Tag: TBR

#WWWWednesday: 06 November

Dini @ dinipandareads25 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 haven’t read a lot since last week. As mentioned on my Sunday Wrap Up, I got really sucked into a Webtoons vortex, which resulted in me putting aside any and all reads that I had planned. I’ve read two books in the past week (and many fun Webtoons series)!

Frankly in Love by David Yoon ★★★★☆
I ended up really enjoying Frank Li’s story, and although there were elements of it that I didn’t like, it wasn’t enough to affect how I felt about the story in general. Despite not being Asian-American or having had any experience living in America, I grew up internationally and moved around a lot, so reading about Frank’s experiences and thoughts about his cultural/identity really hit him for me. I didn’t manage to write the best or most coherent review, but it will be going up later tonight, so be on the look out if you want to know more 🙂

Under Locke by Mariana Zapata ★★★★ ½
Yes, I’m still slightly in the romance zone but I’m slowly starting to leave it behind. I’ve been wanting to read this one since Jen recommended it as she thought I’d love it, and she wasn’t wrong. I’m officially a big Zapata fan, and even though I still have a few of her books left to read, I think she might be an auto buy author from now on?! Nobody does slow burns like her and they’re always so damn satisfying. RTC.

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading Wicked Saints right now and it honestly kind of feels like I’ve been reading it for forever? It’s not that I’m not enjoying it while I’m reading it… But I feel like there’s something missing. I really can’t put my finger on it, but that element that hooks me in and keeps me wanting to go back to it every time I put it down is just not there. Right now I don’t mind putting it down and it will take me a long time to pick it back up. I think I’ve almost reached the 50% mark now, so let’s see how it goes!

What will you read next?

I think my mood is really calling for me to read Darkdawn right now, but maybe after finishing Wicked Saints I’ll be better off reading a different genre first? I might as well pick up my first NF of the month since I’m giving Nonfiction November a try! I’m tossing up between The Stranger Beside Me (true crime) or Good Talk (“a memoir in conversations” graphic novel). But can’t decide. Maybe a nice quick graphic novel would be good… Thoughts?

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

Down the TBR Hole – 06

Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

We’re back with another episode of Down the TBR Hole! My TBR is currently sits at a whopping 1,013 books. I’ll be reviewing 10 books again today and I’m hoping that maybe this week I’ll be cutting out more than one book!

Down the TBR Hole is a weekly book meme created by the wonderful Lia @ Lost in a Story that attempts to organize our ridiculously long Goodreads TBR list by choosing either to keep or eliminate the books we’ve saved on there. Here’s how it works:

  • Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
  • Order on ascending date added.
  • Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
  • Read the synopses of the books
  • Decide: keep it or should it go

Verdict: Keep

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. I’m a bit torn about whether I want to read this or not but it seems that a lot of my book loving friends love it, so I think it’s a keeper?

The Outlander Series (Outlander 1-7) by Diana Gabaldon. Okay, it’s ambitious to ‘keep’ all seven books on my list, but I do want to give this series a go because it’s so popular and seems like one I’ll enjoy? They’re all just slightly huge…!

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I honestly don’t even know why I haven’t read this one yet because it sounds 1000% like my kind of book.

Go Set a Watchman (To Kill a Mockingbird #2) by Harper Lee. I basically bought this the minute it came out and haven’t touched it since 😳 I’ve heard so many sad reviews about this and honestly, if I didn’t spend good money on it I’d probably say bye-bye-bye to it! But I’ll give it a chance.

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jemisin. I’ve heard amazing things about this and I have a feeling I’ll really enjoy it!

Verdict: Bye-bye-bye!

Marley and Me: life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan. This movie had me feeling a hot mess but… I really don’t think I’m going to ever read the book! I shouldn’t be keeping this on my TBR just because of the pupperoni on the cover, right?!

A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri. Argh, this one was so difficult to decide on. It sounds pretty interesting but… I also don’t know when, if ever, I will pick it up. So bye for now!

