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:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
What did you read last?
It’s once again been a pretty slow reading week. Since last week I’ve only managed to finish two books–although technically I’m on the last few pages of The Stranger Beside Me, so I’ve only managed to finish one read! I don’t know why reading has been going so slowly? Maybe it’s the books I’ve been picking up? Either way, here’s what I’ve managed to read:
Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan โ โ โ โโ Yeah, this one was pretty disappointing because I had such high hopes for it and it was one of the reads I’d been most excited to receive in my Owlcrate this year. That said, I felt there was a lot of potential with the story and characters but the execution let me down. Read my full review!
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule โ โ โ โ ยฝ So I’m actually just finishing up the second afterword by the author (a few pages left to go) but I thought I’d put this up already. This book… Holy hell, this book, friends! I don’t even know what to say about it? Literally still processing how I felt because I went through a whole spectrum of emotions. For sure there was total disgust, as well as deep and intense fear, but oddly I also felt sympathy and quite a lot of sadness. I can’t even imagine what it would’ve been like being in Ann Rules’ shoes when it comes to her odd, almost sibling-like relationship with Bundy, but that she was able to write a book like this is incredible. My full review will hopefully be posted sometime this week after digesting this read further.
What are you currently reading?
Having just finished an intensely disturbing and dark read, I NEED some feel good, fluffy and happy reads in my system right now. So I’m picking up my favorite Pumpkinheads again for that quick shot of happiness to my system, plus it’s one of my picks for the Triwizardathon! Since that’s going to be a quick read, I’m also picking up Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob and Well Met by Jen DeLuca. I’ve heard amazing things about both of these reads, especially Well Met, so I’m excited to finally get to it!
What will you read next?
Malamander by Thomas Taylor is the third book that I’ve picked for Week 1 of my Triwizardathon challenge; I’ll be reading this only in bed as per the prompt and I’m hoping to do that this weekend because I don’t have any plans until Sunday! I adore this cover and have heard really positive reviews about this MG read, so I’m definitely looking forward to it!
What are you currently reading? How’s your week and reading going?
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:favourite bookmarks!It’s a pretty loose topic and I could talk about anything related to my favorite bookmarks. I was tempted to talk about the Etsy stores I’ve seen that sell great bookmarks or to talk about the different types of bookmarks that I love, but I decided to showcase ten of my favorite bookmarks (that aren’t from Book Depository). In preparation for this post I wanted to take pictures of the bookmarks that I own but it turns out…
I’M REALLY GREAT AT LOSING BOOKMARKS!!! ๐ Like, I don’t even know where they go because I’m 99.9% sure my favorites don’t ever leave the house (I switch them out to BD bookmarks before I leave). So they should be somewhere in my tiny ass flat (and when I say tiny I mean tiny) that seems to swallow things up so well that I can never find them again! It’s mind boggling and drives me a bit mental. But… Thankfully I received three new favorite bookmarks last week in last month’s Owlcrate box, and I love them so much! Before I ramble on much more, here are ten of my favorite bookmarks (better say bye to them now in case they miraculously disappear after I post this hah)!
I don’t know how I stumbled upon FictionTeaDesigns but I’m glad that I did because their bookmarks are gorgeous! They’re pretty big in size but they’re made of sturdy material. There are so many designs to choose from and shipping from Glasgow was surprisingly fast! I chose two from V.E. Schwab and one classic book lover one. Would 10/10 recommend!
I got these four beauties in the Darkdawn Illumicrate box and they’re gorgeous! My photo is a little blurry and doesn’t do the quality of the work justice, but trust me when I say that these bookmarks designed by Merwild are awesome!
This might be one of my all-time favorite bookmarks! It’s a wooden bookmark that was in the July or August Owlcrate box that came with House of Salt and Sorrows. It’s inspired by The Daughter of the Pirate King and designed by Juniper and Ivy Designs and the quality is pretty great! It says: “The sea watches over me. She protects her own.” I also love the turquoise tassel!
I got these beautiful magnetic bookmarks designed by CraftedVan from the October Owlcrate box! Y’all have no idea how excited I got knowing that they’re SAGA CHARACTERS!!! I wasn’t expecting that, even with the box’s more sci-fi theme but to say I was stoked would be an understatement. My love for Saga is forever; especially for Lying Cat! ๐ป
Do you have any favorite bookmarks? Are you as talented as I am at losing bookmarks? LOL ๐
We’re back with another episode of Down the TBR Hole! My TBR is currently sits at a whopping 1,011 books because I added some books to my list after last week’s culling ๐ I’ll be reviewing 10 books again today and I’m hoping to find it easier to cut more out!
