Hey, friends. How’s it going? Once again, I have been caught in a Reading Slump. So I’m good, thanks for asking.
After deciding that I am officially at a loss for figuring out what to read next, I also noticed that I have so many books on my TBR. Just like almost everyone else, my TBR is massive! It’s mountainous! And I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.
However, I was going through my list of posts I was tagged in (it’s 24 and going strong! I am certainly a mess, but I promise I’ll get to them! Maybe!), and I also noticed this book tag Laura tagged me in a long time ago, and it sounded perfect. Laura’s blog is awesome, so be sure to check out some of her posts! 🙂
This tag was created by Jamishelves!
A book that you feel you need to read because everyone talks about it:
Listen. I really do want to read The Hate U Give, I promise! But, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m just never in the mood for heavy subjects! I’m an extreme mood reader, and I only read whatever I want to in the moment.
And I just haven’t found the right moment for THUG yet.
A book that’s really long:
Eragon has been a part of my life for a while. As I mentioned in my “Get to know me as a writer!” post, Christopher Paolini’s writing journey is what really inspired me to be a writer myself!
But do I want to actually read his books? Apparently not.
For some reason, I own the last book in the series (Inheritance), but not any of the other ones. It’s weird. Eventually, though, I will try to read the series. Especially since I’m writing a story about dragons! 😉
(Actually, I would really appreciate it if you could recommend me your favorite books with dragons in them! It would help so much! 😌 )
A book you’ve owned/had on your tbr for too long:
Umm… *checks my TBR mountain*
I don’t know? I haven’t had my TBR for a long time, but wow, is she rising.
But I have owned The Lord of the Rings Trilogy for about 5 years now. In fact, I started reading The Fellowship of the Ring a few years after purchasing the series, but I got distracted with school and forgot to pick it up again.
A book that is required reading:
Required reading? Required in general, or to me, personally?
My younger sister read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man a few years ago, and she very much did not like it. I just found out that I have to read it next semester for one of my Literature classes, and I am not enthused.
A book that intimidates you:
Throne of Glass intimidates me because I started reading the first page, and I… didn’t like it? I was confused? I honestly don’t remember, but I know for a fact that Fantasy with strange names is not usually my thing.
Give me names I can actually pronounce, please.
And then, of course, there’s also 6 more books after this one. That’s kind of a lot.
Six of Crows intimidates me because, well, I’m a bit reluctant to read the last two books in the Grisha Trilogy, but for some reason I keep telling myself that I must finish it before moving on to Six of Crows.
Can someone confirm this for me, once and for all? Do I actually have to read the Grisha Trilogy first? Because if there’s two things I don’t like, it’s 1) being confused, and 2) being bored.
I don’t want either of these things, whether I march through the Grisha Trilogy or just start SoC, and I need y’all to help me out.
A book that you think might be slow:
I’m currently reading Ink and Bone, and just… I kind of like it? I really do! I mean, the idea is awesome. I love books about books, don’t get me wrong.
But for some reason, it’s taking me forever to read it.
I believe I’ve picked up and finished three whole books while struggling through the first 40 pages of this one. Not a good sign.
A book you need to be in the right mood for:
I bought The Diviners a few months ago in a massive book haul from BookOutlet, which is always amazing, by the way, but I heard it’s a great October read. Maybe I should wait for Halloween, you know?
A book you’re unsure if you’ll like:
Okay, so I admit that I’m guilty of falling into the hype of The Gilded Wolves, and I bought it like 2.5 seconds after it came out. But did I read it?
If your guess was “of course not, Xandra never reads anything,” then you are correct.
I liked the first 30 pages of this one, but I’m not sure if it’s for me. And I’m not sure if I want to invest myself in a whole series.
I’m just unsure of a lot of things.
I’m tagging…
If you’ve already done this tag, don’t worry about it! And if I’m tagging you too often, let me know! 😂
What do you think? Should I actually read these books? Is it worth it to finish the ones I’ve already started? Are there any books you kind of feel like reading, but not really?
Chat with me about it!
You can also be my friend on Goodreads!
Happy reading, everyone! 😀
Starry Sky Books 
The Diviners is such a great book. I definitely think it is a good one to read in October!
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I hope so! I’m thinking about reading it then, but if not, I’ll try to read it before the year is over!
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Well, do you believe in fate? Fate send me here today 😉 I read the first book in the grisha, liked it, but not enough to go on. Then a couple months ago, I read King of scars – way better than the grisha, though there were some moments that made me want to go back and finish the grisha series, but still not enough. I’m now 1/4 of the way into Six of crows. It’s good and so far, I don’t need the grisha to understand what’s going on. Though there are a lot of weird, mangled Deutsche? in there.
