Category: The Book Fort

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

Currently Reading:

• The DOSE Effect by T.J. Power
• Threadneedle by Cari Thomas
• Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan
• The Haunted Librarian by Auralee Wallace

Finished:

• The Darkness Surrounds Us by Gail Lukasik
• The Graveyard Shift by D.M. Guay
• The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike
• Nimona by N.D. Stevenson
• The Boy in the Cemetery by Sebastian Gregory
• Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

Total pages read: 1,768

Total books read: 21 of 75

#ShelfLove Challenge: 12 of 51

It’s been a few weeks since my last post, and that got me wondering (again) if I want to continue this blog. That prompted me to look back at why I began it over a decade ago. I originally started it as a way to get more involved in readathons and challenges that other book bloggers were hosting. It wasn’t long before I started writing reviews. Then I got a NetGalley account and started getting ARCs, and not long after, I started getting review requests from authors and the occasional publisher. I loved what I was doing with the blog, I loved writing reviews, and I was reading more and more books each year. I also began to acquire more and more books, many of which have sat on my TBR for a very long time. I joined several TBR challenges, took over one called “Show Your Shelves Some Love” (#ShelfLove) from the hosts who were no longer interested in continuing it, started participating in “Down the TBR Hole”, and continued reading more than 100 books a year all while going through some significant life events (graduating from college, starting full-time work, moving and starting new jobs several times including across the country twice, grieving the loss of my Dad, and ending a relationship of nearly 12 years). The only significant change to this blog and my reading habits over that time was that I stopped writing reviews and I stopped taking review requests.

This year has been vastly different in terms of the number of books I’ve read and the number of posts I’ve written. Yes, I’ve had several major life events that can be attributed to that, and I wrote about some of those events in my last post, but I’ve dealt with massive changes to my life for years and still kept blogging and reading consistently. So this year has really had me questioning if I still want to be a book blogger and if I’m still an avid reader.

The answer to those questions is yes, but not in the same way I’ve been over the past decade. Writing a couple of update posts a week isn’t satisfying. It never really was. It has often felt like a chore that I had to do to keep the blog going. It was the bare minimum of what I had so much enjoyed doing when I started this blog, and my choice to strip things down to that bare minimum was partly due to time. However, it was also because I had convinced myself that I didn’t deserve to prioritize the activities I love. I filled my time with other things because of that. Things that I thought I was supposed to do. Things that I thought were more important. I’m working to change that because life is meant to be lived and enjoyed, not just something to get through.

I’m going to be making some changes to the Book Fort over the next few months. I want to turn it back into my little happy corner of the internet. Some of the changes will be on a trial basis; not to see how well the content does, but to see if I enjoy creating it. Anything that I’m not having fun with will get the axe. I do know that I’m going to bring back the Shelf Love challenge in some form next year (look for the sign up post soonish), and I would love to bring back book reviews. I’m considering trying short videos, but I’m still not sure if I want to be on camera. I know I’ll be keeping these update posts, and possibly bringing back the Down the TBR Hole posts, but I’m honestly not sure I’ll continue to participate in #FitReaders.

Even though I’m doing this first and foremost for myself, I would love to hear from all of you on what you would like to see. Perhaps your comments will spark some new creative ideas!

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

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

Currently Reading:

• The DOSE Effect by T.J. Power
• Threadneedle by Cari Thomas
• The Darkness Surrounds Us by Gail Lukasik
• The Graveyard Shift by D.M. Guay

Finished:

• Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno Garcia
• Daindreth’s Assassin by Elisabeth Wheatley
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris
• The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore
• Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Total pages read: 3,393

Total books read: 15 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): ?

#ShelfLove Challenge: 8 of 51

It’s good to be back. This has been the slowest reading year since I started tracking well over a decade ago. A lot has happened and life got crazy enough that I got pulled away from reading, blogging, and even getting on bookish social media. I won’t be meeting any of my goals this year, and I’m okay with that all things considered. A lot of the events in my life over the past several months have been extremely stressful, even though some of them were good changes. I BOUGHT A HOUSE, Y’ALL! And I finally have all of my books and bookish decor unpacked and all together in one place, organized just the way I want. Who needs a dining room when you can have a library?!

