BOOK TAG: Books I WANT to read, but don’t want to READ

Jami over at Jamishelves created and posted this tag a couple weeks ago. I’m not usually a book tag kind of blogger, but this one seemed really fun! So even though I wasn’t tagged, I’m doing it anyway!

Rules:

• Link back to the original tag (@Jamishelves)
• Complete the questions with books you want to have read but don’t want to read
• Tag some people at the end to do the tag next

1: A book that you feel you need to read because everyone talks about it

• The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

This is a book that has just never appealed to me for whatever reason. I keep hearing great things about it and about the sequel, but I’m just not into the premise!

2: A book that’s really long

• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

This baby is over 1,000 pages. I repeat, OVER 1,000 PAGES. That’s literally like three normal sized books combined.

3: A book you’ve owned / had on your TBR for too long

• The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E Pearson

I asked for this book for Christmas the year it came out (which I guess wasn’t that long ago, but it feels really long ago). I’d read the first two and couldn’t remember much. So I told myself I would wait to read this one until I’d reread the first two and now…it’s just been sitting on my shelf.

4: A book that is ‘required’ reading
(eg, school text, really popular classic – something you feel obligated to read!)

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The old answer for this was Wuthering Heights, but I finally read that last year (the year before?). Spoiler: not worth it, imo. But this one I’m a little more excited for because I really liked My Plain Jane.

5: A book that intimidates you

• The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (reread)

This is a bit of a cheat, but I have been meaning to reread the Harry Potter books forever. I read them as they were coming out and I’ve attempted rereads since (most notably when I got my wisdom teeth out) but I can never seem to get past the fourth book! It’s just such a commitment and the books just get longer.

6: A book that you think might be slow

• The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

Apparently, I really liked the first two books, but at this point I can’t remember why? I remember the books are slow reads (for me at least) even though they contain some action. I’m just worried this book will be slow and I don’t have the motivation to pick it up.

7: A book you need to be in the right mood for

• Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

While I liked the first book (The Diviners), it was long and had a lot of loose ends. It was obviously setting things up for the rest of the series, so I feel like I’m really going to need to be in the right mood to finish.

8: A book you’re unsure if you will like

• Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Another book that I’ve only heard good things about, but I have a thing about zombies. I. DO. NOT. LIKE. ZOMBIES. Especially on TV/in movies, but also in books. But like the rest of the premise sounds really good, and like I said, everyone’s been RAVING about it (it has a freaking 4.17 rating on Goodreads).

I tag:
Deanna @A Novel Glimpse
Book Beach Bunny
Margaret @ Weird Zeal
Ashley @ Socially Awkward Bookworm
Kristin @ Kristin Kraves Books
Kaeley @ Spoilers May Apply

Here’s the list of prompts without my answers for your copying and pasting pleasure:

1: A book that you feel you need to read because everyone talks about it
2: A book that’s really long
3: A book you’ve owned / had on your TBR for too long
4: A book that is ‘required’ reading
(eg, school text, really popular classic – something you feel obligated to read!)
5: A book that intimidates you
6: A book that you think might be slow
7: A book you need to be in the right mood for
8: A book you’re unsure if you will like

Turns out, I don’t hate this series | Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Safiya fon Hasstrel is a Truthwitch which means she can sense when people are lying. But if anyone besides her closest friends knew that, then she would immediately become a political pawn or be assassinated. With a 20-year-truce between nations coming to a potentially bloody close, Safi finds that her secret has been discovered and that her ability is more sought-after than ever. With the help of her friend and Thread-sister Iseult and finding an unlikely ally in the Nubrevnan Prince Merik, Safi is on the run.

ebook | Paperback | Hardcover

TL;DR – Writing, worldbuilding, and plot are all good. Strong female friendship gets an A+. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

I was so prepared to hate this book and the entire series. There had just been so much hype around it and for some reason I had this belief that it was going to be poorly written with a myriad of plot holes, probably a love triangle, and abysmal world-building. I think I’ve just been disappointed one too many times on hyped books/series–I’ve become jaded. Regardless, I went into this book prepared to be disappointed and was completely blown away instead.

Now, the book isn’t perfect, but I was really impressed by the writing and the world/magic system that Dennard had created. Even though the world seemed complex, I didn’t feel completely lost in the beginning like I have in other books. The magic system is pretty reminiscent of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but I’m willing to look past that.The switching POV was a good way to give the readers perspective and helped us to learn about the different nations and the political climate pretty quickly. However, not all of the POVs felt distinct. Safi and Iseult particularly felt like the same character was narrating.