The hype around the gilded wolves almost made me pick it up, but the word ‘politics’ in the blurb repelled me even more than the hype had attracted me.
I did read throne of glass though – the entire series.
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Haha, thank you! Now I’m definitely going to start reading Six of Crows very soon! I still might try to read The Gilded Wolves again, since I already purchased it! 😂 But thanks for the SoC help!
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I want to read THUG too but I’m like you I in that I don’t read books with heavy topics that much but I do really want to read this one soon… Hopefully!! 😂
I read the Six of Crows book before the Grisha Trilogy and I was never confused. I understand the magic and the world completely fine and I think I’m easily confused.
I do think the grisha trilogy gets better as you go on but if it’s not for then I don’t think you have to force your way through it to read Six of Crows at all!! 😊
I’ve heard about the Diviners but I’ve never picked it up but one day I might try it– I hope if you decide to pick it up in Ocotber that you enjoy it!! 😊
Thank you so much for tagging me– I look forward to giving this a go! 💛
Great post– I loved reading your answers!
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Yeah, I tend to read happier books because I don’t like heavy topics – but heavy topics are also important, because they help us be more informed about situations we may otherwise not know about. Hopefully I’ll read THUG soon!
Okay, thanks for the SoC help! I remember starting the first page of Six of Crows, and I was very confused, but maybe I just have to get used to it! 😂
Let me know if you ever want to read The Diviners – maybe we can read it together? And of course, I can’t wait to see your answers, Sophie! 😀
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Yes I agree it is important to read these books which cover heavy topics as life does have heavy topics and you should be aware of them and how you could potentially make a difference.
Of course, I think this first chapter in Six of Crows was a bit confusing for me but it was a weird first chapter, the story starts more in the second chapter I think. But if you decide to read Six of Crows first and have any questions on the grishaverse world, you can always ask me and I’ll try to explain it. 🙂
Yes I have heard good things about it, I will look out for when you are reading it and see if I have it then maybe. I am on a book buying ban at the minute so I won’t be reading it soon though. Thank you 💛!!
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Thanks for sharing your TBR and frustrations. While I’m not in a slump currently, I can definitely relate to having a mountain of books waiting to fall on top of you.
I’ve got 400-something on my Goodreads and I’m constantly trying not to think about it.
Best of luck on your reading! Maybe go for whatever hooks you in the first page?
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Thanks Jonny, and I’m glad this post was relatble! I definitely have 400+ books on my Goodreads as well, and I don’t know if I can ever read them all, but I can certainly try!
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Yeah, I think all we can do at this point is try for sure. Best of luck friend!
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I’m so intimidated to read the Throne of Glass series too because it’s just so darn long haha. Six of Crows is sooo amazing! I read it before the Grisha trilogy and wasn’t confused and I’m actually really glad I read it first since I liked it so much more haha
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I know, the Throne of Glass series seems too long for me! 😂 I don’t understand how people can read a series that large! And thank you, I’ll hopefully read Six of Crows soon!
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Christopher Paolini is the reason I started writing as well!
I loved the books – though it’s been a few years since I re-read Eragon, and even longer since the rest of the series, but I do remember loving them. I think they were probably my first real high fantasy books I read. I hope you give Eragon a chance!
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That’s awesome, and I would love to start The Inheritance Cycle eventually! I do hope I enjoy them, whenever I find the time to read them. 🙂
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You don’t need to have read the Grisha trilogy to read SoC 😊 I only read the duology in fact and it was more than okay !
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Okay, thanks so much! I think I’ll start SoC soon, then! 🙂
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I put off reading THUG for ages for the exact same reason – I felt like I needed to be in the right mood to read a book about such a heavy topic. But then I realised am I really *ever* going to be in the mood for that sort of thing & kind of forced myself to read it last month & honestly it was the best decision ever! ALSO DON’T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT NOT STARTING THRONE OF GLASS I CAN CONFIRM IT’S NOT WORTH FINISHING!!
Can also confirm you don’t need to read the Grisha trilogy to read the Six of Crows duology – there are some references to the Grisha trilogy in SoC but not enough that you’d be missing out if you didn’t read Grisha first 😊
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Thanks, I’m glad someone else felt the same way! I think I’ll follow your advice, and just finally read THUG. I know I’ll probably really enjoy it, so I shouldn’t be afraid! And I’ll definitely try to read Soc soon! I hope I really like it!
