Inkblots

Curious to know about which of your favorite books will be available in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them?

I have put together a list of new releases for your reading pleasure. The titles included here are from favorite genres, authors on auto-buy and series I've yet to finish or plan to start.


Please note that while I did not include every book that is coming out, I did include those whose titles have caught my eye, and which I am hoping will catch your fancy as well.


If there are titles or a series you like that I was not able to include, do let me know so that I could add it to the list.


Inkblots

Curious to know about which of your favorite books will be available in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them?

I have put together a list of new releases for your reading pleasure. The titles included here are from favorite genres, authors on auto-buy and series I've yet to finish or plan to start.

Please note that while I did not include every book that is coming out, I did include those whose titles have caught my eye, and which I am hoping will catch your fancy as well.


If there are titles or a series you like that I was not able to include, do let me know so that I could add it to the list.

Goodreads Challenge -- Completed!!!

Hello Bookblots! How have you been? Time for another round-up over here at Inkblots Central, but this time we're doing things a little differently. 

Remember the Goodreads Challenge that I took on a at the start of the year? (you can read all about that here ⬇️ )

Well, as of today, I'm excited to announce that I have finally completed my goal! 71 books read, with time to spare. Squeee!! 🤗

Inkblots


Curious to know about which of your favorite books will be available in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them?

I have put together a list of new releases for your reading pleasure. The titles included here are from favorite genres, authors on auto-buy and series I've yet to finish or plan to start.


Please note that while I did not include every book that is coming out, I did include those whose titles have caught my eye, and which I am hoping will catch your fancy as well.


If there are titles or a series you like that I was not able to include, do let me know so that I could add it to the list.


Read Your Heart Out

For many readers, the Goodreads Reading Challenge is a great way to make a dent in our never ending "To Be Read" (TBR) piles. 


How does it work? At the start of the year, Goodreads invites its members to pledge a certain number of books they think they are able to read for the year. Each book marked "Finished" on the site or the app, counts as a pledge towards your goal. It is neither a race nor a contest, but a way to challenge you to increase the number or the quality of books you've read in your lifetime.

Inkblots

Curious to know about which of your favorite books will be available in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them?

I have put together a list of new releases for your reading pleasure. The titles included here are from favorite genres, authors on auto-buy and series I've yet to finish or plan to start.

Please note that while I did not include every book that is coming out, I did include those whose titles have caught my eye, and which I am hoping will catch your fancy as well.

If there are titles or a series you like that I was not able to include, do let me know so that I could add it to the list.




Inkblots

Curious to know about which of your favorite books will be available in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them?

I have put together a list of new releases for your reading pleasure. The titles included here are from favorite genres, authors on auto-buy and series I've yet to finish or plan to start.

Please note that while I did not include every book that is coming out, I did include those whose titles have caught my eye, and which I am hoping will catch your fancy as well.

If there are titles or a series you like that I was not able to include, do let me know so that I could add it to the list.




Holly Freakin' Hughes | Review

"People like you, don't fall in love with people like me." -Holly Hughes


Holly Hughes thought she had it all, until her marriage-phobic ex, Stephen breaks up with her because he was gay and in love with someone else (and not marriage-phobic at all). To make matters worse, she loses her job. Alone, miserable and broke, she leaves New York City and moves in with her sister in Long Island, babysitting her niece while trying to piece her life back together. 

Brandon Davis is a famous author (think Dan Brown, but hotter) who is still hurting five years after he was dumped by his fiancee because she was jealous of his success and achievements. He returns to his hometown of Long Island, after a grueling three-month book tour seeking peace and solitude.  

Brandon and Holly meet in a bookstore quite by accident and this starts a series of events that will keep you reading on 'til the wee hours of dawn, trying not to wake your sleeping partner with fits of giggles. 


Holly Freakin' Hughes


Hello Bookworms! We are thrilled to announce that Little Bookish Inkblots been chosen by the wonderful people over at Indies Ink to enjoy this delectable new offering by Kelsey Kingsley!


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Release Date: August 1st, pre-order your copies now!

The Squee! Round Up: Summer Edition


WHAT WE READ THIS SUMMER

Hey, Bookworms! Summer is in full tilt, and I for one hardly even felt Spring come to visit. Still, it feels good to finally shed my comfy boots for a pair of slinky sandals.


