#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment
  • This check-in is for September 22nd – 28th.
  • I was sick with a stomach bug for most of the week and did more reading than anything else.
  • Active Days: 1/5
  • Steps: 29,308
  • Miles: 11.82/15.34
  • Total Miles: 608.70/850
  • Zone Minutes: 45/150

Building the Book Fort

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

“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
  • Fairy Tale by Stephen King
  • David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  • Penny Dreadful Vol. 7 by various authors
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
  • The September House by Carissa Orlando

Finished:

  • The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  • Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
  • The Spite House by Johnny Compton
  • Alice in Zombieland by Nickolas Cook

Total pages read this week: 1,292

Total books read: 82 of 90

TBR: -15 (Goal is -36)

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril:

  • Peril of the Fiction – 10
  • Peril of the Listen – 0
  • Peril of the Short Story – 6
  • Peril of the Screen – 4 episodes of “Ghost Hunter,” 2 episodes of “Creeped Out,” “Bird Box,” “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” 3 episodes of “Cabinet of Curiosities,” “Nightmare Castle”, “Jamaica Inn”, and “Hitchcock Presents: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”

I’ve been sick for the past few days with a stomach bug, so I’ve had a lot of time to read. I’ve also started watching an Alfred Hitchcock movie collection I’ve owned for years but never got around to watching until now along with a couple of black and white horror films I have on DVD.

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

Down the TBR Hole #170

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment
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 down a couple of books to 1130. I finished a couple of books this past week.
This week’s books:

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward – KEEP. I don’t know if I’ll get to this one this year, but I’m intrigued by the mention of a cat who reads the Bible.

Melmoth by Sarah Perry – KEEP.  I enjoyed The Essex Serpent and wouldn’t be surprised if this book is even better.

Sistersong by Lucy Holland – KEEP. This is the next book picked for the Fantastic Strangelings book club after Mrs. March by Virginia Feito, which I finished a couple of weeks ago. I plan to read it in November.

The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder- KEEP. I recently checked this one out from my local public library and it’s due back at the end of the month. I hope to finish it before then, but I might need to renew it.

The Madman’s Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching – KEEP.  A book about books that has a lot to do with the history of literature? Yes, please, and thank you!
My want-to-read shelf is holding steady at 1130 books for now. While I was sure I wouldn’t be letting go of any books in this post, I’m not certain about a couple of the books in the next post.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment
  • This check-in is for September 15th – 21st.
  • I’ve been a little more active this week thanks to a clothes decluttering and organizing project I couldn’t put off any longer. I’ve lost enough weight that many of the clothes in my closet were a little too big, so I had the Boyfriend pull out the three large plastic tubs of clothes I’ve been keeping in the hopes that I could wear them again someday. I went through everything in the tubs and my closet and put everything too big for me aside for donation. I put everything that fits back in my closet, and the stuff that is still a little too small back into the tubs. I was able to fit everything into two of the tubs, leaving a tub empty for storing something else if need be.
  • The great thing about managing to summon the energy for this project is that I now don’t have to come up with the energy to go shopping. I have more than enough clothes that fit, which also means I’m saving a significant amount of money, especially on clothes for work. That’s a big deal since I’ll be leaving my full-time job within the next six months or so and I won’t need all those business casual clothes anymore.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 40,575
  • Miles: 16.34/15.34
  • Total Miles: 596.88/850
  • Zone Minutes: 73/150

#FrightFall Readathon!

Published on by Rachelle
Seasons of Reading

The FrightFall readathon starts on October 1st and runs through the end of October, alongside #SomethingWickedFall, which started on September 1st.

There’s only one “rule” for #FrightFall, and that is at least one scary book (thriller, mystery, Gothic, etc.) has to be read during the readathon.  Since that’s pretty much the only kind of book I read during this time of year, I’m good to go.

The read-along for this year’s #SomethingWickedFall is Stephen King’s Fairy Tale, which I’m loving so far. In addition to Fairy Tale, I have a ridiculous number of books I want to read for not only #FrightFall, but also #RIP, #TrappedInASpookyHouse, and #HauntedShelf. To make it easier, I created the list below for the October #BookSpin and #CastTheDie.

I won’t get to all of these books, but I’m going to try.

Are you participating in #FrightFall or #SomethingWickedFall? Leave a comment below!

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
  • Fairy Tale by Stephen King
  • David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  • Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
  • Penny Dreadful Vol. 7 by various authors

Finished:

  • The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland
  • Come Join Us By the Fire: Season 2 by various authors

Total pages read this week: 599

Total books read: 78 of 85

TBR: -16 (Goal is -36)

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril:

  • Peril of the Fiction – 6
  • Peril of the Listen – 0
  • Peril of the Short Story – 6
  • Peril of the Screen – 4 episodes of “Ghost Hunter,” 2 episodes of “Creeped Out,” “Bird Box,” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”

I’ve enjoyed about half of what I’ve read for #RIP this past week. Short story collections have never been my thing, but I’ve gotten quite a few of them for free over the years and I figured they would be easier to read when I have some time during the day (during my lunch break for example). I considered counting them towards “Peril of the Short Story”, but decided to count them as “Peril of the Fiction” if I finished the entire book.