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I think SoC is right up your alley!!! You should defs check it out soon & let me know what you think! 😍
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Oh my gosh please read The Hate U Give it’s incredible!!
And Throne of Glass please don’t feel bad about not reading that one haha, I read book one and really didn’t like it. No plans to get to the rest 🙂
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Thank you, I will try to read The Hate U Give soon! 🙂 And yeah, I don’t think I’ll be reading Throne of Glass anytime soon 😂
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This is such a fun tag! You’re not alone – I’m completely a mood reader, too, which is also why I haven’t read THUG yet. Also I gave up on Throne of Glass after about 10 pages, I think Sarah J. Maas just isn’t for me.
I do love Six of Crows, though, and you definitely don’t need to finish the Grisha trilogy first! I read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom before I read Shadow and Bone. If you want to read King of Scars then I’d recommend reading Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising, but you don’t need to have read them for this book.
Ink and Bone and The Diviners are two I want to get to, too – I need to read some Libba Bray!
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Thank you, and I’m glad I’m not the only one waiting to read THUG! I know I’ll like it when I do decide to give it a go, but I’ll read it when I’m ready 🙂 And I agree, Throne of Glass just wasn’t for me, either.
And thanks, I now know I can read Six of Crows as soon as possible without waiting to finish the Grisha trilogy first! Judging by my read of Shadow and Bone, Prince Nikolai was only mentioned once, so I figured he would appear in the later books!
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The Hate U Give has been on my TBR forever too! And Throne of Glass…yeah, it’s intimidating when the names are hard to pronounce. My eyeballs start quivering and lose focus whenever I see some weird name on the page. To be fair, I hate that series, so it’s not too much of a loss haha.
“I’m just unsure of a lot of things.” That’s my take on Gilded Wolves – I’ve heard it’s kind of disappointing, so I just decided to take it off my TBR.
Girl, you don’t need to read the Grisha trilogy to read Six of Crows! Heck, I’d even go as far to say you SHOULDN’T considering the last two books in that trilogy are suuuper boring. 😂
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Hopefully we can read The Hate U Give soon! And yeah, I don’t think I’ll read Throne of Glass eventually 😂 I tried, but it was too much for me.
I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about The Gilded Wolves, and I think I’ll still read it eventually, since I already bought it!
And okay, I’ll definitely try to read Six of Crows soon! I’m really looking forward to it! I’ll let you know how it goes!
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I honestly have a soft spot in my heart for James Joyce, enough to make me read half of Ulysses before putting it down, but I did really enjoy Portrait of an Artist! His favorite of mine are his short stories, The Dubliners, but Portrait is short and not dreadful.
I also read Six of Crows before even looking at the Grisha trilogy and was not confused AT ALL. However, you definitely need to read the trilogy before diving into King of Scars.
I’m with you on being intimidated about Maas, though, but because there are just SO MANY, I feel like it’s such a bit commitment.
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Okay, hopefully I’ll have a good experience with Portrait of an Artist when I read it! And thanks for the info about SoC, I’ll try ot read it as soon as possible – I’m excited for it! 🙂 And yes, I’m really scared to read Throne of Glass because it’ll probably be difficult for me, but I might try another time!
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I hope you enjoy Crows! I’ve been trying to find time to reread it for months now. I just miss that gang of misfits so much!
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You absolutely do not have to read the Grisha trilogy to enjoy six of crows. I read Six of Crows first- had no trouble at all following it. I doubled back to the Grisha afterwards and was extremely disappointed. Don’t plan to finish that one. I hope you decide to give it a try!
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Thank you, now I can read Six of Crows sooner than I thought! I’ll definitely try it as soon as possible 🙂
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I totally agree with throne of glass! There’s so many of them & they’re SO BIG. Like, what? How do you even think about starting something like that?
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Yes, there are just so many books in that series! Too many for me! 😂
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hehe I totally relate to being easily distracted and being a mood reader! Definitely recommend LOTR if you’re interested in it though. It’ll take time, but it’s worth it. You definitely don’t have to read the grisha trilogy to read six of crows though- my sister didn’t read the original trilogy and she had no trouble with six of crows. I need to be in the right mood for diviners too and I’m not sure about gilded wolves either- it’s had such mixed reviews. Awesome answers!
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Yes, I’m so easily distracted! I can only read what I feel like, which usually means that I don’t read books until months after they’re released! 😂 And thanks for the SoC info, I know I don’t have to read the Grisha Trilogy now! I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about The Gilded Wolves, but I think I’ll give it another try!
