Tag: Bookish Thoughts

The 2020 Mid-Year Check-In Tag

Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

Holy wow, I honestly can’t believe that it’s already mid-year. Time is a funny thing normally but in 2020 it’s just outrageous, as the year itself has been! The year got off to a pretty strong start despite quickly falling sick towards the end of January (it wasn’t corona!) after which everything basically spiralled downward and that’s when my reading really tanked. With all the negative energy that has been projected worldwide, it’s a miracle I managed to read anything at all, but I’m thankful I had the blog tours (the majority of which will no longer be mentioned!) to keep me motivated and reading. This year I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge to 100 books and despite it all, I think I’ve done quite well and I’m even 27 books ahead of schedule.

I’ve been seeing a lot of people do this tag lately and so of course I’m hopping on board too albeit a little late. I did my first mid-year freak out tag in 2019 and it was fun to look back and see what was and wasn’t making my hit list last year. So before I go off on another long-winded spiel, let’s check in to see what my 2020 reading is looking like right now!

Best book you’ve read so far in 2020?

This is probably (obviously) the hardest question. I am really torn because I’ve had a surprising number of amazing reads so far, but I think I’m going to pick Words in Deep Blue. This sent me on a wild rollercoaster of emotions and it was endlessly quotable. I think this is such an underrated gem and you can read my review here. Now I’m going to cheat a bit and mention my other top contenders: The Kinder Poison, The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones, Nevermoor and Vengeful.

Best sequel so far of 2020?

Surprising no one, I haven’t read many sequels so far this year but of the ones I’ve read I’m going to have to pick this great contemporary romance: The Guy on the Left. Let’s just say that after completely loving book one but really not loving the character who would be our hero in book two, I was shooketh to read it and love it perhaps even more than the first! If you like romance, second chances, slow burns, and some deliciously steamy encounters, do yourself a favour and pick this up!

new release you haven’t read yet, but want to?

Eherm… Now where do I even start? (I’ve got those *shame bells a la GoT* ringing in my head!) This hasn’t been a super great year for me reading outside of my blog tour reads so there are plenty to choose from, ha! But I’m going to go for Beach Read because 1) It was released on my birthday, 2) I’ve heard countless praises for it and 3) I’m hoping to read it this summer (loose use of the term as it’s perpetually summer in the tropics)!

Most anticipated release for the second half of 2020?

Another one that’s super difficult to narrow down because there are so many amazing releases and I can’t choose? But also, my latest TTT post was about this so you can check out my list of top ten most anticipated releases (although in reality there’s obviously plenty more)! I’m currently reading an eARC for one of my most anticipated reads: Unravel the Dusk, and though it’s still early days I’m loving it!

biggest disappointment?

It hurts me just as much as it might hurt you for me to say this but my biggest disappointment was The Toll, the third and final book of the amazing Arc of a Scythe series. I was just… Expecting more and it really fell short. While I did still enjoy what we were given, it wasn’t the series ending that I thought we would get and I feel the story deserved to end on a much better note! But anywho, those are just some of my thoughts but you can read all my thoughts in my review!

biggest surprise?

It’s for definitely going to be the Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend. I wasn’t expecting to fall head over feet in love with a MG fantasy this year but wow, I loved the books in this series so much! If you’re looking for something that will make you nostalgic for your days reading Harry Potter as a kid this is the book you should read! But it also has so much more to offer. It has an incredible world, quirky and hilarious characters, a feisty MC in Morrigan Crow and a villain who I feel falls more on the morally grey scale (albeit the darker side) than on the pure evil scale? (maybe that’s just me though) TL;DR: Read it! You won’t regret it!

Favourite new author (Debut or new to you)?

I’m so torn! It’s so hard for me to choose because as I’m going to be repeating over and over again, I’ve read so many great books so far in 2020! But… If I had to choose I’d pick Jessica Townsend because her Nevermoor series is seriously going to be one of my all time favourites. Funny that, last year I picked Jane Harper, who is also an Aussie author like Jessica! The Aussie’s are hitting it big 😍

newest fictional crush?

