15 March 2015

15 March 2015
03:01

By Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books

In: , ,

24 comments

Stacking the Shelves #10 & The Sunday Post #7

Stacking The Shelves by Tynga's Reviews is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

LIFE UPDATE

I've been reading crappy books after crappy books this past week and it feels so crappy. To make matters worse, these were books that received so much hype and I had such high expectations. To put this into perspective, these books have an average rating of about 4.09 on Goodreads and I gave 1 3 stars and the other 2, 2 stars. (the books are My Life Next Door, Snow like Ashes and The Program respectively)
This was me after reading a third consecutive I-don't-get-the-hype book. It sure does feel crappy being the odd banana.

After this whole fiasco, I decided to take a break from all these 'popular'/highly-rated books. (Yes, I did haul The Queen of Tearling below because of the hype but I don't plan on reading it until I recover from this trauma.)

My expectations for YA are at an all-time low now and I am hoping that I can find a book asap to fix that. Let me know if you have any recommendations! (preferably not a dystopian, I've overdosed on it, I'm sure.)

(BORROWED) PHYSICAL BOOKS

 
The Bees: This just sounds so interesting and despite all the negative reviews, I am going to give this a go because a) gorgeous cover b) Margaret Atwood blurbed this. Also its about bees, I've always loved animal documentaries...

The Queen of the Tearing: Emma Watson made me do this.
If you say so Emma.

She hyped this up.
Don't disappoint me Emma <3

Sidenote: This is a Harper LUXE edition which means that the font size is HUGE. To put it into perspective, this edition has 630 pages and the regular Harper edition has 434 pages. Also, this is the size of a hardback. I never knew there were such editions? It feels like I am reading a book for kids below 8...but its gonna be fun flipping through the pages at a rapid rate. :P I will tweet a picture tomorrow!

(BOUGHT) PHYSICAL BOOKS

 
All the Light We Cannot See: I have been eyeing this book for the longest time and I jumped at the change to get it today when it saw that the oversized paperback was going at a cheaper price than Book Depository (this never happens!).

And the Mountains Echoed: Another thrift find! :) I've been meaning to read more of Khaled Hosseini's books, I loved The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns (which I recommended in my recent post about life-changing books). I am hoping this is as good!

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG

  • Review: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
  • Top Ten Tuesday #4 
  • Waiting on Wednesday #6
  • Review: Snow Like Ashes by 
  • Stacking the Shelves #11 & The Sunday Post #8


Share your StS or Sunday Posts with me in the comments below!
p.s. feel free to friend me on Goodreads to see the books that I read throughout the week and my live reactions to them :P
Connect with me -> TWITTER ACCOUNT! I am looking for more bookish friends, any takers? :D

24 comments:

  1. Monica15 March 2015 at 03:57

    I love All the Light! I'm glad that more and more people are reading it!
    -Monica @ Tomes Project

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books15 March 2015 at 21:45

      I am so excited to read it!!! :)

      Thanks for dropping by! :)

      Delete
  2. michellesminions15 March 2015 at 04:05

    Try reading The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons. I really enjoyed it. It's a stand alone dystopian. I had a recent experience like yours with some very popular and well received books. The Glass Arrow got me out of the resulting funk. I hope you find something amazing to read soon. Enjoy your new books!

    Michelle @ Michelle's Minions

    My StS

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books15 March 2015 at 22:24

      Oh wow that sounds like a really great book! :) I know it was marketed as similar to The Handmaid's Tale so I already have it in my TBR but I hadn't really thought about it since I added it. I am for sure gonna try it out asap now! Thanks for the rec!

      Thanks for stopping by too :)

      Delete
  3. vvb32 reads15 March 2015 at 07:15

    All the Light We Cannot See was a beauty. Happy reading :-)
    here's my STS

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books15 March 2015 at 22:25

      Yay that's great to hear! :)

      Thanks for dropping by!

      Delete
  4. CG @ Paper Fury15 March 2015 at 09:08

    Ugh I HATE it when everything I read just turns into a whole pile of awfulness. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING. *whispers* I had a bit of trouble with Queen of the Tearling, but if you love fantasy, you should be okay with it. XD I read it because of the oncoming movie too. hehe.
    My Stacking the Shelves!

