Top 5 Saturday: Books with a Colour in the Title

April 12, 2020September 14, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

I totally spaced yesterday and forgot that it was Saturday because the days have blurred since I’ve been WFH… I only realised I had missed Saturday’s post when I was doing a little after midnight gaming. Oops!

We’re back with another Top 5 Saturday! Just in case you don’t know Top 5 Saturday is a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and it’s where we list the top five books (they can be books on your TBR, favourite books, books you loved/hated) based on the week’s topic. You can see the upcoming schedule at the end of my post 🙂 This week’s topic is: books with a colour in the title.

I thought that I would be able to very easily recall five titles with colours in them off the top of my head but apparently I can’t! LOL So here comes Goodreads and Google searches to the rescue! I don’t know what I’d without these mad interwebs brains 😂

JADE CITY is a gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu.
The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It’s the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities. The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion–but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection. When the simmering tension between the Kauls and their greatest rivals erupts into open violence in the streets, the outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones and the future of Kekon itself.

JADE CITY! I can’t believe I forgot this one especially since it’s currently on my bedside table as I was attempting to read it a few weeks back! I put a hold on reading this for now because it requires a lot of concentration and I’m really not in the right headspace for it, although I did enjoy what I read!

Top 5 Saturday: Books to Read While Stuck Inside

April 4, 2020April 4, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads22 Comments

We’re back with another Top 5 Saturday! I might’ve missed last week’s topic but I will come back to it at some point 🙂 Just in case you don’t know Top 5 Saturday is a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and it’s where we list the top five books (they can be books on your TBR, favourite books, books you loved/hated) based on the week’s topic. You can see the upcoming schedule at the end of my post 🙂 This week’s topic is: books to read while stuck inside/quarantined!

I’ve seen a lot of book bloggers making recommendation lists about what books to read while most of us are stuck inside, WFH, quarantined, self-isolating etc. We’re all looking for either comfort or an escape from what’s going on right now. I know I’m especially avoiding the politics of this pandemic and how the Indonesian government has been handling the situation (real piss poor for effort, mate). So this Saturday I’m going to be looking at five books on my immediate TBR that I’m planning to read during this quarantine period (that for me will last until the end of May)!

It is a year after the action of One of Us Is Lying, and someone has started playing a game of Truth or Dare. But this is no ordinary Truth or Dare. This game is lethal. Choosing the truth may reveal your darkest secrets, accepting the dare could be dangerous, even deadly. The teenagers of Bayview must work together once again to find the culprit, before it’s too late . . .

My first pick would be One of Us is Next. I love a good murder mystery and don’t often read them in YA so I’m really excited for this sequel! OOUIL sucked me in and I’m hoping this will do the job of taking my mind off reality. I’m also a total sucker for this paperback version that has awesome sprayed edges 😍

Top 5 Saturday: Magical Realism

March 21, 2020March 21, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads23 Comments

I have a very love/hate relationship with magical realism! A lot of the time they’re misses for me and I find it weird because of how much I love fantasy. But in reality magical realism tends to overwhelm and confuse me, and I focus so much on trying to understand what’s happening that I stop enjoying it. That said, there are some definite winners such as The Shadow of the Wind, The Astonishing Colour of After, and Sourdough, which are some of my favourite books. I guess I’m just picky with magical realism? Here are five books from my TBR that have magical realism elements:

Born at the stroke of midnight at the exact moment of India’s independence, Saleem Sinai is a special child. However, this coincidence of birth has consequences he is not prepared for: telepathic powers connect him with 1,000 other ‘midnight’s children’ all of whom are endowed with unusual gifts. Inextricably linked to his nation, Saleem’s story is a whirlwind of disasters and triumphs that mirrors the course of modern India at its most impossible and glorious.

I’ve wanted to read Midnight’s Children for a long time but a friend bought me a copy a few weeks ago! This book (or should I say its author) intimidates me. I’m scared it’ll go over my head!

Top 5 Saturday: Books with Beautiful Covers

March 14, 2020March 14, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads26 Comments

I think the only reason this prompt is so hard is because there are so many options and how do I narrow it down to just five books?! But I’m going to do my best by focusing on five upcoming releases with beautiful covers (that I haven’t featured in a post before–I’m looking at you my sexy space elf)!

The Kingdom of Back is so beautiful holy wow 😍

Top 5 Saturday: Trilogies

March 7, 2020March 7, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads27 Comments

I’m surprised to learn that a lot of the series on my TBR and ‘need-to-finish’ lists are trilogies! I like trilogies. I think three books is a good number because it’s just long enough for those who like reading series but it’s also “short” enough for those who don’t like long series. Or simply for those who don’t have the patience to wait even longer for the next book to come out 😅 Lucky for me, almost all the series mentioned below are complete so there’s no waiting time between books and that’s really the most perfect scenario! I’m really looking forward to starting/finishing these series!

First up is the Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness. I still haven’t read anything by Ness although I have five of his books (including this full series) sitting on my physical shelf. I got really cool copies too!

I’ve been wanting to read more by Amie Kaufman and when I saw the covers for the Starbound Series I knew there was no way I would be passing these up. Totally cover judging here–they’re STUNNING!

Ah, The Kingkiller Chronicles. I don’t know whether I’m dreaming but THERE IS A COVER FOR BOOK THREE. Is it the actual? I don’t know. There’s still no official release date but there are 2020 whispers and if it happens I’ll be deceased (kidding… But I might actually pass out from shock LOL)!

I have been meaning to finish His Dark Materials for a while now. I enjoyed the first book but didn’t continue with the rest of the series because I wanted to find matching books. Anyone else do that? 😂

I loved The Bear and the Nightingale when I read it last year but I was waiting for the rest of the Winternight Trilogy to deliver (which obvi took forever). Planning to re-read and finish this year!

