I'm Dini (she/her) and I'm a thirty-something book lover based in Indonesia. I mostly read romance and SFF though I love to dabble in other genres but tend to stay away from horror and ghosty things because I'm The Ultimate Chicken™️. I'm always happy to meet other book lovers so feel free to chat with me!
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
I’ll be spending my Sunday in bed finishing Everything for You by Chloe Liese. If you don’t know this about me, I’m a huge Chloe Liese fan and I adore all of her books, so I was beyond excited to get an ARC of this. Oliver and Gavin are just… Everything. *sobs in happy* 🥹🥹🥹
It’s out next week (10 May) and I can’t wait for you all to read it!
Hi, friends, I’m back with another fun book tag today! Although I wouldn’t consider myself a diehard Swiftie, I’m still a big fan and according to Spotify, she’s my most listened to artist for the last three years and I find that totally unsurprising because of how completely obsessed I am with her lover, folklore and evermore albums. Prior to 1989, I’d never actually listened to any of her earlier albums in full but I enjoyed Red TV so much more than I expected, so I’m so excited to do this Red (Taylor’s Version) Book Tag!
I first saw this tag on Cielo @ Bellerose Reads‘ blog back in February but forgot about it until earlier this week, and then I saw Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole post it and took that as a sign that I should finally do this too—so here we are! 😉
note: the character doesn’t get cheated on in the story but her experience is recounted. i hate cheating and i don’t read books with it
I won’t be tagging anyone on this tag but if you’re keen on doing it, I’d love to see your answers! Have you read any of these books or could you think of fitting books for some of these prompts? Also, which is your fave Red TV track?
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, and it’s where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! If you want to join in the bookish discussion fun, check out the May 2022 prompts!
Now without further ado… The topic asks us about:
How do you decide what books to borrow or buy?
(SUGGESTED BY JILLIAN @ JILLIAN THE BOOKISH BUTTERFLY) Prompts:Do you buy a lot of books? Do you borrow books from a library, or from friends? What do you look out for in books you buy? Are there any book genres you typically buy more of? Do the types of books that you buy differ from the types of books you typically borrow? Do you prefer to borrow or to buy books?
Hello, friends! I hope you’re all doing okay as we move into May. Last month, I participated in The Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2022 and today I’d like to share my wrap up of the books I read for the readathon. Did I pass my classes? Did I manage to complete any additional quests to help my guild gain points? Read on to find out!
Again, I’d like to give a shout out to the creator of this amazing readathon: G @ Book Roast who did an incredible job preparing everything for us. I’m still in awe of all the effort that she’s put into this and I find it very inspiring!
CHARACTER BACKGROUND
Name: Meeska Sholara
Guild: House of the Arcane
Calling: Illusionist Rogue
Background: Urban
Province: Kerador
Heritage: Earthling (Fire)
Conduit: Staff
Legacy: Pocket Dimension
Orilium Spring Equinox Class Prompts
Luckily for me, as an Illusionist Rogue, I only had to attend three classes: Shapeshifting, Art of Illusion, and Psionics & Divination. This means that I only had to read three books and although it was a close call because I kept putting off my reads until the very end of the month (meep, truly accurate to how I was as a student IRL!), I managed to successfully pass the term! WOO!!! 🥳 I also managed to complete a few quests from the noticeboard. On that note, here’s what I read for the readathon:
I’d heard so much about this one and I was scared that it’d go over my head but it didn’t and I totally get the hype. This had me captivated from the very beginning. Vo’s writing was lyrical and flowed off the page. The setting was also magical and the story was fantastic!
This had the rivals to lovers trope and I really enjoyed it. The first-love romance was sweet and I ended up really liking Bel and Teo and rooting for their romance! I buddy read this with Leslie & Julie and we also had great discussions about what we loved and disliked. It was an empowering story!
This was my first book by de Bodard and I’m afraid this book was a little too smart for me? 😂 I liked the Sherlockian inspired characters and mystery but the world-building was disorienting and I didn’t fully connect with the characters. I enjoyed the writing though!
additional quests:
I managed to complete more quests than I thought I would! These were all unlimited quests as the time difference meant that I always missed out on the limited quests when they were posted but that’s okay. Each quest was worth 10 guild reputation points so I was rewarded 60 points total!
