MobileRead Book Challenges discussion

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
A very good space horror. Very hard to put down in the moments I had time to read this past week.

Now the difficult part is what to read next. I kinda know. But having GAS (gadget anticipation syndrome) I want to read on my new Kobo. But it can take up to 2 weeks (10 business days) to arrive.

April was an okay month; three books and 1149 pages. And the books I read were good.

I expect I won't have much time to read in the coming six weeks. We're getting the keys of the new house on the 13th. Next week I promised my parents to go light fixture shopping, plus I need to look into a couple of things (e.g. custom made bookcase). And from Thursday we're full into prep mode.

We hire people to do the big things such as plastering, painting and the floor. But we have to do the prep work ourselves. My sister's got that first week off, the plasterer/painter will start on Thursday so we have to have at least a couple of rooms ready for him to start on. I expect I will be kept busy until after we move in on June 14.

To be honest, I'm not looking forward to this time. It will be chaotic and I don't do chaotic well.

And I have a finish.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
A very good ghost story. Where the horror isn't the ghost but the people.

On Monday we got the keys for the new house and immediately started with the decorating. We've removed most of the fiberglass wallpaper, most rooms it was easy, but in my little office it didn't want to be removed. The plasterer showed us how, which was basically scraping and cutting it away. That stuff is evil, especially when you have to cut it away you get all those tiny glass fibers pricking your skin.

The plasterer started on Friday, he's already done two rooms. He will also paint the walls.

Next week my sister has to go back to work. On Tuesday I'll help the handyman/electrician with removing the radiators and figuring out the layout of the fusebox (it's an old one that needs to be replaced). I'll also make a list of how many wall sockets and switches we need to get to replace the old ones (four different brands throughout the house).

Next weekend we're going to remove the flooring upstairs. Most rooms will be relatively easy; it's either carpet or linoleum. But my bedroom has linoleum planks, probably glued. So that will be fun.

But we're really happy. My bedroom is/will be lovely. Very light and because of two windows it's easy to air out when it's warm. With a nice spot for a cross stitch/reading nook. I have a tiny office/craft room. I had hoped to keep the custom made desk, but after removing it for the redecorating I won't. I'll keep one section and see if the company that makes the bookshelf can also make a desk for me.

So much work, but it sounds lovely Bianca.

The Apparition Phase by Will Maclean
A spooky story, I recommend it. I did guess the twist, but it's still a good story.

The house is going well. Over the weekend we removed the flooring upstairs. Which went surprisingly easy. Even the glued vinyl planks in my bedroom weren't a huge problem. The plasterer came by on Saturday to check some things. We told him everything was going well but that we weren't looking forward to my bedroom floor. He went upstairs to have a look and show us how to remove it. He would make a start for us so it would be easier for us to remove the rest. Within 15 minutes he had removed a third of the flooring! It took us an hour and a half to remove the rest with the both us working on it.

Now my sister has to make an appointment with the flooring people to have the floors checked. I'm hoping the glue and double sided tape residues won't be a problem for them to level the floors.

Sounds like things are coming along nicely! I'm relieved to hear that the floor removal wasn't as bad as feared. Those things can be a beast to remove depending on how they're installed.

There are still glue remnants; there's a full layer in my sister's bedroom and in my bedroom there are patches. In other rooms there are remnants of double sided tape. We hope we won't have to remove those. That would be a sucky job.

The painter is going fast, yesterday he finished all the ceilings and started with the bedroom walls. The electrician has started replacing the fusebox and putting in an extra cable for the dryer and putting in network cables to our office/hobby spaces.

I want to order my furniture, but I'll have to wait for the floors to be put in. I just want to make things pretty, I've never had a really nice bedroom.

Best wishes with the renovations! They sound both exciting and stressful!

Thanks.

We're now at the building up phase. The walls and ceilings are plastered and are getting painted and next week the floors are going in.

So where before it only looked worse it's now starting to look better, which is nice and motivating. I'm hoping we won't have to do much to the floor before the floor people can come in. An easy weekend would be nice. Next weekend we'll be deep cleaning the house in preparation for the move. Things are going quickly.

I am able to get some reading in. It's a way to escape all the crazy for a little while.

I would think you'll be fine with the floors. They will be able to do any scraping or final prep before putting it down. And they'll probably have stuff that will make it a lot easier than it would be for you to do final prep. I do hope you get an easy weekend so you can relax a bit before the next steps!

