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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books Set in/Take Place During X
I’m choosing books set in the dream realm for today’s topic. The distinction for me with “dream realm” is that they are not portals to an alternate world, but rather a place where you can only go with your mind, ie. your body does not follow.
Having said that, I haven’t read some of the books below (and some I read a while ago and might have forgotten details) so I can’t be 100% sure if they fit the criteria. I’ve added them here based on their book descriptions, what others have said about them, and other non-spoilery info. If you’ve read them and you think I’m wrong, feel free to let me know!
Top Ten Books Set in the Dream Realm
The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick – This series has one of the best world-building and magical lore. Most of it relates to card divination but it also includes navigating the spiritual realm. It needs a reread!
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo – This is one of my favorite books that I’ve talked a lot about. A big part of the story has the FMC’s body sick and unconscious and her spirit spending a lot of time in the underworld.
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan – A recent favorite, but interesting enough, it also has the FMC sick and I’m assuming in a coma, while her consciousness is in another world.
Super Powered by Drew Hayes – This is a series featuring super powered young adults. One of them has the ability to go into people’s dreams and influence them that way. I loved the series, it was so much fun!
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King – The sequel to The Shining, it follows a now-adult Dan. Dan and another one of the MCs, Abra, communicate through dreams. One of my favorites from the King.
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin – I have heard much about this book but haven’t read it. It’s a scifi story where the MC’s dreams can affect reality. Definitely adding to my TBR.
Dreamfall by Amy Plum – This is a thriller/horror where the MCs participate in some kind of sleep study and end up stuck in the dream together. It sounds so good!
Dreamology by Lucy Keating – This is a romance where the two MCs dream about each other all the time, but one day they meet and realize the other person is real! I’m intrigued!
Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente – I’ve only read one book by the author but loved it. This one is about a world that you can only access through dreams, but you have to sleep with someone who’s already been there.
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor – Dreams choose the dreamer in this book. I had this on my TBR but forgot all about it. Now it’s back on my radar!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books with Honorifics in the Title
I like today’s topic and I can’t wait to see everyone’s lists, but I missed several previous TTT topics that I really want to do so I decided to go with Books on My Summer 2025 TBR for my topic today! We did Books I’d Like to Re-read last week and I stated that I wanted to read them soon so they are definitely on my Summer TBR as well, but I’ll try to go with different titles today!
Top Ten Books on My Summer 2025 TBR
If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino – It’s one of my in-person bookclub friend’s favorite book and I’m excited to read something she likes.
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman – A different bookclub friend’s favorite book, I’m always excited to see what my friends love to read.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I love TJR and I love Julia Whelan who narrates this. Definitely listening to this one on audio.
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich – I’ve read one other book by the author and loved it. I’m curious to read another and I thought this one sounded interesting.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston – This has been on my TBR for ages now, plus it’s been talked about favorably. I really should get to it soon!
The Love Haters by Katherine Center – I’ve read and loved several other Katherine Center books and I’m sure I’ll like this one too.
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green – I’ve heard so many rave reviews about this one I got curious. I’ve read a couple of the author’s books and liked them, but this one is nonfiction.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – I’ve been meaning to read this but never got around to it. I recently watched the movie and loved it so it’s motivating me to read this sooner rather than later.
Never Flinch by Stephen King – I don’t care what people say, Holly is one of my favorite SK characters and I can’t wait to read more of her!
The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan – This one came out two years ago and I had been anticipating it before it even released. I don’t know why I haven’t read it!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books I’d Like to Re-read
It’s been some weeks since I’ve done the Top Ten Tuesdays and I’ve missed some really great topics. I’ve had some things going on but I’m hoping to get back some semblance of normalcy and do the TTTs regularly again. Please bear with me!
I am big on rereading because I tend to rush over details when I read books the first time, and rereading helps me appreciate the books more and see things I didn’t see before. I’ve previously done a TTT for Books I Love to Reread, so I won’t repeat the same titles. The ones below are books I intend to reread soon. Hopefully before the year is over!
