“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.
Currently Reading:
Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai
Broken (In the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson
The Bookshop that Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw
The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister
DNF:
Bookends by Zibby Owens
A Tale of Light and Shadow by Jacob Gowans
Finished:
The Witch’s Heartby Genevieve Gornichec
The Librarian of Crooked Lane by C.J. Archer
Total pages read this week: 474
TBR Mountain: -7
Total books read: 18 of 80
I finally finished one of my physical books, and because I also DNF’d one I’m now back to meeting my TBR goal for the year, and I only need to finish or get rid of one more book for the month. I ended up being two books behind on my reading goal, so I will need to finish nine books this month to get back on track. Luckily, a readathon is coming up toward the end of the month.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
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 one book to 1147. I finished an audiobook this week.
This week’s books:
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan – KEEP. I knew that this book wasn’t considered to be cozy or a comfort read and that it was dark, but I didn’t realize just how dark until I read the Goodreads synopsis. I still want to read it, but I won’t be picking it up when I want something light.
At the Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Bakewell – KEEP. I’ve always been interested in Existentialism, probably because of its connections to France, and I’ve wanted to read more about it for quite some time.
Get in the Van by Henry Rollins – KEEP. This is Rollins’ book about his time being the frontman of Black Flag. Punk is one of my favorite musical genres, and Rollins has been one of my favorite artists for years. I have most of his books, have been to his shows, met him twice, and even exchanged a couple of emails with him because that is the type of down-to-earth guy he is. I will read this book at some point, probably while listening to my Black Flag records.
Inner City Sound ed. by Clinton Walker- KEEP. Speaking of Punk, this book is all about the Punk and Post-Punk movements in Australia. It’s set up like a scrapbook, in the same way as The Riot Grrrl Collection, which I absolutely loved, so I’m looking forward to when I finally get around to reading this one, probably while listening to more of my records by the bands featured in the book.
A Pianist’s Landscape by Carol Montparker – KEEP. I have loved the piano since I was 12 years old. It all started with a keyboard I got as a Christmas present and teaching myself to play it using music books from my failed attempt at learning the french horn a couple of years prior. My Mom got me piano lessons, and though I had to quit those lessons and haven’t played in years, listening to piano music immediately helps calm me down when I am stressed. Reading about the piano or books by pianists has a similar effect.
My want-to-read shelf is holding steady at 1147 books. I’m going to be skipping a bunch of books in the next post because they’re all books I’ve read before, by the same author, but I want to read them again so have put them on my want-to-read shelf (I read them years before I was on Goodreads). Despite that, we’ll still be in the middle of all of the books I finally added to Goodreads in November 2017.
Thunderstorms and high winds kept me from doing any gardening stuff yesterday, but today is supposed to be warm and sunny. I’ve got a lot to get done today, but I should have some time this afternoon to do at least a couple of things outside.
“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.
Currently Reading:
Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Bookends by Zibby Owens
The Librarian of Crooked Lane by C.J. Archer
Finished:
Sew You Want to be a Heroby Andrew Seiple
Total pages read this week: 450
TBR Mountain: -5
Total books read: 16 of 80
I still haven’t finished any of my physical books so I’m still a book behind my TBR goal. I also need to finish 4 books to keep up with my reading goal. I might finish 2 books this weekend, but I doubt I’ll be able to finish 2 more by the end of the month.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
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 has increased to 1148. I finished a book but added several to my wishlist.
This week’s books:
American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee – KEEP. Wolves are my favorite non-domesticated animal. I will read just about any book about them, Fiction or Non-Fiction, provided they are not vilified. According to the Goodreads synopsis, this book is about a specific wolf but tells a much larger story about wolves and the controversy surrounding their conservation and protection.
Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly – KEEP. “Beauty and the Beast” has always been my favorite fairytale, and one of my favorite Disney movies, so this book was a bit of an auto-buy for me, especially since it involves books.