Just be prepared to feel a bit unsettled after settling. I had to be in here for a year before I knew how I needed my bedroom furniture to be arranged and I still haven't had time to make it happen.

I've always been really easy when moving. Granted I lived in the same house for over 43 years. But moving in with my sister hasn't been an issue and when I went to uni in the UK and stayed in dorm rooms I got settled pretty quickly.

Mind you the old house wasn't fun with all the problems (mostly leaks for my rooms), which prevented my from changing things to my tastes. It'll be so nice to have a new house (1981) with no leaks or sewer problems.

This morning I've got an appointment with a company that makes storage solutions; bookcases, closets, etc. I hope they can make a bookcase to my specs (I want it to have a compartment at the top to hide an extension cord). And I'm hoping they can also make a desk for me.

The list of things I need to order is getting longer by the day. But most of it I can start ordering next week. I've already ordered my Ikea things to be delivered on the 10th.

I am enjoying 'reading' about your move and new house. I'd love to see it however traveling to The Netherlands is not currently in a plan!! How do you find time to read? Thanks for sharing it all. Looking forward to more.

I mostly read on weekdays, I don't work at the moment so I have time. And in the evening, though that depends how tired I am.

I'll see if I can post some pictures somewhere once we've moved in. Though it will be a while before it's actually finished. If you Google "Alkemaderschans 44 Nieuwegein" you get a link to a Funda website, there you can see how it was before we started our work.

Yesterday I went to the custom furniture store and made a first design for my bookcase. I'll need to take some measurements this weekend before finalizing the design. They can also make a custom desk for me with shelves, though they will have to come measure it because of the weird shape.

My sister's got the day off work today so we're heading over there. The council will place a skip for us today so today's main task is to put all our crap in there (flooring, desk, old light fixtures, etc). My sister also wants to take down the two saggy wall cupboards in the shed. And the flooring people are coming, so we'll hear what we need to do to prepare the floors, which will be the big thing this weekend.

Today the main light fixture for my bedroom should be delivered. I'm hoping that the electrician can install it for me. Normally I wouldn't bat an eye having to install a light fixture, but that room is high and we don't have a ladder high enough. Plus I have a mild case of climacophobia.

My parents are gifting us all new wall sockets and switches as a housewarming gift. My father has already gotten them and hopefully he can install them next week. He kept the account of our supplier especially for buying things we need for both of our moves.

I'm currently still plugging along on Hugh Howey's Dust, the final in the Silo trilogy. Just 200 pages to go, which includes some extras from the omnibus I have. I'll be sad when I finish it. But iirc there are more books set in this universe.

I'll probably finish it on Thursday or Friday. Today I'm helping my dad with replacing the last of the wall sockets and switches. Tomorrow I got a day off from the new house but I have to go clothes shopping (I hate clothes shopping, but pants/jeans need to be tried on). On Thursday and Friday the floor people are coming. But there's nothing I can do downstairs cleaning wise. So I'm bringing my Kobo and cross stitch supplies to kill time. Hopefully the weather's good enough to sit outside in our garden.

Dust by Hugh Howey
Great ending to the trilogy. I'm a bit sad to have finished the series. There are books set in the same world but not by Howey. But I've already gotten the first book in his Sand series.

I was able to get some nice reading in yesterday whilst waiting for packages to arrive at the house. This morning I'm heading there early to open up for the floor people, who should finish today, and wait for more packages.

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
Barnes' first book and I really liked it. Spooky sci-fi. Her next book is coming out in 2025 and I'm already looking forward to it.

I read this really quickly thanks to waiting for packages and trades people. I don't expect to have much time in the coming week to read. Today I'm putting together my Ikea furnishing that came yesterday (desk chair, reading chair and two rolling carts). Tomorrow I start preparing for the move; even though we have the movers pack our things there are things I want to pack myself (mostly electronics). I will also need to go through my junk drawer and see what can be tossed. On Thursday the movers are coming to pack and we're moving on Friday. On Saturday we'll be unpacking and on Sunday we have to go to the apartment to tidy it up. On Monday my sister is going to do the final viewing and signing over of the apartment and I'll be doing more unpacking probably. On Tuesday we want to go look for sofas, hopefully finding one my sister likes; I'm fed up with the chair I sit in in the living room (and yes, I know it'll take weeks if not months for furniture to be delivered).