Top Ten Books I’d Like to Reread
The Long Walk by Stephen King – The movie is coming out and of course I have to reread this before then!
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel – I might leave this until later because I want to reread the whole series and that means I need to have dedicated time for all of them.
The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan – I’ve mentioned this author many times as one of my favorite underrated authors. This may be my favorite book he’s written.
Momo by Michael Ende – The author is better known for writing The Neverending Story, which I love, but I love Momo more and I need to reread it.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett – I was enchanted by this book when I read it the first time and it’s been a long while.
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood – This one touched me in a visceral way and has been on my reread list for a while. I need to make it happen.
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper – I love this author but haven’t read a lot of her works. This book is one of my favorite books.
Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – This is another series I need to allocate dedicated time for. I love the characters and it’s been too long since I read it.
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber – I remember thinking that every married couple needs to read this. I don’t remember why, but I guess that’s why I have to reread it.
The Season of Passage by Christopher Pike – I used to reread this regularly as a teenager, but I can’t remember the last time I read it. It’s time!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Authors (or books by authors) Who Live In My State/Country (submitted by Jennifer @ Funk-N-Fiction)
I currently live in Canada but I am from Malaysia and I absolutely love today’s topic because I am able to promote a couple of my favorite authors and also discover some Malaysian authors I haven’t read! I didn’t love all the ones I’ve read, but I hope that sharing them here anyway will help the right audience find them. Clicking the link on their names will bring you to their author page on Goodreads.
Top Ten Tuesday Malaysian Authors
Yangsze Choo – My absolute favorite Malaysian author, she has written The Ghost Bride, The Night Tiger, and The Fox Wife, all of which I’ve read and loved! Her first two books are steeped in Malaysian Chinese folklore and have wonderful fantastical elements. The Fox Wife is not set in Malaysia, but has the same beautiful storytelling. I recommend these books to as many people as I can. In fact, The Ghost Bride is my in-person bookclub’s current book of the month!
Zen Cho – My next favorite Malaysian author, although I have only read The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water. She writes sci-fi and fantasy and has a good number of successful books. I loved The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water and I keep meaning to pick up more of her books.
Tash Aw – He grew up in Malaysia but has since moved to England. There was a lot of hype around The Harmony Silk Factory when it came out, and I’ve read it but don’t remember very much about it except that I was underwhelmed, unfortunately. I haven’t read any of his other books.
Vanessa Chan – The most recent Malaysian author whose work I read. I really wanted to like The Storm We Made but unfortunately couldn’t because I’m a character-driven reader and some of the characters’ behaviors in the book was just not believable for me. I was quite disappointed with the book but others have liked it and regardless of my own feelings about the book, I always wish success for my fellow Malaysians and hope they find the right audience.
Vanessa Len – She is nationally Australian but has Malaysian Chinese roots. Her Monsters series has been quite successful, but unfortunately I dnf’d the first book of the series. It wasn’t for me but I hope others might find her and love her.
Hanna Alkaf – I just found her through researching for this post and I am very excited about reading her books. It looks like she’s got several books with great ratings; I’m most excited about The Weight of Our Sky because it’s historical fiction set on May 13th, 1969, the day there was a racial war between the Chinese and the Malays in Malaysia. I grew up hearing about it as a cautionary tale but was never given details so I’m very curious to read this book!
Tan Twan Eng – Another Malaysian author I just found out about and whom I’m excited to read. He writes The Gift of Rain and The House of Doors. These books are historical fiction set in the early 1900s in Malaysia. I’m just really starting to appreciate the intricate history of Malaysia/Malaya during the British colonial times, a lot of which we were never taught in school, and I’d love to read more about it!
Sue Lynn Tan – She is the author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior, two books in the Celestial Kingdom series. I have these books on my TBR but I haven’t gotten around to them yet. I don’t think I knew the author was Malaysian, but now that I do, I’m moving them up the TBR list. These are fantasy books about Chinese mythological figures, something I’m very excited to dive into!
