#BoutofBooks 33 – Day 1

Published on by Rachelle2 Comments
Bout of Books

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01 am Monday, January 3rd, and runs through Sunday, January 9th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 33 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I’m nearly done with The Lef-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix, and will likely finish it this morning during my commute to work. I thought I had read a lot more of Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, but it turns out I only got through about 15 pages. I love the story so far, but so much is happening, and there are a lot of characters, so I’m always shocked to find out that I hardly read anything at all.

  • Time Read:  4 hours 09 minutes
  • Pages Read: 142
  • Books Finished: 0

Are you participating in Bout of Books? What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
  • The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Finished:

  • Beauty and the Beast by Elizabeth Rudnick

Total pages read this week: 519

Total books for 2021: 86 of 90.

Only four books short of my annual reading goal! I’ve set this year’s goal at 85. I realized that I began focusing my attention on shorter books last year, trying to get that goal, and I don’t want to do that again. I want to be able to read any book I’m in the mood for, regardless of length, and I think trying for 85 books instead of 90 will allow me to do that.

Other than that, I haven’t signed up for any year-long reading challenges. Instead, I’m going to “shop” my own shelves as much as possible and check out books from the library, but not say that I can’t buy any books. Books I no longer want to read or keep after reading, I’ll put in a box to be sold to Half Price Books (as usual), and that money will be what I can spend on new-to-me physical books. I have a couple of personal financial goals this year, so if I want to buy ebooks, it has to fit in my budget; otherwise, they’ll get added to my wishlist. I’m rewarding myself with a new audiobook every month that I reach my fitness goal, which I wrote about in my last #FitReaders Check-In for 2021.

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

#BoutofBooks 33!

Published on by Rachelle
Bout of Books

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01 am Monday, January 3rd, and runs through Sunday, January 9th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 33 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

This Bout of Books is going to be all about finishing as many books as I can. It’s the first readathon of the year for me, and usually is the week I get a good head start on my annual reading goal. I also want to finish the couple of books I was in the middle of at the end of 2021.

My Goals

  • Read.  Read.  Read.
  • Finish at least 3 books.

Books to Read

  • Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
  • The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
  • At least 1 more book from my “TBR” bookshelf on Goodreads.

Updates

I will be posting an update each day with the amount of time I read, the number of pages read that day, and the titles of any of the books I’ve finished.

Are you participating in Bout of Books? Let me know in the comments!

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle1 Comment
  • This check-in is for December 24th – 30th.
  • Since this is my last Fit Readers Check-In for the year, Happy New Year!
  • I signed up for the 1000 Mile Charity Challenge again, and this time I have a plan and a couple of smaller goals to help me get those miles.  I’ll be walking at least 2.75 miles every day, which is fairly easy for me to do during the week.  Since I struggle to get that kind of mileage on the weekends, I’ll be doing some kind of walking workout either outdoors or inside (depending on the weather) on Saturday and Sunday.  Every month that I get at least 83.5 miles completed, I get to reward myself with an audiobook.  To celebrate getting 1k miles by the end of the year, I’ll get a massage or some kind of spa treatment.
  • I also signed up for the Fans Run the World 2022 virtual race on Racery. It’s only 365 miles, but the route is set in Scotland, and that sounded like fun to me, especially since we can loop the route as many times as we want throughout the year.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 3/5
  • Steps: 42,704
  • Miles: 17.48
  • Total Miles: 682.92/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 76/150

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
  • Beauty and the Beast by Elizabeth Rudnick

Finished:

  • Murder at an Irish Christmas by Charlene O’Conner
  • Yule by Susan Pesznecker
  • The Ordeal of the Haunted Room by Jodi Taylor

Challenges:

#ShelfLove – 55 of 51 books from my TBR.

Total pages read this week: 511

Total books for the year: 85 of 90.

This is another short week for me at work, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find the time to finish at least one more book before the end of the year. Then I’ll only be four books short of my goal. I also need to find some time to plan out next year’s reading. #BoutofBooks is the first week, so I’ll be getting my sign-up post up by Saturday. I think my goal for the year will be 90 again, because I know I can do at least 85 when everything goes to hell like it did this year and I want to keep my hopes up that 2022 will be better.

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

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for December 17th – 23rd.
  • Happy Holidays and Happy Christmas Eve!
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 42,092
  • Miles: 17.21
  • Total Miles: 665.44/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 74/150

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
  • Murder at an Irish Christmas by Charlene O’Conner
  • Yule by Susan Pesznecker

Finished:

  • A Christmas Tartan by Paige Shelton

Challenges:

#ShelfLove – 55 of 51 books from my TBR.

Total pages read this week: 385

Total books for the year: 82 of 90.

I’m trying to do as much Christmas-related reading as I can. I know I have more holiday-themed books, but, other than a couple of classics, the ones in this post are the only ones I’ve found so far while unpacking book boxes.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for December 10th – 16th.
  • My steps are down this week thanks to not doing my usual amount of work this week.  On Wednesday, my office had our holiday party, and then on Thursday, I had a couple of appointments and didn’t go to work.
  • I found out that my health is improving, thanks to getting treatment for sleep apnea.  I’m still working on the weight issue, but I’m getting some help for that as well.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 1/5
  • Steps: 34,922
  • Miles: 14.23
  • Total Miles: 648.23/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 39/150

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
  • Real Change by Sharon Salzberg

Finished:

  • The Marvellous Land of Snergs by E.A. Wyke-Smith

Challenges:

#ShelfLove – 54 of 51 books from my TBR.

Total pages read this week: 235

Total books for the year: 81 of 90.

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone is too big of a book for me to lug to work with me. Otherwise, I’d probably be done with it by now. Instead, I only read it at night before bed, and lately, I’ve been so tired that I only make it through a few pages before I start to fall asleep. Part of me wants to gobble it up, but another part of me is happy that I’ve got Claire, Jamie, and the people of Fraser’s Ridge for a while. Slow reading is sometimes the best.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for December 3rd – 9th.
  • Another week in which I’m glad it’s Friday.  I love my job, but it is physically and mentally demanding and I’m exhausted by the end of the week.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 4/5
  • Steps: 42,340
  • Miles: 17.34
  • Total Miles: 634/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 97/150