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books15 March 2015 at 22:27

      I've been reading quite a bit of fantasy recently, so fingers crossed that I would enjoy it! :P Hahah the power of Emma Watson!

      Thanks for dropping by! :)

      Delete
  5. Anonymous15 March 2015 at 16:43

    Sometimes, I write very bad reviews for books, publish them on GR and realize other readers *loved* those books, it's weird (I always check if I landed on the right page !). That baby picture is so funny - poor baby ;)

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books15 March 2015 at 22:49

      Urgh yes! I always read the other negative reviews to make myself feel better :P Heehee but its so adorable!

      Thanks for stopping by :)

      Delete
  6. Cynthia15 March 2015 at 20:16

    Oh I'm sorry that your last few books have been so crappy. I hope your next ones are better. I read All the light we cannot see last year and I loved it.

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books15 March 2015 at 22:50

      Thank you! Everyone seems to love All the Light, I can't wait to read it!!

      Thanks for dropping by :)

      Delete
  7. Katherine P15 March 2015 at 22:39

    I hate when I get in a spree of bad or mediocre books! Hopefully you'll recover from the trauma and The Queen of the Tearling is amazing. It's so frustrating not loving a book everyone else does. Hope this week is a better reading week!

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books15 March 2015 at 22:51

      IKR! Like how is one that unlucky!? I hope so too, thank you! :))

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  8. Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer16 March 2015 at 00:04

    I am so sorry you had 3 disappointments in a row. I have only read Snow Like Ashes and I did enjoy it. Hopefully Emma will steer you right.

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books16 March 2015 at 20:32

      I really wanted to like Snow like Ashes but it just wasn't as good as any of the other fantasies I've read :( I hope so too :)) Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Krystianna16 March 2015 at 00:59

    The Queen of the Tearling sounds very interesting! I'm definitely going to have to pick it up. I'll be looking forward to your review on it!
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books16 March 2015 at 20:33

      I can't wait to read it! :)

      Thanks for dropping by :)

      Delete
  10. Alyssa16 March 2015 at 07:31

    I really liked The Queen of the Tearling! I have The Invasion of the Tearling for review - to be read soon! I hope you enjoy all of your new books!

    Thanks for visiting my blog! Have a fabulous week :)

    Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books16 March 2015 at 20:34

      I hope you enjoy the sequel as well! :) Thanks for dropping by!

      Delete
  11. La La in the Library16 March 2015 at 15:41

    Well, you are in luck with Queen of the Tearling! First because it isn't YA (warning: there are some very explicit sex scenes and vivid violence), and secondly, originally it was getting bad publicity because of all the funny business surrounding the author's seven figure advance (for an unknown, unproven writer) and her insta-deal movie. I was one of those people booing and hissing. I went into the book wanting to hate it, but fell in love, so I think most of the hype is well earned in this case. I will tell you the first chapter is beastly long and a veritable info-dump, but push through it because there is gloriousness on the other side. Also, don't expect this to read like YA because it is every inch Adult High Fantasy. I was dissapointed by The Sin Eater's Daughter this week. It was a very hyped YA. Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by my blog for a visit. :)

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    1. Ee Hwee @ Bursting Books16 March 2015 at 20:43

      Thanks for the heads up! I will def push through the chapter. Good to know that it would be Adult High Fantasy, I enjoyed quite a few of them previously. I was so excited about The Sin Eater's Daughter too but all the negative reviews started pouring in once the book was published, what a pity :(

      Thank you for stopping by too! :)

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  12. Barb16 March 2015 at 21:17

    I completely understand overhyped books. I read The 5th Wave because I heard so much about it. I know it is a beloved book, but it drove me crazy and I have it a low rating. Thank goodness everyone likes different stuff since there is so much out there for us to read. You can see my week's stack at http://bookertsfarm.blogspot.com/

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  13. Michelle @ In Libris Veritas16 March 2015 at 23:54

    I hate the hype-monster, and it's so hard to tell when a book is being over-hyped and when it's legitimate praise. I always try to wait a bit after the book comes out, so that I forget my expectations. :P I'm on the hold list of Queen of the Tearling, so hopefully it turns out to be a really good one.

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