10 Books That I Put Down That I Want to Pick Back Up Again (Well, Eventually) ft. my dumb stories

I make a habit of dnf’ing books randomly, when I’m literally in the middle of them.

I just put them down… and don’t pick them up, ever again?

But there’s a few, select, lucky few books that I know I will eventually pick back up again!! And hopefully I will enjoy the second time that I try to read them.

Like, it’s not that I put it down because these books were genuinely of low quality or subpar writing… I might have just been bored. Or I wanted to do something else. I don’t know.

Anyways, I haven’t done a book list in a while, so if anyone who’s been a long-lasting reader of my blog remembers at all, I’m excited to do one again!

(Also, I haven’t posted in a while shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. And I haven’t replied to any comments I PROMISE to catch up this month. How do y’all bear with me.)

{all covers link to goodreads}

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The Way You Make Me Feel  /  maurene goo

35704397Firstly, I will forever scream whenever I see this cover. *heart eyes at the ombre of the colors and whatever model is doing with her hand on her face*

Also, I don’t know why I just stopped reading this book?? I was a good 20% into it and mildly enjoying myself when I just… stopped.

I’m so sorry for disappointing my fellow East Asian brethren I won’t let you down again. I didn’t even get to the part where the romance kicked in… what was I doing.

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Escaping from Houdini  /  kerri maniscalco

30375937So, I was really lucky to be one of the people that got a physical arc of this book when I was at BookCon!! I was so jazzed, you guys.

Within a couple of months (I totally forgot the timeline), I started reading the book and I really liked it! But then (!!!) I realized that the main character was Audrey and the love interest was Thomas and they already had an established relationship.

I was SO SURPRISED and taken aback because for some reason, I thought that all of the novels in this series were all separate novels with completely different characters? I felt really sad because I actually had been enjoying the book, but I’ll wait until I’ve read the first two books to read this one!!

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Forest of a Thousand Lanterns  /  julie c. dao

33958230Team, I am still so sad about this one.

This novel was literally My Most Anticipated Novel of 2017 because CHINESE-INSPIRED FANTASY. YES.

I got a copy of this via booksfortrade on Twitter (I don’t go on there anymore) after… several months… of waiting (I’m still a little salty) and I was so excited! I tried to buddy read it with my dear fellow Chinese friend, Kai, but we both couldn’t get past the initial 30%??? Us??? It was… wild.

I’m definitely going to pick this up again, even though I’ve heard it’s not that good and kind of falters in some areas. I’m just going to read it so I can get that backstory for the sequel, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix ✌️✌️

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The Elephant Vanishes  /  haruki murakami

28688634I received this along with 1Q84 (also by Haruki Murakami) for Christmas from my older sister’s boyfriend, and I had no recognition of this author but now I know that he’s a renowned author whose works are translated from Japanese!

Anyways, I tried to start reading this novel and I was really confused as to the meanings of the stories (but still intrigued) but then I stopped midway through the book because I wanted to sleep.

I still want to pick this up again because I know a lot of people loved his books and that they have a lot of symbolism / meaning to people (particularly to those who are Japanese).

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The Darkest Part of the Forest  /  holly black

20958632*the two readers of this post boo at me*

And, well… I know, right?? What am I doing??

Yeah, so I was reading this book and it was really engaging and then I suddenly decided to go to sleep (are you noticing a pattern here) and I left the paperback in a laundry basket and NEVER FOUND MY COPY AGAIN.

Until, like, a month ago?? I found it inside a random tote bag inside the garage? I think my mom found it and put it there lmaooo.

My copy is kind of beat up now 😦 but I’m still going to read this within the next two years?? Hopefully? The idea of a prince fairy being locked inside a glass coffin is so intriguing and I also loved Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince, so.

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My Name is Daniel Tate  /  cristin terrill

29479572I started reading this in a Barnes and Noble (yes I did that… don’t judge me I am very much a broke child) and I remember being so intensely captivated by the story and I was just very… into it and I think I was almost halfway through? But then we had to leave the store, and what was I supposed to do?? buy the book?? [laughs in poor] I think not.

