Tag: Spooky Reads

#WWWWednesday: 09 October

Dini @ dinipandareads22 Comments

It’s time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?

What did you read last?

I managed to finish four books since last Wednesday! I finally finished The Bookish Life of Nina Hill yesterday and even though I didn’t fall head over heels for the cast of very quirky characters, I still thought this was an adorable read! Nina was such a great bookish character and the whole story in general was very quirky and charming! Fairlady, Vol. 1 was a fantasy graphic novel that I enjoyed for the world building but I was disappointed that the stories were so disconnected. My Life As Marlee was an ARC I got from Book Sirens and which I’m so proud of finishing before the deadline (this is sad really lol)! While the book started off well for me, I didn’t end up enjoying the rest of the story as much as I thought I would. Maybe I’m just too old and cynical for these types of YA romances? The Wall of Winnipeg and Me was by far my favorite out of all of these and I’m so glad I picked up another Zapata book after being somewhat let down by the first of hers that I read. I’m a fan of the slow burn romance and this was one heckuva slow burn but never have I been so damn satisfied by it! All the reviews for these books are coming as soon as I finish getting my thoughts down and organizing them coherently 😅

What are you currently reading?

I’ve been reading House of Salt and Sorrows since last week and it’s taking me so long only because my last week was hella busy and I didn’t have as much time to read it at night, but it’s mostly because I’m too scared to read it alone at night in my flat. I’ve been trying to read it at work during my lunch breaks but people keep chatting to me 🙃and I’m trying to be a little less anti-social at work LOL that said, I’m almost done and I really don’t want to wait until tomorrow to continue reading it but will I be able to conquer the chicken in me? Not sure. It’s creepier than I thought it’d be!!! I’m also reading Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata, which I started late last night as my melatonin was kicking in and will continue to read tonight, I think. I’ve been really bingeing on romances lately, it seems to be the mood I’ve settled in for now!

What will you read next?

I’m still trying to give priority to several eARCs that are well overdue! Even though I’m *obviously* not doing as well as I’d hoped in tackling them, there’s still time to improve! I’m hoping to read TH1RT3EN next because I’ve seen a ton of people posting about it and I think it’d be great to stick to my goal of reading more creepy books this month. I’ve heard great things! Shadow Frost is also a bit of a priority since it was just published 01 October! 🤦🏻‍♀️

What are you currently reading? How’s your week going?
Leave me a comment and let’s chat 🙂

Top 5 Saturday: Books with the Scariest Covers!

Dini @ dinipandareads23 Comments

It’s time for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and this week’s topic is: books with the scariest covers. If you don’t know me by now I’m letting you in on a not-so-big-secret: I’m a BIG chicken. Like, all the ghosty-spooky things are really not my jam! So it should come as no surprise that I have few to no books with scary covers on my shelf. I actually just acquired one today and since figuring out what’s on the cover, I’ve been sufficiently freaked out 😂Just to be clear, I had to look up some scary covers for this one and I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be sleeping with the lights on tonight 🙃Also, I totes realize that what’s scary for me probably won’t be that scary for others; I’m really that much of a wuss! LOL (and of course a dog starts barking loudly and abruptly while I’m writing this post, shattering the complete silence of the evening. How am I getting to sleep tonight?!)

Rules for Vanishing by Katie Alice Marshall
I honestly didn’t figure out what was on this cover until I saw it about six times. When it clicked I just went: OMFG and closed the tab. Of course when I saw it at the bookstore today I went ahead and picked it up anyway — my excuse is that I’m challenging myself to read outside of my comfort zone this month? I’m really just a masochist who loves to torture herself by getting even less sleep than usual!

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
I haven’t read this book but I’ve seen the movie and all I can remember from it are the dogs that die and that absolutely broke my heart 😭This cover is sufficiently creepy though! Especially with that red background!?

