Hello, book lovers! It’s time for another tag today so I thought I’d finally get around to doing the A-Z Book Tag! I was tagged by the wonderful Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog to do this one several months ago (eep!) and in typical dinipanda fashion, I’m getting to it quite late—but as they say, better late than never, right?! 😉 Be sure to check out Becky’s blog, especially if you love your fantasy because she’s all about that!
Friends, despite 2022 being the year I’ve broken monthly reading records, I have to admit that it’s been a pretty weird reading year. I’ve read a lot of great books—I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone for some, dove deeper into romance which brings me much joy and I’ve continued reading my fantasies. All that said, I still feel like I haven’t found the books that’ve wowed me so much that they’ll be in my Top 3 of the year. I mean, maybe I have but I don’t know. I guess this is me trying to say that I’ve been a little underwhelmed with the quality of books I’ve read this year but I know we still have half a year to go so I’m not giving up hope yet!
Hi, friends! Hope everyone is doing okay 💜 I’m back with another tag today!
A few weeks ago, Jordyn@ Jordyn Reads tagged me to do The Contradictions Book Tag! It’s an original tag created by Daniela @ If Only For A Page and it was lots of fun to do but I also found a few of the prompts a little tough to find answers for, especially for the ones about tropes (my brain decided to go on vacation)! Now without further ado, let’s get to it.
Hi, friends! It’s past 9PM right now and I just realised that I didn’t prepare a post for today—oops! So I decided to go for an easy but super fun book tag that I first saw on Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog. Apparently, The Last Book I… Book Tag has been circulating on Instagram but since I’m not really on there anymore, I don’t know where it originated etc. If you do know, please let me know and I’d be happy to include the credit. But without further ado, let’s get to 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?
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. 😍
It’s hard to believe that we’re already over a quarter of the way through 2022—the year feels like it has just begun and I can’t even process how quickly time goes! 😂 But I digress… I’ve seen a couple of bloggers do this tag and I’m a little late as it’s already mid-April (somehow?!) but it looked like fun so I thought I’d do it anyway!
This original tag was created by Roisin @ Roisin’s Reading over on BookTube. Check out her OG video below!
On that note, let’s get this tag started:
How many books have you read so far?
According to Goodreads, I’ve read 84/150 books this year putting me 42 books ahead of schedule! 🥳 I’ve never had such a fab start to the reading year before and I’m hoping I can keep up this momentum for the rest of 2022!
Have you already found a book you think might be a 2022 favourite? If not, what was your favourite book you read that wasn’t quite five stars?
I have a surprising number of 5-star reads already this year but I can definitely already pick out two that will for sure be in my top five(!): Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee and Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree!
Any 1-star books / least favourite book of the year?
I have one 1-star book this year: Now and Then by Brenda Rothert. I apparently purchased this NA Romance back in 2016 although I have no recollection of doing so and I found it on my Kindle when I was cataloguing my ebooks at the start of this year. I read it for a reading challenge prompt and it’s safe to say that it really didn’t work for me!
Most read genre so far?
It’ll surprise absolutely no one that my most read genre so far is contemporary romance. This has been the case since mid-2021 and these romances have really kept my reading momentum going. Give me all the romances, please! 😍
A book that surprised you?
This series was making rounds on romance booktwt and after seeing these covers I had zero expectations going into it. So I was more than a little surprised by how much I lovedThe Mindf*ck Series by S.T. Abby! Like holy granola, these covers are literally the worst (sorry not sorry) BUT the story? So forking good!
A book that’s come out in 2022 already that you want to read but haven’t yet?
One of my goals this year is to cut down on my backlist and according to my tracker, almost 60% of the books I’ve read this year are from my backlist so… WOO! 🥳 I’m really happy that I’m reading more of the books that I’ve already owned pre-2021/22. Let’s hope I can keep that up! 🤣
One goal you made that you need to focus on
Every year I make the goal to read more non-fiction… This year my goal is to read at least four non-fiction books and so far I’ve read none. Ha! I know it’s still early days but I hope I can at least get one read before mid-year? 🙃
New to you Bloggers*/Booktubers/Bookstagrammers/Booktokers for 2022 you recommend?
I don’t think I’ve discovered new booktubers/bookstagrammers/booktokers in 2022 but I have discovered new bloggers, so I added us to this prompt! 😉 There are honestly too many to name them all but here are a few new-to-me bloggers whose posts I’ve really enjoyed reading this year:
And that’s a wrap on my first quarter of reading in 2022! How has your year of reading been? Any new favourites? New bloggers to follow? I’d love your recs!
Hello, book lovers! Since it’s been a long while since I last did a tag, I decided to finally do one this Saturday and went for The Book Blogger Memory Challenge! I was tagged to do this by the awesome Kerri @ Kerri McBookNerd, who you should follow if you haven’t already done so, especially if you’re a fantasy lover! Knowing how atrocious my memory is, I’m probably gonna struggle with this one (read as: I’ll sit staring at the screen for ages trying to come up with answers)
I knew from the moment I saw this that I was going to struggle to come up with answers for many of these (lol, welp, my memory), so without further ado… Let the struggle begin? 😂
You have to answer the prompts without using the internet or looking at your bookshelves.
Your answers have to all come from memory!
Make sure to link to the person who originally tagged you (thanks, Kerri! ❤️)
Once your done, you can tag five other people if you’d like.
Name a book written by an author called Michael
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. I started off my sci-fi journey with Michael Crichton back in 2010 when I came across his books in a second-hand bookstore in Cambodia and I ended up buying all of his books from that place soon after. Glad I remembered his name! 😂
Name a book with a dragon on the cover
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon! Although I ended up really struggling to get through this great beast of a book, it’s still one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve seen. This one definitely sticks out a lot in my mind 😊
Name a book about a character called George
Uh… Curious George? 😂 (I’m honestly surprised this was the book that came to mind cos when was the last time I read a Curious George book?!)