Anyways, I really want to pick this up again because I know there’s an unreliable narrator and apparently there’s a terribly predictable twist at the end. Also, this cover looks like one of those Pictagram collages I made back when I thought I was cool, but I still kind of dig it.

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Tess of the Road  /  rachel hartman

35046472Okay, I had both a digital review copy & I got a physical arc via booksfortrade and… I regret getting the arc because the final copy cover is gorgeous (!!) but the arc cover is not. It literally is dark blue, says “Tess of the Road,” and some blurbs. That’s it.

I honestly will never ever ever get over this cover!!! That dragon is so amazing and cool and so is the city design behind it omgg.

Also, I got like 50% (?) into the digital copy and I just eventually put it down because it was getting a little boring but I still want to pick it up because there’s a gender-fluid lizard and I want to get into the meat of the fantasy story, please.

This is a companion novel to the Seraphina series which my friend absolutely adored so that made me so much more excited to read it!!

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Busted  /  Gina Ciocca

21825764This is about a girl who basically becomes a hire-able snoop who checks on people’s boyfriends (and see if they’re cheating) and the main character falls in love with one of the boys she’s investigating, so when I first saw the synopsis I was so here for it.

And then I started the first couple chapters via ebook and I was just… not that into it?? #LolThat’sAwkward

I’M STILL COMPELLED BY THE PLOT THOUGH. I didn’t really get to the romantic part either, so I feel like when the plot kicks up I’ll be more invested in the storyline and the characters!

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Strange the Dreamer  /  laini taylor

28145767I really, really loved Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone* books (aka the first two books + the novella) and her writing is so gorgeous and I love her characters SO MUCH. I would put my life on the line for Zuzana, ok.

But I… read the first chapter and I was not here for it in that specific moment, and I think it was just the mood that I was in. Laini’s writing is so pretty, but it can also be overwhelming at certain moments.

Also, whoooooo loves the UK covers more than the US covers??? and why???? Did you see those moth outlines in the US cover??? And that foil thingy?? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

*Y’all, when I first wrote out the title I put “Daughter of Smoke and Bone”??????

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Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune  /  roselle lim

42051103I started buddy reading this with Shealea because I had a digital arc and I actually had to put it down because I couldn’t get past the first chapter! I actually didn’t realize that the main character’s mother died in the first chapter (so definitely cw for familial death/grief), and the writing is really thick— which is good, but not what I expected. I kind of expected a bustling book about happy cooking??

Anyways, I’m still fully planning to read this because I’m still interested, it publishes in June, and also because I now have a physical arc: HUGE HUGE SHOUTOUT to Melanie for sending me this??? (She also sent me two other books? I’m cryinf.) Thank you so much?? I DO NOT DESERVE.

It’s so gorgeous in person, I’m still sobbing.

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Life update… y’all, I’m going to see Avengers: Endgame in two days and I am so so so excited to watch it aaaah!! I went onto Youtube and the feed was like “here’s the REAL reason these characters aren’t part of the mcu anymore” and there was a thumbnail with certain superheroes on it and I was just like, the audacity ???????????? I’m honestly just hoping it was clickbait at this point, because I absolutely loved that character goodbYE.

tell me your thoughts 2

HAVE YOU DNF’D ANY OF THESE BOOKS?

HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE BOOKS + ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED I DIDN’T FINISH THEM?

WHAT ARE SOME NOVELS THAT YOU PUT DOWN BUT ARE PLANNING TO STILL READ?

 

38 thoughts on “10 Books That I Put Down That I Want to Pick Back Up Again (Well, Eventually) ft. my dumb stories

    1. YES and then I have to UNMARK them from Goodreads which is so so so so sad and makes me feel anti-productive, lmao. I always get stuck on ebooks and I don’t know why??/ I think reading on my phone can make feel kind of weird sometimes lmao!!

      ENDGAMe. was amazing.

