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 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!
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 🙂
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:Halloween freebie! Since this week is a freebie, I’ve decided to go with the first topic that came to mind: the spooky books I’d read if I wasn’t such an epic chicken/if I only had the guts. I don’t think it would surprise anyone to know that 90% of this list consists of King books!Is it kind of ridiculous that I don’t want to include these book covers in this post because that means I’ll have to actually look at them up close and I’m frankly terrified? 🙃
IT by Stephen King I already detest clowns (SORRY NOT SORRY) and call me crazy but the idea of one lurking in wait in the drains is just not my jam? Like, at all.
Bag of Bones by Stephen King I have this one and I really want to read it but it’s also supernatural ghost-y and that’s usually really not my jam. Serious question: What is with cabins in woods by lakes being haunted?!
The Shining by Stephen King I was forced to watch the movie and I honestly… Ugh. I questioned my choice of friends for months afterwards. Not cool, people, not cool!
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson I really wish I had the guts to read this because I got the book as part of the September Owlcrate box and I honestly don’t know if I will ever read it.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving This is a legend/story that has creeped me out ever since I heard stories about the headless horseman when I was a kid. Years later, this legend is actually what I always picture when I think Halloween!
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski This one sounds like a total mindfck. Reading the synopsis already has me confused and questioning whether it’s real or not and I’m doubting myself. If I feel this now, how will I feel after reading it?
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant I really really want to read this one but I’m already terrified of the deep, dark ocean and while I love the idea of mermaids and sirens, I’m not a fan of the creepy killing kind lurking in said deep dark ocean.
Pet Semetary by Stephen King Dead pets… I just… I don’t know if I can handle it? I like my pets alive and not haunting me, thanks!
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay The synopsis of this alone really freaks me out. I’ve come across it several times in store and have always been tempted to buy it but never do because I don’t think my mind will be able to take how horrifyingly messed up this story is? It’s just a feeling lol
Have you read any of these spooky titles? Would you read them? Do you wish you could read them? If you’ve also done a TTT, please leave your links in the comments below so I can come check it out! 🙂
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 Storythat 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.
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)!
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!
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!
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 the day in bed with Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. In typical fashion, I’ve managed to sign myself up for TOO MANY group reads this month and until now I haven’t read any of the reads that have been scheduled for discussion this weekend. I’m a mood reader but I’ve never had so much trouble with following through on group reads before 😅 I usually manage to put down whatever I feel like reading and pick up what I’m meant to be reading but that hasn’t been the case over the last few months.
BUT I DIGRESS. Last Time I Lied is one of the books that is meant to be discussed this weekend (i.e. today) and I’ve only just started it. I’ve only read one other Sager book and although it was much slower in pace than I anticipated, I still really enjoyed it. I’ve heard lots of great things about this book of his, so I’m looking forward to seeing how I feel and whether it’s truly as creepy and thrilling as people say.
Have you ever played two truths and a lie?
Emma has. Her first summer away from home, she learned how to play the game. And she learned how to lie.
Then three of her new friends went into the woods and never returned . . .
Now, years later, Emma has been asked to go back to the newly re-opened Camp Nightingale. She thinks she’s laying old ghosts to rest but really she’s returning to the scene of a crime.
Because Emma’s innocence might be the biggest lie of all…
What are you currently reading?
It’s Sunday and I can’t even. We’ve also come to the end of October, with just a few days to go until November comes around. The last two weeks have been… Insane? One week was a holiday and the second week was diving straight back into high-intensity work loads due to it being the regional meetings. I’m wondering if I’m feeling extra tired because of the fact that I went from a pretty lazy holiday straight into an intense week without even one day of easing into things in between. I think I’ve managed to stretch myself pretty thin with everything this October and I’m trying not to let the guilt I feel at not being at the top of my game get me down. I’m feeling like there’s a lot of change coming in the last few months of 2019 and definitely in 2020. I’m just hoping that they all end up being positive ones!
Did I mention that the days are only continuing to get hotter here?! I want to keep my AC on 24/7 because honestly the days are stifling. The humidity is only increasing and the intensity of the sun’s heat down here is mind-numbingly hot.
Reading & Blogging Recap
Unsurprisingly due to the hectic life schedule, I’ve fallen quite behind on books and blogging over the last two weeks and the break in my regular programming has really disrupted my flow and my ability to get back into things. I’ve managed to read a decent number of books though and have noticed that I’m still very much in the contemporary romance mood and I think that’s mostly because I really don’t have to concentrate on the stories and I can still follow along fine. I’ve tried picking up some other reads that require more concentration and I find I so easily lose my place as I get lost in my own thoughts. Hopefully things pick up in November though!