One Day by David Nicholls. This was a tough decision because I loved the movie and it had me bawling like the biggest baby ever, but I tried reading the book once, twice, three times and my strayed every single time. I have no idea why. Maybe the movie is too much in my head so when it doesn’t match up I get a little miffed? I’m sorry to say bye-bye-bye!

The Royal We (Royal We #1) by Heather Cocks. I don’t think I’m really a fan of the ‘royal’ trope? Reading this synopsis didn’t appeal to me so much anymore so away it goes!

Marrow by Tarryn Fisher. Although there’s something about this cover I adore, I have one Tarryn Fisher book on my Kindle shelf and I want to read it first before deciding whether to read more. This one seems interesting but let’s see!

bluepanda

WOO! I said bye-bye-bye to 5/10 books this week bringing my TBR tally to 1,008 books. Still a lot but we’re making progress with at least removing a few, right?! 😃 Some of these were a little tough to decide on since they do still sound interesting but I just don’t know when I’ll ever pick them up, which pretty much means never? LOL I gotta be real with myself; I already got an insanely overflowing actual TBR on my Kindle and physical shelves. I think I’m happy with my decisions!

Have you read any of these books? Would these make your keep list or would you say bye-bye-bye to them? Let’s chat!

Goodreads Monday – 04 November

Dini @ dinipandareads2 Comments

We’re back with another Goodreads Monday, a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners. This meme invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.

This week’s book is The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. I remember seeing this book mentioned on bookstagram once or twice, but I don’t remember adding it to my shelf in March 2019. The Sympathizer is Nguyen’s debut novel and it was also the winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It has an incredible 4.00 rating with 59,400+ ratings and 6,808 reviews! Impressive 😲

It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong. The Sympathizer is the story of this captain: a man brought up by an absent French father and a poor Vietnamese mother, a man who went to university in America, but returned to Vietnam to fight for the Communist cause. A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.

Why do I want to read it?

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit it but I actually don’t read a wide variety of diverse books, especially those written about and by Asian authors. This isn’t for any particular reason other than I don’t always make a conscious decision to broaden my reading scope and not because I don’t enjoy diverse books/stories. I lived in Vietnam for around three months several years ago and I’ve visited the country often, so it’s not as if I’m ignorant of the country’s history. That said, sometimes I feel like I take that experience for granted by not pushing myself to learn more and it also applies to my own knowledge and experience relating to other countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. I’m determined to making a more conscious effort to diversify my reads and this book sounds like a gripping and fascinating story that I look forward to trying!

Have you read The Sympathizer or is it on your TBR too? Let’s chat!

November Possibility Pile

Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

It’s the start of another month so that means it’s time for another monthly possibility pile! This November I’m hoping to also step out of my comfort zone (again) but this time with Non-Fiction November!

It’s not that I don’t like NF books, it’s just that a lot of the time the facts, figures and ‘plain’ writing makes it hard to concentrate. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s like reading a textbook but I usually find myself reading the same paragraph countless times and my attention strays very easily! But I’m hoping to give NF November a go because I’ve actually added a few NF books to my physical shelf and I’m keen to get them read (so they don’t linger untouched forever lol). November isn’t going to be as hectic for me compared to October but I’m not going to be too ambitious with my pile, plus I’m definitely planning to read other books to break up the NF reads too! So without further ado, here are the books that I’m hoping to read this month:

Have you read any of these NF books or are they also on your TBR? Which one do you recommend I start out with?

#WWWWednesday: 30 October

Dini @ dinipandareads7 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 haven’t been able to read as much as I’ve wanted to over the last week because life was still incredibly hectic but I’m slowly getting back into the groove and was happy with what I did read. It’s pretty clear from the list that I’m still on that romance kick and unfortunately, a few of the ones I read this past week were not my jam. I still have TONS of reviews to do but I promise they’re coming!