      Like

  1. I found strange the dreamer really complicated in English so I will pick it up when the Dutch translation is in my hands. I actually had this with the Priory of the orange tree. I was 500 pages in and so incredibly bored! Maybe I will pick it up again.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ooh, that makes sense– Laini Taylor uses the purple prose SO OFTEN!! And I love it, but it’s also so hard to get into sometimes? Hahaa, 500 pages in and you had to put it down! That really sucks, but good luck if you decide to pick it up again!

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  2. OMG I DO THIS SO MUCH AND MAINLY IT’S BECAUSE I AM VERY MUCH FORCED TO RETURN BOOKS TO THE LIBRARY (usually just before they fine me lmao oops). Same with Forest of A Thousand Lanterns!! It was interesting and ofc Chinese inspired fantasy I need to read it, but at that time I just needed to return it and have yet to pick it up again. My ‘currently-reading’ shelf on Goodreads is always overfilled: mainly me saving page numbers for books I stopped reading for whatever reason but plan on continuing. And also the bookstore thing, I kinda don’t do this anymore bc I feel super self conscious haha but my brother does it ALL the time (also like I don’t want to leave a book halfway through like I used to).

    Liked by 1 person

    1. YES YES YES I am so terrible with returning books to the library, I feel like if I’m on a deadline I just CANNOT READ as well as otherwise! Lmao that’s so funny that you save your page numbers, but that’s also GENIUS and I should copy you and start doing that now? YES now I feel so embarrassed of reading in bookstores but honestly?? listen up. I am BROKE. If I do it again, I’d probably try to find a corner where people couldn’t see me lmao.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. ooh this is so interesting, I actually DNFd the first stalking jack the ripper book but i really want to give it another go because it sound so good! Maybe one day I guess lol, great post ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. SO MANY PEOPLE LOVE THE STALKING JACK THE RIPPER BOOKS and I wasn’t *that* drawn to them at first but I guess I am now? Because of the huge fanbase, I think? The covers are also so pretty and I love the unity of them all. ❤ thank you so much!

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  4. i love this post! Because I do that often! Not exactly DNFing but like putting books on hold. Also I’ve read Stalking Jack the Ripper and Um, I’m not impressed *covers face* I predicted the ending halfway in and couldn’t really get on board the romance! But mine is an unpopular opinion! Most people love the series. Some books I’ve put on hold are The Last Magician (It’s so big and it felt daunting), A Gathering of Shadows (I wasn’t feeling it lol) and Winter (Again it’s so big it’s intimidating)

    AND OMG AHHH SO NERVOUS ABOUT ENDGAME! I DON’T WANT IT TO ENDDD

    Liked by 1 person

    1. YES and then if I marked it as currently-reading on Goodreads, I have to go back and change it? And it’s not like I would add it to my dnf shelf because I didn’t dnf it! Ooh, okay, I’ve heard a couple of complaints about Stalking Jack the Ripper so I’m NERVOUS for when I read it? It seems like it has such a huge and dedicated fanbase!

      I’ve seen the size of The Last Magician, and I totally feel how you were intimidated by that book.. Whoa. Also, I actually did NOT like A Gathering of Shadows because it was so so so slow? It took me like two weeks to read it because the middle lagged so much and I was getting bored. I don’t know if I had trouble when I read Winter because I read it immediately after the other books so I was in an adrenaline-induced state, tbh.

      ENDGAME WAS SO GOOD and I’m so excited for phase 4!!! Have you watched it yet?

      Like

  5. Oh my god I do the exact same thing!!! I stop reading books and then I just completely forget what they were even about? I’m glad to see I’m not alone tho! I loved Endgame, I hope you do too and that you don’t get spoiled until you see it!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lmao, it’s such a bad habit of mine but WHAT SHOULD I DO. I like to think that I always finish the books that I start but it’s honestly a complete terrible lie. Also, I actually wasn’t spoiled until I saw Endgame and I’m so happy that I wasn’t spoiled because the NEXT DAY everyone was screaming spoilers which?? was so rude?