From Wednesday things should start to settle. On Thursday and Sunday I'm going to see Ghost's Rite Here, Rite Now movie, which I'm really looking forward to.

I probably won't have unpacked by then, but I expect I will toss a bunch of stuff (packed most of my things before we bought a house, plus I haven't seen this stuff for about 9 months). And what I do keep I need to sort and get/put in storage containers. So that will be a process. My books, dvds and cds can't be unpacked until I get my custom bookcase (six to eight weeks) and I'm also waiting for my custom desk (same order as the bookcase). So it'll be a mess for a while yet with boxes and bins strewn around.

A couple of days ago I got an email from the company I have a pre-paid credit card from. I mostly use it for buying ebooks from Amazon, though they recently added the option to pay with iDeal.

The email told me that from the end of the month my credit card will be cancelled. Probably due to stricter EU laws. But I still had €66 on it and I couldn't transfer it back to my bank account easily.

So I just went on an ebook buying binge. I bought 12 books, so I'm set for a while!

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
A good story, geared towards YA I think. I like how it's different from the many haunted house stories I've read.

We moved into our new house over a week ago. I've unpacked the things I had at my sister's apartment but the stuff from storage all needs to be still unpacked. That's mostly stacked in my tiny office.

I would have unpacked more if it wasn't such a chaotic week. But we've now also ordered a new sofa (eta late September) and my sister ordered a new bed. I've also been to Ghost's Rite Here Rite Now movie, I'm going again this afternoon. I loved it, I can't wait for the live album to be released next month. The cliffhanger, though. Who will be Papa V?

On Tuesday my bed will be delivered and that isn't a moment too soon. My back does not appreciate sleeping on the floor (albeit on a good mattress). Tomorrow I'll spend tidying up my bedroom, which mostly consists of putting things in the storage compartments.

How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie

Okay. A slow read for me. I think both because of the book itself and my being busy with a lot of things.

On Wednesday I got a new tattoo. A crow covering the inside of my lower right arm. Thursday I was a bit sore from sitting in a strange position for hours and tired because I didn't get much sleep. But overall I felt fine. But yesterday I had the tattoo flu. Feeling a bit feverish, achy and fuzzy headed. Tonight I can take the second skin cover off, which has been annoying me all of yesterday. So far it seems to be healing well, but I'm not looking forward to the itchy stage of healing.

Congrats on your new tattoo! I love crows. All corvids, really. Here's hoping that the itchy stage passes quickly!

We have a dozen corvids that visit our yard and help themselves to peanuts. They also douse themselves in our bird baths. I love them. I would love to see a pic of your new tattoo when it's healed!!
Congratulations!!

I'm still working on Child of the Sky by BB Griffith. Book 5. Interesting read on Navajos.

I'm unable to post a picture from a google album apparently and I can post external links, but this is the URL to the picture of my fresh tattoo (copy and paste it in your browser):

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qxxvYjjMJT8...

Yesterday I took off the second skin. So far no itching, it feels like a sunburn, but better since I got the second skin off. Currently it's looking a lot darker, but that is supposedly part of the healing process. We're visiting our parents later today, it'll be interesting to see their reaction, since this one isn't as easily ignored as the ones on my ankles.

We rarely see crows in the Netherlands, at least where I live. In the city center you do see a lot of jackdaws, going though public trashcans that aren't closed and opening up trash bags on collection day.

Oooh it's gorgeous!

Lovely! 🙂

Oh, that is so gorgeous!! Perfect.

Murder Never Misses by Faith Martin
A good addition to the Hillary Greene series. Better than the previous book, which felt more of a set up for this story where one of the big story lines comes to an end.

The Haunting of Bridge Manor: Trilogy by Marc Layton

Don't read this book. The only reason I finished it is because it was short and I wanted to know how it ended. It's all three books of the trilogy and especially in the first book I felt there were scenes missing. Not so much missing information but the transition between scenes was super abrupt, sometimes not even with a paragraph break. For all three books the flow of the story just wasn't smooth.

The characters' behaviour and dialogue wasn't realistic either. So not recommended.

Up next is Fairy Tale by Stephen King. I really want to do reread of It, like almost every summer, but decided to go for a newer story I haven't read before.

