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
  • David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
  • The Fireman by Joe Hill
  • Carrie by Stephen King
  • Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Finished:

  • Fairy Tale by Stephen King
  • Penny Dreadful Vol. 7 by various authors

Total pages read this week: 937

Total books read: 87 of 90

TBR: -10 (Goal is -36)

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril:

  • Peril of the Fiction – 15
  • 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,” 4 episodes of “Cabinet of Curiosities,” “Nightmare Castle”, “Jamaica Inn”, “Hitchcock Presents: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” all episodes of “October Faction,” 2 episodes of “Evil”, “Practical Magic”, and 2 episodes of “Goosebumps.”

The #FrightFall Readathon is today, starting at 10 a.m. EST. I’ve been awake since a little after 6 a.m., so I highly doubt I will make it until 10 a.m. tomorrow, but I have lots of reading options!

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

Down the TBR Hole #173

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 one book to 1129. I finished a book but added a couple to my wishlist.
This week’s books:

Bacchanal by Veronica G. Henry – KEEP. I’m a little skeptical about this one, but I’ll give it a try.

Alice in Deadland by Mainak Dhar – KEEP.  This was a recommendation by a coworker when I was living in California.

Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough – KEEP. I think this book might have been a recommendation from a bookish podcast I used to listen to, but I don’t remember which podcast. It’s Historical Fiction with a supernatural horror twist, so I’m hoping it will have “Penny Dreadful” vibes.

Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg- KEEP. I’m a little hesitant about this one, but so far I haven’t read a book by Holmberg that I didn’t at least like.

A Texas Hill Country Christmas by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone – KEEP.  I DNF’d the only other book by William W. Johnstone that I tried to read, so I’m fully prepared that this one might go that way as well, but I’m hoping it will be better.
My want-to-read shelf is staying at 1129 books. Maybe I’m being too soft about the books this week, but that might be because they’re all ebooks I already own. The next post will have mostly physical books I own, so we’ll see if that affects my desire to hold on to books I’m not sure about.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for October 6th – 12th.
  • My boyfriend and I went to a Halloween market and then to lunch yesterday. Everything was close to a parking garage near where I work, so we parked there and walked everywhere instead of trying to find street parking closer to the market and then the restaurant. We did a lot of walking, but not too much, and the weather was perfect.
  • I also got the rest of the Halloween decorations up yesterday while we waited for it to get dark so we could watch a couple of Horror movies. We watched two of my favorites, “The Lost Boys” and “Jeepers Creepers” while eating popcorn and a couple of the apples we picked at the orchard. Though I had wanted to go to an all-night Horror movie marathon, I’m glad I didn’t. There’s no way I would have had the energy to be in a movie theater all night.
  • Active Days: 2/5
  • Steps: 49,602
  • Miles: 19.93/15.34
  • Total Miles: 646.96/850
  • Zone Minutes: 73/150

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
  • 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 Fireman by Joe Hill

Finished:

  • Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One by Jack Townsend

Total pages read this week: 773

Total books read: 85 of 90

TBR: -17 (Goal is -36)

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril:

  • Peril of the Fiction – 13
  • 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,” 4 episodes of “Cabinet of Curiosities,” “Nightmare Castle”, “Jamaica Inn”, “Hitchcock Presents: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” all episodes of “October Faction.”

My boyfriend and I are going to a Halloween market this afternoon and watching a couple of horror movies tonight at home as a compromise to the all-night horror movie marathon I wanted to go to this weekend, but a friend bailed out and my boyfriend had no interest in doing. I’m also going to try to come up with the energy to make apple butter and cinnamon bread since I have Monday off from work. Other than that, I’ll be reading this weekend to try to finish as many of my current reads as possible before the #FrightFall 24-hour readathon next weekend.

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

Down the TBR Hole #172

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 down two books to 1130. I finished a couple of books and went to the library instead of a bookstore.
This week’s books:

Real Change by Sharon Salzberg – GO. I’ve read several of Salzberg’s books and they’re all pretty much the same.

A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw – KEEP.  This is another book picked for the Fantastic Strangelings book club, and I’m very much looking forward to reading it.

How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety by Zachary Auburn – KEEP. Comedic satire involving cats? I’ll gladly give this one a try.

The First Free Women by Matty Weingast- GO. I thought this was a book of poetry by women inspired by the work of early Buddhist nuns, but it’s a book by one male author. That’s not bad in itself, but the title and the subtitle are a bit misleading. Since I’ve never been a big fan of poetry, I’m no longer interested.

Tears of Amber by Sofia Segovia – KEEP.  I’ve read nothing but amazing reviews about this book and the author’s other work, and since this is another story involving a part of WWII history that I haven’t read much about, I will be reading this one at some point.
My want-to-read shelf is down to 1128 books. I was surprised again by my decision to let go of a couple of books, but I don’t think I’ll be getting rid of any in the next post.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • This check-in is for September 29th – October 5th.
  • My boyfriend and I went apple-picking early on Saturday and this morning I sliced up a couple of the apples, coated them in melted butter and cinnamon, and put them in the air fryer for a few minutes while I cooked up some oatmeal. It was the perfect breakfast for a cool Autumn morning.
  • My plan today is to get the Halloween decorations up. I don’t know if I’ll have enough energy to finish everything, but I’m trying not to think about it too much and do what I can.
  • Active Days: 1/5
  • Steps: 45,740
  • Miles: 18.33/15.34
  • Total Miles: 627.03/850
  • Zone Minutes: 42/150

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
  • 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
  • Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One by Jack Townsend

DNF:

  • Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams

Finished:

  • The September House by Carissa Orlando
  • Ghoulia by Barbara Cantini

Total pages read this week: 506

Total books read: 84 of 90

TBR: -17 (Goal is -36)

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril:

  • Peril of the Fiction – 12
  • 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,” 4 episodes of “Cabinet of Curiosities,” “Nightmare Castle”, “Jamaica Inn”, and “Hitchcock Presents: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”

The Boyfriend and I went apple picking today. I’m glad I had the energy to go and enjoy it because I’ve been feeling nothing but exhausted and down this week. Yesterday, in an attempt to feel better, I went to the library after work and checked out several books that have been on my wishlist for a while. I did temporarily feel a little more energized, but that quickly faded once I got home and I felt so depleted that I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to go to the orchard today. I didn’t even have the energy to read.

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

Down the TBR Hole #171

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 few books to 1133. While I finished several books this week, I also bought a couple of books and added a couple more to my wishlist.
This week’s books:

Bold Spirit by Linda Lawrence Hunt – KEEP. Not only do I want to read about Helga Estby’s trek across the United States, I want to know why her story was almost lost.

Book Towns by Alex Johnson – GO.  I wouldn’t usually decide to remove a book about books (or in this case, a book about book towns) from my To Be Read list, but this one has been sitting on my wish list for several years, and I still haven’t bothered to buy it or even to see if the library has it.

Still Life by Sarah Winman – KEEP. This was the book picked for the Fantastic Strangelings book club for November 2021. That’s the only reason I’m keeping it. I have faith in Jenny Lawson’s choice of books.

The Book Lovers’ Anthology ed. by Bodleian Library- KEEP. This is a book about books written by a wide variety of authors. Of course, I want to read it!

The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth – KEEP.  This book was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for 2013 in the category of Horror. I love the cover, and the book itself is full of illustrations, so I’m looking forward to taking my time with it at some point.
My want-to-read shelf is down one book to 1132. I was a little surprised by my decisions for this week’s books. I might be surprised again in the next post.

#FitReaders Check-In

Published on by Rachelle
  • 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 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
  • 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!