Ugh why do I torture myself? Hmm… I can’t decide so I’m going to cheat and give you three of my new fictional crushes. I’m choosing Ryder from Only When It’s Us, Reid from Love Lettering, and Zach from Let’s Get Textual. If you’ve read any or all of these, I guess you might figure I have a type 🤣 All three had me swooning throughout these reads and I loved every minute of it!

newest favourite character?

Art: Kat Adara

I going with Maia Tamarin from Spin the Dawn for this one. I love her spirit and her fierce determination to see that her family suffers no more loss than they already have. She puts family first and works countless hours to achieve her goals and honestly, she’s such an admirable character. I’d often forget her age because she has a maturity to her that made her relatable to me.

I kind of want to cheat a little and given an honorary shout to Zahru from The Kinder Poison because she’s feisty, full of snark and although her naïveté sometimes drove me a little crazy, she was a fierce character (who can also talk to animals!) that brought me so much joy!

Book that made you cry?

The question should be: what book didn’t make me cry?! Hah. Kidding… Sort of!

No, but in all honesty the book that really hit me hard in the feels and made those angry/sad silent tears stream down my face was The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones. So relevant with everything that’s happening in America right now and I think a good introduction to difficult topics for younger readers written by an own voices author. Don’t let this one pass you by, friends! If you’re curious to know more, check out my review.

Book that made you happy?

Okay but all of the books I enjoyed made me happy in some kind of way? I’m a ‘laugher’ so it really doesn’t take much to make me laugh. I’ve laughed through a lot of the books that I’ve read this year but the most recent one was Walk of Shame. Although it wasn’t my favourite romcom I had a really good time laughing at and with our characters.

favourite book to movie/tv adaptation that you saw this year?

Okay this is kind of weird to admit but… I don’t think I’ve watched any book/movie/show adaptation this year? I actually can’t remember the last time I watched a movie/show I read the book of and it has also been a while since I’ve actually sat and watched something thanks to books and ACNH. But if there’s one show that I think will be a favourite (if I do get to watch it!) and it’s Normal People. The book has weirdly and unexpectedly become a favourite and I really like the look of the show!

favourite review you’ve written this year?

Hmm… This is tough but I think I’m going with my review for The Silence of Bones because I loved this book. It makes me sad that it’s one of the more underrated releases of 2020 because it honestly deserves so much more love and attention. You can tell how much work Hur put into that book with all the details about this dynastic period and it was fantastic! Check out my review for more about it but I really recommend it 😉

most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)?

I actually have a few new gorgeous books on my shelves but I’m going with The Mountains Sing. I got my copy personalised and signed by the author as she was living in Jakarta at the time of the release, and that’s always a treat! This story felt like non-fiction and I felt as if I was hearing it being told to me first hand. Immersive and powerful! Check out my review to learn more about it.

what books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Omg if I actually listed what books I “need” to read by the end of the year we might be here forever. So I’m just going to mention a few (cough*twenty*cough) that I’m very excited to get my grabby hands on and that I’m really hoping will get read by year end!

I had a lot more fun doing this post than I thought I would. Granted I didn’t give myself too much time to dwell on my answers and I think that made it easier for me to do! Looking forward to seeing how the rest of 2020 goes… Have you done a mid-year freak out tag?
How are you doing with your reading? At the end of the day what matters most is that you’re enjoying yourself!

My Thoughts While Writing Book Reviews: Panic and No Disco!

Dini @ dinipandareads26 Comments

I was looking through the posts sitting in my draft folder and came across this “Off Tangent Thoughts” post that I guess I never got around to sharing last year. I thought it was funny to see what I had written because even though I don’t think my thought process is as hectic as it was (such as when I was writing this post), I still do go through challenging moments especially when it comes to my memory and remembering what I read, even if I did just finish a book yesterday! So I thought I’d finally share this post today.