Top 5 Saturday: Books Inspired by Mythology

February 29, 2020March 2, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

I have to be honest and say that while I know of many of the popular myths, specifically Greek and Norse, I don’t really know them in great detail. But Mythology is a topic that has always sparked my interest and I’m always up for getting my hands on more books inspired by myths! I have quite a few on my TBR that I’m hoping to read sometime in the… near future? *so many books, so little time*

I adore these Big Ideas Simply Explained books! I randomly found The Mythology Book when I was actually looking for The Literature Book but the shiny gold cover held me captive. Obviously, I left the bookstore with it in tow! This is a ‘coffee table’ book that I’d happily flip through over time.

Top 5 Saturday: Books about Spies

February 22, 2020February 21, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

Well, I definitely came up blank when I saw this prompt because books about spies aren’t necessarily the highest on my list? I mean, I like the idea of spy books but I just don’t normally read them. Though thanks to Goodreads I’ve discovered that I have a few spy books waiting to be read!

I’ve had The Alice Network sitting on my TBR cart for a really long time. I love historical fiction and I’ve heard some really great things about this book. I feel like I have to gear myself up to read it though so I can be emotionally prepared 😂

I haven’t read much YA historical fiction but I’ve heard a lot about how great Code Name Verity is! Just reading the synopsis has me so very intrigued and I’m looking forward to picking it up eventually.

I feel like Ken Follett is so underrated lol I’ve only read one of his series in full (The Century Trilogy) but I could not put them down. All three were almost 1,000 pages long and I sped through them like I’ve never done before. I think it took me just a little over one week to finish the series! So I’m excited to try Eye of the Needle to see if all of Follett’s books are as good!

I actually forgot about this book but I remember it first coming on my radar because it got made into a movie Jennifer Lawrence and the trailer looked interesting but I never did end up watching the movie. When I realised it Red Sparrow was a book first I added it to my TBR. It sounds intense!

John Le Carré’s books kind of intimidate me because I always feel like it’ll go flying over my head 😂 But I was intrigued when I found out The Tailor of Panama was based on a book bbecause I knew it was made into a movie with Pierce Brosnan, Jamie Lee Curtis and Geoffrey Rush forever ago. Heavily political books aren’t really my jam at all… but I’d read this one! It sounds really good.

Upcoming Schedule:

02 Feb 2020: Dystopian books
08 Feb 2020: Mental Illness
15 Feb 2020: Books about Mermaids
22 Feb 2020: Books about spies
29 Feb 2020: Books inspired by mythology

Do you like reading books about spies? Let me know below if you have any favourites or recommendations!

Top 5 Saturday: Books about Mermaids

February 15, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads26 Comments

I don’t know about you but I’ve always loved the idea of mermaids and especially of being one! I surprisingly (or not) can’t recall having read many books about mermaids but I do have several on my TBR now (and they’re not all of the pining-teenager Ariel variety but more like the will-eat-you-alive kind)! Here’s what’s on my list:

I was lucky enough to get picked for the blog tour for The Deep. It looks and sounds sufficiently creepy and since we all know I’m a chicken, I’m starting to wonder what business I have reading a book that’s guaranteed to terrify me? I guess I just won’t step into the ocean for a while (not at all hard to do when living on a tropical island *cough*)!

I’ve been really looking forward to giving Sea Witch a try. I have to be honest and say the gorgeous cover is what initially caught my eye but I’m hoping the content will be just as good (although I have heard some mixed reviews)!

All the Stars and Teeth isn’t only about mermaids but I thought it still counts. Again it’s mostly thanks to the insanely good looking cover that caught my eye that this was put on my radar, and I’m only convinced to read it even more now because I’ve seen so many reviews for it lately. They are mixed reviews but I’m hoping I’ll enjoy it all the same!

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Christina Henry’s books and a few of them have admittedly been sitting on my Kindle library for quite some time now… The Mermaid is one of them and I’m really curious to see what her writing is like!

I’ve been looking forward to giving Coral a try ever since I first heard about it but I heard it can be quite triggering as it’s quite heavy on the mental health issues. I’m looking forward to finally picking it up once I feel ready for it though!

Upcoming Schedule:

02 Feb 2020: Dystopian books
08 Feb 2020: Mental Illness
15 Feb 2020: Books about Mermaids
22 Feb 2020: Books about spies
29 Feb 2020: Books inspired by mythology

Do you like reading books with mermaids? What are some of your favourites? Share your recs down below!

Top 5 Saturday: Mental Illness Rep

February 8, 2020February 9, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

This week’s topic is: mental illness. I have so many books with mental illness rep on my TBR and it’s so hard to just pick five. I think these are the ones that I’d like to read as soon as possible though, plus they’re all already on my physical/Kindle shelves! I also just realised all of my picks are YA?

I’ve only read one book by John Green although of course I’ve heard plenty of rave reviews about his books, this one included. I’ve heard that the mental health rep is very well done!

Top 5 Saturday: Unread Books by Favourite Authors

January 25, 2020January 26, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

I’m back this week for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books. This week’s topic is: books by favourite authors, but as it’s a Top 5 Saturday and I usually focus on books that are on my TBR or books that I haven’t read yet, I’ve turned it into unread books by my favourite authors. Narrowing down this list was surprisingly tough because I really suck at picking favourites and there are just so many, how do I pick only five?! Even with my favourite authors there are still plenty of books that I need to read because really, will there ever be enough time? In no particular order…

I’ve admittedly only read The Shadow of the Wind but I was so blown away by it that Zafón was quickly added to my favourite authors list. If you haven’t read it, I’d highly recommend it! 🖤 The Angel’s Game is the second book in The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series and I’ve shamefully had it sitting unread on my shelf for TOO LONG!