#CharacterCharm Day 28: Stories as #Healer - both these texts allude to that singular fact.

#CharacterCharm Day 27: It was a pleasure serving as Chief #Judge for the Hedwig Anuar Children‘s Book Award last year in Singapore. 🥰

#CharacterCharm Day 26: #Author - I shared our #CampLitsy25 discussions for the month of July here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-rGS as hosted by @Megabooks

#CharacterCharm Day 25: #Survivor - one of the books I bought during the NYRB Sitewide Summer Sale. See here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-rDE

#CharacterCharm Day 24: Not exactly a sanctuary for #Voyager(s). Looking forward to reading this one soon.

My latest article published in a top 1% journal co-authored with longtime collaborator and friend from UCL, a PhD Candidate (who translated our Abstract into Arabic), and three undergraduate students. Only the first 50 eprints are free which you can find here: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/SZ3XWDHDH4ACHBCKDGQU/full?target=10.1080/0143... - message me if this is of interest to you. 🌷💕

#CharacterCharm Day 23: #Maid - even if “old maids.” 😂🤣

#CharacterCharm Day 22: A new picturebook biography of award-winning #Musician Tori Amos. I adored Tori in my early 20s and devoured all her haunting poetry-music.

#CharacterCharm Day 21: Fats featured this story of Clementine Haas who woke up in an Irish hospital as an #Amnesiac - her rating of this book plus four other YA novels here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-hSJ

#CharacterCharm Day 20: Torrent and Tranquil definitely strike me as borderline #Psychotic - one more than the other, ummm, sort-of. A #CampLitsy25 winner, no doubt. Looking forward to the final discussion this weekend hosted by the ever fab @BarbaraBB

#CharacterCharm Day 19: #Legend - these are titles gifted to our new college graduate.

#CharacterCharm Day 18: #Guest

#CharacterCharm Day 17: #Artist

#CharacterCharm Day 16: #Vigilante death squads sanctioned by former president Rodrigo Duterte had been portrayed so chillingly in this journalistic nonfiction memoir of Patricia Evangelista. Thankfully, he is now awaiting trial in The Hague. My review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-qgX

#CharacterCharm Day 15: #Prophet - I have yet to read this “prophetic” propulsive novel.

#CharacterCharm Day 14: #Murderer(s) in this gritty, fast-paced novel that was just what I needed when I read it last month. Bought all the other SA Cosby novels I can find while book hunting and trawling the bookstores in Seattle and the Bay Area. Looking forward to the upcoming #CampLitsy25 discussions.

#CharacterCharm Day 13: #TimeSpaceTraveler - i think being stuck in just one particular day in time qualifies. Still don‘t know how i feel about this little book. Qualifies too for #ReadTheWorld2025 - Denmark - translated from Danish.

#CharacterCharm Day 12: #Wounded

#CharacterCharm Day 11: There is a book #Thief in town - and Fats wrote a lovely review of this Snatchabook here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-gjd As she noted: “It‘s perfect for book lovers and anyone who has enjoyed being read to when they were younger.”

#CharacterCharm Day 10: #Widow

#CharacterCharm Day 9: #FairyElfPixie in this Lisbeth Zwerger collection entitled “Wonderment” - not on Litsy‘s database. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-b71

#CharacterCharm Day 8: Parastoo‘s (which means “swallow bird” in Farsi) mother had to leave to serve as a #nurse during wartime. There is a layer of authenticity to the narrative as it appears the story is culled from Kheiriyeh‘s own experience as she dedicates the book to her own mother who served as a nurse during wartime, & grandfather who used to make nests for the parastoo in his house in Iran. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-r7H

#CharacterCharm Day 7: #Elderly - apparently I am using the wrong prompts 🤦🏽‍♀️Must have been jetlagged when I saw it. Lols.

#BookSpin Day 7: Peter Lerangis, farthest left, is #TheGhostwriter of popular series such as Babysitter‘s Club, Hardy Boys, and Sweet Valley Twins - before becoming a mega-famous author himself of The 39 Clues, Seven Wonders Series among others. This photo of ours was taken in November 2022 when my dear friend (and colleague) and I were in New York. Peter generously treated us out for lunch with his famous wife, Tina DeVaron, a renowned musician.