Our house is slowly becoming more of a home. The handyman came by on Saturday and put up most light fixtures and a couple of other things. Later this week he'll make an appointment for a second visit to finish up. Earlier today I got a phone call to plan when they come and place my custom bookshelves and desk. Which gives me a deadline to finish unpacking all my crap. And tomorrow or Wednesday I can pick up my curtains.

I read Fairy Tale last year and really enjoyed it. It was the first King novel I've read in decades. I hope you find it to be a good read, too!

It's great that the house is coming along so well. :)

Fairy Tale by Stephen King
I loved it. I intentionally took it slow, to savor the read.

Up next is the latest Guido Brunetti book.

On the 27th my bookcase and desk will be delivered and put together. I still need to unpack a bunch of boxes before there's space for my desk, but I think I'll do that when my sister's on vacation (two weeks from the 13th), so I can make a mess without her getting annoyed.

I have seven small Ikea boxes (normally used for storing documents) of cd's, dvd's and books. Plus I know I have some bigger books in other boxes. But it won't be enough to fill my big bookcase, which will be 2,5 meters wide by 1,1 meter high. It's a good excuse to go to the annual Deventer Book Market tomorrow, it's the biggest one in Europe. It has mostly Dutch books, but there should be some English books to be found. I'm not sure I'm going to find anything I'm interested in, but I've always wanted to go to the Deventer Book Market. I've also found a couple of record stores and spiritual stores that are open tomorrow I want to visit. To see if I can add to my record collection (I have six now) and maybe find some pretty stones.

So Shall You Reap by Donna Leon
A solid addition to the Guido Brunetti series.

Currently I'm feeling a bit adrift with my reading. Not sure what I'm in the mood for and just picking my next book at random and it doesn't look like it's going to change soon because the next couple of weeks I'm busy.

From Tuesday my sister's going on vacation for two weeks, and I've got plans. First of all I need to finish unpacking the boxes from my storage because that room needs to be cleared by the 27th since that's when my desk is going to come. There are some boxes I can't unpack until I've got my desk and book case. The rest I think I could do in an afternoon, but I'm not sure if I can get myself motivated enough to do so.

I also want to put together my Lego haunted house kit, with my sister gone I can take over the dining table and not have to put it away every night. When finished it's going on my wardrobe.

I also want to go on day trips, weather permitting. First of all to my happy place The Efteling. Hopefully next week, but it depends on the temperatures. And I want to go visit an open air museum.

But the next couple of day I do have some reading time. Today I'm waiting for packages to be delivered and I'm doing laundry. Tomorrow I might run some errands, I had initially planned those for Monday, but then the window coverings are going to be installed and it's going to be around 35℃, which is too hot to do much than sit still, read and cross stitch.

Not sure what I am reading next either. Maybe a couple of weeks of book searching for a new country to read from.

Which haunted house do you have? I should be saving my allowance for another Lego purchase for my music room instead of more tremolo pedals. Haha. I got the Tales of the Space Age set previously.

I got the big one that's retired now (number 10228). I like Lego, but my sister really took to it during lockdown. I still need to finish the typewriter I started a while back.

Since my bedroom is in the attic I have a very high ceiling. The wardrobe is high, so I need to put something substantial there to fill up the space. The haunted house is big, so hopefully it'll look good.

It's nice that things are starting to get together in the house. I'll be so glad when my desk and bookcase arrive on the 27th, I'm hoping I can arrange for my new tv to be put up that week, too. Then I can finally get my cross stitch/reading corner and my office/craft space arranged and truly finish unpacking. The only thing that's left then is putting up decoration.

The hobby space is the only space that matters. Haha.

Very cool Lego sets.

Lego sets are amazing these days. I don't do them but I have friends that do. A friend sponsors a Lego night at her church for the kids. Cross stitch is too tedious for me. I've tried it. Not patient enough, I guess. I'd rather read!!

I really like reading about your new place and plans.

I just ordered the Lego galaxy wall hanging, for my cross stitch corner.

Tbh I'm get a bit fed up with the whole process. Today we ordered the outdoor furniture (dining set and a lounge set). Tomorrow we're going to order a parasol, but we need to measure again first. And I want to order a Adirondack chair. Which leaves only the barbecue for outside.

For inside a bunch of things will be delivered/installed in the next six weeks.

