#TopTenTuesday: Goals & Hopes for 2021

January 12, 2021August 12, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads52 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: resolutions/hopes for 2021 (bookish or not).

Last week I wrote a post about reading resolutions and how I don’t really make them because I’m not great on the follow through 😂 I do set at least one reading goal every year and that’s my Goodreads Reading Challenge but when it comes to other bookish goals, I don’t really make concrete ones because I like to keep the pressure light. That said, I do like to have a few “guiding goals” that’ll help me focus my reading and give me motivation to keep doing it throughout the year! So let’s take a look at some of the ideas I have for myself when it comes to bookish-blogging goals, and perhaps one or two personal goals as well!

#5OnMyTBR: Graphic Novels

January 12, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

Hello Mondays, welcome back to #5OnMyTBR, a meme created by the wonderful E @ The Local Bee Hunter’s Nook. This bookish meme gets us to dig even further into our TBRs by simply posting about five books on our TBR! You can learn more about it here or in the post announcing it. You can find the full list of prompts (past and future) at the end of this post!

This week’s prompt is: Graphic Novels.

Goodreads Monday – Mr. Right Across the Street by Kathryn Freeman

January 11, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

Welcome back to Goodreads Monday! It’s been a very hot minute since I did one but I figured I might as well get back into it! This weekly meme was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners and it 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.*

*Sorry if a book has been featured twice. I need to make better note of which ones I’ve done already!

This week’s featured book is Mr. Right Across the Street by Kathryn Freeman. This is a contemporary romance that is set to be published this month (22 Jan 2021) and currently has a 3.76 rating on Goodreads with just over 50 reviews.

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

January 11, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

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 spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This Sunday I spent half of my day cosied up in my reading nook finishing The Crowns of Croswald. Holy granola, I finally finished that book 😭 After 2+ months reading it I told myself that if I didn’t finish it today I’d just DNF it but I did it. I feel like that’s such an achievement? 😅 I don’t know what it was about that book but it just really didn’t click with me. It really wasn’t my jam. It doesn’t feel great giving a low rating but I can’t not be honest with my feels. Review coming soon! I’ll be spending the rest of my night in bed with The Girl on the Ferris Wheel!

What are you currently reading?

Top 5 Saturday: Multiple POVs

January 9, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads25 Comments

Welcome back to 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 actually: multiple points of view.

I didn’t think I’d have such a hard time coming up with a list for this week’s prompt but I gotta admit that I struggled a little bit. It feels like I haven’t made one of these lists for a while (even though that’s falsies, brain!) so I think I just needed a good warm up by browsing through my Goodreads shelf and staring at my actual bookshelf 😂 Weirdly enough, it worked! I usually love a book with multiple POVs especially when they involve a big cast of characters, like in a lot of YA fantasy. It helps to get a better and more well-rounded picture of what’s going on in the story and I tend to enjoy experiencing events through various characters eyes. As long as it’s well done, of course!

I’m pretty sure at least two of these are definitely multiple POVs but I don’t think I’m wrong in thinking they all are? I’m looking forward to reading them as I’ve heard rave reviews about them all!

Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading Resolutions (+ My Resolutions)

January 8, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads22 Comments

Hello, hello and welcome back to my first Let’s Talk Bookish of 2021! 😍 It’s been just over a month since I joined in the discussions for this weekly meme and I honestly didn’t expect myself to jump back into it so quickly this year, but I’m going with the flow! Since it’s my first LTB, I’m going to be answering last week’s prompt but as always, you can find all info down below including the latest and future prompts.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! You can check out these pages for more information on January 2021 prompts & a list of past prompts!

Now without further ado… The topic asks us about:

reading resolutions

(SUGGESTED BY M.T. WILSON @ THE LAST BOOK ON THE LEFT)
Examples: Do you set reading resolutions in the New Year? Are they helpful? Do you look back to see if you stuck to your goals? Do you ever feel pressured/stressed by these resolutions? Do you participate in the GoodReads challenge?

SETTING NEW YEAR READING resolutions GOALS

I have a pretty rocky relationship with resolutions and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who can say that. I generally love the idea of them and I love setting them but I’m also really good at not following through on them. 😂 I feel like ‘resolution’ is also quite serious a word to use when it comes to reading because it carries more pressure than let’s say the word ‘goals’. Does that make sense? Probably not…

But when it comes to reading I do set simple yearly goals and it’s something that I’ve always looked forward to doing! Honestly, prior to 2020 I only set myself one reading goal (Goodreads) but last year I took a bit of a leap and decided to add a few more to the list and I’m happy to say I did most of them 😊

are GOALS helpful?

Yes! I set these goals because they help to keep me motivated and I also use it as a reminder for what I want to do more. For example, the GR Reading Challenge goal helps me keep track of how much I’m reading but it also motivates me to actually keep reading. I’ve heard a lot of people say that they don’t like setting this goal because it makes it become too ‘competitive’ and while I do agree that some can make it that way, I don’t pay enough attention to other peoples’ numbers to consider it competitive. 😂 I like to challenge myself and see if I can read more than the previous year (so I guess in a way I’m competing against myself!) but I have fun with it and don’t put pressure on myself to do it. To keep the pressure low I also don’t set my goal way above what’s achievable (although of course it’s still a challenge!) and that’s totally okay too because I can add on to the goal as the year goes.

Aside from the Goodreads goal, last year I set myself additional bookish goals like “read more diverse, LGBTQ+ and own voices books” and then I found some reading challenges to help me keep track. I admit that when it came to challenges I did struggle (a lot) because (2020 but) I also felt more pressured especially if it was during a shorter time-frame. That said, it did help to keep this goal at the front of my mind whenever I had trouble choosing my next read.

