Latest Update & Reading Project

Hello, lovely people!!!!! How are you? I hope you’re doing well. 🙂

This is a regular update for what I’m currently reading, books I can’t wait for anymore, and a brilliant reading project I decided to give it a shot. So I hope you’ll enjoy this post!

First up, as you can see my Currently Reading Bookshelf on Goodreads (or the widget on the right side of this page), I’m reading three(well, technically, two) books at the moment. The first one is  Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor! Ugh, seriously, all the hypes on Twitter about this book is KILLING ME and I’d be dead if I hadn’t started reading it. *_* Just kidding, I simply couldn’t live without knowing what this mesmerizingly beautiful book is about.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I’d like this book because the first time I read Laini’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone series, I couldn’t bring myself to digest the story. Her writing style is too unique to my liking and her characters are…hard to get along with. (Yep, I treat fictional characters like real people.) I mean, didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I could never find a blue-haired girl attractive at all. To make matters worse, I still couldn’t enjoy the story the way most people did even in the few attempts later. Anyway, I read Strange the Dreamer first, hoping I’ll think differently about Laini’s writing style this time.

What about you? Do you enjoy reading Laini’s books? Have you read Strange the Dreamer? Please feel free to tell me your opinions below!

The second book I’m also reading is The Secret to Letting Go by Katherine Fleet, which was published in February, 2016.

Interestingly, I discovered this book by chance when I was exploring some similar genres (abuse-related categories) and I was captivated by the blurb and mainly the book title/cover. Hence, the next second I knew, I’d already stuck my nose in the book. 😛

In case you’re wondering, The Secret to Letting Go is about a girl named Clover, who witnessed her physically violent dad abused both her mom. In order to help Clover escape and go to somewhere faraway for a better life, her mom sacrificed herself when her dad was searching for fear. Later on, Clover also saw everything about the “disappearance” of her parents. After suffering from PTSD, she went to Florida, exactly where her mom wanted her to be and met a worth-saving guy, Daniel. Daniel lived on his own guilt because of his girlfriend’s death and he was too nice a person to rely on. Both of them have serious issues in their lives to deal with in the first place, but they also wanted to have a future together. How would they work everything out and figure what they truly needed?

As for the third book I’m “supposed to” be reading, is Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo.

If you pay close attention to my reading schedule (which I assume no one does that because it’s creepy, okay?!!), you’ll probably notice that I haven’t made a progress on this book since I first started it like…two months ago? Well, now I’m pretty sure Fantasy is not my cup of tea most of the time for that I can never immerse myself in its “epic writing style and storyline.” Believe me, I tried. I tried so hard to love these fantasies but nine out of ten times, I either failed or gave up.

Don’t get me wrong, I do “like” how the story goes, but it seems impossible for me to continue reading the story in a sitting. Though I’ll still finish reading it eventually; it’s just a matter of time! You’ve got to have faith in me!

Alright, enough said about my currently reading. Let’s move on to adore all the new releases I’m so keen to read, shall we?

• The Hate U Giveby Angie Thomas

Ahhhh! Truth is, I have no idea what this book is actually about because I refuse to read the blurb from now on. (You’ll know why when I get to the “Reading Project” section later.) All I know is that the book brings crucial awareness to young readers about how the reality works and what we/they all need to know. *vague explanation, I know* Frankly, simply this piece of knowledge I have regarding this book is enough for me to take the story seriously and hopefully, enjoy reading it!

• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Again, I have zero clue about this book but somehow I remember I read the synopsis before… I think it’s a story about some Indian-Americans falling in love but they have their own marriage ritual to follow so the romance can’t be as simple as they think. Whatever it is, this sounds super intriguing to me!

• One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

For starters, I’ve never read anything in the genre of Suspense. But when I first saw this book, I couldn’t help but wonder what’ll happen in the end. I mean, the blurb says “when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive…” Aren’t you curious??? Therefore, I’m determined to find out what happens and in the meanwhile, try to read something out of my norm. 🙂

Have you read any of the above? Do you think they live up to those hypes online?

Alright, folks! Last thing last, my very first Reading Project!!!

When I see booktubers or bloggers share their monthly readathon or reading schedules based on various kinds of topics, such as rainbow books, specific genres, diverse categories, or even the creative ones like weather, clothing, or some fashion trends. These ideas originally came from Bookstagrams but since I don’t have one, I consider creating my own reading project just for fun!

Recently, I’ve realized how much I used to rely on reviews when I debate whether to read a book or not, and that’s when I finally noticed how easily biased I am. That is, I can’t fully express what I feel toward a book after reading it. My opinions are definitely my own, but I have to admit that sometimes I’m not even sure if I enjoy/dislike a book because I really do, or because others do. I find myself try to think the way fellow book reviewers think, and constantly direct my own thoughts to theirs. Thus, to truly digest a story and write a review 100% based on my feelings and opinions, I make up my mind to read the books I’m initially interested in wherever/whenever I see them. This is my simple yet challenging reading project for this year.

Why challenging? Because I’ll never know if that book’s highly rated or strongly recommended or well-written or a waste of time. However, try to think reversely, where’s the fun if you already know how the story is or what the story is about?

Thus, here are the rules I’ll follow when I choose my next reads:

• Read the blurbs AFTER I finished reading the book.
• Read others’ opinions/reviews/thoughts AFTER I expressed mine and perhaps, have a more interesting, in-depth discussion with them.
• Learn to let the unpopular opinions sit well with me.

That’s all! Hopefully this will be a brand-new reading experience for me and I look forward to the results by the end of this year. Oh, and if you’d like to join me, don’t be shy and tell me in the comment section below! Everybody’s welcome! 😀

Happy reading! ❤

-Jas