Rani Manicka – She has written four novels, two of which are set in Malaysia. The Rice Mother is her first book and is about a girl who moved to Malaysia for an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen and had several children by the time she was nineteen. She grows up quickly and takes care of her family through WW2 and the Japanese occupation. It sounds absolutely fascinating!
Selina Siak Chin Yoke – The author has written two books in the Malayan series; The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds and When the Future Comes Too Soon. Historical fiction set in British colonial times in Malaysia, which I’ve mentioned I’ve become more appreciative of. These books weave many of the different, rich Malaysian cultures into the story and I love seeing multicultural aspects of Malaysia being represented so I can’t wait to read these books too.
Have you read any of these books and/or authors? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books with the Word “[Insert Word Here]” in the Title
I am unfortunately writing this post after a sleepless night laying in bed tossing and turning until 5am this morning. My brain can’t brain and the only thing I’m thinking about is sleep. So I’m choosing books with the word “sleep” in the title for this prompt.
Top Ten Books with the Word “Sleep” in the Title
While My Pretty One Sleeps by Mary Higgins Clark – I read this book in 2012 and gave it 3/5 stars but for the life of me I can’t remember anything about it, and the fact that I rated it 3 stars gives me so much indecision about whether it’s worth a reread. I do enjoy mysteries and thrillers so I might just read other books by the author that I haven’t already tried.
Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey – I remember binging on a whole bunch of fairytale retellings years ago and coming across this book, but I don’t remember if I ended up reading this one. I still love fairytale retellings so I might binge a whole bunch of them again!
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel – This was one of the first books I listened to on audio and I remember being blown away by the production. It’s the first book in a series and I loved the first two books but was unfortunately disappointed with the last one.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving – This is one of those stories that we see so much in pop culture that I feel like I know the story already even if I haven’t read the book. It’s still on my TBR though and I do intend to read it one day.
Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson – I read this book back in 2012 and remember enjoying it. I gave it 4/5 stars but wrote nothing else about it. I’m a bit mad with my 2012 self, tbh, lazy ass not writing reviews, or at least some notes, for me to refer to, especially knowing how forgetful I am.
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King – This is the sequel to The Shining, which is probably the more popular book but I personally think it’s a strong book in itself and it holds it own. I loved both, and I loved Danny in both.
The Places We Sleep by Caroline Brooks DuBois – I have not read this but it looks interesting and I want to try to get my hands on a copy. It’s middle grade, poetry, historical fiction (it’s crazy to me that 9/11 events is now classified as historical – it doesn’t seem that long ago), and that’s a combination that I hardly ever read but I’m sure I would enjoy.
While the World Is Still Asleep by Petra Durst-Benning – This book intrigues me. The cover intrigues me. The subject matter intrigues me. It’s historical fiction based in Germany in the 1890s and it’s illegal for a woman to ride a bike. I am so intrigued.
Sleeping with the Fishes by Mary Janice Davidson – A paranormal romance about a mermaid. I had this book on my radar some years ago but never got around to it. Now that it’s crossed my path again I’m adding it back to my TBR.
Where Children Sleep by James Mollison – This is an art photography book of children’s bedrooms all around the world with stories about the children and how they live. I would really love to take a look but my library doesn’t have a copy. I’ll keep looking.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books that Surprised Me
Books are constantly surprising me all the time in so many different ways. Today I’m choosing to go with books that surprised me in a good way and these are some of the more recent ones.
Top Ten Recent Books That Surprised Me
All The Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell – I have a morbid curiosity about death and dying and I thought this would be interesting. It’s nonfiction and I expected an impersonal book filled with facts, but it ended up feeling more like a memoir of the author’s experience while researching the book. It got emotional and personal, and in a couple of instances maybe a little judgemental, but I was surprised by how deeply invested I got into the book.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon – I had no idea this was historical fiction and based on real people and events at first, and I also didn’t expect to love it so much. It was so well-written and I found myself googling the actual people.
