Tag: Discussion Post

Let’s Talk Bookish: The Care and Keeping of a TBR!

Dini @ dinipandareads13 Comments

I know I’m posting a bit later than Friday, but better late than never? Maybe?

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books  & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! I’ve listed the upcoming topics in brief at the end of my post, but check out these pages for more information on October 2020 prompts & a list of past prompts!

Now without further ado… This week’s topic asks us about:

The care and keeping of a tbr

(SUGGESTED BY LYDIA @ LYDIA SCHOCH)
Examples: Do you maintain a TBR physically, online or both? How do you decide which books get to go on your TBR? Do you ever “prune” your TBR to remove old books, how do you decide who stays and who goes? How big is your TBR currently?

WELCOME TO TBR Mountain: LEVEL 1,165

But that gif is literally me maniacally laughing on top of TBR mountain because… My current TBR on Goodreads is currently at 1,165 books and I haven’t even counted my actual TBR.

*takes a second to pause*

👀 👀 👀

*by the way, if anyone wants to be friends on Goodreads you can find me HERE!*

WHERE DO I KEEP A TBR?

GOODREADS

So we already know I keep a TBR on Goodreads and that’s probably my most complete list. Although I first signed up for it in 2012, I only started using it properly in 2018. I did make my way onto the site now and again before then but I guess the majority of the books have been added more recently…

But let’s be clear here…

My Goodreads TBR is a combination of books that I own and books that I wish to own, so I definitely haven’t spent all the money to purchase 1K+ books. Trust, I’d be dead broke otherwise! But I still find this number on Goodreads astonishingly and embarrassingly large. You can say I have a very good relationship with the “Want to read” button. 😂

THE ACTUAL TBR (PHYSICAL + DIGITAL)

Of course, I also have my “actual” TBR with all the books I own (physically and digitally). But I don’t have a proper record of all these books so I don’t know how many still need to be read. It’s a lot easier to keep track of my physical TBR without any kind of file (most of the time) as I can see what’s on my shelves, but books on my digital TBR tend to disappear into the void until I remember them at random.

HOW DO I CHOOSE WHAT GOES ON MY TBR?

Seeing as my GR list is over 1,000 books, I guess you can say I’m not very discerning when it comes to adding to my TBR? 😂 Here’s how I usually decide:

  • I read the synopsis. If it sounds good or like something I’ll enjoy (which let’s be honest it usually does)…
  • I check which of my friends have added it to their list (if any).
  • I then check if any of them have reviewed it, then I’ll quickly skim through a review or two.
  • If no one I know has read/reviewed it, I’ll skim through the first few ratings and reviews to decide whether it’s a go or not.

It’s not an overly complicated process. My taste in books is quite eclectic and it doesn’t take much to pique my interest. Although I do mostly read YA SFF and contemporary romance, I don’t limit myself to any particular genre. A lot of people do stick to their tried and true/comfort zone genres (and that’s cool) but I quite like bouncing around because who knows where I’ll find my next favourite, right?!

going ‘down the tbr hole’

If you can believe it (which you probably can) my GR TBR last year was actually bigger than it is now. When I felt desperately in need of a way to motivate myself to cull the list, I decided to do the “Down the TBR Hole” meme on a weekly basis. For this meme, I’d look at 10-20 books on my TBR and kick off anything that didn’t sound appealing anymore or books that might still sound interesting but I know I’ll never actually buy a copy of or read anytime soon.

I admittedly struggled to kick anything off the list at first but I know realistically I won’t be able to buy all of the books, especially with even more releases piquing my interest with every year that passes. I was doing a pretty good job of shortening the TBR and managed to kick off about 250+ books (maybe even more) until I stopped doing it because I was too busy doing other things… 😬

I rally think I’ll take time to sit down at the end of 2020 (or maybe in 2021) to do a proper clean up because I know there are plenty on this list that I can get rid of, I just really need to make time to do it! My TBR feels more than a little disorganised and I definitely want to take better control of it moving forward!

How do you manage your TBR? Do you find it easy to cull books from your list? Do you get rid of physical books you don’t want to read? What do you do with the digital books you own and are no longer interested in? Curious to see how everyone manages theirs!

Let’s Talk Bookish: What makes you DNF a book?

Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books  & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! I’ve listed the upcoming topics in brief at the end of my post, but check out these pages for more information on October 2020 prompts & a list of past prompts!

Now without further ado… This week’s topic asks us:

What makes you DNF* a book?

*DNF = Did Not Finish

(SUGGESTED BY RAFAELA @ THE PORTUGUESE BIBLIOPHILE)
Examples: Is there a specific trope you can’t stand? A plot twist that will make you drop instantly? How many pages do you usually give a book to capture your attention? How many books do you give a series before deciding if it’s worth your time? Do you count books as read on Goodreads if you DNF them?

Learning to DNF

Before 2020 my answer to this question would’ve been: I don’t DNF books. It wasn’t because I avoided books I knew I wouldn’t enjoy (lmao please I’m not that smart) it was more that I always thought “maybe it’ll get better”. But I also felt a lot of guilt at the thought of DNFing a book. I’ve never had a problem understanding why people decide to DNF, I just couldn’t figure out how to not let the guilt get to me. But after years of working up to it, I finally did it!

