Let’s Talk Bookish:  Motivation to Read | 5/9/25

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.


This week’s topic is:

May 9: Motivation to Read (Jillian @ The Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: How do you motivate yourself to sit down and concentrate on reading? Do you have a set reading time/schedule that works best for you to focus? Do you have tips/tricks that you would recommend others try?

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How do you motivate yourself to sit down and concentrate on reading?

I actually have lots of motivation to read to escape from reality! lol…so I have no trouble doing it.

Do you have a set reading time/schedule that works best for you to focus?

I actually like to read at night when it’s nice and quiet, when everyone is asleep. If I’m blogging and doing stuff on the computer or stamping out orders for my Etsy shop then I try to find an audiobook or not. Sometimes I have an hour in the day before picking up my kids from school. But mostly I do my reading at night.

Do you have tips/tricks that you would recommend others try?

Yikes, I’m not sure how to motivate anyone to read. I suggest it to my son only because sometimes he can’t go to sleep right away and reading a little does help him, I think. Audiobooks does help if you are determined to knock some titles off your TBR list or something like that and don’t feel like picking up a book. If you don’t have any motivation to stay still, sit and read, then you can even work out and read – I’ve definitely walked on the treadmill before with my kindle app on my ipad (or audiobook) and read a few pages of a book in the 30-45 minutes I work out.

May Topics:


May 2: Bookish Fandoms

Prompts: There are very popular bookish fandoms out there, especially in the romance fantasy genre (Maas, Yarros, LOTR, etc.). Are you part of a bookish fandom? If you are, what do you love about it? If not, do you think you’d ever want to be part of one? Does being part of the online book community help you connect to fandoms?


May 9: Motivation to Read (Jillian @ The Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: How do you motivate yourself to sit down and concentrate on reading? Do you have a set reading time/schedule that works best for you to focus? Do you have tips/tricks that you would recommend others try?


May 16: What is one book that everyone else seemed to love except you? (Isabella @ The Ink Bound Reader)

Prompts: Have you ever experienced what seems like the whole book community raving about a book, only to discover it’s not all that? What are some story elements that put you off while reading? What about books others dislike that you love? Feel free to share examples of which books everyone loved and you didn’t, and vice versa! 🤭


May 23: Literary Palette Cleansers

Prompts: Do you ever feel like you need a reading reset? Maybe you’ve been reading dense literary fiction, or in a reading slump. Are there certain books you read to help reset? Do you ever take a break from reading? Do you find yourself needing those literary palate cleansers at certain times of year?


May 30: Freebie

Prompts: It’s the fifth Friday of the month, so this week is a freebie! Use this week to revisit an old LTB topic, or write about something you’re interested in! You can check out a bunch of topics on our blogs (Dini’s & Aria’s) and Rukky’s blog for more ideas!

WWW Wednesday | 5/7/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

I finally got some audiobooks for this month – and why did so many library holds become available to borrow at the same time?! Also my son came down with a cold or the flu or some virus on Sunday – he went to school the past 2 days but last night he had a fever so I said he is staying home today. I’m trying not to get his germs – I’m already dealing with allergies from pollen and volcano vog! We just need to get through this week. 😅 And forget my book buying ban – I give up lol…the pretty edges are too enticing. 🫠

What are you currently reading?

The Rivaled Crown by. Holly Renee – 20% – no progress – I might put this aside and come back to it another time.

The Love Haters by. Katherine Center – 35% – okay so far.

Vilest Things by. Chloe Gong – 33% – I don’t know if I’m going to finish this one – I don’t feel invested.

His Mortal Demise by. Vanessa Le – 129 pages in out of 400, some progress

A Forgery of Fate by. Elizabeth Lim – 26% – started this arc and it’s moving quickly!

The Courting of Bristol Keats by. Mary E. Pearson – 20% – I got the audiobook.


What have you just finished reading?

Nightshade by. Autumn Woods ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Love Haters by. Katherine Center ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Embrace the Serpent by. Sunya Mara – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


What are you going to read next?

Summer in the City by. Alex Aster

Silver Elite by. Dani Francis

Shield of Sparrows by. Devney Perry

Great Big Beautiful Life by. Emily Henry – I was allowed to borrow this on Libby and “skip the line” but I have only 7 days to read it 😅

What are YOU reading right now?

Let’s Talk Bookish:  Bookish Fandoms | 5/2/25

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.


This week’s topic is: (whoops forgot to post this one on May 2, so here it is on May 4th ☺️)

May 2: Bookish Fandoms

Prompts: There are very popular bookish fandoms out there, especially in the romance fantasy genre (Maas, Yarros, LOTR, etc.). Are you part of a bookish fandom? If you are, what do you love about it? If not, do you think you’d ever want to be part of one? Does being part of the online book community help you connect to fandoms?