Year iN REVIEW

One of the things I enjoy most about setting reading goals is looking back at the end of my year to see what I’ve achieved. While at times I have felt disappointed when I didn’t do as well as I hoped, I try to not let it get to me because reading is something I do for fun. It’s not a competition, I’m not going to be penalised if I don’t complete it, and once it gets to the point where I feel guilty or hounded by it, then maybe it’s time to take a break? 🤷🏻‍♀️

IT’S GOAL TIME!

On that note and speaking of goals, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about whether I want to set any this year and aside from the Goodreads Reading Challenge, which I think I will always set, I’ve decided to add a few more to my list again:

Read 150 books
Read more books by (South & Southeast) Asian authors
Read 50 books from my backlist and existing shelf (not including 2021 purchases)
Read 4 Non-Fiction books

What are your thoughts, friends? Do you set reading resolutions or goals? Did you set a Goodreads Reading Challenge goal this year? Do you find that setting goals helps your reading?

#WWWWednesday: 06 January

January 7, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads23 Comments

Welcome, welcome to the first WWW Wednesday of 2021!

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of 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?

Since the last time I did one of these posts I’ve managed to read 5 books (I think?), although none of them were the ones that I was reading in my previous post and all of those are still being “currently read”. 😅

The Little Swiss Ski Chalet ★★★½
Caplin made me question why I’d yet to go to Switzerland and why it wasn’t higher up on my bucket list. She masterfully brought the setting of each location so vividly to life, and not to mention how she so enthusiastically writes about food in this book made me ridiculously hungry (and eager to bake)! Sadly, I wish the characters were better developed as I didn’t feel connected to them and it made the romance fall a bit flat for me. RTC.

Keepers of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities #1) by Shannon Messenger ★★★★☆
I’d heard so much about this series and I’m so glad I finally picked it up. It’s action-packed and Messenger introduces us to an interesting magical world full of vegetarian elves and a unique magical system. I loved Sophie and her journey and can’t wait to read more. Potentially a new favourite MG fantasy! RTC.

#TopTenTuesday: Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2021!

January 5, 2021August 12, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads46 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2021.

Welcome, welcome back to the first Top Ten Tuesday of 2021! I hope you’re all doing well and that you’ve had a pain free start to the new year. ❤️

Last month, the blogosphere was full of lists for what’s coming out in 2021 and unsurprisingly my TBR has been growing quickly since I took the time to scour through some of them. I know I’m still missing out on a ton but I already have 50(+/-) books on my 2021-releases shelf and I have no doubt that it’s going to keep growing, especially after reading everyones posts today! Since I tend to read a lot of romances and YA fantasies, that’s mostly what this list is full of but I’m definitely keen to add some adult contemporary/literary fiction and some good ol’ thrillers/mysteries too (hint hint: any recs?)!

Now without further ado, here are some titles that I’m super excited for in the first half of 2021:

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

January 4, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads13 Comments

This Sunday I’ve spent most of the day reading (and finishing) Glimpsed for my first blog tour of 2021 next week! This was such a fun YA contemporary set in high-school. I loved the fairy godmother aspect and although there were things that I had issues with, I had such a good time reading it. I really liked Charity and I loved the adorkable Noah! My tour date is on Wednesday so I’ll be posting my review then!

Charity is a fairy godmother. She doesn’t wear a poofy dress or go around waving a wand, but she does make sure the deepest desires of the student population at Jack London High School come true. And she knows what they want even better than they do because she can glimpse their perfect futures.

But when Charity fulfills a glimpse that gets Vibha crowned homecoming queen, it ends in disaster. Suddenly, every wish Charity has ever granted is called into question. Has she really been helping people? Where do these glimpses come from, anyway? What if she’s not getting the whole picture?

Making this existential crisis way worse is Noah—the adorkable and (in Charity’s opinion) diabolical ex of one of her past clients—who blames her for sabotaging his prom plans and claims her interventions are doing more harm than good. He demands that she stop granting wishes and help him get his girl back. At first, Charity has no choice but to play along. But soon, Noah becomes an unexpected ally in getting to the bottom of the glimpses. Before long, Charity dares to call him her friend…and even starts to wish he were something more. But can the fairy godmother ever get the happily ever after?

What are you currently reading?

#WWWWednesday: 30 December

December 30, 2020December 30, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads10 Comments

WHOA, IT’S THE LAST WWWWEDNESDAY FOR 2020! Shooketh.

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of 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?

Since last week I managed to finish four books but I also decided to DNF one. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again now, I’m quite proud that I’m actually DNFing books this year. It’s been so hard for me to do but baby steps… We’re getting there! But also… I still have to write reviews for all of these. *le super sigh* Yay for reading lots but the struggle to review is so real! 🙃

Subversive (Clandestine Magic #1) by Colleen Crowley ★★★★☆
I was immediately intrigued by this dystopian society where males reign supreme in every aspect especially to do with magic. There were many layers to the plot(s) and it covers so many issues but the author does a fantastic job of bringing it all together: we’re advocating for women’s rights, subverting the male dominated magical system, hiding government secrets and all while getting a deliciously slow-burning enemies-to-lovers romance! Plus the characters were so easy to root for! I can’t wait to read on. Will likely do a series review for this? RTC.

Spellmaker (Spellbreaker Duology #2) by Charlie N. Holmberg ★★★★☆
This was an action-packed and ultimately satisfying conclusion to Holmberg’s latest historical fantasy duology. It was so rejoin Elsie and Bacchus as they try to beat the villain at their own game. There was more magic, murder, and mystery, and I was 100% here for it. This book is out in March 2021 so my review will be posted closer to pub day! RTC.