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Great post! And yeah, same for StD. I started it a week or two ago, but ngl I could barely get through it because I had no idea what was going on 😂 and also, you should def pick up Here Lies Daniel Tate sometime, it’s very enthralling! 💕

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Aah, I feel like it was so hard for so many people to get into Strange the Dreamer!! Laini’s writing can be so very confusing sometimes, haha. OOH OKAY I will pick it up again, I remember absolutely loving it when I first read Here Lies Daniel Tate!

      Liked by 1 person

  7. First of all, all those covers look super beautiful so I can tell why you picked them up in the first place!! I also hope they’re all good when you continue them?? I hope you write like a part two of your thoughts about these DNF’ed books.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, this is TEA. I definitely remember the main character being a little (lot) arrogant/obnoxious, LMAO. The cover… though… the ombre.. I live for the colors…
      OOH good to know that The Darkest Part of the Forest is loved!! I know so many people are just Holly Black stans because of her faerie worlds! I’m excited to see how it compares to The Cruel Prince.

      Like

  8. i feel this in my CORE! i do this literally all the time… and it’s not even books i’m not enjoying?? like i’ll be loving a book and just randomly put it down and never pick it up again. whyyyy.

    the only one of these i’ve actually read is forest of a thousand lanterns and uh, i wasn’t a massive fan. buuut the world-building was incredible.

    and i’m legit laughing about escaping from houdini because i have so done that before

    Like

  9. Great post! I actually haven’t read any of these books yet (smh), but ALL are on my tbr! (Literally all of them lol) I read the first to Stalking Jack the Ripper books and they’re good. I wasn’t really blown away by it, but THE CHEMISTRY AND ROMANCE! Oh my gosh. Such beautiful banter. Definitely worth the read! 😉

    I’m seeing Endgame tomorrow and am SO SCARED but EXCITED!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I am honestly still recovering from that ending because MY BABY SPIDERMAN IS SAD! I just watched the new trailer for Far From Home today too, and AH! My heart is dying. I overall did like the conclusion to Endgame though. I felt like it had pretty nice closure. Hbu??

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  10. don’t bother picking up the darkest part of the forest again it was very underwhelming :))

    but also yeah I feel like Forest of a Thousand Lanterns failed in some parts but I still really loved Xifeng a lot that it kind of saved the book?? kind of???? and Daniel Tate is super good! I don’t remember what the predictable plot twist was at all lmao. and dfkldsjfsd how did you think all of the Kerri Meniscapilowhatever books were DIFFERENT

    Liked by 1 person

    1. you seem very very salty about the darkest part of the forest. I… vaguely remember you reading it, lmao?

      wait I do not remember you ever reading FoTL what is this sorcery?? mandela effect?? Oh god yeah Xifeng seems so amazing and cool but the plot seems really windy and travel-y and I didn’t know how I felt about it. YES I SAW YOUR REVIEW OF DANIEL TATE!! Also listen… they all have different covers?? I assumed that they were all in alternate universes where the monsters that exist are different?

      Like

        1. WELL…. THIS IS TRUE. ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS DID DIE AND I WAS NOT PREPARED?? I’m kind of angry that a certain superhero didn’t do the act instead because I mean,,, THIS CERTAIN SUPERHERO is super powerful right?? Therefore they probably wouldn’t have died.

          Like

    1. Ooh, I’ve never put down books that I’ve known will be really good, but that sounds really smart to savor them ❤ I used to consider myself a one-book-at-a-time reader, but now that is definitely not true lmao.

      Like

  11. OH GOD I WENT TO SEE ENDGAME ON TUESDAY AND YOWZA MY HEART STILL HURTS anyway yes I loved Here Lies Daniel Tate and yes there is a dramatic and also very predictable twist at the end ://// But it’s still quality reading!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. ENDGAME HAS ME IN PAIN!!! especially because of you know who, you know who, and you know who!!!!! also, uhhh a certain character that I thought would be in it because of the casting but NO. apparently he was NOT going to continue in the mcu and I am so ANGRY.

      Ooh everyone’s saying Daniel Tate is really good so I’m really excited to read it again!

      Like

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