Unwind (Unwind Dystology #1) by Neal Shusterman
The whole silhouette of the hand pressed up against a barrier is one of those ‘iconic’ creepy pictures that never fails to have goosebumps breaking out over my skin. It’s just CREEPY AF.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Graham-Greene and Jane Austen
I remember how shook I was the first time I saw this cover. I almost dropped the book in shock and immediately looked away. I came back to it after mustering some guts and found myself oddly repelled and fascinated by the zombie half of such an iconic image 😂

Night of the Living Dummy (Goosebumps #7) by R.L. Stine
Look, I know this is kids book, but can you tell me you don’t get at least a little bit freaked out when looking at that cover? I mean… DUMMIES. CREEPY DUMMIES. I honestly can’t believe I ever checked this book out of the library as a kid (let alone the countless other Goosebumps tales I devoured). Pretty sure that I already hated dolls/dummies by the time I picked this one up LOL

Alright, that’s it folks. I’m now off to read something HAPPY AND FLUFFY to get these images out of my head! We’re totally fine. What are some of the scariest covers you can think of? Are you a lover of things that go bump? Maybe come let me know in the comments and let’s chat? 😂

#TopTenTuesday: Books on my Autumn Possibility Pile!

Dini @ dinipandareads73 Comments

It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: books on my Autumn Possibility Pile! I recently did a similar-ish post for my Friday Favorites, where I listed some TBR reads that suited the Autumn mood! As you’ll know by now, I’m a mood reader so I’m not much for TBRs or seasonal reading. That said, I usually do like to think about books I wanna read over the course of a month if the mood strikes, and I like to think of it as my ‘possibility pile‘! I think of Autumn as going from September – November but I could also be completely wrong as I’ve lived in the tropics basically my whole life (and Australia saw six years of opposite seasons, plus I experienced two extremely warm fall seasons living in the UK so ‘autumn’ only showed towards mid-November/early Dec). A lot of what I’m thinking to read leans to the darker/spookier reads (for me anyway!), sprinkled with some lighter contemporaries and SFF!

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones. Even though I’m the biggest chicken and really can’t handle much ghosty-paranormal shtuff, I went out and immediately pre-ordered the book after reading Kibby’s review. It’s outside of my norm but it sounds so good and perfect for October!

Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicle #3) by Jay Kristoff. I’m not ready for this series to end but I also don’t think that I can put it off for longer. Kristoff’s going to crush my soul either way, so I might as well get the #stabstabstab over with, right?! This series full of darkness, blood and gore has really grown on me and I’m TERRIFIED for how this’ll end. I actually haven’t seen any reviews yet 🤔

Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove #1) by Shelby Mahurin. I’ve really only heard amazing things about this book and it honestly sounds really good. Also, apparently there’s no cliffhanger?! I’m definitely looking forward to reading this and not putting it off forever 🙂

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig. This book has received so much love, even by readers who don’t normally read YA or gothic tales, which makes me all the more excited to read it!

Skyward (Skyward #1) by Brandon Sanderson. The second book in this series comes out on 26 November, and I’ve been telling myself that I haven’t been neglecting this book on my shelf, I’ve just been waiting for the perfect moment to read it 😜 The time has come!

Wicked Saints (Something Dark & Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan. This was one of the more hyped YA releases earlier this year and I’ve heard so many mixed reviews for it. I’m getting the impression that you either loved/hated it, with little in between. I just got approved for the e-ARC of Ruthless Gods last week though, so I’m VERY EXCITED for this perfectly dark, possibly wicked, Autumn read!

The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) by Neal Shusterman. This has already appeared in several of my posts recently but honestly, I can’t wait. I’m SO READY to see what happens next and to see how this fantastic dystopian series will end!

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo. The colors of this cover match perfectly with the season! But in between all of these darker reads I know I’ll need something lighter to make me a little less melancholy. I think this book will give me the warm fuzzies, and I love books with cooking/food!

Twice in A Blue Moon by Christina Lauren. I am so excited for this book which releases 22 October. I still haven’t read a few of the CLo books on my shelf *cough* but this one sounds mega sweet!

Malamander by Thomas Taylor. I don’t often read MG but the cover on this one had me picking it up almost immediately 😬 I’ve heard some really great things about it too so I’m keen!

What’s on your Autumn Possibility Pile/TBR?
If you’ve done a TTT for today, please leave your links in the comments so I can mosey over to your blog and check it out! 🙂