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck – It was waayyy more profound and heartwrenching than I expected. I thought it was going to be something fun and campy because of the subject matter, and I’ve even joked about it with friends who had read it, but it turned out so surprisingly emotional.
The Measure by Nikki Erlick – This book literally surprised me by appearing on my Shelf in my Libby app out of nowhere. I do not remember borrowing it or putting it on hold, nor even hearing about the book before! It just turned up on my shelf! However, the narrator is Julia Whelan and I love her, so I decided to read it anyway.
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan – This one definitely caught me by surprise! It was supposed to be a light-hearted YA read for me, like a snack that you read and enjoy in the moment and never think about again, but I love it so much and now I’m obsessed with it! I need the next books!
The Terror by Dan Simmons – I don’t really know what I was expecting with this one. Maybe something more like The Indifferent Stars Above for the Donner Party, but for Franklin’s expedition. I didn’t realize it was fiction and was often confused by what was real and what was not. I was surprised by how invested I got in the characters in the end and how much it affected me!
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong – I didn’t expect to like this book, much less love it. It was a bookclub BOTM that I don’t think I voted for, and I ended up being blown away by how beautiful it was.
Heartstopper the series by Alice Oseman – This is one of the best things that ever existed and we must protect it at all cost! I was not interested in this series at all because it’s about high school boys and I didn’t think it’d have anything I could relate to, but I ended up loving it so much and loving the boys too! The best surprise!
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – So I was lucky to not be exposed to the hype around this book. I had no idea it was even popular at all and fully expected it was going to be another snack-like book I would forget after reading. I ended up enjoying it so much and I was surprised to find out that most people thought it was overhyped.
Sooley by John Grisham – I love legal thrillers so of course I’ve read several of John Grisham’s books and that’s how I came across this one. However, this book turned out to be about sports and sportsmen, which I’m usually not interested in but it was so good and I loved it and I guess I love reading about sports after all.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is My Unpopular Bookish Opinions
I’ve had so many opinions I thought were unpopular that turned out to be quite common and I felt a bit pressured to think of more, so I’m just going to cop-out with an easy alphabetical prompt. Here are some books I’ve read beginning with C.
Top Ten Books Beginning with C
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood – I’ve talked about this book several times because it’s one of my favorite books; it focuses on the friendships between women and the way we are pitted against each other and taught to see each other as rivals. It’s been a while since I read it and I desperately need to reread.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – Another favorite that I’ve read many times but never get tired of. If you’re daunted by its size, I promise it’s really fast paced and easy to read once you get into it!
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black – One of my favorite vampire stories although I can’t remember why! I guess I need to reread this too!
Carrie by Stephen King – I’ve read this before and I mean to read this again soon for my Stephen King Reading Challenge. It has been on my mind lately because of the buzz about Mike Flanagan adapting it. It’s very exciting!
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein – It’s a WW2 spy story and I remember feeling all the feelings when I read it more than ten years ago. In my Goodreads review I mention that this is a book I need to reread. I think I need a separate TBR list for rereads!
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – This book is on this list purely for bragging purposes. 😂 I read it, it was okay, it mostly felt like a fever dream, but I read it relatively recently and I wanted to make sure everyone knew how much of an intellectual I am. 🤓
Circe by Madeline Miller – I would read anything by the author, and yes, I loved The Song of Achilles too, but I loved this one more. I love how relatable Circe is as a woman, goddess, witch, person. Another book I really want to reread!
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I also would read anything by TJR, every book she’s written is gold! But I have a few favorites and this book is one of them.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer – I love the whole series! I love fairytale retellings in general and I always seek them out, but this one was special and different when it came out and I just loved how creative it was and how the overarching story brought everything together.
The Curiosity by Stephen P. Kiernan – This is one of my most favorite, most underrated authors I have ever read. I love every single one of his books but his most popular book only has about 20K ratings. It’s a shame because they are all so good. This book was my first and it’s about a man who has been frozen in ice for a century and wakes up in current times. All his books have been 5 stars for me, and I would reread them over and over again.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books with Springy Covers
I couldn’t come up with a creative spin on this topic so I just went with books that had the word “spring” in the title. I ended up a pretty good list, I think, and unfortunately, more books added to my TBR! 😂 I hope you enjoy these!