#BookSpin Day 6: Bertie Badger‘s grandfather, “Gadzooks the Great” was once a “conjurer of note,” a world-famous magician who traveled to Prague, Kathmandu, Antipodes and Timbuktu. One would wonder what the #ConjurersWife was like - see what I did there? My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-idh

#BookSpin Day 5: #TheLover

#BookSpin Day 4: #BrightSideOfDisaster

#BookSpin Day 3: There must be #GoldenHills in an Empire of Gold. Finished reading this fantasy series last year and found it awesome.

#BookSpin Day 2: #SharkHeart A Love Story was prominently on display at Barnes and Noble Florida as among one of their Best Fiction titles when I was there in November of 2023.

#BookSpin Day 1: When a #BrokenCountry brings forth even more genocide in an unending loop of violence in this fantastical realm. Read this for book club a few months back and loved it - prompted me to read the original Ember in the ashes quartet which I just finished devouring. Sabaa Tahir is a genius. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-rnQ

#JulyJazz Day 31: #Freedom of women and tiger girls in particular is curtailed in this chilling dystopian graphic novel with a monsoon tropical vibe written by my Singaporean friend and fellow book club member, Felicia Low-Jimenez. Grateful that I have the #freedom to read outdoors in the wilds of Alki Beach in Seattle. This new graphic novel is still not on Litsy‘s database so tagging the anthology where the story first appeared.

#JulyJazz Day 30: #LoveHorses - now back home in the Emirates with all my new bookses. 📚📚📚

#JulyJazz Day 29: #MoonDay - posting way in advance since traveling on Monday and only arriving in the evening on Tuesday (we lose a day going back) next week.

#JulyJazz Day 28: I #Celebrate visiting three bookstores in two days while here in Seattle: Kinokuniya, The Elliott Bay Book Company, and the tagged bookstore - Left Bank Books Collective. Posting in advance since traveling back home to Dubai on Monday.

#JulyJazz Day 27: #Kittens - posting in advance since we are traveling back to Dubai from Seattle on Monday early morning.

#JulyJazz Day 26: #CheerTheLonely Soul Catcher (Elias) with some dripping mangoes - a scene that made me laugh out loud in this book. Still prolonging my stay here in the world that Sabaa Tahir brilliantly crafted.
Paired with original strawberry cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory at Southcenter Mall in Seattle.

#JulyJazz Day 25: Last year I visited the Philippine booth which proudly showcases the Philippine #Flag during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Husband drove us for 90 minutes (one way) so I can get the book gifted to me by a Filipina American novelist (Ninotchka Rosca) whose books were featured during the fair.

#JulyJazz Day 24: #Patriots - bought during a Kinokuniya warehouse sale. 🥰

#JulyJazz Day 23: #FamilyReunion this summer with our newly minted college graduate from Seattle University and as we spend time with family this July in the Bay Area. Heading back to Seattle today to help our college graduate settle in their new place with housemates- then husband and I fly back to the Emirates on Monday next week. ✈️🧳💺🗺️

#JulyJazz Day 22: #Hammock

#JulyJazz Day 21: #Grace

#JulyJazz Day 20: More than #PlayOutside, I was also able to Read Outside while we were camping last week, and finished this novel that I did not love as much as I expected. My newly minted college graduate kid bailed on it for our summer book club of two - and even called it “corny” at one point and I have to agree that I do see it. Jokes did not land as well as it should. Husband took my photo. 📸

#JulyJazz Day 19: #Bravery

#JulyJazz Day 18: #Listen tells the story of Evelyn Glennie, a deaf musician. With great joy, she was able to demonstrate how there are many forms of hearing that can take place in one‘s being – and that music need not be confined to ears in perfect condition. Rather, hearing music can be a “sea of sound” – an entire sensation within one‘s body. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-oGe

#JulyJazz Day 17: #Grateful for some time spent with nature and family - Last day of our 4-day camping at Coloma in California.

#JulyJazz Day 16: #EPluribusUnum is best captured by this picturebook inspired by the author‘s own cultural background: German mother, Indian father, raised in Pakistan, and currently based in the US. It is a lovely exploration of the cultural pluralities of young people that I am glad is now surfacing in recent stories. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-pCe

#JulyJazz Day 15: #Eagle with poetry by Maria Popova.🥰

#JulyJazz Day 14: For #BastilleDay, some family photos while we were in France last year.

#JulyJazz Day 13: “first #Picnic of summer” as this gorgeous book (now challenged and banned in some states in the US) noted.

#JulyJazz Day 12: #Simplicity in the design of this gorgeous book-loving book. Just the kind of story I like.