I really, REALLY enjoyed that Dennard highlighted friendships in this book as well. The friendship between Safi and Iseult is so pure and it kills me that they both think that they’re holding the other person back. I wish that the friendship between Merik and Kullen had been explored more, though. It felt like we were more told about that friendship rather than shown. If that makes sense.

One last observation that I had was that the contract between Merik and Safi’s uncle stated that she couldn’t spill any blood, right? Well, what if Safi had been on her period??? Typical male-written contract…

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am excited to continue on with the series. So far, I’m not super convinced that Safi’s Truthwitchery is actually that valuable, but I’m hoping the next books prove me wrong.

Overall Rating: 4
Language: Mild
Violence: Moderate
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Mild

ebook | Paperback | Hardcover

 

 

Hype, hype baby | Under pressure to read new and hyped books

This is a blog post idea that has been bouncing around my head for a little bit, but yesterday it kind of came to a boiling point. I kept seeing posts about one book in particular (it was the book’s release day). Bloggers, authors, EVERYONE was raving about this book and talking about how excited they were to finally receive and read it. This is the book in question:

So I’m just like, yes pretty cover, I understand. But then I went to read the synopsis on Goodreads and it left me feeling just…confused.

It legitimately doesn’t sound interesting to me AT ALL. There is no part of that synopsis that appeals to me and I don’t even really understand what the book is supposed to be about. But here’s the thing: I marked it as “Want to Read” anyway.

Why did I do that? Even now I’m not totally sure. I’m usually pretty good at resisting peer pressure and I’m not really afraid to share my unpopular opinions, but hearing how excited everyone else was about this particular book, I thought that I must be missing something. So I guess FOMO is why I did it?

Something that I really enjoyed from my hiatus was completely unplugging from the book scene. I didn’t check my blog, I didn’t check other blogs, I didn’t even really go on Goodreads except to update my reading progress. This made it so I wasn’t really aware of what new books were coming out, what other people were hyping, etc. I also didn’t request ARCs on NetGalley during this time. I felt like I had this new freedom to read books that had been sitting on my shelf for a while (physical and digital). I also had time to do some rereads that I’d been meaning to get to.

I apologize for the rambliness of this post, but in the end it just got me thinking about how much pressure we put on ourselves as bloggers to read the newest thing, the most hyped thing. We want to stay relevant so that means keeping up with everything that’s happening RIGHT NOW. We have to read the latest books and hop on the newest trends immediately or else we’ll get left behind. Except…I don’t think it’s really like that. I like reading reviews about newer books, but I also like reading reviews about older ones–maybe ones that I’ve read a few years back or ones that I’ve been meaning to read for a while.

What I’ve learned through all of this: It’s okay to not be the very first one to read and review something. Accepting this idea has helped me to relax as a blogger and as a reader. Changes I have noticed:

• I’m not requesting as many ARCs on NetGalley
• I feel less pressure to try to get publishers to send me physical ARCs
• Because I don’t have as many ARCs to review, my reading schedule is more open which allows me to mood read more or read the books that have been piling up on my shelves or reread old favorites
• I don’t feel the urge to buy as many books since what I want to read is usually available at the library–no holds (and I’m also actually reading books that I already own)
• I’m reading books that I WANT to read, not just books that I feel like I SHOULD read

So there you have it. I’ve officially removed The Belles from my “Want to Read” shelf on Goodreads. I’m still open to reading it in the future, but I’m not going to let myself be pressured into reading it just by its initial hype.

Let me know how you feel about book hype in the comments! Is it helpful, damaging, or neutral? Do you have any similar experiences to mine? How did it turn out?

Top Ten Tuesday: Hyped Books That I Haven’t Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week there is a new topic and this week’s topic is: Top Ten Hyped Books I’ve Never Read

I’m going to divide this into two categories: Books I still want to read and books I don’t think I’ll end up reading. Bonus at the end will be some hyped books that I’ve been disappointed by.

Books still to read:

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
The 100 by Kass Morgan
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

Books I don’t anticipate reading:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Books that disappointed me:

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
The Anna series by Stephanie Perkins

What do you think of my list? Should I rethink any of the books that I don’t anticipate reading?