Top Ten Books with Spring in the Title
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson – This book has been on my TBR forever! I keep meaning to read it but haven’t gotten to it yet. It sounds like a very important book to read about the environment and I can’t believe it was written 50 years ago!
Rumours of Spring by Farah Bashir – This is a memoir about a girl in India and I must say I am intrigued! I came across it as I was looking for books for this list and it just caught my attention.
Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews – I’ve seen this author’s name everywhere and I thought I must have read at least one of her books but apparently not. Maybe it’s time to remedy that.
Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – This is the third book in the Dragonlance Chronicles that I’m trying to do a reread on this year! I cannot wait to get to it!
Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie – Written under her pseudonym Mary Westmacott, it just reminds me I’ve still got many of the author’s books on my TBR!
The Spring of the Ram by Dorothy Dunnett – I have heard good things about the author when it comes to historical fiction. I had a few of her books on my physical shelves at one point but I moved and had to give away a lot of books so she’s still on my TBR!
Black Spring by Henry Miller – I’m not sure I’m interested in this book, but the cover is very attention-getting and I had to include it.
Spring Fever by P.G. Wodehouse – The second book with this title on my list, but it sounded good, and I’ve been curious about the author’s works so it’s on the list!
Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang – Historical fiction set in China with magical realism! I must read it!
A Spring Without Bees by Michael Schacker – This one is another one about the environment and I’m simultaneously wanting to read it and scared to. I think it’s important to educate ourselves though.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books You’d be a Fool Not to Read
I had some trouble with this topic, I won’t lie, it’s too hard to pick from all the great books out there! But I hope you’ll find some good ones on this list and I hope you’ll enjoy them if you choose to read them.
Top Ten Books You’d be a Fool Not to Read
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber – I read this book almost ten years ago but I still think about it occassionally. It sticks with you. It’s a story about a missionary who leaves his wife behind (for years) to go to a new planet and spread his message to the aliens living there, but it’s the exploration of human nature and humanity that struck me. I need to reread this sooner rather than later.
Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee – Another book that delves into the human psyche and what it means to live a hedonistic lifestyle. If nothing is important, then what is it that makes life meaningful?
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – This trilogy is marketed under YA and launched a whole trend of dystopian YA books, but it is honestly in a league all its own. It still holds up after all these years, and again, the exploration of human suffering and what it means to be human is the thing that gets me.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – Another exploration of human suffering, with a vengence! Literally. I know this is a thick book and can be daunting but it’s so fast-paced and thrilling that you don’t even notice it once you get started. There are so many exciting twists and turns, especially if you’re reading it for the first time, but even after a dozen rereads, I still get excited reading it again.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – This is one I’d recommend listening on audiobook because the author reads it. His performance is a work of art and you really feel like he’s a friend having a conversation with you and telling you his stories. I’m a huge fan and I have so much respect for him for so many reasons.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman – I’ve only read a couple of books in this series, but it’s so fun and different that I can’t not include it on the list. It’s so rich and funny, and yet, also poignant in some ways. You’d be a fool not to at least try it, really!
Life of Pi by Yann Martel – I love the fantastical elements of this story as well as the exploration of our religious beliefs and spiritual values. You could say they actually go hand in hand in many ways. This book made me think about why I believe what I believe.