How have you been spending your summer? I hope you're getting some lovely reading time by the beach or the park, or even in the sofa.


We, over at Inkblots HQ had to do some pretty heavy duty adulting these past few months, because we *finally* moved into our new place (yay!). It's our first time on our own, and we could not be any happier. 

Every bookish girl's dream is to have a home library and when I moved to New York a year ago, I made the decision to leave behind all my books and it was really sad. But my super amazing and incredibly supportive husband (who also happens to be a book lover) understands my need for good reads and made my new library a priority in our new home. He has also graciously agreed to be a part of the blog and will be giving commentary on some of the books that he has read, and events attended with me.


As a downside to all the planning and decorating and book buying, we were not able to get enough reading time as we would have liked -- but I'm still ahead by 2 books in our Goodreads Challenge, so everything's coming up roses! 😎

Inkblots

Curious to know about which of your favorite books will be available in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them?

I have put together a list of new releases for your reading pleasure. The titles included here are from favorite genres, authors on auto-buy and series I've yet to finish or plan to start. 

Please note that while I did not include every book that is coming out, I did include those whose titles have caught my eye, and which I am hoping will catch your fancy as well.


If there are titles or a series you like that I was not able to include, do let me know so that I could add it to the list. 


Inkblots

Curious to know about which of your favorite books will be available in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them?

I have put together a list of new releases for your reading pleasure. The titles included here are from favorite genres, authors on auto-buy and series I've yet to finish or plan to start. 

Please note that while I did not include every book that is coming out, I did include those whose titles have caught my eye, and which I am hoping will catch your fancy as well.


If there are titles or a series you like that I was not able to include, do let me know so that I could add it to the list. 



Bookworm Confessions: Too Many Books, Too Little Space

Walking through our living room is like traversing a mini maze except the hedges are actually books. I've got books under the coffee table, hidden in boxes by the corners, stuffed inside the edges of the cushy sofa, piled hip-high in a recessed corner, and of course two-deep inside a 9 shelf bookcase and artfully stacked (like jenga pieces) in the linen cabinet. 

"Re-Organizing, again!"
@The.LittleBookishInkblot on Instagram
You know that scene in the movies when you open a closet and the clothes just fall on you because it was smooshed inside? That was me, except it was books - hardbacks. Yes, I know,  I'm lucky I still have all my toes attached.


It was then I realized that I had 
SO. MUCH. STUFF.




A quick search on de-cluttering resulted in this amazing book written by Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo, called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. The KonMarie method consists of gathering together all of one's belongings, one category at a time, and then after individual examination of the item, keep only those things that "spark joy" in you. Intrigued, I immediately got to work. 

Starting with the paper (receipts, warranties, letters), and then clothing, working my way through accessories and footwear before tackling the books. At first, it can be daunting and grueling, but if you do it by category, it doesn't seem so bad -- by the fourth hour I was actually enjoying myself. In keeping only the items that spark joy (or make me happy), I was able to trim down my belongings significantly.

I thought I was doing great, in all honesty. Until I got to the books, upon touching each book I asked myself - would keeping this novel make me happy? Will I read this book again? Does this Hunger Games Foil Edition set spark joy in me? Soon, I had a tiny mound of books to let go and was sparking joy like crazy from touching books that I worried about igniting a bonfire. 

Needless to say, the 'Books' category of the KonMarie lifestyle change was an *epic* failure.

This was when I knew I had Tsundoku:

  • the condition of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them, -- Wikipedia
  • a Japanese term for buying books but not reading them, -- Wikipedia
  • what Angelica has -- The Hubby
I have always loved to read, to talk endlessly about books and having books around make me happy. And while I am extremely thankful to have a husband who understands this and supports it, he loves to tease me by walking around the apartment, picking up random books asking if I've read it. He niggles me about going from zero to 600 in less than a year but would be the first in line at a bookstore to get me the newest release in my favorite series (hello, new Sarah J. Maas book). Still, it made me realize that I had a huge pile of unread books needing attention, stat.