Falling For My Brother’s Best Friend by Piper Rayne ★★☆☆☆
Not even an Alaska setting could save this one for me and we all know how much I love Alaska settings!
Park Avenue Player by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland ★★☆☆☆
Most misleading title ever and most disappointing Ward + Keeland book I’ve read to date.
The Dugout (Brentwood Baseball #2) by Meghan Quinn ★★★★½ (Yaas, gimme all that baseball!)
Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager ★★★★½
A chilling read that made me glad I never went to camp! My new favorite Sager.
To Have & Hate by Donna Alam ★★☆☆☆
I’m not gonna lie, I was objectifying the guy on the cover (he’s hot, please don’t judge me) and that’s why I decided to read this one. Welp, not my best decision 😅

What are you currently reading?

So I’m late for the buddy read because I totally forgot that I was also part of a Riley Sager buddy read and wow, bad organization panda! I’m about to finish up Frankly in Love tonight and… I’ve really been loving it and the fact that it’s more than just a love story. As a TCK I really relate to Frank’s cultural identity crisis and I was so ready to give five stars, but then Frank had to go and do something that made me so damn angry (I frankly don’t care what your damn ‘excuses’ are, Frank Li!) but let’s see how the rest of the story plays out.

What will you read next?

I want to give focus to Non-Fiction this November but I’m hoping to give Wicked Saints and Under Locke a read before diving into some non-fiction reads. I know me and I know that I won’t be able to stick to only non-fiction next month, so I’m definitely going to break it up with some more romances, maybe some SFF (THE TOLL!) and maybe even some thrillers. Also, eARCs need focus but we all know that 😅

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

Down the TBR Hole – 05

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

We’re back with another episode of Down the TBR Hole! Y’all, I’m proud to say that I’m down to 1,014 books. Over the last two weeks I’ve only reviewed five books each week and haven’t managed to cut out any books. It’s getting harder to do, friends. The pressure is definitely on! 🙈I’m back to reviewing ten books this week though, so let’s see how this goes…

Down the TBR Hole is a weekly book meme created by the wonderful Lia @ Lost in a Story that attempts to organize our ridiculously long Goodreads TBR list by choosing either to keep or eliminate the books we’ve saved on there. Here’s how it works:

  • Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
  • Order on ascending date added.
  • Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
  • Read the synopses of the books
  • Decide: keep it or should it go

Verdict: Keep

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I’m a bit torn about whether I want to read this or not but it seems that a lot of my book loving friends love it, so I think it’s a keeper?

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. I love historical fiction and especially books set during WWII. Everything about this book essentially falls under “things-I-love” so I honestly don’t know why I’ve been hesitating to pick it up.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I absolutely loved this movie and have been curious about the book. It’s got amazing reviews but I’m honestly a little nervous that I won’t enjoy the book as much as I loved the movie.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Everything about this book screams at me to read it ASAP!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. A classic that I feel like I’ve read in middle school but I honestly can’t remember… It sounds like a book I’ll love and I love the title; it always grabs my attention!

East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Just like Grapes of Wrath this is a book that I’ve had sitting on my shelf for a very very long time but it intimidates the heck out of me so I’ve been super hesitant to pick it up. It’s staying on my list though.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. This is another tome that’s been on my physical TBR for an age but I’m too intimidated to pick it up. One day… One day (I swear)!

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I mean… It’s an insanely popular classic that I don’t want to pass up reading. When will I get to it? Eventually…

Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy #1) by Chinua Achebe. I remember reading this in high school but for the life of me I can’t remember anything about it except the fact that I enjoyed it. So technically it’s a book I’ve read?

Verdict: Bye-bye-bye!

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I found out about the movie before knowing it was a book first, and I was so excited to get into it. It’s got some really great reviews, but there’s just something about it that makes me also not want to read/watch it. So for now, I think I’m gonna say bye-bye-bye!

bluepanda

Alright friends, it’s safe to say that this week was another not so great week of cutting out books from my Goodreads TBR. I managed to remove 1/10 books 🙈It’s just so hard? All of these books are ones I really do want to read, I’m just either too intimidated to read them or they slip my mind because they’re so far back on my backlist. Oh well, next week is another week to try eliminating books? Lol

Have you read any of these books? Would these make your keep list or would you say bye-bye-bye to them? Leave me a comment and let’s chat!

