Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon – Update 1

Published on by Rachelle
Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza


I’ve survived the first 8 hours of Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon and I haven’t fallen asleep even once! Instead, fueled by Tim Horton’s and We Ride Upon Sticks, I walked to a local independent bookstore, Prologue Bookshop, while listening to the audiobook of The Librarians and the Lost Lamp.

  • Pages Read: 382
  • Books Read: We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry, The Librarians and the Lost Lamp by Greg Cox, The Flying Flamingo Sisters by Carrie Seim
  • Time Read: 7 hours and 22 minutes
  • Yummy in my Tummy: I had a few Tim Horton’s Tim Bits, a biscuit, egg, and cheese sandwich, and a Mocha coffee for breakfast.  I sipped a Choc-O-Nutter smoothie from Berry Blendz on my walk home from the bookstore. I had never been to Berry Blendz before, so I counted my smoothie as a “snack or drink that’s new to you” for the #readathonbingo. After I finished The Librarians and the Lost Lamp, I drank a mug of toasted coconut and almond tea and ate some biscotti and cherry pastry bites.

Until my 2nd update, at midnight, I’ll continue reading the remaining books on my Goodreads list.


Whether you’re participating in the readathon or not, what book(s) are you currently reading?

Dewey’s 24-Hour #Readathon

Published on by Rachelle1 Comment
Dewey's Readathon_Pocketwatch_Bellezza


Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon has officially started!  I’ve been up since around 6 am, thanks to one of our cats deciding that the Boyfriend and I needed to be awake to ensure his continued existence. He’s lucky he’s cute. The Boyfriend is enabling my readathoning by going to Tim Horton’s and getting us breakfast <3

I flipped a coin to choose my first book of the readathon, and it’s We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry. I’ll be posting my updates every 8 hours, assuming my pile of books keeps me from napping.

  • What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I recently moved to Columbus, OH.
  • Which book in your stack are you looking forward to the most? I have no idea! I put so many great books on my readathon-maybes list, that I’m probably going to have to roll a couple of D20’s so I don’t get stuck trying to decide.
  • Which snack are you looking forward to the most? I went to the only Trader Joe’s in Columbus and bought all.the.snacks. Their peanut butter pretzel bites are my fave, but I also got a bag of their rice cracker mix, a bag of trail mix, a package of fig cookies, and so many other yummy things!
  • Tell us a little something about yourself!  I briefly worked in a bookstore, and though I loved it, it’s still retail, and that meant my days off were when everyone else was working.
  • If you participated in the last readathon, what’s one thing you’ll do differently today? I’m going to choose the books I read at random (probably by rolling some dice).

I usually put my TBR here, but the link to my pile is up above and currently stands at 60 books tall.


My first update will be at 4 pm.  I’ll be tracking how many pages I read and any books I finish.  I’ll also include snacks I’ve nommed, and any musical earworms that have gotten into my head.


Whether you’re participating in the readathon or not, what book(s) are you currently reading? 

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for April 16th – 22nd.
  • My Doctor got me set up with a weight management program before discovering my heart condition, but I went ahead with the first appointment and discussed my concerns with my “coach.”  I can go for walks and I can certainly work on my eating habits, so I don’t see this as a waste of time.
  • One of the things I’m working on is getting more vegetables.  I’m only tracking how many times I eat a veggie right now (along with how many times and for how long I go for a walk), but just the tracking is making me decide to choose veggies over other foods.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 32,441
  • Miles: 13.25
  • Total Miles: 195.25/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 137/150

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • American Sherlock by Kate Winkler Dawson
  • Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen
  • What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine

DNF:

  • F*cked at 40 by Tova Leigh

Finished:

  • All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter
  • Start Where You Are by Pema Chodron

Challenges:

#ShelfLove – 12 of 51 books from my TBR.

Total pages read this week: 1033

Total books for the year: 19 of 90.

I did a lot of reading this week; the kind of reading I usually do during a readathon, but there weren’t any readathons. Reading has become my escape again, thanks to some health problems, and I’ve been lucky that, so far, most of the books I’ve been picking up off my shelf, listening to, or checking out from the library have been great at letting me put the real world away for a bit.

Down the TBR Hole #82

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?
My TBR pile went up again to 1064 books thanks to some really great books that I added to my wishlist.

This week’s books:

Lemprière’s Dictionary by Lawrence Norfolk – KEEP.  Years ago, I read and fell in love with John Saturnall’s Feast.  This is Norfolk’s debut novel, so while I’m not expecting it to be as great as John Saturnall’s Feast, I’m hoping it’s at least close. The Weight of Sound by Peter McDade – GO.  This is not quite what I thought it was when I added it to my wishlist back in 2017.  I’m also skeptical of a book that has nearly all 5-star reviews, but only 40 of them; it looks a little too much like the author got all of his friends and family to talk up his book. The Moral Animal by Robert Wright – KEEP.  A book about the science of morality (or the lack thereof) sounds fascinating, and I’ve read another book by Wright, The Evolution of God, that was excellent. Nonzero by Robin Wright – KEEP. Another book by Wright about Evolution and Humanity that sounds extremely interesting. Sorry Please Thank You by Charles Yu – KEEP.  This one is a collection of Science Fiction short stories all by one author, which I usually prefer to short story anthologies.  The three stories mentioned in the synopsis sound like the whole book is probably good.
My TBR pile is down one to 1063 books. Next week, most of the books are Horror ebooks I bought and haven’t looked at since adding them to my Kindle.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for April 9th – 15th.
  • Last week, I didn’t say why I was having more doctor’s appointments and tests done. It’s my heart, and it’s not something that can be fixed with diet and exercise, though I am taking steps to reduce any strain on my heart at least until I know what needs to be done.
  • I also quit my job so that I can deal with the appointments without having to worry about requesting the time off, and also so I can spend more time with my family.  The job I had required me to work pretty much every weekend and some evenings, and my days off never matched up with my boyfriend’s.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 31,333
  • Miles: 12.81
  • Total Miles: 182/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 46/150

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • American Sherlock by Kate Winkler Dawson
  • All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter
  • F*cked at 40 by Tova Leigh

Finished:

  • Codex Born by Jim C. Hines
  • Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert
  • Follow Me to Ground by Sue Rainsford
  • How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe

Challenges:

#ShelfLove – 12 of 51 books from my TBR.

Total pages read this week: 685

Total books for the year: 17 of 90.

Both Follow Me to Ground and How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps were fairly short, so I got a couple of quick “wins” to add towards the #ShelfLove challenge and my annual reading goal. I’m still 7 books behind schedule, but now that I’m working, it will probably take me a lot longer to catch up, if I’m able to at all.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for April 2nd – 8th.
  • What was supposed to be one of the last Doctor’s appointments I had resulted in a need for more tests.  I also started a new job this week, and now have to spend the majority of my time off at those appointments, assuming my scheduling requests get accepted.  I’m grateful for the medical care, but I am so tired of there being something wrong with me and not knowing exactly what it is.
  • If you have a FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 29,775
  • Miles: 12.18
  • Total Miles: 169.19/1,000
  • Active Minutes: 136/150

Monday’s Minutes

Published on by Rachelle

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

Currently Reading:

  • Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert
  • Codex Born by Jim C. Hines

DNF:

  • Start Late, Finish Rich by David Bach

Finished:

  • The Stolen Letter by Paige Shelton

Challenges:

#ShelfLove – 9 of 51 books from my TBR.

Total pages read this week: 591

Total books for the year: 13 of 90.

Despite how much I’m reading, I’m not finishing books fast enough to catch up to my annual goal. I’m now 10 books behind schedule. I have no idea if I’m going to be able to catch up anytime soon, either, since I’m starting a new job on Wednesday.

Down the TBR Hole #81

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?
My TBR pile shot up again to 1060 books thanks to finding even more books that never got added to Goodreads; this time thanks to a whole slew of ebooks I forgot I had.  With that, I think I’m done with having a goal to work towards.  Even if I were to not buy a single book for the next decade (about how long it would take me to read all of the books I currently own), that still leaves my ever-growing wish list, which now stands at 265 books.  I’m never not going to find more books I want to read.  So, no more goals (other than my annual reading goal).  Instead, I will just continue these posts until I don’t want to write them anymore.

This week’s books:

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk – GO.  As long as this has been on my wish list and as many opportunities as I’ve had to either check it out or buy it, but didn’t, I think I need to accept that I’m never going to read it. Monsterland by Michael Okon – GO.  This sounds a little too much like Jurassic Park, but with monsters, and after looking at some of the reviews, I’m not the only person to think that. Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint – KEEP.  This book was recommended to me years ago, and I own it, but still haven’t gotten around to reading it.  Considering de Lint is a “must-read” author for Fantasy fans, I’m moving this one up closer to the top of my TBR for this year. The Victorian Book of the Dead by Chris Woodyard – KEEP. It’s frustrating that I still haven’t found a physical copy of this book in any bookstore, whether new or used.  I might have no choice but to buy it on Amazon. Understanding Cemetery Symbols by Tui Snider – KEEP.  Another one I’ll have to eventually buy a physical copy of on Amazon. Grave Suspicion, Consumed, Indian Summer, and The Hand of Andulain by Aaron Mahnke – KEEP.  I grouped these 4 books together since they’re all by the same author, who is also the creator of the “Lore” podcast, and a whole bunch of other awesome stuff I enjoy.  They’re all still on my wish list because I haven’t been able to find them in paperback (except for on Amazon, of course).  I love reading Horror novels in paperback.  Perhaps because that’s how I always read Stephen King novels when I was a teenager. Journeys of Frodo by Barbara Strachey – KEEP.  This will always be a part of my permanent collection, whether I ever finish reading it or not.  For a while, I had been trying to complete the “Walk to Mordor” challenge, and I followed along in the book as I made progress.
My TBR pile is down to 1058 books. Next week, all of the books are a mix of Fiction and Non-Fiction, and the kinds of books start to vary instead of being whole series or by the same author.