Off Tangent Thoughts (OTT) was a new meme hosted by Charvi @Not Just Fiction in 2019, but it has since been stopped due to a lack of time; that said, bloggers can still post about the prompts. OTT was a bi-monthly meme that has a basic list-based format wherein bloggers express their points in the form of a short or long list with the points under the list being merely a couple lines or even complete paragraphs. It’s about letting your thoughts run wild! The OTT prompt that I’ll be answering today is: Thoughts I Have While Writing Book Reviews. I’m going to start with when I open a new book because that’s when I *attempt* to start preparing for my review… Here we go…

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My Reading Tastes Over the Last Decade

Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

As I’ve mentioned once or twice already, I’d like to bring more discussion posts to my blog this year. Discussion posts intimidate me because I’m not sure I have any worthwhile thoughts to share and I’m not particularly good at expressing myself well. That said, I’d like to give it a shot, so I’m kicking it off today by looking at how my reading tastes have changed over the last decade. I thought it was perfect timing and although I haven’t read as much in the last decade as I have in the last year itself, I do think my preferences have gone through some changes.

I just moved to Cambodia after living in Australia for five years and I was so happy when I discovered several secondhand bookstores where I discovered classic romance a la Nora Roberts. I also discovered my love for sci-fi with Michael Crichton, and realised I could read some Stephen King. I also dabbled briefly with Haruki Murakami but that didn’t last very long.

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Bookish Thoughts: Why I Love My Kindle

Dini @ dinipandareads38 Comments

Side note: I don’t normally do these posts because I don’t feel that I can convey my thoughts and opinions as well as other bloggers do. But I decided to take the plunge this week and I’m hoping it doesn’t fail lol I’d love to know if you enjoyed this post, so I know whether to try doing them more often!

As you can probably tell from the title 😏 today I want to talk about my Kindle and the reasons why I love it. I guess this topic really brings it back to the often discussed ebooks vs. ‘real’ books debate. I obviously still love my paperbacks and hardcovers, but I can’t deny the many advantages that my Kindle gives me, especially as an international reader.

And so the story goes…

Here’s a little backstory: I got my first Kindle the Christmas after I finished my MA degree in 2012. I was slated to finish with a 2:1, which isn’t a distinction but I’m not the best student and I was honestly just elated that I managed to complete my degree! Lmao. Obviously this meant treating myself, but my partner at the time beat me to it and got me the First Edition Kindle for Christmas. It was probably one of the best gifts I’ve ever received! But that was 2012 and since then, I’ve moved on to the Kindle Paperwhite (2015), followed this year by the latest model (2018), which I was “forced” to upgrade to when an unfortunate accident involving my backpack, laptop and Kindle, rendered the 2015 model dead. Sad times, but we don’t talk about it! 💔

I was really tempted to get the Kindle Oasis because it’s a beaut, and I use my Kindle often enough to justify the hefty price tag, but I still couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m hoping that *somebody* is going to take a hint that I want it and purchase it for me on my birthday or Christmas/New Year though. Who knows! But the newest Kindle Paperwhite is still pretty awesome. It’s practically got 90% of the Oasis features, it’s just bigger (same size as the OG Paperwhite), and half the price!

Let’s talk about love…

There are so many things to love about the Kindle. To state the obvious, it pretty much fits in every bag. I have this tiny Herschel backpack that won’t even fit flip flops, but my Kindle fits perfectly in it! I can conveniently take it everywhere. Sometimes I just don’t want to take paperbacks/hardcovers with me when I go out because they add quite a bit of weight to my bag and I’m so lazy. Plus, I usually fly a lot for work and reading on my Kindle means I don’t have to stop reading when they dim the lights on planes, and I don’t need two hands to read it while standing (i.e. waiting in queues). Not to mention you can have HUNDREDS of books with you at all times and you don’t need more shelf space. I mean, what’s not to love about that?! This indulges the mood reader in me as I can easily browse through the many unread books *coughcough* on my Kindle library and switch to different reads if I’m not feeling it with the ease of a few taps. Another great thing is that I can highlight all the passages and have it automatically stored and linked to Goodreads, which makes finding the important bits super easy to find come review time. I can even share my highlights on Goodreads if I wanted to.