In an attempt to make a dent in the pile, I started a collection in my bullet journal called, The Neverending TBR List and jotted down about 130 titles to get started. These are all the books I have bought in the recent months but just haven't gotten around to reading because, well, you know -- adulting and life and other new releases and all that. *sigh*

By the end of 2016, I had finished a total of 67 books but when I ticked off the titles from the TBR list, I had read only seven (7). That's 60 books that were not a part of the original TBR titles at all. Gosh, I needed a better solution.

For 2017, I started another list and decided to make it a bit more doable. Each month I will pick a book from the TBR Jar, I won't stop reading other books and new releases, but this should help me make a dent in reading some of the books I already own. 

2017 TBR JAR PICKS:

JANUARY:        When Passion Rules by Johanna Lindsey
FEBRUARY:      A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
MARCH:           Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
APRIL:              The Handmaiden by Margaret Atwood
MAY:                 ---
JUNE:               Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
JULY:                Wired by Julie Garwood
AUGUST:
SEPTEMBER:
OCTOBER:
NOVEMBER:
DECEMBER:

The 2017 Jar would contain titles that would *ideally* fit these parameters: An owned book, either hardbound or paperback; A standalone book I have been wanting to read for a while or the next book in the series I am currently reading. To lessen the chances of a burgeoning list, I will try not include books from a series I have not started yet. 

Here are the rest of the titles added to my TBR Jar for this year:  
  1. Wired by Julie Garwood
  2. The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon
  3. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
  4. The Luckiest Girl Alive
  5. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
  6. After You by Jojo Moyes
  7. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
  8. Soundless by Richelle Mead
  9. Map of Fates by Maggie Hall
  10. Illuminae by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff
  11. Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi
  12. Armada by Ernest Cline
  13. Better Than Ever Before by Gretchen Rubin
  14. All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
  15. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
  16. The Serpent King by Jeff Zener
  17. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
  18. Daughter of Ruin by K.D. Castner
  19. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
  20. The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
  21. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Do you have books that you want to add to this list? Recommendations are very welcome! 

Hopefully organizing a better TBR list and the occasional book ban will help settle my Tsundoku tendencies. In the meantime, I will just have to keep busy by reading, and re-organizing our beautiful bookshelves.

Do you have Tsundoku tendencies too? How do you manage it? I'd love to hear about it!

Please feel free to share your bookish babblings in the comment section! 


XOXO,








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Rich People Problems | Review

Shang Su Yi is on her deathbed, and Tyersall Park is on lockdown. 

 Get it on Amazon! Add it on Goodreads!
Having read and enjoyed the first two books, I could not WAIT to sink my teeth into the exploits of my favorite family. Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend had such spot-on characters that I still remember fondly. By the third book, Nick, Rachel, Astrid, Charlie, Kitty, and Ollie had started to feel like old friends (and frenemies). A fifth into the book, I am already hoping for Astrid's happy ending and wondering if Nick and Rachel will ever reconcile with Nick's estranged grandmother.

AUTHOR
Kevin Kwan
STARTED
April 19 2017
FORMAT
Ebook | NetGalley
FINISHED
April 21 2017
RATING
 ðŸ¤— 🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗 
SERIES
Crazy Rich Asians,
Book Three

Diving into the book, you immediately get that feeling of being swept up in the story as we learn that Shang Su Yi is dying. The entire family flies in (on their private jets, of course) to say their goodbyes, make their peace and cement their claims on the family fortune. Nick, the beloved grandson who was once thought to inherit it all is banned from the house. Astrid, the favorite granddaughter who is facing the social media scandal of the century is also discouraged from visiting her grandmother. As the drama continues to unfold inside the walls of beautiful Tyersall Park, Kitty Pong (now Mrs. Jack Bing) lives in luxurious splendor but faces steep competition from her stepdaughter, Colette. 

The characters continue to be just as over the top as in the previous books, with the story picking up a few years after the end of the last book, China Rich Girlfriend. In typical Kevin Kwan fashion, we are immersed in the colorful descriptions of lavish luxurious lifestyles and over the top opulence with brand names scattered all throughout the pages. There are noticeably more food references in this book as compared to the others, in fact, the meals were described so deliciously it made me want to eat dinner thrice in one day! Expect a lot of great family drama, laugh out loud moments and even some eye-rolling ridiculousness - mostly centered around Eddie. 