One thing that I need to start working on in the coming week or at least at the weekend, is writing all the reviews I haven’t written for the books that I’ve read. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling extra lazy but I haven’t really been pushing myself to write the reviews down for the books right after I finish reading it when things are still fresh in my mind. As a result, I’m finding that I’m already forgetting why I loved or didn’t love a book. So these might all end up being mini-reviews! I’m trying not to feel guilty about it as there’s really no obligation (they’re not ARCs) for me to write these reviews, right? But I’ve really enjoyed writing reviews ever since starting my blog, so I think I’m just going through a funky phase where routine is disrupted and things feel a little bit in limbo? Anyway, before I digress even further and blather on about nothing, check out the posts I made this week below.
I’d like to give a special shout out this week to Leelynn who recently featured me on her blog and I’m seriously still shook that there are bloggers out there who want to share more about me! I never in my wildest thoughts would’ve expected anything like this to happen when I started my book blog this year. Leelynn is one of my favorite bloggers and she is so incredibly supportive of everyone in the community! She is such a force of positivity and I’m so lucky to have met her through blogging and to be able to now call her my friend. If you haven’t done so already, I strongly urge you to check out her fun and amazing blog posts and give her a follow! I’m planning to share the blogger spotlight post on my blog in the coming week as well, not to toot my own horn or anything but to share Leelynn’s work and amazing thoughtfulness for featuring me on her blog! So much love 🧡💙💜
How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend! Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends 🙂
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 magic wielders! This is oddly enough something I’ve never thought about closely despite reading many fantasies that have magical worlds, wielders and other elements. Would this also include witches? Is it cheating to include witches? this list is compiled of the first five names that came to mind when I thought of magicians/magic wielders/witches. I know that I’ve missed out on some greats (first thought was really to Harry Potter but that’s stating the obvious, right?)!
Sorry it’s gonna be a short one though coz this day/week has been long AF!
Yayaya, HAPPY FRIYAY, book lovers and friends 😍We’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 don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!
First lines:
This is how it begins. You wake to sunlight whispering through the trees just outside the window. It’s a faint light, weak and gray at the edges. Dawn still shedding the skin of night. Yet it’s bright enough to make you roll over and face the wall, the mattress creaking beneath you. Within that roll is a moment of disorientation, a split second when you don’t know where you are. It happens sometimes after a deep, dreamless slumber. A temporary amnesia. You see the fine grains of the pine-plank wall, smell the traces of campfire smoke in your hair, and know exactly where you are. Camp Nightingale.
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
Emma has. Her first summer away from home, she learned how to play the game. And she learned how to lie.
Then three of her new friends went into the woods and never returned…
Now, years later, Emma has been asked to go back to the newly re-opened Camp Nightingale. She thinks she’s laying old ghosts to rest but really she’s returning to the scene of a crime.
Because Emma’s innocence might be the biggest lie of all…
Have you read The Last Time I Lied or is it on your TBR? Leave me a comment and let’s chat 🙂
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?
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 🙂
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 I’d give different titles to. It seems that this prompt is just too much for my post-holiday dazed brain to take because I’ve completely blanked out. I honestly don’t know that I’d change the title of any of the books I’ve read because I’m pretty terrible at picking or making up titles for anything; but for the most part I also think the titles suit the books.
That said, I wasn’t sure if I was going to do a prompt for this week until I came across Annemieke’s TTT post for today on fantasy book title generators and I loved it, so I decided to hop on board with this one. Thanks for the inspo, Annemieke 💛This was fun to do, especially when I tried to picture what some of the covers would look like and what they’d be about. I chose a mix of adventure and fantasy titles for this list! All titles were generated on: Fantasy Name Generators.
I don’t know why but this one has me chuckling. For some reason my brain has also immediately pinged to the song “Immortality” by the BeeGees (lmao) I don’t know if a story about an invader’s unending existence would really be my jam?
Soldier of Stardust
This sounds like a fantasy title with a potentially liberal sprinkling of romance? I’m down 😬
Humans and Criminals
I think I’m mostly curious about how this would be the title of an adventure book!
What do you think of these titles? Did you know these random title generators existed?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! 🙂
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 Storythat 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!
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!
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?
Since the last check in, I’ve managed to finish four books! I’m really loving Mariana Zapata’s books and finished two in the last week alone. Although the formula to her stories isn’t all that complicated and not entirely unpredictable, I really enjoy the journey I go through with her characters. Sometimes it’s just really satisfying to get what you sign up for in these reads, you know? I finished Dear Aaron and Wait For It. Dear Aaron was alright but Wait For It had me smiling constantly. I also finally finished House of Salt and Sorrows and I also read Faker, another contemporary romance.
What are you currently reading?
I started Serpent & Dove yesterday and um… I love it so much?! Lou is so bad ass and why am I developing a soft spot for Reid?! I haven’t had much time to read since my friend is visiting, but I’m really fighting the desire to read this book non-stop! At the same time, because my friend is here I’ve decided that NOW IS THE TIME to start reading Rules for Vanishing. It’s… TERRIFYING. I’ve only managed to read a little bit but my toes are curling thinking about how scary this is sounding. I don’t honestly don’t know if I’ll be ready for the scary shit, with or without my friend here 😅
What will you read next?
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? Leave me a comment and let’s chat 🙂