But the best thing about having my Kindle is that I can get so many of the latest releases, more obscure backlist books, and e-ARCs. Living in Indonesia means the newest releases don’t come out until they’re no longer “new”, if they ever release in stores at all. Sure, I can pre-order or get them online, but living on the other side of the world means that books take 2-4 weeks, sometimes longer, to reach me and my impatient ass just can’t deal with that–even if sometimes I don’t read my newest buys right away. But… that’s a different story you can read on my TTT post about avoiding books on my shelves. Yes, even the ones I’m so desperate to get! As for ARCs, well, I can just forget about ever getting physical copies, but I can at least get the e-ARCs on my Kindle. WINNING! 👏🏽

Missing out?

So what am I missing out on when I’m reading on my Kindle? I honestly don’t have a very long list! I mean, it’s definitely not the same reading experience as holding a book, flipping pages and inhaling the new/old book smell; but there are worse things. Also, if I really love an ebook, I usually also want to add it to my physical shelf, so I end up having double copies and that also means bye-bye money (my savings get so sad)! Something that does annoy me about my new Kindle is that the battery runs out much faster. I don’t know why, since I don’t even use the bluetooth feature; but again, it’s not a big deal because it charges quickly!

So was this post basically just an endorsement for the Kindle? Yes. Yes, it was, but I really love my Kindle Paperwhite and I couldn’t imagine my life without it, especially because I would definitely be reading a lot less!

Do you have a Kindle? Do you also love it as much as I love mine? And if you don’t, would you get one or are ebooks not your jam?

Blog signature that reads: Let's Chat! xoxo, Dini

#TopTenTuesday: My Summer 2019 TBR!

Dini @ dinipandareads25 Comments

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is: Books On My Summer 2019 TBR. YAY! I love these types of list and coincidentally, I’m also doing the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge so this post is going to be fairly painless to write 😂 (lucky for me since my brain still isn’t at 100% capacity after last week’s insanity)!

Since I live on a tropical island it’s basically summer all year round, but this time of the year is actually the nicest time to visit Bali (FYI for any travel lovers out there), as it’s winter in Australia and we get nice cool winds coming up to temper the blazing heat of the southern sun! When I think of summer reads I picture something along the lines of “lighter” contemporary fiction, romantic comedies, and even some thrillers; although I’m not averse to “heavier” reads either. I’m sharing a question that I asked in my GR summer reading challenge post: What months make up summer for you? It’s fun to see what everyone says because it’s quite different worldwide. I’ve always thought of summer as June – August! Anyway, without further ado, here are some of the books I hope to tackle in the coming summer months that we have left!

The Flatshare Beth O’Leary. I’ll be reading this for the GR challenge prompt: In the friend zone: Read a book that a friend has recommended. I’ve heard some mixed reviews about this one, although still mostly positive. It honestly sounds like something I’ll love though (I have a feeling it’ll tug on my heartstrings), so I’m really keen to finally read it!

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. Ok, so this one isn’t really a “light summer read” but it’s one of my most anticipated ones of this year! It’s still not out in Asia, and I don’t know when it’ll ever be, so when I won a giveaway last month, I didn’t hesitate to request it! It finally arrived in the mail two weeks ago and with work and other book ‘obligations’ (i.e. ARCs and book club reads) I haven’t got around to it. SOON THOUGH 😍

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. I’ve been looking forward to this book for a while and it’s been on my TBR for some time too. I’ve heard many rave about it, and it’s on my pride month reading list, but unfortunately I don’t think I’ll get to it before June ends. So, summer it is!

The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves. This has been a little hyped on bookstagram, but there’s something about this book that I feel like I’ll love–probably because it will rip my heart to shreds and I’m a crier and a total sucker for pain (Kidding! Sort of).

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine. Doesn’t this cover just scream summer? And also death, and possibly death in the water? But definitely summer vibes!

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas. I started reading a bit of this the other day when I was lounging around on my couch and feeling too lazy to go into the bedroom to grab my current read. Not only did the blurb pull me in but what I read so far has me intrigued!

Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This duo won me over with the Illuminae Files and honestly, I’m not expecting any different with this one. I’m ready for my feelings to get sucker punched–BRING IT ON!

More than Words by Jill Santopolo. Aside from being unable to take my eyes off the cover of this book, the blurb sounds like something that I’ll really enjoy. I’ve never read any Jill Santopolo before, but I’ve heard good things from quite a few people!

Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith. I adore this cover, the story sounds really sweet/cute, and it’s not a very thick book, which makes it perfect for light pool/beachside reading!

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. I’ll be reading this as a group/buddy read in July and I’m also reading it for one of the summer reading challenge prompts: Armchair traveler: Read a book set in a destination you want to visit. So, I’m lowkey obsessed with Alaska and I have no idea when that obsession started. But yeah, I want to go there. Definitely a bucket list location!

What are some of the books on your summer TBR?! If you’ve done a Top Ten Tuesday post for today’s prompt, leave your link in the comments below and let’s have a chat 🙂

The 2019 Mid-Year Check-In Tag

Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

Happy Saturday, book friends! How is everyone doing? It’s been a helluva week and now that the big conference and presentation is over, I’m feeling so drained of energy and mostly relieved that I survived! I’ve pretty much been off the blogosphere/bookstagram world this whole week and I came back a lot of awesome posts to catch up on but also fun book tags such as this one!

I wasn’t tagged for this but I thought I’d do it anyway because it looked fun and it’ll help me get back into the blogging flow! I can hardly believe it’s already THE END OF JUNE. I’m shook by how quickly this year has flown. In terms of reading, it’s been a pretty good year although I’m looking forward to reading many more amazing books in the latter half. I’ve pretty much already completed my 2019 Goodreads Challenge of 90 books (currently: 89/90) and I’ve already upped the number once (it was originally 75). I was wondering if I should up the number again, but I think I’ll just leave it now. Without further ado, here’s my answers for the 2019 mid-year book freak out tag!

Best book you’ve read so far in 2019?

This is a really tough pick. I have a Top 4 and I want to choose them all(?!) because I love them equally but for different reasons! But I think I will go for The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah because yeah, wow. You can read my review for it here.

Best sequel so far of 2019?

Okay, this is weird (and I also just realized it but) I haven’t actually read any sequels this year. There are a few that I’m dying to get to (eventually) but until now, I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary and historical fiction. Do graphic novels count though? Because if yes, then I’d definitely say Saga Vol. 9 by Brian K. Vaughan!

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to?

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. This is another one with a lot of hype around it and I’m meant to be reading it right now as a buddy read, but I still haven’t got around to it!

Most anticipated release for the second half of 2019?

Oh, it is really SO HARD to choose just one but the first one that came to mind is The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) by Neal Shusterman. That epic cliffhanger of an ending in Thunderhead shook me and I’m so curious to find out where we pick up, what has happened since and how things are going to be fixed–if they’re at all fixable!

Biggest disappointment?

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. This was my second read of 2019 and it just really didn’t work for me. There was a lot of hype around it and I still see a lot of people praising it, but it just wasn’t my jam! While I thought the way the story was told was creative and different from anything else I’ve read, it was also confusing, and slightly boring at times. Also, so many questions left unanswered at the end!

Biggest surprise?

Normal People by Sally Rooney. I read Conversations with Friends, Rooney’s debut last year and I hated it. Like, I passionately disliked it. It’s written in Rooney’s distinctive style, and I enjoyed that, but it was just the characters that I found had no redeeming qualities. I couldn’t stand them and it frustrated me the more I read! I didn’t think I’d read Rooney again, but when Normal People came out and was a huge hit, FOMO (and #bookstagram) made me buy it. I’m so glad I did–I loved it! You can read my full review here.

Favorite new author (debut or new to you)?

Jane Harper. I’ve gone on about her in a couple of posts already but honestly, her atmospheric writing just blows me away. Also makes me miss Australia (even though I never lived in the outback lol)! You can read my review for her book The Dry here.

Newest fictional crush?

Quan from the Bride Test by Helen Hoang. I really hope that Helen Hoang writes his book next because he deserves it! He’s the typical ‘bad boy’ with the tattoos, and the bad ass bike, but he’s such a sweet, caring softie when it comes to family. I’m so ready to read an epic Quan story! You can read my review for Hoang’s fantastic second book here.

Newest favorite character?