I'm fed up with having keep track of when work will be done or someone is coming by to make a quote. I'm also done with shopping for things. Today we spend four hours on the nearby "Furniture Boulevard" looking at garden furniture, TVs, vacuums and curtains. When we got home I was so overstimulated (hello undiagnosed autisms/ADHD) that I had to lie down for a while.

Ugh. I just don't shop really. I can't even imagine. The only thing on my mind in a store is how fast can I get out.

Lol, when I shop I know what I need or want to look at. Last week I got a new TV and I had done the research and knew pretty much which I wanted so I was in and out fairly quickly. The same when I ordered my bed, salespeople love me!

My sister is very good at shopping. So when we go together I always bring my earphones and my ereader with me for when she goes into browsing mode. When shopping for clothes she takes her time and luckily most clothing stores have chairs or benches nowadays where I can sit and zone out whilst she is doing her thing.

The Whistling by Rebecca Netley
Okay, my biggest problem was the ending. There was a lot to do about what the future would be for the girl (asylum, running away with the nanny, etc) and in the end we're not told.

Up next is a childhood favourite. De Zevensprong by Tonke Dragt (The Song of Seven in English). First published in 1966 and made into a Dutch TV series in 1982. Since I didn't turn into a bookworm until I was 13 or 14 I must have first got to know the story from the reruns on TV (I was born in 1980 so a bit early for the original airing), they usually had reruns in both the summer and Christmas vacation.

Like The Secret Garden it has always been a favourite of mine, I still have the book (got it in my teens, when I was older than its target audience) and I've got the DVD of the TV series, which is also available on YouTube.

I'm always a bit nervous about revisiting old favourites; what if I don't like it anymore or it turns out to be wrong (racist/sexist/etc) for current times?

I'm going to take a break from my current book to reread The Crow.

I haven't got far with De Zevensprong because I've been doing a lot of Lego since last Tuesday (finished both the Haunted House and the Milky Way set).

But last night I went to see the new The Crow movie. Before the release the filmmakers said it wasn't a remake of the original movie but it would be more true to the graphic novel. They were right it wasn't a remake, but I'm not sure it's true to the graphic novel. However, it must have been 20 years since I read the graphic novel, so it's time for a reread.

But first I need to clean. My sister returns from vacation on Tuesday and before that I want to give the house a good clean. So today I'm cleaning downstairs, including a deep clean of the kitchen and half bathroom. Tomorrow my sister's floor will be done, including a deep clean of the bathroom. And on Monday I'll clean my floor; on Tuesday my new furniture will come so when cleaning I can arrange everything so the people putting it together have space to do so.

I'll be so happy when that is done. No more boxes in my rooms! And on the 2nd my new TV and soundbar will be delivered and installed. Then all that's left is decorating the walls, though I have some ideas for that.

The Crow by James O'Barr
A good read, still.
As far as the new movie being closer to the source material than the Brandon Lee movie that a load of BS. The 1994 movie is definitely closer than the new one.

Was the movie better than expected? Yes. But it still was pretty bad. Half of the movie was dedicated to Eric and Shelly falling in love/lust. Which left no room for necessary lore about the baddie (aptly named Roeg, pronounced as rogue) and there's no time for the two main characters to have a backstory and the villains, including Roeg have absolutely no personality. There's one big fight, a mash up of John Wick and Kill Bill Vol. 1's Bride fight with the Crazy 88. There is a confrontation between Eric and Roeg, but it's very underwhelming.

The whole point of The Crow, in the graphic novel and earlier movies, was that the main character returns to avenge their and their loved one's death to be reunited again in death. In this movie Eric can bring back both himself and Shelly from the dead and then there's a twist.

All in all I found it a slow and boring movie. If you can catch it on streaming later on you could watch it, but don't spend any money on it.

De Zevensprong by Tonke Dragt
Childhood nostalgia. I still love the book. Considering it's written in the 1960s it hasn't aged too badly. Some language used is a bit old fashioned, but I think kids these days will also enjoy the book. Tomorrow my new TV will be installed and I'll hook up my blu-ray player, then I can watch the TV series some time next week.

As for reading this month I thought I didn't read much. But I ended up reading 1900 pages over 5 books. So that isn't bad at all.