Goodreads Monday – 28 October

Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

We’re back with another Goodreads Monday, a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners. This meme invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.

This week’s book is The Furies by Katie Lowe. This is one of the more recent additions to my want-to-read shelf on GR (April 2019). I think I was adding books to my tbr like crazy at this point but I do remember hearing of it and liking the sound of it. It has a 3.21 rating from 1,159 ratings and 517 reviews!

In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead on school property, dressed in white and posed on a swing, with no known cause of death. The novel opens with this image, as related to us by the narrator, Violet, looking back on the night it happened from the present day, before returning to relate the series of events leading up to the girl’s murder.

After an accident involving her Dad and sister, Violet joins Elm Hollow Academy, a private girls school in a quiet coastal town, which has an unpleasant history as the site of famous 17th century witch trials. Violet quickly finds herself invited to become the fourth member of an advanced study group, alongside Robin, Grace, and Alex – led by their charismatic art teacher, Annabel.

While Annabel claims her classes aren’t related to ancient rites and rituals – warning the girls off the topic, describing it as little more than mythology – the girls start to believe that magic is real, and that they can harness it. But when the body of a former member of the society – Robin’s best friend, with whom Violet shares an uncanny resemblance – is found dead on campus nine months after she disappeared, Violet begins to wonder whether she can trust her friends, teachers, or even herself.

Why do I want to read it?

I don’t read many thrillers and when I do they’re definitely not YA, so I’m always looking for more from this genre to read. The synopsis is giving me minor The Craft vibes, a movie that scared the holy schnitzels out of me when I was a kid and saw it on TV. As an adult the thought that this could be “craft-like” creeps me out but also has me curious, and it does sound more murder-mystery than paranormal possession, so that’s always good because the latter is definitely not my jam! The cover also always pulls my eye (this one especially, I don’t really like the other cover). I’ve heard tons of mixed reviews about this one though, with many people saying they were disappointed by it and that it wasn’t what they were expecting. I’m still curious though so I think I’ll keep it on my TBR.

Have you read The Furies or is it on your TBR too? Let’s chat!

#WWWWednesday: 23 October

Dini @ dinipandareads15 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?

HEY FRIENDS! As I’ve probably mentioned a time or two before this, I was off on a staycation in Bali last week when my friends had come to visit, and because we had so much time chilling by the poolside, I managed to squeeze in more reads than I expected (three to be exact)! I’ve been feeling lazy AF though and haven’t written reviews for the majority of these reads (and I’m already feeling my memory slipping on me ARGH! Why is memory so bad?)! I enjoyed the majority of my reads this past week but I think my favorites were: Serpent & Dove and Rules for Vanishing (YES, it’s a scary book! I don’t even know who I am anymore 😂)! I enjoyed These Witches Don’t Burn and The Sea of Lost Girls (e-ARC), but thought Birthday Girl, while pretty steamy, was just OK. I’m falling behind on SO MANY reviews and my memory is already failing me, so I’m hoping to get to writing some this weekend! *fingers crossed*

What are you currently reading?

I’ve got a few reads going at the moment because I can’t decide what to keep on reading. I’m part of a group read for Frankly in Love, which we’re discussing at the end of the week, so I should probs get rolling on that one. I’m not sure I’m in the right mood though, but I also don’t know what I’m in the mood for 😅I’ve also picked up Wicked Saints and I’m thinking of starting Under Locke as well (I’me excited to see it’s under 500 pages too!). I’m also part of a group read for a Lisa Jewell book but I can’t actually remember which book I should be reading? Haha I’m clearly on the ball this week! I’m so glad it’s already Wednesday although I won’t be catching a “break” until Saturday evening!