So far in 2020 I’ve chosen to DNF 4 books. I know that’s not much for regular DNFers, but for someone who would normally force myself to finish a book, even at the risk of putting myself in a reading slump, it’s an achievement! Is it still hard to DNF a book? Yes. Do I still push on for longer than I “should” because I’m fighting the guilt? Probably. But I’m slowly letting myself be okay with deciding that a book isn’t for me. It’s a WIP. Baby steps and all that, you know?

Reasons to DNF

But what makes me decide it’s time to abandon a book? NGL, I’m still working out what does and doesn’t work for me. There are tropes I don’t like but coming across disliked and overused tropes isn’t enough reason for me to DNF (currently anyway). It might make me roll me eyes and dislike a book more but unless I can’t stand another minute of it, I’ll keep reading. Looking back on the books I’ve DNF’d this year I’ve found some common reasons for why I put them down:

Unlikeable characters

Having likeable characters is a big draw for me and I find it so hard to get through a book when I can’t stand the main character, or even worse all of the characters. Even in plot driven books, characters are key to feeling invested in what happens in the story. This also applies to how a character speaks — some dialogue is just so cringeworthy I can’t take anything seriously.

All tell, no show

This is especially the case when it comes to romance. I get insta-lust and fiery sexual chemistry, but don’t tell me it’s love and expect me to believe it just because you said so. I want to see what makes a character so loveable and I want to see why these they’re good together (outside of the bedroom!).

Nothing makes sense

When I say this it’s more about the world building and info dumping. If you dump a boatload of information on me and I’m still confused about how things work after reading a good chunk of the book, I’m gonna have to reconsider finishing it.

I dread the thought of picking it back up

The reason why I’d dread picking a book back up probably has to do with a combination of all of the above, plus some other things like slow pacing or awkward writing. But once I start making excuses to avoid continuing a book, it’s a good sign I’ll probably DNF it.

How much do I read before deciding to DNF?

Based on my (limited) experience with DNFing, I tend to read up to 30% of the book before deciding it’s not for me. Again, it’s not a hard and fast rule but I like to give it a proper shot before putting it down otherwise the guilt would eat me up.

Do I count a DNF as ‘read’ on Goodreads?

I don’t count DNF books as read because, well, I didn’t really read them. As of right now, I still haven’t marked the books I DNF’d on Goodreads but I’d probably make a shelf for them whenever I get around to it. I also don’t count them as part of my weekly or monthly wrap-ups, although I mention if I have DNF’d something.

Do you DNF books? If so, what are your reasons for DNFing a book? Do you struggle with DNFing books and what makes you hesitate to DNF?

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

Let’s Talk Bookish: Reviewing Sequels

Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

I’ve been seeing Let’s Talk Bookish posts around a lot over the past couple of months and for a few weeks now I’ve been wanting to join the discussions but have mostly remembered too late to post on Fridays. I know I can post on a different day but let’s just pretend that’s not me avoiding and procrastinating, right? 😉 Now the day has finally come and I’ll hopefully be joining in on the discussion posts every week moving forward! But first, a short introduction on what this is all about.

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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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Thursday Discussion: Books To Read Before 2019 Ends!

Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

Welcome back to my second week joining the Thursday Discussion posts! Thursday Discussion is a biweekly meme hosted by Ally Writes Things where you write a post based on the prompt for that week. The post can be as long or as short as you want, and you can talk about as much or as little as you want. This week’s topic is books you need to read before the end of 2019 and coincidentally, I’ve just posted on bookstagram about that topic today!

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Thursday Discussion: Books That Make Me Laugh Out Loud!

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Hosted by Ally Writes Things, Thursday Discussion is a biweekly meme where you write a post based on the prompt for that week. The post can be as long or as short as you want, and you can talk about as much or as little as you want.

Over the last month I’ve seen some Thursday Discussion posts on some of my favorite blogs and I’ve been interested in taking part but one thing or another always took me away from posting (most likely my laziness). I finally decided to join today — although with a different topic than what’s post! Oops, yes, hi! It’s just that this week’s topic is childhood favorites and I have two posts about that already, which you can read here and here. So instead I decided to do my post on a previous discussion topic about books that make me laugh out loud!

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren. Honestly, Hazel is just the funniest character. I love her spunk and vivaciousness and how she was unapologetically herself!

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. There was a lot of awkweirdness in this book that had me laughing out loud because not only was it awkweird but it was also incredibly relatable. I laughed quite a lot every time Nina and Tom interacted with each other!

Saga Series by Brian K. Vaughan. This series!!! It’s no secret that this might be my favorite graphic novel ever! I just love everything about it. Some of the characters in this book, especially Lying Cat 😻, really had me cracking up!

Nevernight and Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicles #1 & #2) by Jay Kristoff. I have to hand it to Kristoff, as bloody and gory as this book can be, there are so many moments where he can still really have me laughing out loud with his dark and dry humor! Gotta love it 😂

What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli. As much as there were cringey moments in this book that made me feel my age, the characters and their awkwardness really had me laughing out loud. As a side character, Dylan never failed to make me laugh. Arthur was a lottle OTT sometimes but his bumbling innocence really had me laughing too (not in a mean way)!

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