Kya Clark aka The Marsh Girl from Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. The story of this girl was so heartbreaking but her strength and resilience in the face of all the adversity was amazing? Astounding? Simply mind blowing and I loved her character so much. She was so pure, and genuinely so good hearted and fiercely smart. Such a strong and amazing female lead! Review coming soon.

Book that made you cry?

Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys. This book gutted me. I was so scared that the ending would be so much worse than it already was, but I’m glad that Sepetys gave us a spark of light to hang on to. Books set during this period of history never ever fail to make me wail like a baby!

Book that made you happy?

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren. This book was so funny, sassy, and just all around awesome. Hazel is such a quirky character and to be honest I’m not sure who I had more of a crush on — her or Josh. They were adorable and I’m pretty sure that my heart didn’t stop singing throughout this one! You can read my full review here.

Favorite book to movie/tv adaptation that you saw this year?

I honestly haven’t watched many movie/tv adaptations this year, although I know that I want to! The only one that comes to mind is The Umbrella Academy on Netflix. When I watched it I had no idea it was written and directed by Gerard Way, who my bestie and I was lowkey obsessed with during my uni/emo days! I haven’t read the graphic novel though, but the show was pretty fun.

Favorite review you’ve written this year?

Hmm… Probably my review for Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I related to the MC so much and I loved the serendipitous storyline and discussions about fate/destiny. That made writing this review pretty easy but also fun. Plus, I included one of my favorite quotes. You can read my full review here.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)?

I’ve bought quite a few beautiful books this year and I’m so happy with all of them! I have to say though that The Binding by Bridget Collins is probably my most beautiful purchase. The jacket is already gorgeous but the naked cover and inside of the cover are also equally as beautiful.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

There are so many books that I’d like to have read by the end of the year–literally the list goes on forever–but I definitely need to read Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

How has your reading year been so far? I’d love to see your answers for this book tag! If you’ve done it too, leave your link down in the comments below and let’s chat 2019 reading 🙂

#TopTenTuesday: Unpopular Book(ish) Opinions

Dini @ dinipandareads30 Comments

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is: unpopular bookish opinions (submitted by Kaitlin Galvan @ Somehow I Manage Blog).

I feel like this prompt is pretty open to interpretation–either I can talk about unpopular thoughts I have about certain bookish things, or I can talk about unpopular opinions I have about certain books. To be honest, I find both ways difficult to answer because, for the most part, I do agree with the majority of the bookish community! So I thought why not do a half-and-half? I’ll mention the five books I have unpopular opinions about, as well as five unpopular bookish opinions I have.

Unpopular Book Opinions

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Y’all, I could cry for how much I ended up disliking this book. It made me so sad because everything about it sounded like something that I would fall madly, deeply in book love with, but that wasn’t what happened. I was confused, hopelessly lost and didn’t connect with any part of this. I struggled a lot with the magical realism in this book, and I’m pretty sure it’s why I’m not a fan of this much magical realism in books. It was a lot.

The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien. I’m sorry Tolkien fans, I did not enjoy this book at all. Maybe the problem is that I watched the movie before reading the book? Although tbh, I still think I would have struggled to get through it without watching the movie. I had high expectations but this really let me down. I found it so boring… My disappointment with this book is also the reason why I have yet to read The Lord of the Rings books.

The Magicians (The Magicians #1) by Lev Grossman. I found this book so boring. Everything about the blurb and the title and everything was so exciting to me, but when I picked it up I found it a slog to get through. Also, very melancholy (nothing wrong with that, I just didn’t feel it with this book).

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney. A lot of people really enjoyed Rooney’s debut but I was definitely not one of them. I struggled to get through this one and I really wanted to DNF it, but of course, I didn’t. This book was highly depressing and the characters were so unlikable, and with such a character-driven book, this made it a big struggle for me. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed Normal People, but IMO the characters were much more relatable and likeable in it.

Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody. I’ve heard a lot of people who read YA fantasy dislike this book because it reminded them too much of Six of Crows. Well, yes, it did a little bit but I really enjoyed a lot about this book. The characters, the world-building, the magic and mystery. It was a good book and I can’t wait to read the sequel King of Fools.