I’ve decided to keep the dining room table and chairs for now since that’s where I put together puzzles and occasionally use it as an actual dining room table. However, I’ve considered getting a large coffee table for my living room, moving my puzzle board there, and then replacing the dining room table and chairs with a chaise lounge or a couple of arm chairs and a side table for cups of tea and TBR stacks.

During my time away, I ended up coping with a lot of the stress by buying books. My retail therapy was bad enough that I simply stopped trying to track how many and what books I brought home. So the next phase is going to be scanning my books and getting Goodreads and StoryGraph updated. However, that’s not going to happen until sometime after this weekend’s Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon!

The Readathon is why I’m posting this long overdue update today instead of waiting until Saturday. I’ll be trying to get a Readathon post up Saturday morning by the time the Readathon starts with my TBR and snack options. Until then, I actually have to put together that TBR and get said snacks. In all of this, I’m also attempting to be on Litsy more often, so most of my Readathon updates will likely be there.

After I get Goodreads updated, my plan is to get back into posting “Down the TBR Hole” again. I’m on a sort of book buying ban for the remainder of the year, and by “sort of” I mean no Fiction books in any format unless I’m using up one of my remaining Libro.FM credits. Why? A few different reasons. The first one being that I left my job back in April due to the toxic work environment, being at a dead end in my career, and my health was declining the longer I stayed. The second reason being that I now live less than two miles from a public library. The third reason for my sort of book buying ban? Y’ALL, I’M STARTING MY OWN BUSINESS! The only books I’m allowing myself to buy are ones related to that business, and I’m putting those under the category of “Professional Development.”

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

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

Currently Reading:

• Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• The Paris Secret by Karen Swan
• Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan
• Hand Book for the Heart Broken by Sara Avant Stover
• Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn

Total pages read this week: 330

Days read at least 90 minutes: 4/7

Total books read: 5 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +4

#ShelfLove Challenge: 5 of 51

This has been an emotional couple of days for me, but I’m doing much better since this afternoon. In fact, I feel like I’m finally moving on from a chapter in my life that was holding me back from living it to the fullest. I got some much needed rest today as well.

I’m determined to finish Till Summer Do Us Part this weekend. I only have 21 pages left.

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

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

Currently Reading:

• Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• The Paris Secret by Karen Swan
• Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan
• Hand Book for the Heart Broken by Sara Avant Stover
• Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn

Total pages read this week: 158

Days read at least 90 minutes: 2/7

Total books read: 5 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +4

#ShelfLove Challenge: 5 of 51

I’m still not reading much, but it’s definitely more than last week thanks to a friend’s recommendation of Till Summer Do Us Part, which is not from a genre I typically read. I certainly wouldn’t have picked this book up on my own, but I’m glad I did, even if it’s making me blush a lot.

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

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

Currently Reading:

• Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• Valkyrie by Johanna Katrín Fridriksdóttir
• The Paris Secret by Karen Swan
• Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan
• Hand Book for the Heart Broken by Sara Avant Stover

Total pages read this week: 28

Days read at least 90 minutes: 0/7

Total books read: 5 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +4

#ShelfLove Challenge: 5 of 51

This has been a very emotionally tough week for me, and I don’t know what else to say about that other than I thought I had fully processed my relationship ending back in July. I discovered that wasn’t the case, and I have been focused on dealing with that.

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

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

Currently Reading:

• Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• Valkyrie by Johanna Katrín Fridriksdóttir
• The Paris Secret by Karen Swan
• Saturn in Transit by Erin Sullivan

Finished:

• Pluto in Astrology by Mari Silva

Total pages read this week: 237

Days read at least 90 minutes: 6/7

Total books read: 5 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +5

#ShelfLove Challenge: 4 of 51

I’ve been resting as much as possible this week. Dealing with all of the stress from last week has exhausted me in every way. With the exception of reading for a while in the evenings, I haven’t done much beyond going to work, going back home, getting ready for the next day, and then going to bed.

