butcher
  • Packing my Library by Alberto Manguel

Challenges:

#ShelfLove – 7 of 51 books from my TBR.

Total pages read this week: 291

Total books for the year: 7 of 90.

I’m getting back into a normal routine in my new home, and that means I’m reading more, especially before bed. I also got my Columbus public library card!!! I’m super excited because, well, DUH! But also because the Columbus public library has over 30% of my current wishlist available to check out! Neither the San Francisco or Oakland public library systems had even half of that. Since I can’t buy any books this year, I’m thrilled that I will be able to check out so many of the books I’ve been wanting to read, especially since the majority of my books are currently in storage.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for February 19th – 25th and February 26th – March 4th.
  • The Boyfriend and I made it safely to our new home with our two furbabies and a moving truck full of stuff.
  • The Taji 100 ended on the 28th of February.  I didn’t make it to 100 miles, but I did make it over halfway.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 7
  • Steps: 81,283
  • Miles: 32.98
  • Taji 100 Miles: 64.77/100
  • Total Miles: 120.24/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 70/150

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • Sixpence House by Paul Collins
  • Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff
  • White Night by Jim Butcher

Total pages read this week: 120

Total books for the year: 5 of 90.

This week’s post is for the past two weeks since I was on the road with the Boyfriend and our two furbabies moving from California to Ohio. I didn’t get my computer set up in our new apartment until Saturday so this week’s #FitReaders Check-In will also be covering the past two weeks. I’ll also cover 10 of my TBR books in this Saturday’s Down the TBR Hole post. Now that we’re mostly settled in and back into a somewhat normal routine, I’m hoping to at least finish reading White Night.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for February 12th – 18th.
  • Today is the day the Boyfriend and I put everything we own into a moving truck.
  • I’m doing the Taji 100, a race to get 100 miles during the month of February.  If you would like to sponsor me and the San Francisco chapter of Team RWB, you can do so HERE.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 5/5
  • Steps: 35,173/48,000
  • Miles: 14.39/19.18
  • Taji 100 Miles: 38.82/100
  • Total Miles: 87.26/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 121/150

Thursday’s Things: Freebies!

Published on by Rachelle3 Comments
1001 Things
                Original Image: Viktor Hertz

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book-related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.


I’m on a book buying ban for this year’s #ShelfLove Challenge.  The Boyfriend and I are also packing up the apartment to move across the country, so any new books I acquire have to be free and digital. Since this month’s discussion for #ShelfLove is all about where we find free books, here is a list of 20+ websites where I have gotten my book shopping fix for free:

  • The Online Books Page – There are over 2 million free books on this website, thanks to the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Read Print – Here are a few thousand more.
  • The Baen Free Library – and here are even more.
  • Bookyards – …and some more.
  • International Children’s Digital Library – Looking for free kid’s books?  Here ya go.
  • Storyline Online – How about famous actors reading children’s books aloud?  There are tons of videos on this non-profit site.
  • Library of Congress – Of course, there’s always the Digital Collection of the Library of Congress.
  • Planet eBook – Need to find that Classic you’ve been meaning to read since forever ago?  There are over 80 Classic Lit books on this site.
  • ManyBooks – This site boasts that they have over 33,000 free books.
  • Project Gutenberg – Most serious readers know about this one, but I have to list it because this is the go-to place for the Classics, and it will save your wallet if you’re a Classic literature addict or a member of The Classics Club.
  • Internet Archive – I LOVE this website!  It’s got so much more than free books, so make sure you’ve got some time to kill because you might not leave this site for a while.
  • Open Culture – This site has a ton of free downloadable media, including ebooks and audiobooks.
  • Open Library – You don’t have a library card?  First of all, shame on you!  Second, go to the Open Library and sign up for a free account.  Third, start borrowing ebooks to your heart’s content.
  • LibriVox – Free audiobooks.
  • Lit2Go – Another site for free audiobooks, but many of the books also have a free downloadable PDF.
  • Free Classic Audiobooks – in case you need yet another site for finding free downloadable audiobooks.
  • Classic Short Stories – Look through the list to find the short story you want to read, and click on it to download.
  • East of the Web – This site has short stories you can read online, but you can also click on the “Printable Version” link and then save it as a PDF.
  • Nightmare Magazine – This is a Horror and Dark Fantasy short story magazine I recently discovered.  You can read the short stories online or download the audio/podcast.
  • Storynory – This is a Children’s audiobook site that, amongst so many other kid-friendly downloads, includes Classic Children’s literature.
  • Kiddie Records – If you’re looking for children’s records from the 1940s and ’50s, this is the site to check out.  The downloads, including a Winnie the Pooh story, are all free.
  • BookBub – This is actually a website/newsletter to find out about the free (and on sale) books being offered under the genres you’re interested in by major booksellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  I’ve discovered quite a few free books that I felt were worth downloading, but be careful since there is the temptation of .99 books.

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.

Currently Reading:

  • Sixpence House by Paul Collins
  • Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff
  • White Night by Jim Butcher

Total pages read this week: 108

Total books for the year: 5 of 90.

Not much more reading this week than last week. More packing and I haven’t even been listening to any podcasts. I have to have everything ready to put in the moving truck by Friday.