Unpopular Bookish Opinions

E-books are seriously the best. As much as I love having a physical book in my hands, the convenience of e-books is unmatched. I can carry thousands of books with me in one go, I can highlight my favourite passages and make notes without physically marring my books with highlighters/pens/pencils, and I can look them up with ease and upload them to my GR, easy as pie.

I don’t mind dog-eared pages…if I do it in my own books. Okay, I know this is highly hypocritical, but if it’s my book I’m okay with dog-earring its pages, but I absolutely hate it when people borrow my books and dog-ear the pages. I know it’s so weird, but I also make So most of the time I just tell people that I don’t like dog-earring pages so they don’t do it to the books they borrow from me!

I like to bend my book spines. Honestly though, how difficult is it to read a paperback and not bend the spine? When the spine doesn’t get bent I feel like I have to shove my face all in the novel just to read all the text! As much as I try not to bend them, it happens anyway, and the feeling of having a book open up all the way while reading is so satisfying. Yes, I’m a spine bender and I ain’t mad about it!

Graphic novels and audiobooks count as reading books (and so they count towards your GR reading goals). I don’t know if this is really a thing but I always see people ask whether audiobooks and graphic novels count as “reading”. I mean, yes? You tend to invest more time in audiobooks and even though graphic novels are shorter reads and thus you end up ‘reading more’, you’re still reading, right?

I like to watch shows or movies before reading the book and sometimes I even like it better than the book. One such example of this for me is Game of Thrones. I read four of the books but I don’t think I could re-read them and neither did I feel the need to continue reading them. Another one is also The Magicians TV show–I found the book so boring but the show? Super exciting, dark and creepy!

What are some of your unpopular book(ish) opinions? If you’ve done a Top Ten Tuesday post for today’s prompt, leave your link in the comments below! 🙂

Blog signature that reads: Let's Chat! xoxo, Dini

Bookish Thoughts: Book Reviewers

Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

Earlier today, I read a post about reviewers written by Ally @Ally Writes Things and it had me reflecting on my own thoughts about the subject. I really enjoyed Ally’s discussion post from last week about different types of reviewers. In it, she identified seven types of reviewers, and I think I’m a mix between two: ‘The Friendly Reviewer’ and ‘Easy to Please’. It’s funny how accurate these descriptions are for the different reviewer types. Check out her post to see if you can identify what type of reviewer you are!

Friendly + Easy to please Reviewer:

  • Is easily distracted by good writing
  • Only notices major issues when they’re pointed out by other reviews
  • “I thought the plot was boring and the characters were just okay, but I loved the writing. Four and a half stars.”
  • Will drag your favourite book if they didn’t like it, but will do it nicely
  • Honestly, even when they hate a book, it will be worded in the nicest way possible
  • Will still probably rate that book 2 stars
  • If they love a book, it’s just 600 words of them gushing non-stop about everything

This post actually brought back to mind something that I’ve questioned myself about over the last few weeks, and maybe it speaks to my insecurities as a somewhat new reviewer and blogger with little to no literary background other than my passion and love for reading. But sometimes I question whether I can call myself a “book reviewer” because I feel like about 80% of the time I’m only reflecting on how the book made me feel and what it made me think. Of course I do talk about the writing style, structure, pacing etc., but I don’t know much about the literary terms that are used to ‘critique’ books, so I tend to focus on what I do know.

The reason I thought of this is because I read someone comment that they also do the same thing (talk about how a book made them think/feel), but because of that they don’t consider themselves a book reviewer. That really got me thinking: does this make me any less of a book reviewer? I’ve only “recently” (read: one year) started to write reviews and one of the reasons I got this blog was to work on how I read and reflect on books. Maybe I’m biased (lol) but I don’t think it does because when you’re writing a review for a book you just finished, some of the elements you consider are how you felt connected to the storyline and the characters, whether that be emotionally, mentally or otherwise. Right?

What are your thoughts on this? Am I just letting my insecure thoughts consume me or have you ever wondered the same? Also, what type of reviewer are you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Blog signature that reads: Let's Chat! xoxo, Dini