Down the TBR Hole is a weekly book meme created by the wonderful Lia @ Lost in a Storythat attempts to organize our ridiculously long Goodreads TBR list by choosing either to keep or eliminate the books weโve 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 youโre feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
Read the synopsesย of the books
Decide: keep itย or should it go
Verdict: Keep
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. I bought this book earlier this year because I thought for sure it’d be my jam but now I’m not so sure anymore… I’m gonna try it since I already have it. I hope my first thought was right! ๐ค
Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges #2) by Stephen King. I sped through Mr. Mercedes and absolutely loved it, so I was really keen to get my hands on Finders Keepers. So far I’ve tried reading it twice and both times I’ve put it down with the intention of ‘picking it up later’. Third time’s the charm, I guess? But if it’s still not working for me, it’ll definitely go in the bye pile!
The Quiet Game (Penn Cage #1) by Greg Iles. After reading his Natchez Burning trilogy, I’m convinced that I need to read the rest of Iles’ books — especially involving Penn Cage! ๐
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. This sounds interesting but I’ve had multiple times to pick it up in stores and I never do… So I think I’m taking that as a sign to say bye-bye-bye?
The Master Magician (The Paper Magician #3) by Charlie N. Holmberg. I’m only removing this one because I haven’t read the second book yet (which I decided to keep!). I read the first book AGES ago but remember loving it, so this’ll probably come back if I love the sequel!
City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg. It was really hard for me to decide on this one but I’ve chosen to remove it for now. The synopsis is interesting but not so much that I’m sure I’ll read it ASAP. So, bye-bye-bye for now!
BAM BABY! I let 6/10 books go this week bringing my TBR tally to 1,005 books. Still a lot but we’re making progress by removing 60% of the list this week, right?! ๐ Again, I think I’m pretty satisfied with my decisions; perhaps more so this week than I was last week!
We’re back with another Goodreads Monday, a weekly meme started by @Laurenโs 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 Sadie by Courtney Summers. Well, I’ve had this one on my list for quite some time now (added in September 2018)! Sadie has pretty great rating statistics on Goodreads: an average rating of 4.18 stars with 39,121 ratings and 9,949 reviews.
A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serialโlike podcast following the clues she’s left behind. And an ending you won’t be able to stop talking about.
Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.
But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.
When West McCrayโa radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in Americaโoverhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.
Why do I want to read it?
I’ve heard a lot about this book and much of it is mixed ! I’m getting the feeling that you either really love/hate this book and there’s very little feeling in between. That said, the cover has always pulled me in (I remember seeing it for the first time and thinking: MUST TO HAVING)! I don’t know what it is about it, but I love it. I’ve also heard that listening to this as an audiobook really enhances the reading experience, as the story is told partly in podcast format. I’ve never read anything in podcast style before so it’ll be interesting and I’m definitely looking forward to it!
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
This Sunday I spent part of my day in bed with The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule and friends, this book has me feeling some type of way and I don’t even know… I can’t even begin to imagine what it would do to someone knowing that a person you consider(ed) a friend is a serial killer whose trail you’ve followed so closely from the start. It’s terrifying! How she writes about Ted Bundy is creepy AF because the person she knew seemed legit like a pretty freaking decent guy. Saying that about a guy like Ted Bundy makes me want to gag a little but… How he was presented at the start of this book made me think that. I have a feeling this book is going to be a helluva ride. Just in case you don’t know the book I’m talking about, you can read the synopsis below.
Utterly unique in its astonishing intimacy, as jarringly frightening as when it first appeared, Ann Rule’s The Stranger Beside Me defies our expectation that we would surely know if a monster lived among us, worked alongside of us, appeared as one of us. With a slow chill that intensifies with each heart-pounding page, Rule describes her dawning awareness that Ted Bundy, her sensitive coworker on a crisis hotline, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America. He would confess to killing at least thirty-six young women from coast to coast, and was eventually executed for three of those cases. Drawing from their correspondence that endured until shortly before Bundy’s death, and striking a seamless balance between her deeply personal perspective and her role as a crime reporter on the hunt for a savage serial killer — the brilliant and charismatic Bundy, the man she thought she knew — Rule changed the course of true-crime literature with this unforgettable chronicle.
What are you currently reading?
