Hi, hello, friends! I’m back with another tag today and it’s the 20 Questions Book Tag that the wonderful Kerri @ KerriMcBookNerd tagged me in back in June (oop!). If you haven’t already, go check out Kerri’s blog! She writes wonderful posts and is such a supportive friend in the community. 💜 Thanks for the tag, lovely!
I tried to find the OG creator of this tag but kept running into dead ends, so if you do know who it is, please let me know and I’ll link to them. On that note, let’s get to the tag!
Hi, hello, friends! I’m super excited to be sharing my answers for The Encanto Book Tag today! I was tagged by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blogabout a month ago and I’ve been eager to do the tag ever since. Thanks so much for the tag, friend! 💜 I was admittedly a little late to hop aboard the Encanto train because I’m just slow with watching literally everything but once I did, there was no looking back. I LOVED IT! The story and soundtrack are fabulous and you know, I’m listening to the music right now as I prep this post. 😉 On that note, let’s get to it…
I think I read this back in 2017 after coming across it in the bookstore and being totally captivated by the stunning cover. Although the details are fuzzy now (and nope, I haven’t seen the series yet), I remember speeding through it and being unable to put it down. I distinctly remember thinking “if all multi-generational fiction was this captivating, I would gobble them all up immediately!”
📖SYNOPSIS
In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant — and that her lover is married — she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son’s powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.
Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan’s finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee’s complex and passionate characters — strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis — survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.
Waiting On A Miracle
What is a book you enjoyed but took longer than expected to finish?
I really enjoyed this book. I haven’t written my review yet but rated it 4.5 stars because the world-building was captivating, the characters were compelling and I loved how unique the magic and folklore of the story are. However, it took me a really long time to read this—much longer than I anticipated it would take and I kind of frustrated myself while reading it! 😂 It’s definitely a ‘me’ thing, not ‘the book’ thing!
📖SYNOPSIS
One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne.
The other is a priestess searching for her family.
Together, they will change the fate of an empire.
Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of powerful magic – but is now little more than a decaying ruin.
Priya is a maidservant, one of several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to attend Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, as long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides. But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled…
I had a bit of a tough time thinking of a character who has to do it all but the first one that came to mind was Nura. She has to save the kids and the hotel and free the djinn uncle and the enslaved djinn from forced labour. Although she had some support from the humans and a couple reluctant djinn by the end, she had to figure it all out on her own!
📖SYNOPSIS
Aru Shah and the End of Time meets Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away in this mesmerizing portal fantasy that takes readers into the little-known world of Jinn.
Nura longs for the simple pleasure of many things—to wear a beautiful red dupatta or to bite into a sweet gulab. But with her mom hard at work in a run-down sweatshop and three younger siblings to feed, Nura must spend her days earning money by mica mining. But it’s not just the extra rupees in her pocket Nura is after. Local rumor says there’s buried treasure in the mine, and Nura knows that finding it could change the course of her family’s life forever.
Her plan backfires when the mines collapse and four kids, including her best friend, Faisal, are claimed dead. Nura refuses to believe it and shovels her way through the dirt hoping to find him. Instead, she finds herself at the entrance to a strange world of purple skies and pink seas—a portal to the opulent realm of jinn, inhabited by the trickster creatures from her mother’s cautionary tales. Yet they aren’t nearly as treacherous as her mother made them out to be, because Nura is invited to a luxury jinn hotel, where she’s given everything she could ever imagine and more.
But there’s a dark truth lurking beneath all that glitter and gold, and when Nura crosses the owner’s son and is banished to the working quarters, she realizes she isn’t the only human who’s ended up in the hotel’s clutches. Faisal and the other missing children are there, too, and if Nura can’t find a way to help them all escape, they’ll be bound to work for the hotel forever.
I don’t know why I don’t talk about this more but I ended up writing a whole freaking essay trying to capture my thoughts. It’s probably one of the most detailed reviews I’ve ever written! 😂 This is a coming-of-age story about a young man who is torn between two worlds/cultures. It’s not fast-paced but the writing is poetic, the world-building vivid, and I was totally invested in Alder’s journey as he tries to understand where he fits in this world where his two halves exist in opposition. This book deserves more hype!
📖SYNOPSIS
My name is Wen Alder. My name is Foolish Cur.
All my life, I have been torn between two legacies: that of my father, whose roots trace back to the right hand of the Emperor. That of my mother’s family, who reject the oppressive Empire and embrace the resistance.
I can choose between them – between protecting my family, or protecting my people – or I can search out a better path . . . a magical path, filled with secrets, unbound by Empire or resistance, which could shake my world to its very foundation.
But my search for freedom will entangle me in a war between the gods themselves…
What Else Can I Do?
