This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Ten Books I Picked Up On A Whim.
Now, I’m going to explain why I modify the topic, but feel free to skip ahead to the list.
The original topic is quite impossible for me to complete because being the thrifty person that I am, most of my book purchases are well-thought of and well-researched. Except for those times when I accidentally hit 1-click purchase button… However, there’s another thing that plays into my book buying habit and that is the price. I am that person who is forever lured into buying a book if you put a 1.99 tag on it. Hence, I modified the topic just a little to “ten books I bought without doing extensive research and weeks of deliberation” but that is too long for a title so I had to settle for the above, even if I’m not satisfied with said title. The main difference between the books I listed below and my usual purchases are on the “extensive research and weeks of deliberation” but these are definitely books I’ve heard before buying even though I had no idea what they’re about at the time of purchase. LOL. I suppose you can say these ten are ‘hyped books I bought without knowing what they’re about just because they were sold at bargain prices’.
Right, the list… :p
1. The wrath and the dawn (Renee Ahdieh)
I liked this book and there are some elements I really liked, but I have problems with other parts (such as the MC’s motivation, everyone’s motivations tbh) so it’s a 3-star from me. Will definitely read the second book, though.
Verdict: good (
)
2. The serpent king (Jeff Zentner)
Haven’t read this one and had no idea what it’s about. I think it involved snakes?
Waitt, don’t tell me.
Verdict: TBD
3. Poison study (Maria V Snyder)
I saw this book on Kindle daily deals and I asked on twitter whether I should buy it. I think it was Sara who said YES and so I bought it. 😀 I’m glad I did because I really liked this book, although I feel it was quite unevenly paced.
Verdict: very good (
)
4. The winner’s curse (Marie Rutkoski)
I’ve read 60 pages or so but got distracted by work. I’m thinking to get back to it soon.
Verdict: TBD
5. Angelfall (Susan Ee)
I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK, can’t you tell? I think Angelfall has been constantly on my top ten lists of everything. The second and third are not as good as Angelfall, but you can read this one and not read the sequels because the story is pretty much self-contained.
Verdict: excellent (
)
6. The rithmatist (Brandon Sanderson)
I know right? Hahahahaha.
If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you would notice that I am obsessed with Brandon Sanderson’s writing to the point that I made “reading all Sanderson published works” my 2016 goal (progress: hopeless). But I really didn’t plan to buy it at that time because I want to read Reckoners first, and probably the second Mistborn series. Lame excuse, I know. Well, what do I know? I posi-tute-ly loved Rithmatist, more than Steelheart and Firefight and Alloy of Law. Hopefully he’ll get around to write the sequel soon (AFTER stormlight 3 obviously).
Verdict: very good (
)
7 & 8. Dark places & sharp objects (Gillian Flynn)
I only wanted to read Gone Girl, but I cannot resist good bundling price so I bought all three in one bundle. It turned out that Gone Girl is not the only great Flynn’s book. Honestly, I liked Sharp Objects more than Gone Girl, but maybe that’s just me. What I really liked about her books is all of her characters are flawed, sometimes to the point of slightly disturbing, yet you cannot help but root for them. And those twists, GOSH.
Verdict: good () & very good ()
9. Magonia (Maria Dahvana Headley)
I’m sorry I just can’t. I tried, I really did. I managed to read 100 pages or so, but I couldn’t get into it.
Verdict: DNF
10. Under the never sky (Veronica Rossi)
What’s really disappointing for me is that Under the Never Sky started really strong, but then it gets progressively boring and it becomes difficult to keep my interest in the story. This book, however, gets an average 4-star rating on goodreads so obviously I am the odd one out in this.
Verdict: okay (
)
Let me know:
- Are you an impulsive buyer when it comes to book?
- What are the factors that influence your book buying habits?
- Based on your experience, does buying books on a whim usually end up well or disappointing?
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I admire Sanderson’s talent. It’s undeniable. Unfortunately I just cant get into most of his work! 🙁 My TTT ‘On a Whim’ books.
That was unfortunate, but totally understandable. His style of writing definitely isn’t for everyone. No worries! 🙂
I really loved Mistborn One. Mistborn 2 was just as good…but I can’t even get past the first chapter of the final one!
:p The third book was my favorite one of the trilogy, but it does take foreveeer to get into. Once I got to the halfway mark, it was unputdownable.
Aww, too bad you didn’t love TWATD! I really liked that book. I’m also planning on reading The Winner’s Curse and The Rithmatist… well, eventually.
So sad about Magonia. The cover for that one is just gorgeous!
I’m definitely not an impulsive buyer except when it comes to clothes, LOL. With books I am much, much pickier.
Yeah, I really liked a lot of aspects of it so it’s a shame I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I even liked the romance and I am not the person who usually enjoy romance in fantasy book. I think it was very well-written. As for my problem, it was mainly with Shazi. Most of the time, I don’t get her, why she does the thing she does. I might have like it more if I were given a glimpse of her friendship with Shiva.
LOL. So little time so many books to read. I’m planning to get back to the winner’s curse soon though, otherwise it might take me a year to pick it up again.
I KNOW RIGHT? It was so pretty and everything about it screamed “LOVE ME” but I just can’t. At first I thought I didn’t enjoy it because of magical realism, but then I read Ava Lavender and I loved it so it must be something else.
Hahaha. It’s cool. I am not impulsive with anything, sometimes it’s really boring. “Hey, look cute flats! No wait, I better go home and think if I really need them.” xD
I actually really like Shazi but I too would love if we were given more of Shiva! I think that’d make things a bit more interesting. What kind of stuff don’t you get why she does? 😮
Yeees, I’m kind of drowing in books as well. Also I’m replaying The Sims so that’s been taking like HOURS of my day, haha.
You’re sensible, not boring. I would love to be a bit less impulsive when it comes to clothes, haha. Thankfully I actually don’t shop all that much so there’s not a lot of opportunities to actually BE impulsive…
I like Shazi too, which is why I want her to stay alive. I don’t get her rushing into a palace to kill the king with a half-baked plan. And I don’t even know if she has concrete plan. It was brave, yes, but also a little too much YA heroine-y in my opinion.
LOL I quit THE SIMS years ago. I used to let their lives take over mine too.
Hahaha, I could only imagine. Thankfully I no longer work near the shopping mall these days, the temptation could be so great.
The Serpent King is a surprise read for me and is highly touted in the community as of late (well, obviously Joey because it was just released) so I really hope you enjoy it!
Cheers,
Joey via. thoughts and afterthoughts.
I saw it being mentioned a lot in twittersphere so I’m hoping it’s good! LOL some books lost their hype as they were released and people realized it wasn’t that good so I’ll take that as a good sign.