It’s Sunday again (already) and surprise, surprise, I’m sad about it. Although my weekends have been relatively ‘chill’ recently, I usually do end up scheduling one or two activities that leave me feeling tired and productive enough to feel like I haven’t completely wasted my weekends away ๐ Yesterday I accompanied one of my close friends/colleagues to do one of her final prenatal check ups, followed up by lunch at what very quicly became one of our favorite places to eat for its delicious food and drinks! I had the tuna pokรฉ with a fresh summery fruit smoothie, and we rounded up our meal by sharing their delectable french toast. Friends, IT IS SO FREAKING DELICIOUS I CAN’T EVEN. My friend and I literally had dreams about eating that french toast again, which is why we decided to head back to get it again. You know when something invades your dreams it’s just really that good ๐คค
Aside from that, I’m planning to try ‘Zero Gravity Float Therapy’ soon. One of my besties told me about it and she thought it might be something interesting for me to try out for my sleep and mental health related issues. I thought I’d booked my session for today but it turns out it’s actually next week ๐ So that was already a good start to my Sunday LOL I’m kind of glad that it’s next week though because it’s given me more time to get more comfortable with the idea of it. The thought of being enclosed in a small, dark space, surrounded by water and zero sound, kind of FREAKS ME THE F OUT… But apparently this therapy is pretty good and does things that normal therapy doesn’t! So… ehrm… I guess let’s do this?
Reading & Blogging Recap
I sadly haven’t read a lot this week and I think I’ve only managed to finish one book? November not off to the best start! A lot of that had to do with the fact that I’ve been trying to catch up on engaging on blogs and most of my nights after work have been spent writing and reading… Not to mention that I’ve been caught up in the Twitterverse a couple of times this last week… ๐ Next thing I know it’s 2AM, I haven’t read, I’m not sleepy and I just spent the last 3 hours scrolling social media LMAO I know I’m not the only one this happens to, amirite?! But also, I spent a lot of time this week reading Wicked Saints. I’m so sad to say that it really didn’t blow me away like I was hoping it would. I was a little disappointed by it but I am looking forward to reading Ruthless Gods, the sequel, which I got an eARC of a few months back! You can check out my review listed down below ๐
Like I said earlier, I’ve been trying to blog and engage a bit more this week. I haven’t been able to get back to the levels before mid-October threw me completely off my game, but I managed to knock out some tags and awards that I’ve been putting off for way too long. I love getting tagged and nominated for these things but I am undoubtedly the absolute worst when it comes to answering them ๐คฃ๐๐คฃ Please don’t stop tagging me though–I really do love it! ๐ I also started doing some of the weekly memes that I’ve missed over the last few weeks (Friday Favorites and Top 5 Saturday) and it felt good to get back into it! In case you missed them, you can check out the posts I’ve made this week down below!
A special music shout out to HAIM this week for their new song: Now I’m In It. Contrary to what it sounds like, this is actually about depression and falling back ‘in it’. These sisters are amazing and whenever I start listening to them I can’t stop!
How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!
It’s time for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and this week’s topic is: books with a survival theme. So it’s been a hot minute since I participated in a top five saturday post because I’ve either been too busy on the weekend or I’ve just been too mentally drained to feel inspired, but I’m glad to be back this week. That said, I’ve pretty much drawn a blank for this week’s prompt because do I even have any books with survival themes on my TBR or read list? Then again, ‘survival theme’ has a pretty broad scope and can be interpreted in a few ways: actual survival from the elements/nature or survival of a trying situations. So I’m going to do my best with that for my list of five books that I want to read one day!
The Stand by Stephen King This is a story about those who survived after a worldwide plague killed off 99% of the population. I have no doubt that this post-apocalyptic story is going to be creepy AF (I mean just look at that cover?) and we all know how I am with creepy books. But it just sounds too good to not try!
The Revenant by Michael Punke I really enjoyed the movie when it came out and have been interested in the book ever since. It sounds like a brutal story about survival and revenge after being left to die in the Rocky Mountains!
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris This one is very obviously a different kind of survival story but it’s very much a survival story. I’m super keen to read it as I’ve heard so many great things; I just really hope it lives up to all the hype!
Have you read any of my ‘survival themed’ book picks? Any recs on which one to start first and any more recs to add to my list?! Come let me know in the comments and let’s chat! ๐
It’s time for another Friday Favorites hosted by Kibby @ Something of the Book! This weekly meme is where you get to share a list of all your favourites based on the list of prompts on Kibby’s page. Sounds fun, right? This week’s prompt is: favorite inspiring characters! I skipped last Friday’s post because I was feeling completely drained and wholly uninspired, but I’m back and feeling a little more inspired (apt, considering the prompt ๐)! This is going to be tough to choose though; I know I’ve encountered many inspiring characters in books, but I admit that my memory makes it difficult to keep track of this sometimes ๐ That said, here’s a list of five of some of my favorite inspiring characters! They’re not in any particular order and honestly, they’re the first ones that came to my mind for this prompt lol
Isabelle & Vianne from The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah This is a two-fer because although both sisters were like day and night in terms of personalities, but the strength, resilience and courage they displayed in the face of unimaginable horrors, although presented in different ways, were as equally inspiring. I loved these sisters.