Name a book you thought would be light and fluffy but hit emotionally
I ultimately had mixed feelings about this book cos I went in expecting one thing and got something else completely. This was pitched as a rom-com so, naturally, I expected light and fluffy but this was much more serious than the cover and marketing led on! This is a rich and diverse coming-of-age story that delves into darker and more serious themes and I’m glad I read it but I defo would’ve appreciated this heads-up with proper marketing!
📖SYNOPSIS
Two exes must revisit their past after their siblings start dating in this rom-com perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon and Morgan Matson. A Parade Best YA of the Year!
After Kiran Noorani’s mom died, Kiran vowed to keep her dad and sister, Amira, close–to keep her family together. But when Amira announces that she’s dating someone, Kiran’s world is turned upside down.
Deen Malik is thrilled that his brother, Faisal, has found a great girlfriend. Maybe a new love will give Faisal a new lease on life, and Deen can stop feeling guilty for the reason that Faisal needs a do-over in the first place.
When the families meet, Deen and Kiran find themselves face to face. Again. Three years ago–before Amira and Faisal met–Kiran and Deen dated in secret. Until Deen ghosted Kiran.
And now, after discovering hints of Faisal’s shady past, Kiran will stop at nothing to find answers. Deen just wants his brother to be happy–and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep Kiran from reaching the truth. Though the chemistry between Kiran and Deen is undeniable, can either of them take down their walls?
This was one of those grand love stories that hit me in the feels in a big way! They met as messy AF teens and subsequently spent the next 15 years living separate non-orbiting lives as authors who communicated their love for each other through stories. No spoilers but UGH, the way my heart squeezed in my chest reading about these lovers. I rooted for them so hard as adults!
📖SYNOPSIS
Seven days to fall in love, fifteen years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again…
Eva Mercy is a single mother and bestselling erotica writer who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning novelist, who, to everyone’s surprise, shows up unexpectedly in New York.
When Shane and Eva meet at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but also the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they can’t deny their chemistry – or the fact that they’ve been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years.
Over the next seven days, amidst a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect – but Eva’s wary of the man who broke her heart, and wants him out of the city so her life can return to normal. Before Shane disappears though, she needs a few questions answered…
With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy-as-hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love.
All Of You
Name a book that features rebuilding relationships
In this book, our unnamed narrator is a Syrian refugee who’s living deep in solitary silence and caged by her mind full of trauma and fear. The author captures the progression of her mental journey as she works through her trauama and the stages of grief while simultaneously focusing on the rebuilding of her relationships with the people in her surrounding community. A heartbreaking but important read!
📖SYNOPSIS
A profound and life-affirming debut about migration, trauma, and the healing power of community.
A young woman sits in her apartment in an unnamed English city, absorbed in watching the small dramas of her assorted neighbors through their windows across the way. Traumatized into muteness after a long, devastating trip from war-torn Syria to the UK, she believes that she wants to sink deeper into isolation, moving between memories of her absent boyfriend and family and her homeland, dreams, and reality. At the same time, she begins writing for a magazine under the pseudonym “the Voiceless,” trying to explain the refugee experience without sensationalizing it—or revealing anything about herself.
Gradually, as the boundaries of her world expand—as she ventures to the neighborhood corner store, to a gathering at a nearby mosque, and to the bookstore and laundromat, and as an anti-Muslim hate crime shatters the members of a nearby mosque—she has to make a choice: Will she remain a voiceless observer, or become an active participant in her own life and in a community that, despite her best efforts, is quickly becoming her own?
With brilliant, poetic prose that captures all the fragments of this character’s life, and making use of fragments of text from Tweets and emails to the narrator’s own articles, journals, and fiction, Silence Is a Sense explores what it means to be a refugee and to need asylum, and how fundamental human connection is to survival.
This was a multi-generational story about a Vietnamese family and it takes us through the years with a strong focus on the Vietnam War. The author immerses us in this family’s life and in the Vietnamese culture and with the beautiful atmospheric writing it wasn’t hard to picture the bustle of life in the countryside and city, and all the traditions involved.
📖SYNOPSIS
With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner’s In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Nội, her young granddaughter, Hương, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore apart not just her beloved country, but also her family.
Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, The Mountains Sing brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of kindness and hope.
Hi friends, I’m back today with the Last, Now, Next Book Tag! I’ve been seeing this tag making rounds a lot on the blogosphere lately so I was pretty excited when Chris @ Biblio Nerd Reflections tagged me the other day—thanks for the tag, friend! If you haven’t yet, you should defo pop over to check out his blog because he always writes thoughtful and insightful reviews for (mostly) SFF titles!
Hi, friends! I’m back today with a tag that I saw on Becky’s Book Blog! She first saw this tag making the rounds on Instagram but wasn’t sure where the tag originated, so if you do know the creator, please feel free to drop a comment and I’ll link them up! 😊
I was looking for a fun and easy tag to do and when I came across this one I thought it was perfect! So on that note, let’s just dive right into the tag.
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. 😍