What will you read next?

This message will probably continue to stay unchanged for the foreseeable future: I’m still trying to give priority to several eARCs that are well overdue! I’m still hoping to read TH1RT3EN soon 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 earlier this month but I’ve heard so many mixed reviews (mostly not so great ones) that it’s making me reluctant to read it 🤦🏻‍♀️

What are you currently reading? How’s your week going? I’m hoping my vacation-brain-mode deactivates soon! Leave me a comment and let’s chat 🙂

Goodreads Monday – 21 October

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

We’re back with another Goodreads Monday, a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners. This meme invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.

This week’s book is The Snowman (Harry Hole #7) by Jo Nesbo. I think I vaguely remember adding this to my list after seeing Michael Fassbender on the movie poster (in 2018) and realizing it was a book before it was a movie 🤣I unfortunately only managed to get my hands on the movie-tie-in cover but it’s not the worst I’ve seen… The book has a pretty great rating of 4.08 stars with 96,300+ ratings and 7,700+ reviews!

Soon the first snow will come

A young boy wakes to find his mother missing. Outside, he sees her favourite scarf – wrapped around the neck of a snowman.

And then he will appear again

Detective Harry Hole soon discovers that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years.

And when the snow is gone…

When a second woman disappears, Harry’s worst suspicion is confirmed: a serial killer is operating on his home turf.

…he will have taken someone else

Why do I want to read it?

I had no idea this was book seven of a series but I also heard that this was the best of the series? I do like a good thriller and this one definitely sounds like it’ll be a good one! It obviously doesn’t get cold here but I think it’d be perfect to read over the Christmas holidays or as a winter read. I think I do want to watch the movie as well, but I definitely want to read the series first. I don’t actually know if the movie is any good (I haven’t seen reviews) although it was in the cinema for a while, if I’m not mistaken.

Have you read The Snowman or any books in the series? Do you want to?
Leave me a comment and let’s chat!

Down the TBR Hole – 04

Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

We’re back with another episode of Down the TBR Hole! Y’all, I’m proud to say that I’m down to 1,015 books. PROUD PANDA 🐼Last week was a really quick post of five books and I think this week will be the same too because, life is still life! Let’s see if I manage to cut any out this week!

Down the TBR Hole is a weekly book meme created by the wonderful Lia @ Lost in a Story that attempts to organize our ridiculously long Goodreads TBR list by choosing either to keep or eliminate the books we’ve saved on there. Here’s how it works:

  • Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
  • Order on ascending date added.
  • Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
  • Read the synopses of the books
  • Decide: keep it or should it go

Verdict: Keep

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. I remember seeing this one so much back in the day but never ended up purchasing it. It has a lot of amazing reviews, plus the premise sounds like something I’d really enjoy. Nothing in the blurb gives away why it’s called The Memory Keeper’s Daughter either, so I’m even more intrigued!

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. This is one of those books that you keep hearing people talk about. I do enjoy a good family saga and this one sounds like it has a bit of a mystery to it, so I’m definitely intrigued. I don’t know when I’ll get to it but it’s one of the books I want to read at some point!

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. Everything about this sounds completely up my alley. I didn’t remember it when I saw it on my list but it seems a lot of friends have read it and rated it very highly.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I honestly think the only reason I’m keeping this book on my list is because I have the physical copy (I got it from a former colleague who was giving away books) and I’m thinking: since I already have it I might as well read it, right? Lol

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I remember really enjoying this movie and wanting to read the book after watching it. Never did get to it (obv) but I think I’m still interested in reading it!

bluepanda

Okay, that’s it folks. I clearly spoke too soon about being on a roll with taking books of my TBR list because it’s another week of reviewing five and removing none 😂 All of these do sound good (well, I’m still on the fence about the Poisonwood Bible) and like stories I’ll enjoy reading so… 🤷🏻‍♀️

Have you read any of these books? How easy is it to cull your TBR list? Leave me a comment and let’s chat!