Letter D in the title
New-to-me author
Steal a book from someone else’s TBR
5-star prediction
Borrowed from the library
Book with multiple POVs
From Initiate to Assistant
I started the Spring Equinox as an Initiate and by the end, I earned 50pts for successfully passing the term and another 60pts for each quest that I completed. With 110 guild reputation points tucked away, I’ve managed to move up on the guild tier to become an Assistant, which means my character’s face is recognisable within the guild. Exciting times! 😃
That it’s from me, folks! Did you join The Magical Readathon too? How were your spring classes and did you pass them all? Did you manage to do any additional quests? I don’t know about you but I can’t wait for next term! 😍
Ada Treadway has been in love before, and it brought nothing but heartache. Still, she retains her cheerful optimism and is fiercely protective of the independence and respect she’s earned as bookkeeper of the Phoenix Club. When the owner enlists her help to organize his friend’s estate ledgers, she’s eager to prove her expertise and her worth. But his friend turns out to be a disagreeable, unpleasant beast, and Ada works to find the warm-hearted gentleman she’s sure lurks beneath.
Maximillian Hunt, the Viscount Warfield doesn’t care if he lives to see tomorrow, and he certainly doesn’t want to recall yesterday. The arrival of the meddlesome and effusively positive woman who will put his accounts in order not only reminds him of the past he’s desperate to forget, she sparks something within him he thought dead. Tempted by a future he never imagined, he must do the impossible: convince her that he’s worth risking her heart a second time.
TL;DR:Overall, while this started off strong, the romance felt a little too half-baked for me to fully enjoy it. That’s not to say that I didn’t like these characters or enjoy their story because I did, and I was actually quite convinced that this was going to be a favourite in this series, so it was quite disappointing that their romance ended up being a bit unsatisfying for me. I am looking forward to the next book in the series though as we finally get McDougal’s story!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
Since last week I’ve managed to finish six books. It was a bit of a mixed reading week with mostly “okay” reads and a few that I really enjoyed!
Gallant by V.E. Schwab ★★★★☆ I buddy read this with Leslie and sadly, she didn’t enjoy it like I did but I totally get why! This was very slow-paced but I connected with Olivia and was invested in what happens to her cousin and those living in Gallant. It’s beautifully written, haunting and bittersweet. Check out my review!
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle #1) by Nghi Vo ★★★★½ I get the hype! Nghi Vo’s writing was captivating. It’s lyrical, poetic, full of vivid imagery and flowed effortlessly off the page to hold me in rapture. This story was deceptively easy to read but is full of deeper meaning just below the surface. For how short this is, Vo still paints a stunning landscape of deadly politics and clashing cultures but also magic, fortune tellers, and mythology.
This week isactually a freebie and so I decided to do a topic that I don’t think I’ve done before:One-Word Reviews for the Last Ten Books I Read (submitted by Susan @ Bloggin’ ’bout Books)
I was pretty excited to see this week’s topic because I thought it’d be a fun challenge for someone that’s as wordy as I am! 😂 I have to admit that it was tougher than I expected to find the right review word for some of these but I think I’m happy with what I’ve got now. I’m gonna keep this intro short and sweet and I’ll dive right into it!
Did April pass by in a blink and a blur for you too or was that just me? 😂 I travelled to Bali at the start of the month and I gotta be honest with you, nothing really stands out to me in April! I can’t recall doing much of anything this month except work, read, sitting by the pool and catching up with one of my besties every now and then. My insomnia hasn’t gotten better and I can count on one hand the number of times I fell asleep before 4AM but I can’t say I’m not used to it by now!
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
I’ll be spending my Sunday in bed with Malice by Heather Walter. I’m reading this with Leslie and I’ve just started so I’m only five chapters in but so far, I’m intrigued by the world and I like Alyce!
Hello, lovely people! How is everyone doing? I hope you’re all doing okay 💜
A few months ago and also just the other day I was tagged by Kerri @Kerri McBookNerd, Leslie @Books Are the New Black and Jordyn @ Jordyn Reads to do the Meet the Book Blogger Tag! If you’re not following them yet then what are you waiting for? They always post great content, have awesome blogs and are super fun to interact with. Thank you Kerri, Leslie and Jordyn for tagging me to do this cos it looks super fun!