I'm not going to do anything ridiculous like mention who gets Tyersall Park in the end but I will say that this book gave me a lot to think about. My favorite parts of the book were about Su Yi's past and I was also pleasantly surprised to see glimpses of humanity in a few of the characters. The only downside is that I missed seeing Rachel in the book, she did not have as strong a presence now as she did in the past. Her character had so much to offer in the first two books and I feel that she is just Nick's main for of support in this one, which is a pity since there were some scenes with Kitty that I feel was not needed to move the story along. I am holding out for a fourth book because Rachel's character was just so -blah- that I feel she needs redemption, maybe as a young mother with overbearing in-laws? Who knows, perhaps Eleanor will visit New York and babysit! Won't that be fun?

Rich People Problems is by far one of the best reads I've had this year, it's outrageous, but also very unexpected. I am not ready to let these characters go, so I will be joining the horde of fans waiting with bated breaths for the movie, and a fourth book! 


I can't wait for you guys to enjoy this book as much as I did, let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Rich People Problems releases in just 7 days!! Don't dawdle, don't think -- go grab your copies now.

Never miss out on the fun, Subscribe to Little Bookish Inkblots by Email to have updates delivered straight to your inbox. We hate spam as much as the next person and promise to never send you any. Just pure bookish babblings.

XOXO,

• I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion •



Inkblots

Curious to know about which of your favorite books will be available in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them?

Monthly Inkblots is a list of new and upcoming releases I have put together for your reading pleasure. The titles included here are from my favorite genres, authors on auto-buy and series I've yet to finish or plan to start. 


Please note that while I did not include every book that is coming out, I did include those whose titles have caught my eye, and which I am hoping will catch your fancy as well.

If there are titles or a series you like that I was not able to include, do let me know so that I could add it to the list. 



The Squee Round Up


WHAT I READ THIS MONTH 

Updates from the Queen of SQUEEE! 🤗 


April was such a great month to get my read on! So far I've clocked nine books, and I'm now enjoying three more which I hope to finish before the end of the month. I've only got 5 days left and I still need to get through A Court of Mist and Fury in time for the ACOWAR Release!!! Yikes!

Firebolt | Review

Magic and Dragons, what more could you want?


We start this adventure with an intriguing premise -- a teenager discovers that dragons are real and is suddenly thrust into a world of magic, mystery, and self-discovery.


Now I haven't read a lot of teen fantasy books centered on Dragons for a while. The last one was the Jennifer Scales series and that did not end well for me. In fact, I still have some seriously effed up leftover emotional baggage from those books. So as you can imagine, I was seriously excited to give this book a try.

The Beginning of Always | Review

This is NOT your ordinary YA story...


In Aquanis University, the children of gods from different pantheons co-exist peacefully (in a manner of speaking) as they navigate through college life and all its offerings from dorm room shuffles, bffs, boys and bullies to uncontrollable libidos, date rape, and sexual self-discovery.


The writing of the book flowed easily and the descriptions were detailed and well thought out. It mirrors most real life experiences in college - both the good and the bad. Although, I would have wanted more focus on the growth of the main characters as well as a clearer vision of their backstories, powers, and purpose. From the way that this book was done, it was like Claire and company were the Squib equivalent of demigods. 

Born of Legend | Review


Let me tell you up front that this book was good, and I liked it, but it was looooooong. It took me a week to finish despite listening every day for about 6-7hours. Actually, I would have given it 5 stars if not for some things like Length and Storyline repetitiveness.


AUTHOR
Sherrilyn Kenyon
STARTED
March 20 2017
FORMAT
Audiobook
FINISHED
March 27 2017
RATING
 ðŸ¤— 🤗 🤗 🤗
SERIES
The League, Book 9


Anyone who has had a chance to talk to me knows that I love audiobooks. For this particular series, Fred Berman does the narration, and he is just awesome! Oh, he also plays TIMON on The Lion King on Broadway. I only noticed that because when we watched the play for our anniversary, I saw his name on the playbill it kind of 'sounded' familiar. When I read that his artist description included audiobooks, I hurriedly checked my current read, and ohmygosh, YES! That's HIM! Squeeee!!!