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

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

Currently Reading:

• Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
• Love People, Use Things by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• Valkyrie by Johanna Katrín Fridriksdóttir
• Pluto in Astrology by Mari Silva
• Maps and Legends by Michael Chabon

Finished:

• Elements of Pantheism by Paul A. Harrison

Total pages read this week: 141

Days read at least 90 minutes: 2/7

Total books read: 4 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +5

#ShelfLove Challenge: 3 of 51

This has been an extremely rough and stressful week. On top of the extreme cold weather and moving out of the apartment, my car was hit and spun into a snowbank while the other driver sped off before I had a chance to get out of the car. I gave as many details to the police as I could, but since I wasn’t able to get even a partial plate number, the chances of them finding who did it are pretty much nil. Then, the day after my move, I had to prep for a colonoscopy, getting no sleep in the process, only to find out that all procedures were cancelled due to a water main break. Today was the first day I finally got a little bit of normalcy back into my life. My bed and desk are finally set up (which is why I’m able to write this post), and my living room is mostly done. I hope I’m able to veg out a bit this evening with an episode of “Friends” and then wind down with one of the many books I’m currently reading.

My reading has been nearly as chaotic as my week. I’ve started several books and have only read a little bit of each because I can’t make up mind what I want to read and I’ve been too stressed and exhausted to stay focused. Hopefully that will change as I get settled into my new, though temporary, home.

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

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

Currently Reading:

• Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
• Love People, Use Things by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
• Elements of Pantheism by Paul A. Harrison

Finished:

• Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck
• The Phantom of the Lop Ear by Andrew Seiple

Total pages read this week: 244

Days read at least 90 minutes: 5/7

Total books read: 3 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +6

#ShelfLove Challenge: 2 of 51

My back decided to flare up last weekend, so I spent Sunday and Monday doing basically nothing. I then struggled to find the energy to do anything beyond going to work for most of the week. I had a friend over on Thursday to help me get caught up on packing. Then I did some more packing on Friday while I waited for my groceries to be delivered ahead of the Winter storm that is supposed to be starting this evening. I haven’t gotten much done all day thanks to my neck flaring up and causing my hands to go numb on and off since early this morning. The stress of moving combined with very low temps are really doing a number on my body, so I’m doing my best to just rest and have faith that I’ll get everything packed in time.

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

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

Currently Reading:

• Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck
• Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
• The Phantom of the Lop Ear by Andrew Seiple
• Love People, Use Things by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus

Total pages read this week: 397

Days read at least 90 minutes: 4/7

Total books read: 1 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +7

#ShelfLove Challenge: 1 of 51

I had very little energy this week and didn’t do much of anything other than use another of my remaining Audible credits. I didn’t even have the energy to read much more than a few pages several days this week and went to bed early instead. I’m hoping that I’ll finish at least a couple of my current reads over this long weekend, though. I have Monday off from work for the holiday, and while I’ll mostly be packing, I plan on taking plenty of rest breaks for reading.

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

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

Currently Reading:

• Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck
• Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
• The Phantom of the Lop Ear by Andrew Seiple
• Love People, Use Things by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus

Finished:

• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Total pages read this week: 372

Days read at least 90 minutes: 7/7

Total books read: 1 of 75

TBR (goal is -36): +6

#ShelfLove Challenge: 1 of 51

I finally finished my first book of the New Year. While I’m reading for at least 90 minutes every day, I’m also reading multiple books, as usual, so 2026 is off to a slow start.

My number of books also went up by one because I used a couple of my Audible credits. I won’t be renewing my Audible subscription this year since I had planned on canceling it last year but renewed after I was offered a significant discount I didn’t want to pass up. However, I have far too many audiobooks that I still haven’t listened to, and I’m not happy with Amazon’s business practices in regards to authors, so this is definitely the final year. I also have a Libro.FM subscription that I have paused for three months. At that point, I will decide on whether I will keep it or cancel it until I use up those credits and actually get through a significant number of the audiobooks I already own.

While getting through my audiobook collection won’t reduce the number of physical books I own, nearly all of those books are now packed up, with the exception of a basket of books I want to read over the next few months. Other than those, I won’t be reading any of my physical books until I’m settled in a place where I can fully unpack. Hopefully that will be by June.

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