11/22/63 by Stephen King – Honestly, you’d be a fool not to read at least one book by Stephen King. It doesn’t have to be one of his big horror books, in fact, his non-horror books are some of my favorites. If you don’t know which one to pick, I’d recommend this one, but he’s just got so many good ones! I may be biased, but I’m also right! 😂
Circe by Madeline Miller – You might have heard about The Song of Achilles by the author, and it’s good, but I think this one is better! For some reason, I never wrote a review for the book, but impressions stick, and I remember feeling all my feelings for a while after reading the book.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly – This is a well-known classic but it’s popular for a reason. The more I think about this book, the more impressed I become. I love how this story came to be, I love how insightful the author is about the topic of human nature and monsters, both literally and figuratively. It is a haunting story.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books I Did Not Finish
There are many books I dnf’d because I didn’t like them but there were also some books that I think I might like but just wasn’t ready for. Today’s list is a mix of those I didn’t like and will never pick up again, and some that I know I want to try again one day.
Top Ten Books I Did Not Finish
Dracula by Bram Stoker – This one is a funny story because it’s not that I didn’t like the book, it’s that I listened to it on audio and somehow thought it would be a good idea to listen while sleeping. I was frightened awake by a nasty, scary, loud voice – Dracula’s voice, I presume, I didn’t wait long enough to find out. I quickly turned it off and hid under the covers and I just haven’t picked up the book again. I will eventually! Maybe on print and not before bed!
You, Me, and the Colors of Life by Noa C. Walker – I read up to 52% of the book. I don’t know what happens so this isn’t a spoiler, but I got the impression that things wasn’t going to end well for the MC. She has non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which is the same cancer I had when I was 19, and I couldn’t keep reading thinking that she was going to die from it.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber – I had really high hopes for this book and I think I got all the way to 90% of the book and then rage-quit because it kept getting worse for me. Here’s what I said in a review: “It was all so juvenile and nonsensical, and there were so many holes in the plot. I didn’t like any of the characters at all, and even Julian, who was supposed to be the most appealing and was portrayed as such, didn’t appeal to me at all. A lot of the book was repetitive and annoying, and I really didn’t like Scarlett and her sister Donatella.”
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton – This one came highly recommended and I really wanted to like it but I just didn’t. I love the idea, but the execution was disappointing. There was too much narration, too many big words, too much telling, too much effort going into trying to convince us how smart the crow was. I just didn’t care about the characters or the story. I dnf’d about 35% in.
I Fell In Love With Hope by Lancali – The language was beautiful but it was too much purple prose. It became not about the story but about the word-crafting, which is fine, but that’s not what I thought I was getting into. I dnf’d maybe 10% in, probably less, because I just couldn’t get through the story, I got so stuck on the words.
We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida – I only read two “chapters” but it looks like each chapter is an individual story about different people who were prescribed cats. They all seem unrelated to each other except for the cat thing, I can’t say for sure since I dnf’d, but I realized that maybe slice of life stories just aren’t for me. I was mostly bored.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson – Here’s my review from when I tried reading it in 2016: “I couldn’t get past the first 15%. It started so confusing with the characters names and change in POVs, but then I started to get it and it seemed promising. Then came pages and pages of descriptions about how Kelsier was using Allomancy… all the talk of Pushing and Pulling, and IronPush, PewterPull, etc. It’s much worse than what I’ve described here, it was just too tedious and boring.” Don’t come at me, Brando Sando fans! I’ve enjoyed his other books, and I’ve since read the first three books of the Stormlight Archives and loved them. Maybe 2016 me was just not ready for Mistborn but I’m open to trying again!
Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang – I borrowed this book because I wanted to read just that one story that the movie Arrival was based on – Story of Your Life. I loved it and intended to read the rest of the book, but didn’t get to them before I had to return the book. I’ve since read Exhalation by the author and loved it so I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this one!
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion – I initially thought this book was about magical living, you know, the whimsical happy life kind of thing. I picked it up in 2016 when my father was sick and I needed something whimsical. It turned out to be a book about grief and I just couldn’t do it then because it was too close to home. One day, eventually.
Only A Monster by Vanessa Len – I try my best to support Malaysians where I can, so I got excited when I found out this story has a Malaysian MC and the author has Malaysian roots. It sounded like a great story and I was looking forward to reading it but unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the book. I couldn’t relate to the characters or the story, but I love that others seem to like it and I hope that adding it to my list might help it find other readers.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