I’m so awkies with these intro things but… Hi, fellow readers. I’m Dini, I love to read, I love pandas and that’s how this blog name was born! I’m from Indonesia and have lived here for the last 8 years but I spent the first 25 years of my life moving around and I’ve lived in six countries that I considered home while growing up. In the real world, I work at a Dutch NGO as the regional communication officer for Southeast Asia! 😊
Something most everyone wants to know…do you have any pets?
I do! Tripper and Cookie have been with us since we adopted them off the streets of Cambodia in 2010. They’re pretty well-travelled doggos and maybe slightly spoiled but I just can’t help it—I love them so floofing much! We aren’t sure what breed they are but think that Tripper is part Lhasa Apso and Cookie part Terrier?
Tripper
Cookie
What is your favourite thing to drink?
Um, I guess it depends? Living somewhere perpetually hot, I always like to have a cold drink. Usually, it’s ice-cold water or a cold brew with extra ice! If I’m treating myself, I go for an iced caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso! 😍
What is your favourite thing to drink?
I miss the days when I used to live somewhere with four seasons cos now it’s just hot and hotter. I miss AUTUMN because sweater weather! I really miss wearing jumpers and other cool-weather clothing cos I love to bundle up and be comfy but I literally sweat looking at jumpers these days cos it’s SO HOT! 🫠
Do you have any special talents?
Um… Not really anymore? Lol. I used to play the viola in the school orchestra and I was also a soprano in the chamber choir at several of the schools I went to, which was fun because we got to travel to different countries in the region for international school competitions! Don’t know what I’d be like now 😂
BLOGGING
When and why did you start your blog?
I set up my blog in January 2019 but I didn’t post anything until a few months after in March 2019. I was so nervous! 😂 No lies, I started this blog so I could gain access to more ARCs when I first discovered them, without realising the limits that international readers face, but I have no regrets because I discovered this amazing community!
What is something that you wish you knew about blogging when you first started?
I mean, I should’ve known really but I guess I wished I knew how much work it actually took and how many hours a week I’d have to spend to create a presence in the community. I’m still a small fish in this ocean of amazing creators but I didn’t realise just how much time I’d spend doing all of it. Don’t get me wrong—I loved it and still do but it was very time consuming especially when I was working full time.
What has been the hardest part about blogging?
I think this is very much a “me” thing as I simply excel at procrastination but… Finding enough time to create posts, respond to comments, and blog hop every day! I’ve tried preparing posts in advance but it’s just no, so I end up doing things on a whim (such as this post)! This leaves very little time and brain juice for me to blog hop and engage with others every day after I finish posting and it does bum me out cos I know I miss out on a lot but I try my best! 😅
What has been the most rewarding part of blogging?
The friends. I didn’t come into this community expecting anything and it amazes me that I’ve found people who want to engage with me and it just makes me SO happy having these new friends in my life. I’ve really met some amazing people through the book blogging community who make me so thankful that I started this journey. 🥰
Do you write your posts ahead of time or write them the day of posting?
Haha, see the answer above where I mention that I excel at procrastinating. I’ve successfully prepared a few posts in advance but most of the time it’s the day of (like now)! 😂
READING
Who are your top 5 favourite authors?
Oof, this is a tough one!
V.E. Schwab
Fonda Lee
Talia Hibbert
Meghan Quinn
Taylor Jenkins Reid
What genre do you read the most?
It would definitely be romance now but I still read my share of fantasy (MG/YA/Adult).
What genre surprised youby how much you love it?
I have to pick the historical romance sub-genre. I picked up my first historical romance last year and wow, I did not expect to love it so much! I can’t wait to read more! 😍
Which popular book didn’t live up to the hype for you?
Um, don’t come for me when I say this, alright? The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I enjoyed it well enough but I went expecting to fall rapturously in love with it, so I couldn’t have been more disappointed when that never happened! 🥺
Who are some popular authors you haven’t read?
Oh, there are so many and it’s not cos I don’t want to it’s just so many books so little time? Becky Chambers, Seanan McGuire, Rick Riordan, Jasmine Guillory, Olivia Dade, Jhumpa Lahiri, N.K. Jemisin, Tasha Suri, S.A. Chakraborty, Sara Desai, Pierce Brown… The list can go on ∞! 😂
That’s it from me, folks! If I haven’t tagged you but you wanna do this tag anyway, please do and link back so I can check out your post! As always, thanks for reading, engaging with me and hanging around! I appreciate you sm. 😍
dinipandareads 