Tierney James from The Grace Year by Kim Liggett Tierney is a survivor. She had to face the horror of having her peers turn against her and she had to face unknown demons alone in the outside world just to survive The Grace Year. Despite facing so much cruelty and torture, she was still full of compassion and kindness, and she takes a stand against a society that would see her and other women kill each other rather than be empowered.
Photo Credit: Erika Doss
Starr Carter from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas I mean, do I even have to give justification for this? I can’t begin to fathom having to experience losing a friend in front of your face so unjustly. She faces everything head on with determination, courage, and such great strength! She is incredibly inspiring and I’m sure no one would disagree.
Romy Silver from The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James Imagine being completely isolated light years away from the closest human being and then you suddenly find yourself blindsided by a threat you didn’t even know was coming. What Romy did to survive, the smarts she utilised despite being almost paralyzed by her fear was hella inspiring!
Esme Tran from The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient #2) by Helen Hoang Unfortunately what Esme does to build a better life for herself, her daughter and mother is not an uncommon scenario for many. But she faces her challenges, which range from dealing with meddling strangers, learning a new language, being in a foreign country, not to mention dealing with love, all head on and with a fierce determination that’s very inspiring!
Who are some of your favorite inspiring characters? Wow, I just realized that all the characters I mentioned are women ๐ Hells yeah, inspiring women of the book world!Let’s chat in the comments!
Yayaya, HAPPY FRIYAY, book lovers and friends ๐We’re back with another First Lines Friday! This is a weekly featurefor book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?Here areTHE RULES:
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but donโt give anything else about the book away just yet โ you need to hook the reader first
Finallyโฆ reveal the book!
First lines:
“It was a storm. Adrenaline ripped through my veins like lightning as I leaned close to the body of my crow, preparing to execute a dive. Iyla’s warm, steady heat kept me grounded, even hundreds of feet in the air.”
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
In the tropical kingdom of Rhodaire, magical, elemental Crows are part of every aspect of life…until the Illucian empire invades, destroying everything.
That terrible night has thrown Princess Anthia into a deep depression. Her sister Caliza is busy running the kingdom after their mother’s death, but all Thia can do is think of all she has lost.
But when Caliza is forced to agree to a marriage between Thia and the crown prince of Illucia, Thia is finally spurred into action. And after stumbling upon a hidden Crow egg in the rubble of a rookery, she and her sister devise a dangerous plan to hatch the egg in secret and get back what was taken from them.
Have you read The Storm Crow or is it on your TBR? Leave me a comment and let’s chat ๐
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:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
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 โ โ โ โ โ 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 ๐
Under Locke by Mariana Zapata โ โ โ โ ยฝ 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! ๐
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 that give off autumn vibes! I have no idea why but I really struggled with this prompt? Maybe because it’s a pretty ‘broad’ concept — what are the vibes even? So before my little brain decides to overthink a prompt that should be straightforward AF, I’ve decided to just include all the things. Which basically means I’m looking at books that have autumn cover color vibes, books I think I’d like to read in autumn, and books I’ve loved that remind me of autumn (cozy and possibly also creepy). Yes, it’s really all the things ๐
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks There’s NO WAY this book wouldn’t make top of my list because ever since I read it (before autumn) I haven’t been able to stop raving about it throughout the season. J’adore Pumpkinheads ๐
The Simple Wild by K. A. Tucker It’s weird, but this cover gives me autumn vibes or maybe I look at this cover knowing that the story gives me all the warm cozy vibes, which make me wanna curl up to read it? Whatever it is, it is!
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon It’s really the cover and there’s something about the title (perhaps the Amber) that makes me think of autumn when I read it. I haven’t read this series yet, but I’m looking forward to it!
Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager Maybe it’s because of the color combo, the thriller factor or because I read it in October, but this book is giving me serious autumn vibes, despite being a story about summer camp!
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu This cover is autumn all over. Definitely get strong fall vibes from it and it doesn’t help that the story is simply cute AF (and also takes place in autumn)!
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah Don’t the colors on that cover just scream autumn?! Although the content is more terrifying winter…
Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum & Tom Schulman Okay, I know this is a movie cover and for once I actually really don’t mind it (don’t @ me)! And this novella (166 pages) did come out after the movie (apparently it was based on the script) but when I think about the Dead Poets Society, it definitely screams autumn to me!
The Farm by Joanne Ramos This is another cover that really gives me autumn vibes. Is it the color combo? I don’t know…
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin It’s the floral pattern on the cover that definitely makes me think of autumn vibes. Although this book not really ‘comforting’, I think this family saga would still be a good read for the season!
What do you think of my ‘autumn vibe’ books? Do any of these also give you the same vibes? If you’ve also done a TTT, leave your links in the comments below so I can come check them out! Let’s chat ๐
dinipandareads 