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i relate to so many of these!
i was very intimidated about six of crows as well, but i can assure that you do not need to read the grisha trilogy in order to understand six of crows. unless you do want to read the grisha trilogy, then i probably would advise finishing that one, since six of crows may have some spoilers. but, if you do not care about the grisha trilogy (like moi), just jump to six of crows; i’m sure you’ll be much happier!
the diviners is a book that intimidates me a lot. first, because a lot of people say it’s scary and i get scared really easily. but also because it’s really length-y and has not been translated to portuguese at all, so i’d have to venture myself into a fantasy-horror in another language, which is the definition of intimidating, along with cliff-diving.
i have actually read eragon and honestly, it’s quite hard to get into it, but once you do, it’s really good. it’s one of those slow fantasy books and a lot of fans of lord of the rings say it’s way too similar, so perhaps it’s something to take into consideration as well. i have never continued on with the series, though, because my kick for fantasy died fast, but if you’re interested in dragons, you may have better luck than i did!
great tag, xandra!
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Thanks! I hope I really enjoy Six of Crows when I read it soon! I don’t think I want to read the Grisha trilogy, but I might decided to read it later, since it will be adapted into a TV series soon!
I’m not worried about The Diviners being scary, because I like being scared, haha 😂 But it is very large and it took me a while to get into the first chapter, but I will definitely try it again soon! And oh no, I’m sorry it hasn’t been translated yet
Hopefully I can read Eragon whenever i get into the mood! I think I’ll like the series, since I like dragons so much 🙂
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You definitely don’t have to read the rest of the Grisha trilogy before reading Six of Crows! I read SoC before Shadow and Bone and loved it SO MUCH MORE than I ended up liking the Grisha trilogy when I went back and read that later. Long story short, you should definitely go read Six of Crows 😉
Haha I understand the hype around a lot of these books being intimidating. The Hate U Give is definitely one that’s worth it!! I read Eragon when I was in 6th grade and didn’t like it much, which probably shouldn’t be something you base your decision on lol. BUT if you want more dragon books, you should read Seraphina if you haven’t already!!! Also The Priory of the Orange Tree, which is adult fantasy and quite chunky, but SO worth it! Also Heartstone by Elle Katharine White, which is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice! Hope that helps 😉
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Thank you! I hope I really like SoC when I read it, hopefully soon! I’m excited for it!
And yes, I’m scared by the hype that comes with certain books. While I might have to be in the mood for THUG, I think I should just give it a go and see what happens! I know I’ll like it, anyway, so I should just try it soon 🙂 And thanks so much for the dragon recs! I did read Seraphina (and I loved it), but for some reason I haven’t read the second book yet 😅
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Thank you so much for the tag, Xandra!! This looks like a lot of fun, and I am always up for a tag, literally always lol. There are so many books I want to read, I can’t keep count. I have had Lord of the Rings on my shelf since high school, but have I ever tried to read them? No. Maybe one day, but also not likely.
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I can’t wait to read your answers, if you choose to do the tag! 😊 I’ve been wanting to read Lord of the Rings for a while, and I know I’ll do it eventually, just… not right now, haha
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Ohhhh, Xandra I’ve done this tag already haha! but i did do it a reallyyyy long time ago. thanks for thinking of tagging me anyway, and you’re definitely not tagging me too much! ok, so I read soc and loved it without having read the grisha trilogy, but I will say that you’ll get confused if you don’t read the original trilogy first. I for one loved figuring out the world even though there was little world building! also, I know that soc has been widely criticized as being slow, but I don’t know, when I read it, I could feel that it was slow-paced, but then I would check the number of pages I had read and it was like 100 pages already when I thought it was just 20. idk, I was so sucked in! also, the diviners is such a great and atmospheric read and I would definitely recommend it for the spooky season. if it’s too long for you, maybe try the audio version? you can maybe speed it up or be comforted by the fact that there aren’t many pages left. I just really like the audiobook of The Diviners! Great tag, and I hope you get out of your reading slump soon ❤
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Oh, that’s totally fine, haha 😅 When I tagged you for this, I was actually not going to include you because I had a hunch you had already done it, but what’s the hurt in tagging you anyway?
I understand that about SoC, and that’s what I thought – I remember trying to read the first few pages, and I felt left out, like there was something I already needed to know. But I think I just have to push through it! But I’ve never heard it was slow, for some reason? Either way, I’m excited to read it!
And yes, I’m still hoping to read The Diviners during Halloween time! It sounds perfectly spooky, and I am determined to read at least one spooky book this year. Maybe I’ll try the audiobook! And thank you, Caitlin! 💕
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