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Are you part of a bookish fandom?

Hmmm, I guess I am a fan of S.J.Maas and I have read all her books. I am a fan of Fourth Wing series but haven’t read anything else by Yarros. I definitely love Holly Black books and so many I can’t list them all.

If you are, what do you love about it?

I just love when you find other people and fans that love the authors or books as much as you do. It’s nice to know others feel the same way you do about a certain book or author.

Does being part of the online book community help you connect to fandoms?

Being on social media definitely connects me to fandoms, especially popular ones like S.J.Maas books. If I wasn’t online I wouldn’t know who to fangirl with! It is only now that one of my best friends have gotten back into reading and she just picked up the ACOTAR series and I gifted her the Fourth Wing series so basically I’m telling her to hurry up and catch up so I can have someone to talk about them with! 😅. I can’t say I’m active in the fandom in that I’m always posting about my favorites, (it gets tiring, I don’t know how you the social media booktokers, boostagramers, etc… do it!) but I like to see all the posts, so you people keep posting it!

May Topics:


May 2: Bookish Fandoms

Prompts: There are very popular bookish fandoms out there, especially in the romance fantasy genre (Maas, Yarros, LOTR, etc.). Are you part of a bookish fandom? If you are, what do you love about it? If not, do you think you’d ever want to be part of one? Does being part of the online book community help you connect to fandoms?


May 9: Motivation to Read (Jillian @ The Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: How do you motivate yourself to sit down and concentrate on reading? Do you have a set reading time/schedule that works best for you to focus? Do you have tips/tricks that you would recommend others try?


May 16: What is one book that everyone else seemed to love except you? (Isabella @ The Ink Bound Reader)

Prompts: Have you ever experienced what seems like the whole book community raving about a book, only to discover it’s not all that? What are some story elements that put you off while reading? What about books others dislike that you love? Feel free to share examples of which books everyone loved and you didn’t, and vice versa! 🤭


May 23: Literary Palette Cleansers

Prompts: Do you ever feel like you need a reading reset? Maybe you’ve been reading dense literary fiction, or in a reading slump. Are there certain books you read to help reset? Do you ever take a break from reading? Do you find yourself needing those literary palate cleansers at certain times of year?


May 30: Freebie

Prompts: It’s the fifth Friday of the month, so this week is a freebie! Use this week to revisit an old LTB topic, or write about something you’re interested in! You can check out a bunch of topics on our blogs (Dini’s & Aria’s) and Rukky’s blog for more ideas!

WWW Wednesday | 4/30/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

And here we are at the end of April. WOW. May is gonna go fast because it’s the last month school for the kiddos. And I’m trying to read my July arcs, because there are so many 😅. I go on my trip to South Korea in the second week of June, so I’m trying to stay on top of things.

What are you currently reading?

The Rivaled Crown by. Holly Renee – 20% – no progress but I am determined to finish by this weekend.

The Love Haters by. Katherine Center – 35% – love it so far!

Vilest Things by. Chloe Gong – 15% – so I didn’t finish my library copy of this book last year, so I borrowed the audiobook to see if this will help me finish the book.

His Mortal Demise by. Vanessa Le – 100 pages in out of 400, some progress


What have you just finished reading?

The Floating World by. Axie Oh ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Never List by. Jade Presley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Twisted Throne by. Danielle L. Jensen

All Paths Lead to Paris by. Sabrina Fedel

A Fate Forged in Fire by. Hazel McBride


What are you going to read next?

Summer in the City by. Alex Aster

Embrace the Serpent by. Sunya Mara

A Forgery of Fate by. Elizabeth Lim

What are YOU reading right now?

WWW Wednesday | 4/23/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Someone needs to take Netgalley away from me – I have way too many arcs to read this year but I can’t stop requesting! I’m trying to escape reality and boy am I reading many more books this year to do that. But why are there SO many books releasing in July – and why did I request all of those? lol

I feel like the books I’ve been reading have been spicer and darker lately. 🤔 I need to get out of this fantasy headspace of mine and cleanse with some contemporary romance – something lighter and happier lol. So once I’m done with this batch of current reads, I’m jumping into the contemporary romances I have listed below in my what I’m reading next section.

What are you currently reading?

The Rivaled Crown by. Holly Renee – 20% – no progress

The Twisted Throne by. Danielle L. Jensen – 23% – was so excited to get this one on Libby!

Accidentally Amy by. Lynn Painter – 6%

The Amalfi Curse by. Sarah Penner – 20% – I’m on the blog tour for this one.

Firebird by. Juliette Cross – 22% – saw this one on KU

His Mortal Demise by. Vanessa Le – 5% in, just started


What have you just finished reading?