Killer Librarian by Mary Lou Kirwin – KEEP. This one will get the 50-page test because the synopsis isn’t too promising and there are only 2 books in the series. This first book only has an overall rating of 3.38 stars, which is another indicator that it might not be all that good.
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper- KEEP. I read this book when I was a teenager after I had seen the movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Scenes from both still come to mind, and I’ve always wanted to re-read the book now that I’m considerably older.
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane – KEEP. This one is a novel about the Civil War written only 30 years after the war ended. I’m sure it will be a difficult read, but I am interested to get a perspective from a time in which many of the people who lived through the war were still alive.
My want-to-read shelf is holding steady at 1148 books. The next post will start to get into the physical books about music and musicians that I own.
I’ve lost 3 lbs this week. I was on a medication that was making me retain water and as soon as I was done with the prescription, my weight went down overnight.
I wasn’t able to do any gardening stuff this weekend. It’s been even colder than last weekend, and of course, the temperature is going to go up during the week when I don’t have the time to do much of anything. The weather forecast for next weekend looks good, fingers crossed.
“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.
Currently Reading:
Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Sew You Want to be a Hero by Andrew Seiple
Finished:
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Alliesby Lydia Sherrer
Total pages read this week: 451
TBR Mountain: -5
Total books read: 15 of 80
While I still haven’t finished any of my physical books, I did let go of one book last week. However, I also bought a book because it was just too beautiful to not buy it, so I still need to finish or let go of a physical book this month to stay on track for my TBR goal. I also need to finish 5 books to keep up with my reading goal.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
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 has decreased to 1146. I finished a book and removed two books from my wishlist.
This week’s books:
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson – KEEP. I’ve enjoyed Bryson’s writing style before, and I’m strangely fascinated with language and how it has evolved over time. In another lifetime, I probably would have been an etymologist.
Selected Poems by Robert Frost – GO. I’m not a reader of Poetry. I’ve tried, and I would like to be, but when I want to sit down with a book and read for a while, it has never been a book of poems that I’ve picked up. I’ll read a poem here and there, but that’s about it. I need to let go of the reader that I think I could be someday and allow myself to be the reader that I am by making space for the books I know I’ll read.
The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – KEEP. I loved The Shadow of the Wind, and while The Angel’s Game wasn’t quite as good, I’ve been looking forward to reading this 3rd book in “The Cemetery of Forgotten Books” series for a while.
The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport- KEEP. I was mildly obsessed with Anastasia Romanov after reading a book about her that I checked out from the library at school. It was years before the animated movie (which I’ve never seen), but I never forgot her story. I thought I was done with all that until I read the Goodreads synopsis, and I now want to read this book even more than when I originally got it. The only reason I’ve put it off for so many years is that it’s a bit of a chunkster.
Cape of Storms by Nina Berberova – KEEP. Here is another book about the Bolsheviks’ impact on Russia and its people, in this case, three Russian exiles who escape to France. This is a much shorter book in comparison to The Romanov Sisters and I don’t remember where or when I got it or if I even knew what it was about, but it was sometime prior to November 2017, when I added it to my want-to-read shelf.
My want-to-read shelf is down one to 1145 books. The next post is full of yet more physical books that I own, and I doubt I’ll be parting with any of them.
I got the materials to put together a second raised bed for my garden, and I started seeds for broccoli, celery, and lettuce, but I wasn’t able to do anything else thanks to the weather. I tried to paint the boards that make up the raised beds, but it was too cold, even in the garage with a space heater. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish the raised beds next weekend.
“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.
Currently Reading:
Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Sew You Want to be a Hero by Andrew Seiple
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Allies by Lydia Sherrer
Finished:
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Walden on Wheels by Ken Ilgunas
Total pages read this week: 366
TBR Mountain: -5
Total books read: 14 of 80
While I finished 2 books, neither of them were physical books. So I still have to finish or let go of 1 physical book this month to stay on track. I also need to finish 6 books to keep up with my reading goal. With March being close to halfway over already (How?!), I doubt that will happen, especially since I’m spending most of my weekends setting up my garden.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
