Author: Rachelle

Down the TBR Hole #80

Published on by Rachelle
Image: hjl

How it works:

  • Go to your Goodreads 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?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile shot up again to 932 thanks to finding even more books on my shelves that never got added to Goodreads when I brought them home.

This week’s books:

The Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff – GO.  Meh.  Not interested.

More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz – KEEP.  Need I explain myself?

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby – KEEP.  I’m a little skeptical about whether or not this will actually be interesting, but I’m willing to give it the 50-page test.

Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire – KEEP. I love fairy tale retellings, and I’ve never heard anything bad about Maguire’s writing.

Pennies for Hitler by Jackie French – KEEP.  Another one I’m not sure about but willing to give a chance.

My TBR pile is down one to 931 books. Next week’s books are all still on my wishlist.  I suppose we’ll see if I still want them.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for February 5th – 11th.
  • This has been a crazy week of packing, taking photos of stuff that the Boyfriend and I are trying to sell, and moving furniture around.  I also took some time off from all of that to spend a day with a wonderful friend and Vietnam-era veteran.  We did a lot of walking together and had an excellent time.
  • 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: 6/5
  • Steps: 29,826/48,000
  • Miles: 12.14/19.18
  • Taji 100 Miles: 24.43/100
  • Total Miles: 72.87/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 160/150

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: 80

Total books for the year: 5 of 90.

Not much reading at all this week. Instead, I’ve been packing up all of my books, discovering that lots of them never got scanned into my Goodreads, and listening to the “Reading Glasses” podcast to distract me from everything else. When I do read, I can’t stay focused for very long, so with the exception of the 80 pages of White Night, I’ve read part of “The Cozy Issue” of Bella Grace magazine while soaking in the tub with a Lush “Comforter” bubble bar.

Down the TBR Hole #79

Published on by Rachelle
Image: hjl

How it works:

  • Go to your Goodreads 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?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile shot up to 884 thanks to finding books on my shelves that I forgot to add to Goodreads when I brought them home.

This week’s books:

The Card Catalog by The Library of Congress – KEEP.  This is the ultimate coffee table book for library and book lovers.  I still don’t own a copy of it, but I will someday.

100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith – GO.  Meh.  The synopsis doesn’t inspire me to want to pick this book up.

The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury – GO.  The cover and title made this book seem so much more interesting than the synopsis does, which sounds like a stereotypical YA Romance in a Fantasy setting.  No, thank you.

Donny’s Brain by Rona Munro – GO.  Another non-inspiring synopsis.

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone – KEEP.  This book is about a teenage girl struggling with mental illness while trying to navigate high school and everything else that comes along with being a teenage girl.  It will probably be a difficult read, but I enjoy stories that don’t sugar coat that time of life.

My TBR pile is down to 881 books. Because of how up in the air everything in my life is right now, I don’t know if I’ll finish any books by next weekend, but next week’s post will be mostly made up of more free audiobooks I got during Audiobook SYNC.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for January 29th – February 4th.
  • My Dad, a Marine Corps veteran, passed away unexpectedly on the 31st.  In his honor, 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.
  • I’ll be logging my miles every day on the Taji 100 site, but I will also be tracking them here, below in the stats.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 7/5
  • Steps: 39,178/48,000
  • Miles: 16.03/19.18
  • Taji 100 Miles: 12.29/100
  • Total Miles: 60.73/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 245/150

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: ?

Total books for the year: 5 of 90. My Dad passed away yesterday. I considered not posting anything at all today, but I wanted to at least let all of you know that I might be taking an extended blogging break, and if so, I will be back. This blog isn’t going to disappear without me saying so.

Down the TBR Hole #78

Published on by Rachelle
Image: hjl

How it works:

  • Go to your Goodreads 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?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile went up again to 842.  Not only did I not read a single page out of a book this week, but I added more books to my wish list and discovered a couple of books on my shelves that I never added to Goodreads.

 

This week’s books:

Press Start to Play ed. by Daniel H. Wilson – KEEP.  I started reading this anthology during one of my Sci-Fi Summer reading challenges, but never finished it.  I’m hoping to get back to it this Summer.

The Proverbs of Middle Earth by David Rowe – KEEP.  This has been on my wish list for a while, but I don’t want the ebook; I would rather have a physical copy of it.  However, it’s not a book I’ve ever found a copy of in any bookstore, and I don’t often remember to order physical books online before I’ve spent all of my money at the bookstore.

Bitch Planet: President Bitch by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Taki Soma, and Valentine De Landro – KEEP.  I enjoyed the first volume of Bitch Planet, and I already own the paperback of this second volume.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs – KEEP.  I’m not usually interested in Paranormal Romance, but the synopsis doesn’t mention anything about Romance.  I’m hoping it will be light on the Romance and mostly about the Paranormal.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill – KEEP.  A story about a witch who saves children and has a swamp monster and a tiny dragon as friends?  YES, PLEASE!

My TBR pile remains at 842 books. I don’t know that I’ll finish any books by next weekend, so I don’t think it will be changing until the next post, which will consist mostly of free audiobooks I got during Audiobook SYNC.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for January 22nd – 28th.
  • It’s been raining most of the week so I’ve been more focused on packing up the apartment and doing strength training and mobility workouts than I have with walking.
  • Speaking of packing, I have already had to buy more book boxes after my original purchase of 20!  I’ve always known I have a lot of books, but this really puts it into perspective.  I also have already filled another box full of books to take to the used bookstore.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 5/5
  • Steps: 23,453/48,000
  • Miles: 9.60/19.18
  • Total Miles: 44.70/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 155/150

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

Finished:

  • The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee

Total pages read this week: 221

Total books for the year: 5 of 90. For some reason, Sixpence House is difficult for me to pick up, but once I do, I don’t want to stop reading. Unfortunately, I tend to only read it before bed, and then have to force myself to be a Responsible Adult and put it down. I have an eye exam today, so I will be bringing the book with me in case I have any waiting to do.

What are you reading?

Down the TBR Hole #77

Published on by Rachelle
Image: hjl

How it works:

  • Go to your Goodreads 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?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile went back up a little to 836.  I hauled 5 boxes of books to sell at Half Price Bookstore and used some of the money to buy a few books while I was there.  Some of them were already on my wish list, and therefore on my overall To-Read shelf, but I found a couple of books that weren’t as well.  I also added a couple of books to my wish list.

This week’s books:

 

Penny Dreadful Multipack Volumes 1 – 7 – KEEP.  I picked up the Kindle editions of all 7 volumes for a few dollars, and I will eventually read them.

Star Trek: The Next Generation series – KEEP.   I’ve read the first one in the series, and I have books 2 through 5 in paperback.  The remaining books are on my wish list.  From my count, there are 55 books in the series, and that doesn’t count all of the other one-offs and mini-series that feature the Next Generation crew.  I will probably read all of those, too, someday. TNG is my fave “Star Trek” series, after all.

The Legends of River Song by various authors – KEEP.  I love “Doctor Who”, and I love River Song even more, especially portrayed by Alex Kingston.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – KEEP.  Apparently, this week’s post is all about the Science Fiction.  I’m ok with that.  After Fantasy, it’s one of my favorite genres.

Dust by Hugh Howey – KEEP. This is the last book in the “Silo” trilogy, which I absolutely LOVE.  Howey has become one of my auto-buy authors.  I’m looking forward to reading this during the Summer.

My TBR pile remains at 836 books, and unless I finish a book by next weekend, I don’t think it will be changing.  I became much more selective about the books I added to my TBR by this point in time (2017), and had already participated in the original #ShelfLove challenge for a couple of years.