The Floating World by. Axie Oh ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Never List by. Jade Presley ⭐️⭐️⭐️


What are you going to read next?

What are YOU reading right now?

WWW Wednesday | 4/16/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

I hate tax season – we owe a lot this year. BOO… So back to my book buying ban! I don’t actually need to be buying any books because I have so many arcs to get through and library books. 😅 I’ve been reading too much fantasy I think and need to read something light-hearted soon.

What are you currently reading?

The Rivaled Crown by. Holly Renee – 20% – no progress

The Floating World by. Axie Oh – 30% some progress

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by. Kylie Lee Baker – 3% – I just started this one since I just got the arc and am on the blog tour.

The Amalfi Curse by. Sarah Penner – 1% – another blog tour I’m on and I just got the arc so will be working on this one!


What have you just finished reading?

Deep End by. Ali Hazelwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Silvercloak by. L.K. Steven ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫


What are you going to read next?

What are YOU reading right now?

WWW Wednesday | 4/9/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Well it’s been that kind of week again – trying to escape from the realities of the world! How’s about those tariffs huh? 😖 But also the stress around me makes it hard to read sometimes. I’m trying to concentrate on arcs because I have SO many arcs due in July and I have my South Korea trip in June, then I have Vegas in July so I’m actually trying to get that July arc list down a little. But not gonna lie, the purple book covers this years have been banger books! Oathbound, Holy Terrors and now Sunrise of the Reaping. 💪🏾

What are you currently reading?

The Rivaled Crown by. Holly Renee – 20% – some progress

The Floating World by. Axie Oh – 24%


What have you just finished reading?

Sunrise on the Reaping by. Suzanne Collins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Phantasma by. Kaylie Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Pride or Die by. CL Montblanc ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Frozen River by. Ariel Lawhon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Their Monstrous Hearts by. Yiğit Turhan ⭐️⭐️💫


What are you going to read next?

What are YOU reading right now?

WWW Wednesday | 4/2/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Today is the day my kids have been WAITING for – the Nintendo Switch 2 was showcased in a Nintendo Direct so it was an early morning for my son, it aired at 3am in Hawaii. I wasn’t waking up that early to watch it lol but I did watch it once I woke up. Anyway let’s talk BOOKS:

What are you currently reading?

The Rivaled Crown by. Holly Renee – 15% – no progress but will be working on it this weekend!

Pride or Die by. CL Montblanc (arc) – 1% just started this one. No progress but am determined to finish it this weekend!

Their Monstrous Hearts by. Yiğit Turhan (arc) – 36% this one is going slower that I hoped.

The Frozen River by. Ariel Lawhon – 21%

Phantasma by. Kaylie Smith – 20%

Sunrise on the Reaping by. Suzanne Collins – just started! Did you see the movie trailer teaser?! Chills!!


What have you just finished reading?

Murder Between Friends by. Liz Lawson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by. Sarah Adams ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Booked For Summer by. Kathryn Freeman ⭐️⭐️💫


What are you going to read next?

What are YOU reading right now?

WWW Wednesday | 3/26/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

I’m trying to save some books for April because I feel like I read so many books in March! March feels like it went by quickly but ending slowly lol.

What are you currently reading?

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by. Sarah Adams – 35% – enjoying this one a lot!

The Rivaled Crown by. Holly Renee – 15% – I’m hoping this one turns out better than the last book

Pride or Die by. CL Montblanc (arc) – 1% just started this one.

Booked For Summer by. Kathryn Freeman – 36% definitely a book for the summer so far

What have you just finished reading?

Four Ruined Realms by. Mai Corland (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Lovely Dark and Deep by. Elisa A. Bonnin ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

What are YOU reading right now?

WWW Wednesday | 3/19/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

How is your week going? It’s spring break for my kiddos and my hubby just went to Washington D.C. on a work trip – it’s been a chill week and I’m getting a lot of reading done!

What are you currently reading?

Four Ruined Realms by. Mai Corland – 30% – audiobook – this is on pause because I still have it for a few days

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by. Sarah Adams – 2% just started this one!

Pride or Die by. CL Montblanc (arc) – 1% just started this one.

What have you just finished reading?

Their Vicious Games by. Joelle Wellington (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Frost Bound by. Frost Kay ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oathbound by. Tracy Deonn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Holy Terrors by. Margaret L. Owen (arc) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

To Shatter the Night by. Katherine Quinn ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

These Summer Storms by. Sarah MacLean (arc) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

I really want to buy Sunrise on the Reaping by. Suzanne Collins but why is the EBOOK $18.99 on Amazon?! And the hardcover is $19.59 😳. That is just not right smh….price gouging much?!

What are YOU reading right now?