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

Down the TBR Hole #169

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 a couple of books to 1132. I finished several books but added several to my wishlist.

This week’s books:

Forever Autumn by Mark Morris – KEEP. I hope I’ll finally get to this one this year for #RIP.

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson – KEEP.  I’m pretty sure this was the read-along pick for #RIP several years ago, and though I thought I would get to it, I never did. Maybe I’ll change that this year.

The Ghostkeeper’s Journal by Japhet Asher – KEEP. This interactive book requires an app, and I need to read it this year, assuming the app is still available.

Classic Horror Tales ed. by Editors of Canterbury Classics- KEEP. I bought this from the bargain section of Barnes and Noble because I’m a sucker for old short story anthologies and the cover has a lovely velvet feel to it.

Strange Tricks by Syd Moore – KEEP.  This is the sixth book in the “Essex Witch Museum Mystery” series, and there’s only one book left for me to read after it. I wish the author had written more, and I hope these last books bring Rosie Strange’s story to a good conclusion. I have questions, damn it, and I want them answered!

My want-to-read shelf is staying at 1132 books for now. Once again I knew I wouldn’t be letting go of any books. I probably won’t get rid of any in the next post either.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for September 8th – 14th.
  • My Boyfriend thinks I’m dealing with burnout and am probably depressed. I think he’s right, despite how much I’ve been reading lately (which is usually one of the first things to go when I’m depressed). Because I’ve been reading so much, I didn’t recognize the signs. I don’t have the energy, either physically or mentally to do much, and I’m struggling with doing basic daily necessities.
  • We did go to see “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” yesterday, which was good, but I’m not handling stress well, and driving to the movie theater ramped my anxiety up and sapped my energy to the point where there was a large part of me that wanted to go back home.
  • The worst part of all this is that there is so much I want to do, especially as we head into spooky season. However, I’m finding more and more that I don’t have the spoons to do any of it. Just thinking about what it would take to do something makes me feel tired. My world is narrowing down again and I never have any idea of when it will open back up.
  • Active Days: 1/5
  • Steps: 34,103
  • Miles: 13.73/15.34
  • Total Miles: 580.54/850
  • Zone Minutes: 33/150

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
  • The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland
  • Fairy Tale by Stephen King
  • David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  • The September House by Carissa Orlando

Finished:

  • Mrs. March by Virginia Feito
  • Waypoints by Sam Heughan
  • Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson
  • Clause of Death by Lorna Barrett

Total pages read this week: 1345

Total books read: 76 of 85

TBR: -14 (Goal is -36)

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril:

  • Peril of the Fiction – 5
  • Peril of the Listen – 0
  • Peril of the Short Story – 6
  • Peril of the Screen – 4 episodes of “Ghost Hunter,” 2 episodes of “Creeped Out,” and “Bird Box.”

I love most of what I’ve been reading and watching for #RIP, and the Boyfriend and I are having a date day at the movies this afternoon to see “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”

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

Down the TBR Hole #168

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 back up by one book to 1130. I finished several books last week but bought a few and added a couple to my wishlist. While I’ll probably still buy a couple of books here and there through the rest of this year, I will rely more and more on my local public library. That probably won’t mean much for the number of books on my want-to-read shelf, but I will also be shopping my own shelves more and more, which should start decreasing that number.
This week’s books:

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig – KEEP. I recently bought 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered by Sadie Hartmann, and this was the first title mentioned.

Love People, Use Things by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus – KEEP.  I watched the authors’ documentary on Netflix several years ago, so when this book came out not long after, I bought the ebook hoping it would inspire me even more on my decluttering journey. Now I hope it will help me as I drastically cut my spending in preparation for leaving my job. 

How the Marquis Got His Coat Back by Neil Gaiman – KEEP. This is a short story set in the world of Neverwhere, one of my favorite books by Gaiman.

Billy Summers by Stephen King – KEEP. King was the first adult Horror author I read. I was too young to be reading them, but I think I turned out OK… At the very least, his books introduced me to the world of the macabre in a way that Goosebumps couldn’t do, and I don’t think I would’ve tried out and fallen in love with Gothic Fiction without that introduction.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen – KEEP.  The only reason I have this book is because the synopsis mentions “a young woman who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them.”
My want-to-read shelf is staying at 1130 books for now. I knew I wouldn’t be letting go of any books, and I don’t think I’ll get rid of any in the next post either.