I'm took a break from Lego this week. My sister came home from vacation so I wasn't able to take over the dining table any more. But I now have my desk and it's semi-organised now so I can continue with my projects. I have two Lego sets to go. First up is the tuxedo cat, which is the spitting image of Luna. After that it's time to tackle Rivendell. My sister was pissed when she saw I got it. She wanted to get it. Not sure why she can't get it as well, though.

Sand by Hugh Howey
A very good book. Not as good as Silo, but still very good. I will need to get the second book soon.

It did take me two weeks to read. Not the book's fault. It's just been busy. I've finally set up my Plex Media Server on a dedicated NAS. So it won't have to run on my laptop anymore. I've finally unpacked everything, so my bedroom is looking a lot better (now to find a nice rug and put up another shelf above my bed). Next week will be chaotic. All week days have things planned (my sister's bed, new sofa, solar panel installation). On the 23rd I'm getting my Covid vaccination, so I'll be out for a couple of days I expect.

But from the 30th until the 4th I'm going to Bruges. My sister and I went there years ago and I really enjoyed it. But we did things her way (fully planned) and now I'm just going to do my type of exploring (wandering about) and I've already got a list of record stores, spiritual stores (pretty rocks) and book shops I want to visit. I also booked a more luxurious hotel than I normally would. I think that after the past 15 months I deserve that.

After That Night by Karin Slaughter
Great story, about Sarah's SA and how there's more to it than she thought. Also about relationships, not just Sarah and Will's.

Up next Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay. Not a long book, but from the reviews it seems to be a slow read for a lot of people. I hope to finish it before Monday, so I can read a new book during my vacation.

After last week's chaos this week is a bit quieter. Today I'm getting my Covid booster, so I'll feel shitty for the next couple of days. On Friday the crawl space will be insulated. that's the last of the "big" things we're doing/having done this year. On Saturday I'm going to look for light fixtures with/for my parents. They've been living with bare light bulbs instead of ceiling lights for six months now.

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
Tremblay's books are either hit or miss for me. This one was a hit. I really enjoyed it, even if the ending is just weird.

Since it almost October and I'm going on vacation for a couple of days I treated myself to some spooky books. My current thing is that I like to read about ghost hunting groups.

I agree with you about Tremblay. He's just very inconsistent. I might have to check that one out. I love the "cursed film" trope in movies but I don't think I've ever read a book along those lines.

Parrish by Shannen Crane Camp
Very enjoyable, spooky but not scary. A little bit of romance, but not too much. There's a second book in the series and apparently the author is working/planning to write a third.

Bruges was fun, even if there were too many cafés and restaurants (like in all touristy places, really) and chocolate/waffle stores. A managed to get a lot of reading in (the joys of traveling solo).

I'm glad you enjoyed your holiday! :)

The Well by Marie Sexton
A fun (YA?) ghost story. Not really scary but spooky. Looked up the author to see if she's written any other books I might be interested it. But all her other books are erotica, so not for me.

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould
An okay story, a bit slow for me and I would have liked more info about the Dark.

Continuing with my ghost hunter October with Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper by J.L. Bryan. Which doesn't sound too scary to me, but we'll see.

Meanwhile I'm back Lego-ing. I'm finally working on the Rivendell set. Next week there's a Lego thing in the convention center in Utrecht. My sister and I are debating whether or not we're going. She wants to go but is afraid it's mostly geared towards kids and not worth the money.

Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper by J.L. Bryan
That was a surprising good read. Very entertaining and creepy. Best of all, it's the first in a series with 24 books published so far.

After reading four books about ghost hunters/paranormal investigators it's funny to see how authors deal with the tech side of that. Some authors have either done their research (or watched a lot of Ghost Hunters/Ghost Adventures/Most Haunted) and use the real tech equipment that's out there. Other authors just make up their own devices.

Got into a new/old hobby. I discovered junk journaling. A simpler version of scrapbooking. You gather "junk" (receipts, bags, tags, maps, coasters, etc) and stick them in a journal. It's up to you whether or not you want to journal, or how much and you can or can't decorate with other things. When I moved I threw most of my scrapbooking papers and ephemera. There was too much and I hadn't papercrafted in a long while. I did save things as stamp, dies, die cutter and tools. So I ordered a journal, went a bit overboard with ordering stickers, got some inks and a date stamp and some A5 sized papers. I've already got a tiny photo printer. For now I want to keep it simple, but I suspect I'll be digging out the containers with stamps, die cutting supplies and other tools soon enough.