Name a book written by an author with the surname Smith
Ugh, why is the only name coming to mind Sam Smith?! 😭 The other name coming to me is Ali Smith and I don’t even know if they’re an author? I don’t know… FAIL! 😂
Name a book set in Australia
The Dry by Jane Harper. Btw, if you’re a fan of extremely atmospheric, slow-burn mysteries with fascinating characters, I would highly recommend Harper’s books!
Name a book with thename of a month in the title
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by … I forgot the author’s name OMG 😭 BUT *evil laugh* cos I can’t believe I actually recalled a book title with a month in it!
Name a book with a knife on the cover
My Lovely Wife by… someone? 😬 This book has been on my TBR for ages and I actually remembered this one because I actually really love this cover where the wife is holding a knife and her husband’s face is reflected in it!
Name a book with the word ‘one’ in the title
Uhm… One Day by Dave Nicholls? David Nicholas? Is this even the right author? I’m truly so terrible with names and I think that this book title is correct 🤔 I think it is… I haven’t read the book yet but I did watch the movie and oof, what an emotional journey it was!
Name abook with a eponymous title
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Thank you to this Top Ten Tuesday post from a few weeks ago for helping jumpstart my memory for this prompt 😂
Name a book turned into a movie
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. Popular opinion time that will make the Tolkien lovers want to slay me but I loved the movie so much more than the book! 🙈
Phew, okay, that wasn’t as terrible as I thought I’d do. I did spend a lot of time staring accusingly at my screen for some of these answers but I happily only botched one answer—yay! 😅 I’m not planning to tag anyone but feel free to do this if you want!
I’m back today with another tag and today it’s all about fantasy books! I first saw the Quick Fire Fantasy Book Tag on El @ Papertea & Bookflowersand it looked like a fun and easy one to do, so I thought I’d give it a try! Aside from romance, fantasy is my most read genre and I enjoy all kinds from MG to YA to Adult. Who doesn’t love being swept away into new worlds with great characters and exciting stories!? On that note, let’s get to it. 😉
Rules
Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their post
I read this last month and it it’s one of my top reads of 2021 and one of my all-time favourites! This is a story about Sigyn Odindottir, a lesser known Norse goddess by birth, and Loki’s wife. I would 100% recommend this book if you love: Norse mythology, unapologetically queer characters, characters who refuse to give up or back down no matter how many times they’re discarded or beaten down, heart-achingly sweet romance and heartbreakingly painful betrayals, and complex and morally grey characters that you want to protect forever and rage against!
Should anyone be surprised to find this title here? Absolutely not! Not sure if I’ve raved about this book/series enough on my blog yet but… Easily one of the best ever adult fantasies I’ve read in my life and I haven’t even read the final book yet. The Green Bone Saga is E-P-I-C and I will never not recommend this beast!
This is a novella that I’ve had on my Kindle for a while now and I don’t know who exactly I haven’t read it yet. As if the mystery set in an alternate magical Cairo wasn’t intriguing enough, the story is also shorter than 50 pages, so it’s a guaranteed quick read!
NGL, I read this book ages ago, long before I started reviewing and blogging, so I have very little recollection about the majority of the story. What I do remember was how thrilled I felt after finishing it and how desperate I was to get my hands on the sequel. I also remember how much I loved Kvothe. I’m actually planning to read this again next year (hopefully, lol)!
I was introduced to this series thanks to a blog tour a few years ago. It’s still ongoing and there are apparently plenty more books to come in this series, but I love the huge cast of characters and Eon is a fantastic albeit terrifying world where 90% of the creatures are likely to want to kill you. The story is action-packed and full of magic and supernatural creatures!
This is a historical fantasy set in regency London and it’s a delightful mix of magic and real! I really enjoy Holmberg’s writing that always manages to hook me in quickly. There’s so much to enjoy in this story including: an intriguing mystery, forbidden magic, a sweet slow burn romance, and great found family vibes!
And that’s a wrap, folks! I’ll be tagging a few people below but no pressure if you’re not interested or if tags aren’t your thing! Even if you’re not tagged and want to do it, please feel free to do so! 😊
Hello, friends! It’s been another minute since I did a tag and thanks to Kerri @ KerriMcBookNerd I have one to share with you! 😍 If you haven’t already, go check out Kerri’s page for a wide-variety of book reviews and other bookish posts.
The Tea Dragon Festival is the second Tea Dragon graphic novel and it’s one of my favourites. It’s beautifully illustrated plus the stories are sweet and guaranteed to warm your heart and make you smile! ❤️
Quite of TJR’s books have a lot of hype but Evelyn Hugo is one of them and this book is worth every single word of praise and then some! It’s amazing and I will continue to hype it forever. I love it as much as I love PSL’s! 😍
I just read this book very recently and although this crew doesn’t start out as friends, they develop a great bond as they dodge alien invaders and y’know, death.
You might’ve seen this novella mentioned a time or two on my blog… But it filled my heart up with such warmth that it really felt like I had wrapped myself up in a giant cosy cardigan.
Of course, the first person I thought of was Emoni! WTFOH made me so hungry while reading! It was awesome to watch Emoni explore and pursue her passion for cooking.
Seriously, I excitedly clap my hands every time I see this book mentioned on my feed/timeline! It’s such an amazing MG fantasy and I think everyone needs to read it. I jump with excitement whenever I think about the sequel too 😍
dinipandareads 